Edutest Reading: vocabulary in context

It points to a word or phrase in the passage and asks what it means there. The words around it are the evidence, so your child can answer correctly even when the word is new to them.

This is part of what Edutest calls reading and interpreting passages . Our Verbal Reasoning vocabulary questions give a word on its own and lean on word knowledge. Here, the passage does a lot of the work.

Context matters for familiar words too. A phrase like "gave it away" has an everyday meaning, but in a passage it can mean something quite different. The question is always about this sentence, not the dictionary.

Look near a harder word for a clue the writer has left. Knowing the kinds below makes those clues easier for your child to spot.

Start with the sentence itself and the ones either side. If they don't settle it, read the whole paragraph.

Make a guess from the passage before looking at the options. A meaning in your child's own words is harder for a look-alike option to shake.

All four come from one short story about a boy sewing a patchwork quilt with his grandmother. Read each one with your child and put the meaning into your own words together, then check it against the working.

Ask which option looked right at first. If it was wrong, read the sentence again with that option in the word's place. Hearing it can show the slip faster than an explanation.

Each wrong option borrows something real from the story, which is why it feels right. Talk through which of these could pull your child in, then reread the clue that rules it out.

• A word from the same scene. Gran's room is full of old cardboard, so "faded and old" feels close to meticulous. But the word describes how she writes her labels, not the room.
• A feeling instead of a meaning. Kofi may well feel ashamed of his crooked seam, but reluctant means unwilling. The question asks what the word means, not what the character feels.
• Half the action. Gran probably cut the sleeves off the jersey, but salvaged is about the part she kept.
• The opposite meaning. The red square is bright, which tempts a "bold" answer. The word not in "not conspicuous" flips it: the square blends in.

Because no word list can cover every passage, and there's no help on the day. Edutest doesn't allow calculators, rulers, dictionaries, working-out paper, mobile phones, smart watches and fitness trackers. Working out a meaning from the passage is the skill your child can rely on.

Word knowledge still helps. A child who knows that salvage is linked to rescuing goods, or that the prefix un- means not, has a head start. Context then confirms or corrects the guess.

Once your child trusts the method, these questions can be quick. Edutest says there are no marks lost for wrong or blank answers, so when the clues stay unclear, the option that reads most naturally in the sentence is a fair guess.

When you read together and reach a word your child doesn't know, pause before explaining it. Ask what it might mean and which words nearby helped, then check together.

Turn familiar phrases into puzzles too. Ask what "gave the game away" or "broke the ice" means in a sentence you make up, and how the sentence shows it.

Four questions show the method; a full Reading Comprehension test shows whether your child still reads around a word when the clock is running. Practice test 1 gives results by skill, so you'll see whether vocabulary is costing marks.

The app's vocabulary in context lesson has an Interactive version and Notes. This skill sits with the other kinds on the Reading Comprehension sample questions page. For words on their own, without a passage, see Verbal Reasoning vocabulary.