ASSIGNMENT 1: Building Vocabulary
As you read the novel, it is important to stop and look up any unfamiliar words you encounter. Building vocabulary is a reading strategy that helps you understand the text and will help you with future reading. In this assignment you will take a closer look at some of the words used in the novel.
DIRECTIONS:
Read the sentence from the novel that contains the vocabulary word.
Read the definition of the vocabulary word.
Read the question that follows the definition. Then answer that question in a complete sentence using the vocabulary word.
Note: You may use a dictionary to complete this assignment.
Follow this link to an online dictionary: www.dictionary.com or search for any other online dictionary.
VOCABULARY EXERCISE
“I haven’t had a seizure in seven years, but the doctors tell me that I am susceptible to seizure activity.” (p. 3)
Definition of “susceptible:” likely to be stricken with or by.
- Question: What kind of behavior would make you susceptible to catching the flu?
- “And let me tell you, that old, old, old, decrepit geometry book hit my heart with the force of a nuclear bomb.” (p. 31)
- Definition of “decrepit:” broken down, fallen into ruin
Question: How would you feel if you had to attend an old, decrepit school?
“I couldn’t sleep that night because I kept thinking about my impending doom.” (p. 70)
Definition of “impending:” hanging over one’s head, hovering in a threatening way.
Question: What strategies do you use to tackle your impending homework?
“We should have all been delirious that she’d moved out of the basement.” (p. 91)
Definition of “delirious:” wildly excited
Question: What kind of music makes you delirious?
“Can an indian have a legacy in a white town?” (p. 182)
Definition of “legacy:” an inheritance, something passed down from one generation to the next.
Question: What is the legacy of Viola Desmond?
“VULNERABLE! She told me that I was vulnerable.” (p. 203)
- Definition of “vulnerable:” open to attack or being hurt.
Question: What kind of situation could make a teenager feel vulnerable?
“I wept because I was the only one who was brave and crazy enough to leave the rez. I was the only one with enough arrogance.” (p. 217)
Definition of “arrogance:” an attitude of superiority.
Question: With respect to the quotation provided, explain how arrogance can sometimes be a good thing.
- “I kept expecting one of them to snap and send me plummeting to my death.” (p. 225)
Definition of “plummeting:” falling.
Question: What might cause your grades in school to start plummeting?
9. “Yep, I was scintillating. The sports guy stopped the interview.” (P. 183)
Definition: witty, brilliantly clever
- Question: From your own experience, provide an example of a person speaking in a scintillating manner.