8

English 8
Quarter 1 – Module: 1
Determining the Meaning of
Words and Local Expressions
through Context Clues
ENGLISH– Grade 8
Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 1 – Module 1: Determining Meaning of Words and Expressions Reflecting
Local Culture by Noting Context Clues
First Edition, 2020

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Published by the Department of Education, Schools Division Office Quezon City

Quezon City Local Government
Schools Division Superintendent Jenilyn Rose B. Corpuz
Honorable Mayor Josefina Belmonte Alimurong

Development Team of the Module

Writer: THELMA BALTAZAR

Editors: REX ARCADIO B. SAN DIEGO, H.C. , MA. ADELIA C. SOLIABAN
Reviewers: LEVITA G. CARDENAS, MA. NIMFA R. GABERTAN
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AVENDANO, ASDS JUAN C.
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HEIDEE F. FERRER, EPS- LRMS
MA. NIMFA R. GABERTAN, EPS- ENGLISH

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8
 English 8
Quarter 1 – Module 1:
Determining Meaning of Words
and Local Expressions through
Context Clues

Introductory Message
For the facilitator:
Welcome to Module 1 of the ENGLISH - 8 Supplementary Learning
Material for the First Quarter on Determining the Meaning of Words and
Local Expressions through Context Clues
This module was collaboratively designed, developed and reviewed by
educators from both public and private institutions to assist you, the
teacher or facilitator in helping learners meet the standards set by the K to
12 Curriculum while overcoming their personal, social, and economic
constraints in schooling.
This learning resource hopes to engage students into guided and
independent learning activities at their own pace. This also aims to help
learners acquire the needed 21st Century Skills while taking into
consideration their needs and circumstances.
In addition to the material in the main text, you will also see this box
in the body of the module:

As a facilitator, you are expected to orient the learners on how to use

this module. You also need to keep track of the learners' progress while
allowing them to manage their own learning. Furthermore, you are expected
to encourage and assist learners as they do the tasks included in the
module.

For the learner:

Welcome to Module 1 of the English 8 Supplementary Learning
Material for the First Quarter on Determining the Meaning of Words and
Local Expressions through Context Clues.
The hand is one of the most symbolized parts of the human body. It is
often used to depict skill, action and purpose. Through our hands we may
learn, create and accomplish many things. Hence, the hand in this learning
resource signifies that you as a learner are capable and empowered to
successfully achieve the relevant competencies and skills at your own pace
and time. Your academic success lies in your own hands!
This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful
opportunities for guided and independent learning at your own pace. You
will be enabled to process the contents of the learning resource while being
an active learner.
This module has the following parts and corresponding icons:
What I Need to This will give you an idea of the skills or
 Know competencies you are expected to learn in the module.
What I Know This part includes an activity that aims to check
what you already know about the lesson you are to take. If you get
all the answers correctly (100%), you may skip this module.
What’s In This is a brief drill or review to help you link the
current lesson with the previous one.
What’s New In this portion, the new lesson will be introduced to
you in various ways. It could be as a story, a song, a poem, a
problem opener, an activity, or a situation.
What is It This section provides a brief discussion of the lesson
to help you discover and understand new concepts and skills.
What’s More This comprises activities for independent practice
to solidify your understanding and skills of the topic. You may
check the answers to the exercises using the Answer Key at the end of the
module.
What I Have This part offers questions, or a fill-in-
Learned the-blank sentence/paragraph, to enable
you to process what you have learned from
the lesson.
What I Can Do This section provides an activity which
will help you transfer your new
knowledge or skill into real life situations
or concerns.
Assessment This is a task which aims to evaluate your level of
mastery in achieving the learning competency.
Additional In this portion, other activities will be
Activities given to you to enrich your knowledge or
skill of the lesson learned. This also aids
in the retention of learned concepts.
Answer Key This contains answers to all activities in the
module.
At the end of this module you will also find:

References This is a list of all sources used in

developing this module.
The following are some reminders in using this module:
1. Use the module with care. Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any
part of the module. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the
exercises.
2. Don’t forget to answer What I Know before moving on to the other
activities included in the module.
 3. Read the instructions carefully before doing each task.
4. Observe honesty and integrity in doing the tasks and checking your
answers.
5. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.
6. Return this module to your teacher/facilitator once you are through
with it.
If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks in this
module, do not hesitate to consult your teacher or facilitator. Always bear
in mind that you are not alone.
We hope that through this material, you will experience meaningful
learning and gain deep understanding of the relevant competencies. You
can do it!
What I Need to Know
This module was designed and written with you in mind. It was
written to help you understand how words and expressions reflect the local
culture of an individual. Words and expressions are commonly used to
characterize the experience of everyday life in a specific locality. They reflect
ordinary feelings of appropriateness, comfort, and correctness—attributes
that define personal preferences and changing tastes.
The scope of this module permits it to be used in many different
learning situations. The language used recognizes the diverse vocabulary
level of students, while the lessons are arranged to follow the standard
sequence of the course.
The module is divided into three lessons, namely:
• Lesson 1 – Giving meaning of words through context clues
• Lesson 2 – Why Sinigang? by Doreen G. Fernandez (excerpt)
• Lesson 3 - I Am an African Child by Eku Mc Gred

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. determine the meaning of words and expressions that reflect local
culture by noting context clues;
2. read intensively to determine author’s purpose;
3. draw similarities and differences from the featured selections in
relation to the theme;
4. discover literature as a means to understanding human beings and
the forces they have to contend with.
 What I Know
Directions: Read each sentence carefully. Use context clues to determine the
word’s meaning. Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.
1. Rice is the shaper of other foods and tastes. Filipinos not only like
sour, but also salty flavors because they think that blandness of rice
suggests the desirability of sharp contrast.
Blandness as used in the context means_________________________.
a. delicious b. sour c. tasteless d. sweet

2. Filipinos cook a variety of foods influenced by Spanish, American,

Japanese, Indian, Chinese and more than a hundred distinct ethnolinguistic
groups. However, a majority of mainstream Filipino dishes that compose
Filipino cuisine are from the cuisines of the various ethnolinguistic groups
and tribes.
Variety as used in the sentence means _________________________.
a. diverse b. many c. change d. same
3. Philippine culture was heavily influenced by Spain and Spanish culture.
Despite this, the Filipino people maintained their own culture.
Maintained means _____________________________________________.
a. established b. kept c. ignored d. lost
4. Most Filipino couple tend to be frugal because they wanted to save
enough money to buy a house.
Frugal as used in the context means ___________________
a. economical b. wasteful c. interested d. extravagant

5.To have an extended family living in the same house is normal for the
culture of an African family. Filipino practices this culture also.
a. follows b. conforms c. neglects d. uses
5. African tradition is expressed through many different art forms, such
as music, dance, art, and sculpture. These traditions are deeply ingrained
into the whole African culture.
a. assumed b. dislodged c. showed d. rooted
Lesson Determining the Meaning of Words and
1 Local Expressions through Context Clues
What’s In

When you encounter a vocabulary word with which you are

unfamiliar, what do you do? Most likely, you use context clues to determine
the word’s meaning.
Context Clues - provide information about a word or phrase that helps
readers understand the meaning. These clues offer insight - either directly or
indirectly.
A. Understanding new words using Context Clues

Types of Context Clues

❖ Definition/Explanation – the new term may be a formal definition or
a sufficient explanation that may be given within the sentence or in
the succeeding sentences. Clues to definition include “that is,”
commas, dashes and parentheses.

Ex. The arbitrator, the neutral person, chose to settle the dispute
arrived at the decision.
Arbitrator means the neutral person

❖ Restatement/Synonyms – the meaning is usually right after the

unfamiliar word and often separated from the rest of the sentence
with commas, dashes, or parentheses, sometimes or, that is or, in
other words is used.
Ex. The young girl was very aloof. She always seemed unsociable and
uninterested. Aloof means-unsociable
 ❖ Contrast/Antonyms – an opposite meaning context clue contrasts the
meaning of unfamiliar word with the meaning of a familiar term. Ex. He
tried to smile because the mood of the party was not somber, but
happy.
Somber means - not happy
❖ Inference/General –the meaning of the unfamiliar word can be
inferred or understood from the description or a situation. Ex. The
school nurse states that she would require a free reign in
overseeing the children. “These two need discipline, and I intend to
provide it.”
The nurse wants the freedom to discipline the two children her way
because she noticed how undisciplined they already are, and she is
determined to provide it all by herself.

What I Know
Let’s have a recall of your past lessons in context clues. Study them
and try to connect them to the next activity. Then answer the activities
below one at a time before proceeding to the next task.
Context Clues
Directions: Choose the meaning of the underlined words through context
clues. Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.
1. Adobo is identified as the Philippine stew in foreign cookbooks, unlike
sinigang which is cooked only for a short time in a moderate fire.
Stew means to____________ for a period of time.
a. set aside b. freeze c. cool d. boil slowly
2. Filipinos like the lightly boiled and slightly soured dish that includes
fish/meat, vegetables and broth.
broth means ____________________.
 a. a frozen soup with meat or fish
b. a simmered soup with meat or fish
c. a delicious soup with meat or fish
d. a thin soup of concentrated meat or fish stock.
3. Rice is ubiquitous, for it is easy to plant and harvest and it allows
more than one crop a year.
ubiquitous means __________.
a. rare b. common c. expensive d. whitened
4. What group of words in sentence 3, give you the clue to the meaning
of the underlined word ubiquitous?
a. It is easy to plant and harvest.
b. It allows more than one crop a year.
c. Both a and b.
d. None of the above.
5. Sinigang is commonly served in the most expensive restaurants and to
gleaming ilustrado table.
The Spanish word ilustrado means ____________.
a. rich b. famous c. educated d. uneducated

What’s New

What is your favorite Filipino dish? What makes it different from all
other Filipino dishes?
Filipino cuisine is an authentic facet of Philippine culture. Filipino
dishes, especially the humbler ones, are testimony to the blending of history
and show the definition of our identity.
The short essay below entitled Why Sinigang is all about the taste
shaped of Filipino people. Read the essay (excerpt) below then answer the
following questions:
Reading Section A:
 Why Sinigang?
By Doreen G. Fernandez
Rather than the overworked adobo (so identified as the Philippine stew
in foreign cookbooks), sinigang seems to me the dish most representative of
Filipino taste. We like the lightly boiled, the slightly soured, the dish that
includes fish (or shrimp or meat) vegetables and broth. It is adaptable to all
tastes (if you don’t like shrimp, then bangus, or pork), to all classes and
budgets, (even ayungin, in humble little piles, find their way into the pot),
and to seasons and availability (walang talong, mahal ang gabi, kangkong
na lang.) But why? Why does sinigang find its way to bare dulang, to
formica-topped restaurant booth, to gleaming ilustrado table? Why does one
like anything at all? How is a people’s taste shaped?
But still, why soured? Aside from the fact that sour broths are cooling in
hot weather, could it be perhaps because the dish is meant to be eaten
against the mild background of rice? Easy to plant and harvest, and
allowing more than one crop a year, rice is ubiquitous on the landscape. One
can picture our ancestors settling down beside their rivers and finally
tuning to the cultivation of fields, with rice as one of the first steady crops.
What is It
Questions:
1. What are the different kinds of “sinigang” that can be served on the
Filipino table?
a.________________________________________
b.________________________________________
c.________________________________________
 2. Which of those kinds do you enjoy the most? _______________________
Why? ____________________________________________________________________
3. What do they represent? _____________________
a. Filipino dish c. Philippine Culture
b. Filipino trait d. Filipino tradition
4. In the sentence, “walang talong, mahal ang gabi, kangkong na lang,”
implies that Filipinos are _______________________by nature
a. creative b. resourceful c. resilient d. adaptable
5. What Filipino trait is dominant in the sentence, “If you don’t like
shrimp, then bangus, or pork to all classes and budgets, even
ayungin, in humble little piles, find their way into the pot.”
a. hospitality c. resiliency
b. adaptability d. honesty
6. In the sentence, “Walang talong, mahal ang gabi, kangkong na lang.”
implies that Filipinos are _____________________ by nature.
a. creative b. resourceful c. resilient d.
adaptable
7. What time of day is referred to by the last sentence of Paragraph 2?
a. morning b. noontime c. sunset d. sunrise
8. The author’s purpose in writing the selection is to ______________.
a. promote sinigang c. describe a Filipino Culture
b. teach how to cook sinigang d. describe a Filipino tradition

What’s More

Use Context Clues to Understand Word Meanings

Directions: Find unknown words from the reading selection. Use context
clues to determine the meaning.
UNKNOWN WORDS MEANING
 What’s In

As what was discussed in the introduction of this module, the term

local culture is used to characterize the experience of everyday life in
specific, identifiable localities. It reflects ordinary people's feelings of
appropriateness, comfort, and correctness—attributes that define personal
preferences and changing tastes.
It is a group of people in a particular place who see themselves as a
community, who share experiences, customs, and traits, and who work to
preserve traits and customs in order to claim uniqueness and to distinguish
themselves from others.
Let’s try to connect it to the next lesson.

Reading Passage 2
Directions: Read the poem below then answer the questions that follow on a
separate paper.
 African Child
Eku McGred

I am an African child
Born with a skin the colour of chocolate
Bright, brilliant and articulate
Strong and bold; I’m gifted
Talented enough to be the best
I am an African child
Often the target of pity
my future is not confined to charity
Give me the gift of a lifetime;
Give me a dream, a door of opportunity;
I will thrive I am an African child

Do not hide my fault show me my wrong

I am like any other; Teach me to dream
And I will become
I am an African child

I am the son, daughter of the soil

Rich in texture and content
Full of potential for a better tomorrow
Teach me discipline, teach me character, teach
me hard work
Teach me to think like the star within me
I am an African child
I can be extra-ordinary
call me William Kamkwamba the Inventor;
Give me a library with books
Give me a scrap yard and discarded electronics
Give me a broken bicycle; Plus the freedom to be me
And I will build you a wind mill
I am an African child
We are the new generation not afraid to be us
Uniquely gifted, black and talented
Shining like the stars we are
 We are the children of Africa making the best of us
Yes! I am an African child

Questions:

Directions: Write your answers in your notebook.

1. The persona in the selection is a/an _____________.
a. American b. Filipino c. African d. Thai
2. Is the speaker proud of his race?
a. yes b. no c. maybe d. does not say
3. How does he describe his land? _________.
a. barren b. deserted c. rich d. abundant
4. What kind of life does he want to enjoy as reflected in stanza 5? A
life that’s_____________.
a. free to do whatever he wants c. free to travel
b. free in his own land d. rich and powerful
5. According to the speaker, how is he going to achieve the kind of future
he wants? He can achieve this if? __________________________ a. He will
study
b. He will build a wing mill
c. He will work hard
d. He is given the opportunity
6. William Kamkwamba, an African inventor built an electricityproducing
windmill for his community using spare parts and scrap materials that
he collected from a local scrap yard. What character trait is described?
____________
a. determined b. resourceful c. clever d. all of the above
7. In what point of view is the poem told?
a. First person
b. Third Person Limited
c. Second Person
d. Third Person Omniscient
8. What is the message of the poem? ______________________________.
 What’s More
Directions: Read and analyze the meaning of the underlined words through
context clues. Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.
1. African worked day and night to prove to everyone that his success is not
confined to donations – and he proved himself right.
a. open c. limited
b. free d. abundant
2. He earns a living by making use of discarded soft drink bottles, empty
cans, old newspapers and magazines.
a. acquire c. avail
b. cherished d. disposed
3. He experienced extreme difficulties in life, but these did not stop him
from pursuing his goal. Driven by his ambition and determination he
eventually thrived.
a. failed c. ceased
b. declined d. succeeded

What I Have Learned

Use Context Clues to Understand Word Meanings

Directions: Find unknown words from the poem. Use context clues to
determine the meaning.
UNKNOWN WORDS MEANING
 Additional Activities

LET’S CONNECT

1. In what way are the Filipinos and Africans similar in facing challenges in
life?
Filipinos and Africans are both _______________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
2. Like the Africans who are proud of their race and identity, Filipinos are
also proud of their nationality. As a citizen of this country, what makes
you proud as a Filipino? _____________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
3. As a Filipino child, think of your skills and talent and explain how you
will make use of them to contribute to your personal improvement and
your country’s progress. Copy the template in your notebook and
accomplish your task.

I am going to ______________________
 REFERENCES
Cabanes, Lourdes C., Ma. Marcinette M. Vitorio, Hotilla C. Galindo, Vincente M. Victorio Jr., and
Dorris F. Ho. English TIME. XVIII. No.1 ed. Vol. XVIII. Quezon City, Philippines: Educational
Resources Corporation, 2014.