Two paragraphs about the deep ocean make up this 4th grade context clues sheet. Students fill ten blanks with words from a twelve-word bank, using definitions and restatements in the passage, such as "or natural home" after habitat and "or lit up" after illuminated. The words include submersibles, bioluminescence, lure, and camouflage, and two words go unused. It practices L.4.4.a, and the answer key shows the completed passage.
L.4.4.a
“Use context (e.g., definitions, examples, or restatements in text) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.”
Each of the ten blanks sits beside a definition, example, or restatement, such as "Larger hunting animals, known as ___."
Twelve words, including predators, pressure, adapted, and prey. Two of them, fragile and plants, are extras that fit none of the blanks.
Students complete the passage about scientists reaching the ocean floor and the creatures living there. Clues such as "This glowing light made by living things is called ___" point to each missing word.
Science reading
Pair this with an ocean or adaptations lesson. The passage gives students the vocabulary before they meet it in a textbook.
Teaching restatement
Before students start, circle the word "or" in "habitat, or natural home." Once they see the pattern, the illuminated and lure blanks get easier.
Partner check
Prey and predators are the pair students swap. Have partners compare those two blanks and explain which clue settled it.
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