1-sheet Vocabulary Printables

Water for Elephants
Sara Gruen
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Computer-selected — preview before using
Give students a vocabulary head start before reading.
20 words on one double-sided sheet.
No grading required.

How it works

Students preview 20 words from the reading, each in a sentence that supports understanding.

An optional post-reading quiz uses the same 20 words in excerpts from the text. Use it after reading, or skip it entirely.

Why it works

The pre-reading activity supports comprehension and primes students to notice the words in context. The optional post-reading quiz reinforces the same words while using excerpts from Water for Elephants.

Highlighted words:
alternative, belligerent, congregate, conspicuous, delirium, disdain, evaluate, gesticulate, imply, indignant, languid, menagerie, perimeter, pique, pique (2), providence, recede, scrutiny, tentative, waver
Why these 20 words?

Selected automatically for:

  • grade-level challenge
  • academic usefulness
  • frequency in the text
  • confidence in contextual meaning
Resources
Other vocabulary resources for
Water for Elephants
Aligned to CCSS ELA Language Standards
(context clues and determining word meaning).