Skip to content
LessonPrint

Asking About Words in a Text

A 40-minute Grade 1 lesson on asking questions to clarify a word's meaning, and using the text around it first.

Asking About Words in a Text is a free 40-minute Grade 1 English lesson plan for Common Core standard RI.1.4 — ask questions to work out what a word in the text means. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the meaning, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.

Grade:
Grade 1
Length:
40 minutes
Standard:
RI.1.4

Grade 1 · Reading: Informational Text

RI.1.4

Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases in a text.

Objective

Students will be able to try to work out a word from the text around it first, and then ask a clear question about what they still do not know.

Students are successful when they can

  • Finds the meaning of "desert" in the next sentence: "A desert is a dry place with very little rain."
  • Says what they worked out before asking: "I think stores means keeps, because the camel does not need food."
  • Asks a specific question: "Is a hump like a bump?" rather than "What is that?"

What you need

  • The "Camels" text (in the Teach section) on chart paper, with desert, hump, stores and protect in bold
  • A class glossary chart with a column for what we worked out and a column for what we asked
  • The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan

The lesson

Warm-up — the glossary so far

5 min
  1. Show the class glossary chart. Read two words from earlier topics and their meanings.
  2. Ask: "How did we work these out?" Fish for "the sentence told us" or "we looked at the picture."
  3. Say: "Today we try to work words out first, and then we ask a good question about what is left."

Teach — try before you ask

13 min
  1. Read: "Camels live in the desert. A desert is a dry place with very little rain. A camel has a hump on its back. The hump stores fat, so the camel can go for days without food. Camels have long eyelashes that protect their eyes from blowing sand."
  2. Point to "desert." Think aloud: "I do not know this word. I will read on." Read the next sentence. "The text tells me! A desert is a dry place with very little rain." Write it on the glossary.
  3. Point to "hump." Say: "The text says it is on its back. I will look at a picture of a camel." Show a quick sketch. "It is the big lump on its back."
  4. Point to "stores." Think aloud: "A store is a place where you buy things. That does not fit. The camel can go for days without food... so the hump must keep the fat for later." Write "stores = keeps for later."
  5. Point to "protect." Think aloud: "The eyelashes protect their eyes from sand. I think it means keep safe, but I am not sure." Model a good question: "Does protect mean keep safe?" Answer it together.
  6. Show the difference between a weak and a strong question: "What is that?" versus "Does protect mean keep safe from something?"
“First, try. Read the sentence, read on, look at the picture. Then ask about the part you still do not know.”

Guided practice — try, then ask

12 min
  1. Give pairs a new text: "An octopus has eight arms. Each arm has suckers that help it grab food. When it is scared, an octopus squirts ink to hide. Then it can escape."
  2. Bold words: suckers, grab, squirts, escape. For each, pairs write what they worked out and how.
  3. Then they write one question about a word they still are not sure of, starting "Does ___ mean ___?" or "Is ___ like ___?"
  4. Circulate and ask "What did you try first?" before answering any question.
  5. Answer three pair questions with the class and add the words to the glossary chart.
“Before you ask me, tell me what you tried. Then ask a question that says what you think.”

Independent practice

8 min
  1. Students complete the word-meaning page: reading a fact text and matching words to their meanings.
  2. Remind them to read the sentence with the word in it, and the one after it, before they choose.
  3. Ask finishers to choose one word and write a "Does ___ mean ___?" question about it.

Close

2 min
  1. Ask: "What does desert mean, and how did we find out?"
  2. Fish for: "A dry place with little rain — the next sentence told us."

What goes wrong, and why

Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.

Asks "What does it mean?" straight away without reading on.

Why: Asking has always got them the answer quickly, and trying first feels slower and riskier.

Fix: Before you answer, ask "What did you try?" Point to the read-on move. Praise the try even when it is not quite right.

Uses the meaning they already know even when it does not fit: "stores means places to buy things."

Why: They know one meaning for the word and do not expect it to have another.

Fix: Put their meaning back in the sentence: "The hump places-to-buy-things fat." Ask "Does that make sense?" Show that words can have more than one meaning, and the sentence decides.

Asks a vague question: "What is that word?"

Why: They do not yet know how to say what part they do not understand, so the whole word is the question.

Fix: Give the stems "Does ___ mean ___?" and "Is ___ like ___?" Asking a guess shows what they know and what they need.

If they are not there yet

  • Give two possible meanings for each bold word and ask which fits the sentence.
  • Use texts where the meaning is given in the very next sentence, like "desert."
  • Read the text aloud first so their effort goes into the meaning.

If they finish early

  • Find a word with two meanings in the text (stores) and write a sentence for each meaning.
  • Write a sentence that explains a hard word the way the text explains "desert," for a word of your own.
  • Add three words to the class glossary from a library book, with how you worked each out.

Exit ticket

Which word in the camel text did you not know? What did you work out, and what did you still have to ask?

What to look for: A word, what they tried ("I read on"), and a specific question ("Does protect mean keep safe?"). A word with no try means they need the try-first routine again. A vague question means they need the "Does ___ mean ___?" stem.

Printable practice for RI.1.4

Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.

Questions about Asking About Words in a Text

How long does the Asking About Words in a Text lesson take?

40 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 13 min, guided practice 12 min, independent practice 8 min, close 2 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.

Which standard does Asking About Words in a Text teach?

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.4 — RI.1.4, Reading: Informational Text for Grade 1: “Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases in a text.” In plain terms, ask questions to work out what a word in the text means.

What do I need to teach this lesson?

The "Camels" text (in the Teach section) on chart paper, with desert, hump, stores and protect in bold, a class glossary chart with a column for what we worked out and a column for what we asked and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.

What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?

Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: asks "What does it mean?" straight away without reading on; uses the meaning they already know even when it does not fit: "stores means places to buy things." and asks a vague question: "What is that word?". The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.

How do I know whether the lesson worked?

The exit ticket asks: “Which word in the camel text did you not know? What did you work out, and what did you still have to ask?.” A word, what they tried ("I read on"), and a specific question ("Does protect mean keep safe?"). A word with no try means they need the try-first routine again. A vague question means they need the "Does ___ mean ___?" stem. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.

Is there a worksheet to go with Asking About Words in a Text?

Yes — 1 printable RI.1.4 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.

Is Asking About Words in a Text free to use?

Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on October 8, 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.

Last reviewed 2026-10-08. Aligned to RI.1.4 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.