Today I tried the context clues strategy to build my vocabulary. As I read the passage, I focused on how unfamiliar words were used in sentences and used the surrounding details to guess their meanings before checking a dictionary. For example, the word powdery was used to describe snow being blown over the pavement, which helped me understand it meant “soft and fine, like powder.” The word faintly was used when Jim could faintly hear a voice, showing it meant “weakly or not strongly.” This strategy worked well because I was able to keep reading smoothly without stopping too often, and I still understood new words. I learned powdery, faintly, and relieved through this method, and I feel that using context clues is a natural way to grow my vocabulary while enjoying the story.
