1-page Vocabulary Printables

The Scarlet Ibis
James Hurst
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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:
doggedness, evanesced, exotic, heresy, infallibility, invalid, mar, naught, precariously, sullenly
Why these 10 words?
infallibility
Central to the narrator's tragic flaw--his prideful belief he cannot fail drives the entire second half of the plot. Used 2x in the text. Tier-2 word.
heresy
The story's final word: "sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain." Understanding it is essential for interpreting the ending. Tier-2.
invalid
"having an invalid brother"--needed to understand Doodle's condition and the narrator's shame. The noun usage (a person weakened by illness) is instructive; students may only know the adjective meaning "not valid." Tier-2.
evanesced
"the flood of childish spite evanesced"--marks the narrator's moment of regret at the climax. Without it the turning point is lost. Tier-2.
mar
"Even death did not mar its grace"--a key sentence linking the ibis's beauty-in-death to Doodle's. Tier-2, broadly useful.
precariously
Describes the ibis perched on the topmost branch--its instability foreshadows the fall. Tier-2.
doggedness
"we kept on with a tired doggedness"--captures the exhausting, failing effort of the training program. Tier-2.
naught
"plans had come to naught"--the bitter recognition of failure at the climax. Tier-2 expression.
sullenly
"'I won't touch it,' he said sullenly"--reveals Doodle's fear and resistance in the casket scene. Tier-2.
exotic
"awed by its exotic beauty"--key to understanding why the ibis captivates the family and why it parallels Doodle. Tier-2.
Close calls considered

vermilion: is vivid and tied to the red/scarlet motif, but it is a specialized color word with limited reuse across other readings

borne: appears in a magnificent sentence, but as a past participle of "bear" it is hard to quiz cleanly due to its many senses, and the sentence's difficulty lies more in its figurative structure than in any single word

poised: is a good tier-2 word with an instructive usage, but the moment is less consequential for comprehension than the words selected

descended: is tier-2 and in the database, but likely already known to most 9th graders and not critical for understanding the story

paralyzed: marks an important moment, but most 9th graders know this word, and its figurative use here (frozen with fear) is fairly transparent

nettles: appears in a simile at the climax, but understanding "stung...like nettles" does not require knowing the word precisely, and it is not broadly reusable

rank: as an adjective has an interesting tier-2 meaning (growing wild/unchecked), but it is used only once in the opening and is not critical for plot comprehension

Resources
Other vocabulary resources for
The Scarlet Ibis
Aligned to CCSS ELA Language Standards
(context clues and determining word meaning).