1-page, Section-by-Section Vocabulary Printables

A rich, evocative word students rarely command; the 'melancholy creases' on Tuck's sleeping face teach a deep, settled sadness, and the word recurs in the section, so it pays off twice. Strong Tier 2 value and a memorable excerpt make it the section's best teach.

A high-value academic word students meet across every subject, and a close cousin of the reading-test sense of 'understand.' Winnie 'begins to comprehend' the danger, and the sentence pairs it with 'comprehension,' reinforcing the meaning of full understanding.

Uncommon and worth learning; at the story's turning point Winnie's mind 'perversely went blank,' acting against her own wishes. The vivid, pivotal moment and the subtle idea of contrariness give a target-grade student real depth to explore.

Strong Tier 2 word in a vivid sentence; the hot sun and 'dust oppressive' make plain the meaning of something burdensome and hard to bear. Useful well beyond this book, and the excerpt teaches it cleanly.

Rich, uncommon word few target-grade students know; the stranger's 'jaunty yellow' suit conveys a lively, showy confidence that hints at his character. A memorable excerpt and good Tier 2 value reward the teaching.

Strong, common Tier 2 word; the playful image of grazing cows, 'tranquil bovine picnics,' gives a clear, friendly sense of calm, unhurried peace. Preferred here over 'contemplation' from the same sentence as the cleaner teach.

Strong Tier 2 word naming a useful abstract idea; Winnie 'put vanity aside' under the clownish hat, clearly setting aside concern for her looks. Good difficulty and a clean context make it a solid teach.

Strong Tier 2 word students will reuse; Winnie 'cried, exasperated' captures sharp irritation and frustration at being summoned. A clear, relatable context and good difficulty for a target-grade reader.

A pervasive academic word students meet across science and social studies; sunlight that 'could penetrate only in scattered glimmers' through the pines shows the meaning of passing into and through. High vocabulary-growth value.

Strong Tier 2 word with a clean context, but edged out by richer or more pivotal choices in a deep field.

forlorn: Rich, evocative word; the 'meager grass... ragged and forlorn' along the roadside conveys a lonely, desolate feeling a target-grade student can learn. A strong excerpt, and distinct in shade from the section's other sadness words.

outrage: Strong, useful word; just below the line in a crowded field of strong Tier 2 choices.

resentful: Good Tier 2 word, but its quieter context lost out to stronger excerpts and rarer words.

tangent: Nice math cross-connection, but a more incidental passage left it just short of selection.

apologetic: Vivid 'apologetic beard' image, but the figurative, transferred use is less ideal for teaching the plain word.

forbidding: Good word and image, but edged out by stronger or more pivotal choices in a deep field.

plaintively: Rich and genuinely hard, but narrow in academic use and set in a quieter moment.

reluctantly: Useful word that recurs in the section, but more ordinary than the chosen ten.

contemplation: Strong Tier 2 word, but shares its sentence with 'tranquil,' which gave the cleaner teach.

rueful: Rich and hard, but a quieter excerpt and narrower use kept it below the line.

A rare, high-value word most target-grade students won't know; the cottage-as-fortress image ('Within it, they were indomitable') makes 'impossible to defeat' vivid. Strong on every count — difficulty, Tier 2 value, and a memorable context.

A strong emotion word for vocabulary growth; Winnie 'struggling with the anguish of all these things' marks the pivotal rowboat scene, so the excerpt is clear and weighty. Common in academic reading and worth real teaching.

A rich feeling-word with connotation worth exploring; 'felt her elation ... wobble and collapse' lets a target-grade student feel the lift and the fall. Strong excerpt, good Tier 2 value, and uncommon enough to be worth learning.

A high-value word carrying real feeling; Winnie judging her situation 'an outrage' conveys an intolerable wrong and matters to her state of mind. Strong excerpt and good Tier 2 value; somewhat familiar, but its force rewards teaching.

A strong Tier 2 word central to this section's contrast — Winnie's spotless home against the Tucks' cheerful 'disarray.' The contrast makes the meaning clear, and it matters to her reaction. Uncommon enough to teach and useful academically.

A valuable Tier 2 word taught through striking personification — the house 'scoured into limp submission.' Teaches the abstract sense of yielding to a stronger force, a step beyond the everyday meaning, in a memorable image.

A useful, uncommon Tier 2 word; the playful 'perilous towers' of stacked dishes makes 'dangerous, full of risk' clear and memorable for a target-grade student. Strong excerpt and likely to recur in academic reading.

A valuable Tier 2 word shown through personification — the August heat 'reasserting itself' after the night. Teaches the sense of taking hold or establishing itself again, which a target-grade student is unlikely to own. Clear, vivid context.

A strong Tier 2 adverb a target-grade student likely doesn't know; the constable agreeing 'grudgingly' is a clean model of reluctant, unwilling consent, with useful connotation. Good for vocabulary growth and likely to reappear academically.

A useful, uncommon word taught with attitude — the man in the yellow suit scorns 'illiterates,' so a target-grade student learns the meaning plus its note of contempt. Good Tier 2 value and worth the difficulty.

revolutionary: Strong Tier 2 word with a daring figurative use ('far more revolutionary'), but the base word is fairly familiar, so it yielded to harder picks.

pitiless: Rich word in a memorable image ('pitiless double assaults'), but less likely than the chosen words to recur in academic reading.

threadbare: Vivid, uncommon word ('threadbare shirt'), but narrower in academic use than the selected Tier 2 words.

lolled: Striking personification (the sofa 'lolled alone'), but a literary verb unlikely to recur much in academic reading.

mirage: Vivid simile (light 'like a bright mirage') with good connotation, but edged out on Tier 2 value by the chosen words.

willy-nilly: Memorable idiom meaning 'unavoidably,' worth teaching, but unlikely to reappear in academic reading, so it sits just below the line.

courteous: Useful academic word, but one many target-grade students already know, so it lost to harder picks.

cavernous: Descriptive word in a clear image ('cavernous oak wardrobe'), but narrower in academic use than the selected words.

rehearsing: Teaches a nice meaning shift (going over a thought in the mind), but less likely to recur academically than the chosen words.

luxurious: Good Tier 2 word used figuratively, but fairly familiar and its support sits in nearby lines, so it just missed.

Theme-central: Tuck's envy of a man who can finally die is the emotional heart of the book, and the 'starving man looking through a window at a banquet' simile makes the longing vivid. A high-value, transferable word in the section's strongest, most memorable excerpt.

A vivid, transferable word in the section's finest sentence -- the merciless August sun as 'an actual presence.' The 'thorough and remorseless' pairing hands a target-grade student the pitiless, relentless sense, and the heat imagery makes it stick.

Rich, transferable word; Winnie's wish to 'stay with them forever' makes the brief-moment meaning vivid and emotionally resonant. Real difficulty worth teaching and a clean, memorable excerpt -- a confident quiz word.

Strong connotation-bearing word; the parents' shift from shock to wistful puzzlement ('why had she done such a thing?') illustrates the sad, yearning sense well. Uncommon in general use and worth learning, with nuance a target-grade student can feel here.

Connotation-rich verb; the gaze that 'lingered on his sad, creased face' shows the slow, dwelling sense and carries emotional weight. Useful well beyond this book, in a tender, well-chosen excerpt -- a strong teach.

Valuable word with clear transfer; the oppressive-heat passage shows effort producing 'a flood of perspiration,' making the meaning concrete. Good difficulty for a target-grade student and a vivid excerpt anchoring the sense.

Strong adverb that recurs in the section; the paired sentences ('profoundly grateful... also profoundly tired') model the 'deeply, intensely' sense and its range. Highly transferable to academic writing -- a solid quiz word.

Useful, highly transferable word; the short, tense moment ('could scarcely breathe') conveys the 'barely, almost not' sense cleanly. A target-grade student will meet it often in reading, and it carries real difficulty worth teaching.

Valuable word the text itself flags as new for Winnie ('these new words... chilled her blood'). 'Released into the custody of' gives the protective-control sense, and the legal register is exactly the kind of word a target-grade student should own.

High-value word the text foregrounds as new vocabulary alongside 'custody.' The next sentence ('helped a murderer escape') makes the meaning clear -- softening the challenge a little -- but its transfer value and the flagged teaching moment keep it a strong quiz word.

ghastly: Strong connotation and a memorable chilling-smile instance, but narrower transfer and lower comprehension stakes than the ten chosen; a near miss.

revulsion: Vivid, difficult word with a concrete disgust reaction, but the hand-wiping context gives the meaning away and it matters little to comprehension here.

petulance: Rich, difficult word capturing the villain's sulky irritation, but limited transfer value kept it just below the line.

prostrate: Vivid, less-common word; the heat-defeated family pictures the sense well, but its low transfer value yields to stronger picks.

catholic: Pedagogically interesting for its surprising 'wide-ranging' sense, but rare in this meaning and low in transfer; better as enrichment than a quiz word.

immense: Solid, transferable academic word, but common and low in difficulty for a target-grade student -- the weakest of the strong options.

plaintive: Nuanced sad-and-mournful word, but uncommon and low in transfer; edged out by richer, more useful picks.

gingerly: Useful adverb with a clear 'as if she were an egg' anchor, but the context gives it away and its value trails the chosen ten.

acrid: Strong sensory word anchored by cigar smoke, but it matters little to comprehension and trails on transfer value.

gentility: Teachable from 'lapse from gentility,' but uncommon and low in transfer; a reasonable alternate, not a top-ten teach.