Finding Specific Information

Use the following information to create a lesson plan - Finding Relevant and Specific Information

Context

1.1 What is context?

Words rarely stand on their own but rather, like a single puzzle piece, fit into a specific place to form a holistic picture.

Many students make the error of identifying a single word in a sentence, or string of sentences, they don't understand and attempt to work out the meaning of the word by isolating it. If you remove a word from its context, it could have a number of meanings. We say that words have 'shades of meaning', which means that in different contexts, in different scenarios, words can mean slightly differently things or take on different nuances.

For example: Let's look at the word 'compromise'.

As a verb, compromise has three distinct meanings:

To settle a dispute by mutual agreement and concession:

My father was absolutely set on me playing rugby but my mother has always been a massive cricket supporter, so we compromised and I signed up for hockey.

To accept a standard that is below what is desirable:

The coach said he was willing to consider the young midfielder but would not compromise on the quality of the team.

To endanger by foolish behaviour:

When Chris Gayle insisted he was fit to play the test match, he compromised the team as he knew he wasn't yet back to full strength.1.2 Context clues

When was the last time you came across an unfamiliar word while reading? How did you decipher it? Chances are you may have used context clues of some kind - just like a beginner reader would.

Faced with a sea of unfamiliar words, beginner readers learn many techniques for decoding words and expanding their vocabularies. Looking for context clues is one technique that is helpful for readers of all ages and experience levels.

1.2a What are context clues?

Context clues are hints that an author gives to help define a difficult or unusual word. The clue may appear within the same sentence as the word to which it refers, or it may follow in the next sentence. Because most of our vocabulary is gained through reading, it is important that we are able to recognise and take advantage of context clues.

1.2b Context clue strategy

Reread the sentence that contains the unknown word. Be on the lookout for signal words or punctuation. Reread the sentences before and after the sentence that contains the unknown word. Based on the clues, try to figure out the meaning of the word. Insert your meaning in the original sentence to see whether it makes sense. Read the paragraph below taken from an article about an Olympic diver at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020.

Ascending to the ten-metre platform is not for the fainthearted. Nor was Rashid Nguyen’s ascent to the pinnacle of his sport a swift one, though it takes but a split second to plunge those ten metres. It has taken this Olympian – still a chiselled young man fresh into his thirties but a relative veteran in diving terms – years of repetition, of courage and of resilience to hone the talents that saw him dive into the record books as the oldest gold medallist in a discipline that savages the body and soul.

Extract taken from Tokyo 2020 Olympics Diving into Language, Twinkl, https://rb.gy/d3g1d(opens in a new tab)

Skimming and Scanning

Now let’s try to imagine reading as buying a new tennis racket. You are standing in the sports store and in front of you are rows upon rows of different tennis racquets. Skimming is when you take a look around and tell yourself: “Okay, there's a good range of racquets here so they are sure to have what I'm looking for." Then, it’s time to scan the rows of racquets looking for type of racquet you need that matches your size and skill level.

2.1 Differences between skimming and scanning

Skimming is a process of reading to get an overall view or get an impression of the content. This is when we pick out the main ideas or messages.

Scanning requires us to look for a particular word or phrase. We can totally ignore unnecessary ones. If we’re reading, we must start to have questions that need answers, so just wisely choose what to read and quickly get what we may benefit from.

Overview

Duration: 60 minutes
Class size: 12 students
Age group: Year 8 (12-13 years)
Curriculum link: National Curriculum for England – English Programmes of Study, Key Stage 3

Reading: Pupils should be taught to read fluently, understand extended prose (both fiction and non-fiction), and develop their skill in inferring meanings, summarising, and finding relevant information in texts.
Vocabulary development: Pupils should use knowledge of morphology, contextual clues, and word relationships to understand unfamiliar words.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson, pupils will be able to:

Understand what context is and explain how it influences word meaning.
Use context clues to determine the meaning of unfamiliar or ambiguous words within a text.
Distinguish between skimming and scanning as reading strategies and apply both to locate relevant information quickly.
Apply reading strategies to find specific and relevant information from a text, improving accuracy and speed.
Develop vocabulary and comprehension skills linked to the Year 8 curriculum expectations.

Curriculum References

English programmes of study (excerpt):

“Pupils should be taught to: …develop their vocabulary by consolidating and building on the word-reading and spelling taught at KS2; apply knowledge of morphology and etymology; learn new vocabulary, including subject-specific terms; and recognise nuance, metaphor and allusion.” (Reading - comprehension)

“Retrieve, record and present information from non-fiction.”

Reading comprehension:

“Pupils should be taught to analyse language, form and structure in texts.”

Resources

Printed copies of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics excerpt (dyslexia-friendly font version available)
Whiteboard and markers
Projector to display example sentences
Vocabulary cards with challenging words (e.g., compromise, fainthearted, ascent, chiselled)
Skimming and scanning worksheet
Timer (for timed activities)

Lesson Outline

1. Introduction to Context (10 minutes)

Starter: Show the word compromise on the board without context. Ask students for definitions. Write their ideas on the board.
Explain context: Teacher explains briefly that words have “shades of meaning” and context defines which meaning is correct. Use three example sentences provided to demonstrate different meanings of compromise.
Activity: Pupils highlight the word compromise in each sentence and discuss in pairs what clues around the word helped them work out its meaning.

Differentiation: Provide sentence strips with colour-coded clues to support EAL or less confident readers.

2. Context Clue Strategies (15 minutes)

Mini-teaching: Introduce the four-step strategy for using context clues:
1. Reread the sentence with the unknown word and look for clues.
2. Reread nearby sentences for extra information.
3. Use clues to guess the meaning.
4. Insert your guess back into the sentence to check it fits.
Guided practice: Using the excerpt from the Tokyo Olympics, pupils work in pairs to apply the strategy on a selected challenging word (e.g., fainthearted, chiselled, veteran, savages). Teacher models first example.
Class feedback: Discuss findings and emphasise how context clues help avoid guesswork and mistakes.

Dyslexia-friendly: Use coloured overlays on the text, a font suited for dyslexic readers (such as OpenDyslexic), and allow extra time for reading. Provide graphic organisers to map context clues around the word.

3. Skimming and Scanning (15 minutes)

Explain difference: Use the tennis racket analogy to clarify:
- Skimming: Reading quickly to understand the overall idea.
- Scanning: Reading quickly to find specific facts or words.
Interactive demonstration: Display a mixed paragraph. Ask the pupils to skim for the main idea (20 seconds). Follow with a scan task where they find a particular fact (e.g., a number, a name) (20 seconds).
Paired activity: Give pupils a worksheet with a short non-fiction text and a set of questions, some requiring skimming and others scanning to answer. Students label which technique they used for each question.

Differentiation: For slower readers, highlight key paragraphs for scanning; for advanced learners, challenge them to skim larger texts and summarise main ideas in one sentence.

4. Application and Extension (15 minutes)

Independent task: Pupils read a slightly longer non-fiction article (provided as dyslexia-friendly and standard versions) about an athlete or event. They use a combination of skimming, scanning, and context clues to answer comprehension questions that focus on finding relevant and specific information.
Extension for advanced learners: Create their own sentences using words with multiple meanings, providing contextual clues so classmates can guess the intended meaning. Alternatively, identify metaphors or nuanced vocabulary in provided texts and explain meaning based on context.
Support for diverse learners: Provide sentence starters and key vocabulary lists; allow peer support; audio versions of texts if needed.

5. Plenary and Assessment (5 minutes)

Quiz game: On the whiteboard, display words from today’s lesson. In teams, pupils choose a word and explain how context affected its meaning or identify a skimming/scanning purpose.
Exit ticket: Pupils write one new word they learnt, its meaning based on context, and one situation when skimming or scanning would help them in reading.

Assessment & Feedback

Formative assessment during pair and group discussions.
Review of worksheet answers and exit tickets to gauge understanding of context clues, skimming, and scanning.
Teacher feedback provided verbally, highlighting effective use of strategies and areas to improve.

Differentiation Summary

Learner Type	Strategy
Lower ability/EAL	Sentence strips with colour clues, paired work, extra time
Dyslexic students	Dyslexia-friendly fonts/texts, coloured overlays, audio support
Advanced learners	Extension activities creating sentences; analysing metaphors
All learners	Mixed grouping, visual and verbal instructions, scaffolding, graphic organisers

Teacher Notes:

Emphasise practical strategies over rote learning to foster student independence.
Encourage discussion to deepen understanding of nuance in vocabulary.
Ensure varied text types and multimodal resources to maintain engagement.
Use the Olympic athlete text for appeal and cross-curricular links (PE, History).

This lesson encourages purposeful reading and vocabulary skills that are essential for secondary-level comprehension and wider academic success, fully aligned with the National Curriculum aims for Year 8 English.

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