Context Clues

Here?s a funny story for when I was a kid I used to love reading comic books. The Daredevil, Spiderman, the Hulk. Hulk would always say this word, P-U-N-Y. Puny (phawn-nee)? Err, you puny humans.
I knew it didn?t sound right but you know what I still knew what puny man even though I didn?t really know the word. The Hulk was big and strong and twice as big as regular people. And he would always call them puny.
So I know that P-U-N-Y must means something like small and weak. Then one day I heard someone say the word PUNY (pyun-nee). Aha! That?s it!
The reason I was able to figure out what puny meant was using context clues. What are context clues?
Well context is just what?s happening in the story. What?s going on. So using context clues is just using what you know about what is going on in the story ti help you figure out a word you don?t really know. A word like puny (phawn-nee).
Look at another comic book and use context clues. So I know that Peter Parker also known as Spiderman was supposed to bring back photos of an event for the newspaper. James Jameson is the editor of the newspaper. He is always yawn at Peter Parker and he is cheap. He only thinks about selling more newspaper and making more money.
So Jameson says ?I?m a businessman Parker not a Philanthropist.? Philanthropist? Well, what are the context clues? What do I know about the story or in the characters? Jameson only thinks about making money. That?s why he says he is a businessman. Businessman make money. So a Philanthropist must be the opposite of the businessman. If a businessman makes money, a Philanthropist must give money away.
Let?s see if we?re right! Philanthropist. A person who helps people often by giving large amount of money toward a causes. Pretty darn close! Close enough to make meaning in what I?m reading. Next time I see the word Philanthropist, I will have an idea of what it means.
YEY!
You tried out the next time you read.