1-page Vocabulary Printables
The Gift of the Magi
O. Henry
Give students a vocabulary head start before reading.
1 page · 10 words · grading optional
How it works
Students preview 10 words from the reading, each in a sentence that supports understanding.
An optional post-reading quiz uses the same 10 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 asking students to use them in ways that also exercise reading and analytical skills (as discussed at the bottom of this site's home page).
Highlighted words:
adorned, ardent, chronicle, coax, coveted, depreciate, faltered, mortal, prudence, yearned
Why these 10 words?
coveted
Central to the ironic climax: "the tresses that should have adorned the coveted adornments were gone." Strong tier-2 word (eagerly desired). The meaning is essential for understanding the story's central irony.
adorned
Appears in the same climax sentence alongside "coveted." Strong tier-2 word. The text's use (decorating hair with combs) is instructive for the core meaning.
yearned
Emotionally powerful climax moment: "her heart had simply craved and yearned over them without the least hope of possession." Strong tier-2 word. Meaning is reinforced by context without being trivially obvious.
depreciate
Used in the famous Queen of Sheba passage about the two great treasures. Strong tier-2 word (reduce in value). Memorable, evocative context.
faltered
Key emotional beat—Della's moment of hesitation before the irreversible act. Strong tier-2 word. The excerpt is vivid and memorable.
prudence
Marks Della's important shift from excitement to practical concern: "her intoxication gave way a little to prudence." Strong tier-2 word.
ardent
Describes Della's spirit at the moment she presents the chain: "her bright and ardent spirit." Strong tier-2 word.
mortal
Broadly useful tier-2 word. Used clearly in the vestibule passage ("no mortal finger could coax a ring"), and the meaning is well reinforced in a post-reading quiz.
coax
Broadly useful tier-2 word. Shares the vestibule excerpt with "mortal." The figurative extension from persuading a person to drawing a result from a thing is a productive stretch for 9th graders.
chronicle
Used in the narrator's closing frame: "the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children." Good tier-2 word (an account of events). Important for understanding the narrator's ironic voice.
Close calls considered
parsimony: was a strong contender (sets up the poverty theme in the opening paragraph) but was moved to helpers because the only excerpt is syntactically dense and difficult for 9th graders to learn from in a quiz
chaste: was considered (key to the fob chain passage) but moved to helpers because the text uses a rare secondary sense (simple/restrained in style) that isn't broadly useful to teach
ransacking: had a usable excerpt but the figurative sense ("ransacking the stores") is uncommon enough that students might misapply the word
ecstatic: is a good tier-2 word but its meaning is too easily guessed from context ("ecstatic scream of joy")
subsiding, agile, nimble, scrutiny: are solid tier-2 words but none is critical to comprehension or used in a particularly memorable passage
Resources
Other vocabulary resources for
The Gift of the Magi
Aligned to CCSS ELA Language Standards
(context clues and determining word meaning).