Middle School English Language Arts Instructional Guide

Standard: Reading 9

Learning Intentions and Success Criteria

Learning Intentions: ●​ To develop strategies for determining the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases. ●​ To use a variety of strategies flexibly to understand word meanings. ●​ To effectively consult and use reference materials to find pronunciation, precise meanings, and parts of speech of words. Success Criteria: ●​ I can determine the meaning of unknown words using context clues, word parts, and reference materials. ●​ I can clarify the meaning of multiple-meaning words by using appropriate strategies. ●​ I can consult dictionaries, thesauruses, and other reference materials to find the pronunciation, meaning, and part of speech of words. ●​ I can choose and apply the most effective strategy to understand the meaning of a word or phrase.

Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies. (RL & RI) a. ​ Determine and consult appropriate reference materials to find the pronunciation of a word or determine its precise meaning or its part of speech.

Nouns (Know)

Verbs (Do)

●​ Unknown words ●​ Multiple-meaning words and phrases ●​ Reference materials ●​ Pronunciation ●​ Precise meaning ●​ Part of speech

●​ Determine ●​ Clarify ●​ Consult

Sample Question Stems and Prompts for Assessment ●​ "What strategies can you use to determine the meaning of an unknown word?" ●​ "How can context clues help you understand the meaning of this word/phrase?" ●​ "What reference materials would you use to find the pronunciation of this word?" ●​ "How can you determine the correct meaning of a word with multiple meanings in this context?" ●​ "What word parts (prefixes, suffixes, root words) can help you clarify the meaning of this word?"

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Last Updated June 2nd, 2026 Secondary ELA, Page 144