Identifying Unknown Words in a Text Worksheet

The Identifying Unknown Words in a Text Worksheet teaches first graders the move every strong reader makes: when a word is new, look at the words around it. Students read a short, cheerful passage about a gym class soccer game, then answer five multiple-choice questions that each ask what one word from the text means. Four of the five target words are explained by the sentence that introduces them, and the fifth has to be worked out from the sentences nearby, so the page moves a child from finding a clue to using one.

This printable is built for 1st Grade readers. The passage runs 111 words at a measured first-grade reading level, the type is large, and every question is answerable straight from the text, so a child who re-reads always finds the evidence. A full-color illustration of two friends dribbling a soccer ball across the field sits at the top of the page and gives reluctant readers a reason to start. The Identifying Unknown Words in a Text Worksheet prints on three pages: the passage, the questions, and a complete answer key for you.

What’s Included

• A three-page PDF: passage page, question page, and answer key
• An original 111-word informational passage about gym class and soccer
• Five multiple-choice context clue questions with three choices each
• Five target words: coach, stretch, teammate, dribbles, and score
• A full-color illustration of two teammates playing soccer
• A complete answer key on the final page

Three Reasons This Helps Kids

• It teaches a strategy, not a word list. A child who learns to look at the surrounding sentence can meet any new word without stopping.
• The evidence is always on the page. Every answer can be found by re-reading one sentence, so students practice returning to the text instead of guessing.
• The topic is one every child knows. Familiar gym class vocabulary lets the reader put all their effort into the thinking, not the subject.

Ideas for Teachers and Parents

Read the passage aloud once before students work, and pause at each bold idea to ask, “Which words helped you?” Highlighters work well here: have children underline the sentence that gave them the answer before they fill in a bubble. In a small group, cover the choices and let students say the meaning in their own words first, then reveal the options. This first grade context clues worksheet also pairs well with a sports unit or with PE week, and the same five-step routine transfers to any book on the shelf. At home, try it after a library visit and use the strategy on the next new word your child meets.

Related Resources

• Context Clues Identifying Word Meaning Worksheet
• Using Pictures as Context Clues Worksheet
• Identifying Unknown Words Worksheet
• Context Clues Song Video