As we read, we are going to come across the words vanity, deception, and flawless. Your job is to use the context clues around the words to determine their meaning.
The Emperor’s New Clothes
There once was an Emperor who loved new clothes more than anything else in the world. He spent all of his money just on dressing well, showing extreme vanity in how he looked and what he wore. He wanted to wear a different, expensive outfit every single hour of the day.
One day, two men came to the city. They were not honest tailors; they were tricksters who planned a clever deception to make money. They told everyone they could weave the most special cloth in the world. They claimed this cloth had a magic power: only very smart, good people could see it. Anyone who was stupid or unfit for their job would see nothing at all. The Emperor was excited, thinking, "This cloth will show me which of my people are foolish!"
The Emperor sent his two most honest old ministers to look at the cloth. The ministers looked into the empty room, but they saw nothing. "Oh no!" they thought. "If we say we see nothing, the Emperor will think we are stupid!" So, they both quickly said, "Oh, the colors are so bright, and the pattern is truly flawless!" They praised the work, making sure to report every detail of the imaginary cloth.
Next, the Emperor went to see the new clothes himself. He saw nothing but air. "Am I stupid? Am I unfit to be Emperor?" he worried inside his heart. But he would not let anyone know. He pretended to feel the soft material and said, "It is beautiful! I will wear these new clothes for the great parade!"
The two tricksters pretended to dress the Emperor, tying an empty shirt and placing an invisible robe around his shoulders. The Emperor then walked proudly out into the street, wearing absolutely nothing. All the people cried out, "Oh, the new clothes are so wonderful! Look at the fine fabric!" because they did not want to look foolish or stupid.
Suddenly, a small child shouted in the street, "He hasn't got anything on!"
All the people instantly realized the truth, and soon everyone was repeating the child's words. The Emperor felt very foolish and knew the child was right. But he continued to walk straight ahead, holding his head high, acting as if nothing had changed until the end of the parade.
Context Clue Word Explanations
1. Vanity
Simple Definition: Being too proud of how you look or what you own. Caring too much about yourself.
How the Context Helps: The story says the Emperor "loved new clothes more than anything else in the world" and "spent all of his money just on dressing well." This excessive love for clothes and appearance shows his extreme vanity.
2. Deception
Simple Definition: The act of making someone believe something that is not true; a trick.
How the Context Helps: The paragraph says the men were "tricksters" and "planned a clever deception to make money." The words "tricksters" and "trick" are clear synonyms (words that mean the same thing) that explain that the deception is a clever trick.
3. Flawless
Simple Definition: Perfect; having no mistakes, marks, or defects (flaws).
How the Context Helps: The ministers were scared the Emperor would think they were stupid, so they said the cloth was wonderful and "the pattern is truly flawless!" Because they are trying to praise the cloth, they use a word that means perfect or beautiful, even though they see nothing.
As we read, we are going to come across the words Goliath and devour. Your job is to use the context clues around the words to determine their meaning.
The Three Billy Goats Gruff
Once upon a time, there were three Billy Goats Gruff: Little Goat, Middle Goat, and Big Goat. They lived on one side of a river where the grass was thin and dry. On the other side of the river was a beautiful hill with the greenest, sweetest grass they had ever seen, and the goats wanted very much to eat it.
To get to the good grass, they had to cross a long, old wooden bridge. Under this bridge lived a huge, mean, and ugly goliath of a troll. The troll had big eyes, a long, warty nose, and was always very, very hungry. The troll believed the bridge was his, and he hated anyone walking over his roof.
First, Little Goat Gruff stepped onto the bridge. Trip, trap, trip, trap, went his tiny hooves.
The ugly troll jumped up, shouting, "Who is that tripping upon my bridge?"
The little goat said in a tiny voice, "It is I, Little Billy Goat Gruff, and I am going to the hillside to make myself fat!"
The troll roared, "Oh no, you won't! I am coming to devour you!" The huge size of the troll and the shadow he cast made him look like a monster, a true goliath under the bridge.
"Oh, please don't eat me!" cried the Little Goat. "I am too small. Wait for my brother, Middle Billy Goat Gruff; he is much bigger!"
"Very well," grumbled the hungry troll, and he let the Little Goat pass.
Next came Middle Goat Gruff. Tramp, tramp, tramp, tramp, went his hooves. The troll jumped up again and shouted the same question. The Middle Goat told him about Big Goat Gruff. "Wait for him! He is the biggest of all!"
Finally, Big Goat Gruff stepped onto the bridge. TRUMPH, TRUMPH, TRUMPH, TRUMPH! The bridge shook with his weight. The troll jumped out for the third time and yelled that he was coming to swallow the goat in one bite, using his sharp teeth to devour him whole. But this time, the goat was ready. Big Goat Gruff simply put his head down, charged forward, and tossed the terrible troll right into the fast-flowing river below.
The Big Goat crossed the bridge, and all three goats met on the hill. They ate the sweet, green grass until they were fat and happy. No one ever saw the ugly troll again, and the three Billy Goats Gruff lived happily ever after, safe to cross their bridge whenever they wished.
Context Clue Words Explained:
Goliath: The description says the troll was "huge, mean, and ugly," and the shadow he cast made him look like a monster. This context helps us understand that goliath means something that is extremely big or giant.
Devour: The troll shouted he would "swallow the goat in one bite" and was always "very, very hungry." This tells us that to devour means to eat something very quickly and completely.
As we read, we are going to come across the word disheartened . Your job is to use the context clues around the word to determine its meaning.
The Princess and the Pea
Once upon a time, there was a young Prince who wanted to marry a real princess. He traveled all over the world, searching for the perfect one. He met many princesses, but something was always wrong. One talked too loudly, another was not kind, and a third laughed at everything. He just could not be sure if they were true princesses, so he always came home feeling sad and disheartened.
One very stormy night, with lightning flashing and thunder roaring, there was a knock at the castle gate. The old King himself went to open the door. Outside stood a beautiful young woman. Water was running from her hair and clothes, all the way into her shoes!
"I am a real princess!" she said.
"Well, we shall soon see about that!" thought the old Queen. She did not say anything, but she went to the guest bedroom. She took all the bedding off the bed and placed one tiny green pea on the bottom. Then, she put twenty mattresses on top of the pea. On top of the mattresses, she put twenty soft feather beds. This was her clever test to find a true princess.
The next morning, the Queen asked the young lady, "How did you sleep?"
"Oh, terribly!" said the princess. "I hardly closed my eyes all night. It was as if there was something hard and small under me, and I am all black and blue this morning. It was truly dreadful!"
The King and Queen looked at each other. They knew right away that she was a real princess! Only a true princess, with very delicate skin, could feel a tiny pea through so many mattresses and feather beds. The Prince was very happy! He finally found his true princess, and they were married the very next day. They lived happily ever after.
Context Clue Words Explained:
Disheartened: The Prince "always came home feeling sad." When you are sad after trying many times and not finding what you want, you feel disheartened, meaning sad and losing hope or courage.
As we read, we are going to come across the words rash and astonished. Your job is to use the context clues around the words to determine their meaning.
The Brave Little Tailor
There was once a small, but clever, tailor who was busy sewing cloth. As he worked, flies kept landing on his sweet jam. The tailor got angry, grabbed a piece of fabric, and hit the flies. When he looked, seven flies were lying on the cloth! "Seven at one blow!" he cried. He was so proud that he made a belt and stitched the words, "Seven at One Blow," right onto it. He left his shop, deciding he must show the world his great strength. This extreme confidence was a bit rash, as he did not truly understand the dangers of the world.
As he walked, his special belt made people think he was a great hero who had killed seven giants or seven strong men. He soon met a large, fierce giant in the forest. The giant saw the words on the tailor's belt and assumed the tailor had killed seven monsters. The giant felt a mix of fear and curiosity.
The giant decided to test the little tailor. He picked up a stone and squeezed it until water dripped out. "Can you do that?" the giant challenged.
The clever tailor did not have the giant's strength, but he did have a good trick. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of cheese, which he squeezed until the liquid ran out. The giant was astonished and thought the little tailor must be incredibly strong.
Next, the giant threw a stone so high it disappeared. The tailor pretended to throw a stone, but he actually released a small bird he had hidden. The bird flew up and away, and the giant believed the tailor’s "stone" was still going.
The giant led the tailor to the King, who saw the belt and was impressed by the tailor's fame. The King asked the tailor to help him fight two terrible giants who were causing problems in the kingdom. The King promised the tailor half of his kingdom if he could kill them.
The little tailor did not fight the giants with strength; he fought them with smart tricks. He used stones to hit the giants while they slept, making them think they were hitting each other. He hid and watched as they fought until they were both dead.
The King kept his promise. The brave little tailor, who was really only brave in his cleverness, married the princess and became a ruler of half the kingdom, living a long and happy life.
Context Clue Words Explained:
Rash: The tailor showed this behavior by leaving his shop immediately and not truly understanding the dangers of the world. This tells us that to be rash means to act too quickly or without thinking carefully about the results.
Astonished: The tailor's trick with the cheese made the giant think the tailor was incredibly strong. The giant's strong reaction, believing a small man could squeeze water from a stone, shows that he was astonished, meaning very surprised or amazed.
As we read, we are going to come across the words apprehend and arrogance. Your job is to use the context clues around the words to determine their meaning.
The Gingerbread Man
An old woman and an old man lived happily in a little house. One day, the old woman decided to bake a special treat. She mixed flour, sugar, and spice, and shaped the dough into a little man. She gave him two raisin eyes, a sweet smile, and placed him gently in the hot oven to bake.
When the baking was done, the woman opened the oven door. The little gingerbread man suddenly jumped up, ran past the old woman and the old man, and bolted out the door! "Stop!" they cried, running after him, but he was too fast.
The Gingerbread Man ran down the road, laughing. Soon, he passed a farmer working in his field. The farmer saw the yummy cookie and shouted, "Stop, little man, I want to eat you!" But the Gingerbread Man just sped up, shouting, "Run, run, as fast as you can! You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!" The farmer could not apprehend him.
Next, the Gingerbread Man ran past a cow grazing in the grass and then a pig playing in the mud. They both wanted to eat him, but they were too slow. The Gingerbread Man felt great pride in his speed. He was so full of arrogance that he kept shouting his rhyme to everyone he passed.
Finally, he came to a wide, deep river. He stopped because he could not swim. The old woman, the old man, the farmer, the cow, and the pig were all running closer behind him, and he was afraid they would catch him.
Suddenly, a clever fox appeared near the bank. "I will help you," the fox said. "Jump onto my back, and I will swim across the water for you."
The Gingerbread Man trusted the fox and jumped onto its back. Halfway across the river, the fox said, "The water is getting deeper. Jump onto my nose so you don't get wet." The Gingerbread Man did as he was told.
When they reached the other side, the fox tossed the Gingerbread Man into the air, caught him, and quickly ate him in one bite! The little man shouted one last, short "Oh no!" and was gone forever.
Context Clue Words Explained:
Apprehend: The farmer saw the Gingerbread Man and shouted for him to "Stop!" but the little man "sped up." The farmer's action of shouting "Stop" and his inability to catch the cookie shows that apprehend means to catch or seize (grab) someone.
Arrogance: The Gingerbread Man "felt great pride in his speed" and "kept shouting his rhyme to everyone he passed." This excessive pride and shouting behavior, even when danger was near, shows his arrogance, meaning having too much pride or thinking you are much better than others.
That is a fantastic idea for a vocabulary review! Worksheets are a great way for ESL students to practice using context clues.
Here is an ESL-friendly fill-in-the-blank worksheet based on the recent fairy tales, complete with a word bank and a key.
Context Clues Worksheet
Directions: Read each sentence carefully. Use the context clues (hints in the sentence) to figure out which word from the Word Bank fits best in the blank space. Write the correct word.
Word Bank
devour
flawless
disoriented
arrogant
goliath
test
apprehended
rash
Practice Sentences
The huge, mean troll was a true __________ under the bridge; he was bigger than any other creature.
(Clue: The sentence describes a creature that is extremely big.)
The tiny mouse was so fast that the cat could not __________ him, and he escaped into the wall.
(Clue: The cat tried to grab the mouse, but he was too fast.)
The hungry giant threatened to quickly __________ the little goat, planning to swallow him in one large bite.
(Clue: The giant wants to eat the goat very quickly and completely.)
The student did not study for the final __________, hoping to pass the exam just by guessing the answers.
(Clue: This is a challenge or an exam used to check knowledge.)
The little tailor’s extreme confidence was __________ because he walked out alone without thinking about the dangers he might face.
(Clue: He acted too quickly and didn't think about the bad results.)
She checked her homework twice to make sure it was __________ and that there were absolutely no mistakes on the paper.
(Clue: The word means perfect, with no errors.)
The boy was so __________ about his running speed that he thought no one could ever catch him, which caused him to lose the race.
(Clue: He has too much pride in his own abilities.)
After spinning around quickly, the child felt __________ and didn't know which direction was left or right.
(Clue: The clue means confused and lost on where to go.)
Answer Key
goliath
apprehend
devour
test
rash
flawless
arrogant
disoriented
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