1-page, Section-by-Section Vocabulary Printables

One of the section's most valuable academic words, and few target-grade readers know it; the contrast with plain-spoken Martha plus the near-synonym 'servile' alongside makes a precise meaning teachable from a strong passage.

A rich Tier 2 adverb worth real teaching time; the mother's large, scared, pleading look gives the meaning vivid support, and the moment sits just before the cholera strikes, so the excerpt carries narrative weight too.

Strong academic word that crystallizes Mary's early character; the 'selfish little pig' line shows the meaning with vivid contempt and fixes the personality the whole book sets out to undo. High vocabulary-growth value.

A rich, teachable word naming the loneliness the garden will later heal; the robin opening Mary's 'almost a smile' makes this a thematic turning point as well as a clear context for the meaning.

Valuable Tier 2 word; the contrast between Mary's 'imperious' voice and the soft, coaxing tone she uses with the robin both teaches the meaning and marks her first small change. Edges out the close synonyms below the line.

High-value academic word carried by the section's pivotal moment, the cholera deaths that orphan Mary; the force of 'dying like flies' makes the meaning unmistakable while re-surfacing the turn the whole plot hinges on.

Teaches a useful word from the famous nursery rhyme that gives Mary her nickname and echoes the title; a memorable excerpt with strong review value, chosen over the equally iconic opening line because it is a touch less familiar.

Central setting word, essential to comprehension and unfamiliar to many target-grade readers; the moor frames the whole story, and this excerpt captures its vast, ocean-like bleakness better than the ordinary place-references elsewhere.

Teaches a sense students rarely reach for first, 'strange and remarkable' rather than 'single'; a genuinely valuable academic word, and the eerie 'wild, low, rushing' wind gives the meaning atmospheric support.

High-value academic word that recurs widely in academic reading; 'quite without meaning to' in the very next breath all but defines it, which slightly eases the challenge but leaves a clear, teachable excerpt.

disagreeable: The novel's famous opening line gives strong review value, but most target-grade readers already know the word; edged out by harder Tier 2 picks.

disdainfully: Strong scorn word, but the section already teaches several attitude words ('contrary,' 'imperious'); yielded its slot to less redundant choices.

languid: Rich, uncommon word, but it sits in an incidental line and matters little to comprehension here.

affectionate: Valuable word tied to the book's emotional arc, but its excerpt is quieter than the ten chosen.

bewilderment: Strong Tier 2 word, but the 'confusion' beside it nearly hands the reader the meaning.

sallow: Precise word for a sickly look, but uncommon in academic reading and narrow in value.

conceited: Useful and charmingly illustrated by Ben's robin, but common and easily grasped.

victuals: Rich older word for food, but narrow academic value and a one-off use.

A top-value Tier 2 word a target-grade student will use across reading and writing, and one that names Mary's defining trait. Paired with her contrariness, the excerpt shows stubborn refusal in action; strong worth, clear context.

Rich, subtle emotion word with high Tier 2 value; the excerpt captures Mary's yearning, slightly sad look at the far-off moor precisely. Strong vocabulary growth and a clear, feeling-laden context to teach from.

Valuable Tier 2 word for peevish discontent; the muffled childish crying in the corridor shows the feeling in use and deepens the section's central mystery. Strong nuance and a memorable, well-anchored excerpt.

Strong Tier 2 word worth learning; Mary's eager, careful touch of the live wood shows reverence and ties to the section's theme of awakening to life. Good difficulty and a thematically resonant excerpt.

Useful Tier 2 word; the excerpt contrasts Mary's old listless India self with her new energy and sets the meaning against 'weak,' so context supports it. Real vocabulary value and a character-defining moment.

Strong Tier 2 word; Mary's defiant wave as she reveals the garden to Dickon shows bold resistance and her fierce claim on the secret. Vivid, character-revealing excerpt; solid worth for a target-grade student.

Strong Tier 2 word for anger at unfairness; Ben's offended reply about the robin ('Remembers thee!') models the sense clearly in lively dialogue. Good difficulty and a clear, memorable context.

Strong Tier 2 word for triumphant joy; Dickon's delight as he frees the garden shows the meaning and carries the chapter's rising hope. Good worth and a context that pairs feeling with action.

Useful Tier 2 word; here figurative, the tangle of branches as a 'hazy mantle' over the garden, one of the book's iconic descriptive passages. Teach the cloak/covering sense; strong excerpt with notable craft, chosen over plainer words.

Strong academic Tier 2 word a target-grade student will meet in science and gardening; the winter-rest detail supports the comes-back-each-year sense. Less nuance than the emotion words but high recurrence value and clear context.

sarcastic: High Tier 2 value and an iconic Ben-and-robin passage, but most target-grade students already know it, so it yields to words with more to learn.

tremulous: Rich nuance and a vivid image (the rabbits' quivering noses), but narrower Tier 2 value and lower comprehension stakes kept it just under the line.

tendrils: Concrete, teachable word tied to the garden's central imagery, but a narrower academic word with lower comprehension importance than the chosen ten.

distended: Rare, precise word in a memorable, slightly comic image, but the context nearly gives the meaning and its Tier 2 value is narrow.

stifle: Useful Tier 2 verb, but the excerpt is plainer and context leans toward the meaning; edged out by stronger excerpts.

fledge: A teachable word in a notable passage of Dickon among the wild things, but unlikely to recur in academic reading, so it sits just below the line.

vixen: Colorful figurative use, Martha's mother calling her a 'young vixen,' but narrower value and lower comprehension stakes than the selected words.

pert: Uncommon, charming word for the robin's cheekiness, but low Tier 2 value and minor comprehension stakes kept it out.

A rich Tier 2 word students meet often in academic reading. Mr. Craven calling himself 'too ill, and wretched and distracted' gives a vivid, emotionally charged context for deep misery, and it recurs across the section. A strong all-around pick.

Central to understanding Colin: being 'an invalid' explains why he is bedridden and untaught, so missing it costs real comprehension. A useful Tier 2 word in a clear context; the older noun sense (a chronically ill person) may be new to students.

A valuable Tier 2 word inside the section's most quotable line - 'them as is not wanted scarce ever thrives' - so it teaches meaning and thematic weight at once. The garden-and-growth context makes the flourish/develop sense clear.

A strong Tier 2 word in a defining moment: Colin says everyone must please him 'indifferently,' the cool tone exposing his spoiled detachment. The adverb carries real attitude, and students will meet 'indifferent' often in academic reading.

A high-value Tier 2 word with a memorable context: the robin is 'so conceited he would rather have stones thrown at him than not be noticed.' Context hints at the meaning, but the word itself is well worth owning for academic reading.

A useful Tier 2 word; Martha warns what Colin is like 'when anything vexes him,' showing the annoy/irritate sense in a context central to his temper. Recurs in everyday and academic use; a solid, teachable pick.

Anchors the iconic 'Might I have a bit of earth?' scene, the section's pivotal moment, so the excerpt carries strong review value. 'Quavered' vividly shows Mary's trembling voice; rich connotation and a good academic-register word.

A rich Tier 2 word for intense joy, set in a high point of the section - Mary and Dickon 'laughed low with rapture' over the waking garden. Strong connotation worth exploring, and a memorable, resonant excerpt.

A useful Tier 2 word; Mary 'faltered' as she haltingly explains wanting earth to make things grow, the broken phrasing showing the hesitation. Generalizes well (a faltering voice, a faltering plan) for academic reading.

Teaches an important sense shift: here 'passion' is a fit of uncontrollable rage, not love or enthusiasm. Colin 'threw himself into a passion,' and these rages are central to his character and the section's conflict - worth the slot despite the everyday look.

tremulously: Strong word, but lost to 'quavered' and 'faltered' to avoid stacking three trembling-speech words.

reproachfully: A strong Tier 2 adverb, but the look at Mrs. Medlock is brief and incidental; 'indifferently' fills the adverb slot.

mystified: Rich and teachable, but just edged out by stronger excerpts and higher-value words.

peculiar: Solid Tier 2 word, but overlaps 'queer'/'singular' already taught and offers a target-grade student less to learn.

mournful: Useful Tier 2 word with nice craft, but the meaning is fairly transparent and the excerpt only solid.

queer: Older 'strange/odd' sense recurs heavily, but middling all-round value and the modern sense makes it a sensitive pick.

warrant: The 'I'll warrant' = 'I'm sure' sense is worth noting, but it sits in dialect and just missed the line.

waft: Vivid spring-imagery word, but unlikely to recur in academic reading and the gloss isn't very text-specific.

crabbed: Nice uncommon sense (bad-tempered, not the animal), but narrow academic value kept it below the line.

The pivotal word of the section - Mary breaks Colin's fit by naming it, and it recurs through the turning point of his recovery. Essential to following the plot and a strong Tier 2 word; the repeated, emphatic excerpt teaches it vividly.

Anchors the iconic meditation opening Chapter 21 on the sunrise's 'strange unchanging majesty' - a widely-quoted, high-craft passage with strong review value. A solid Tier 2 word a target-grade student will meet across academic reading.

A high-value Tier 2 word in a revealing moment: though Dr. Craven would gain by Colin's death, he 'was not an unscrupulous man.' The contrast with his restraint makes the without-principles sense clear. Uncommon enough to be worth teaching.

Names the unhealthy gloom of Colin's shut-in life and is central to understanding his character. A strong, transferable Tier 2 word in a clear excerpt; most target-grade students won't yet command this sense.

Worth teaching for its sense gap: students know the slang 'pathetic,' but here it means full of self-pity, central to Colin's character. Strong Tier 2 value and a vivid self-pitying excerpt.

Mary's 'heart relented' as anger gives way to pity - a clear, feeling-driven context for softening. A rich, transferable Tier 2 word uncommon enough for a target-grade student to gain from.

Captures Colin's haughty manner as he 'condescended to look at her.' A strong, high-frequency academic Tier 2 word with rich connotation; the excerpt is solid though less vivid than the strongest here.

Ties to the section's Rajah motif - Colin's hand 'extended haughtily.' The arrogant, lordly sense is vivid in the image, and it's a valuable Tier 2 word, though it matters more to appreciating his character than to following the plot.

The 'green veil' of new leaves over the gray is the book's recurring emblem of spring's return. A figurative usage worth examining and a strong, resonant excerpt; the base word is more familiar, so the teaching lies in the image.

A fitting, transferable academic word for the shut-away Colin, whom the servants mock as 'the unpopular young recluse.' Solid Tier 2 value and an apt excerpt; uncommon enough that a target-grade student will gain from it.

shrewd: Strong academic Tier 2 word - Susan Sowerby called 'a shrewd woman' - but the excerpt is brief and comprehension is not at stake.

savage: Striking figurative usage, 'savage little Mary,' with notable craft; just edged out by words more central to comprehension.

impudence: Useful Tier 2 word defined by what Dickon is not; strong, but excerpt and comprehension weight fell just below the line.

austerely: Solid Tier 2 word - Colin speaks 'austerely' like a little Rajah - but an incidental moment with little at stake for comprehension.

canopy: Vivid 'king's canopy' image with notable craft, but a fairly familiar base word and a passage not essential to following the story.

gnarled: Vivid descriptive word for Ben's 'gnarled hand,' but narrower academic value and not needed to follow events.

harangued: Useful Tier 2 word; Ben 'harangued' Mary, the scolding tirade clear, but an incidental scene of low comprehension weight.

wraith: Rare, vivid word in the climactic standing scene, 'white as a wraith,' but unlikely to recur in academic reading.

leniently: Solid Tier 2 word - Mr. Roach 'smiled quite leniently' - but a minor moment that adds little to comprehension.

Among the strongest words here: uncommon, rich, and central to comprehension - it names Colin's old loathing of being looked at, the misery the garden cures. Built on the familiar 'detest,' so a target-grade student can reach it, and it recurs in academic reading.

A precise, memorable word naming exactly who Colin used to be - a boy sick with imagined illness. High comprehension payoff for understanding his transformation, and rare enough that few target-grade students will know it. The excerpt frames the whole arc of the book.

Strong on every front: a vivid figurative use - Mr. Craven's frozen grief as a 'stagnant pool' swept clear by a rising spring - in one of the book's most pivotal passages. Teaches the literal sense and the metaphor at once; a useful word in academic reading.

A rich figurative Tier-2 word: darkness 'brooded over' Mr. Craven through ten years of gloom. The craft of the excerpt and the word's emotional weight make it worth teaching, and it recurs in academic and literary reading.

Teaches the vivid non-literal sense - Colin's eyes 'devoured' Susan Sowerby's face with longing. A common word used in a way a target-grade student may not expect; the excerpt makes the figurative meaning clear and memorable.

A precise, teachable verb caught at a lovely moment - buds 'unfurl' into color as the garden wakes. Useful well beyond this book, with an excerpt that shows the meaning in action. Good vocabulary growth for a target-grade student.

Worth teaching for its figurative stretch - the autumn garden as a 'wilderness' of color, not a barren waste. Strong, iconic closing imagery, and a common word used in a sense a target-grade student may not know. Pairs the literal and figurative senses.

Vivid characterization word for Ben's sour, ill-tempered manner, set against the 'tenderness' beneath it. The craft of the contrast makes the excerpt memorable, and the word is uncommon enough to be worth a target-grade student's time.

A strong, widely useful Tier-2 word; the excerpt shows Ben's keen, clever reading of Colin, and the quality recurs across his dry remarks. Clear meaning, good academic value, and a solid difficulty for a target-grade student.

A solid Tier-2 word with real emotional weight - the home Mr. Craven had 'so long forsaken' now drawing him back. Uncommon enough to teach, useful in academic reading, and tied to a turning point in the story.

copious: High academic value (a strong Tier-2 word, genuinely rare), but the excerpt - Colin gulping milk - is incidental and adds little to comprehension.

atrophied: A real science word with a memorable in-text explanation, but the text nearly defines it outright, lowering its urgency as a quiz word; thin connotation.

peculiar: Useful and recurs as the adults find Colin 'peculiar,' but a notch less rich and difficult than the ten chosen; a close miss.

unbound: Character-defining moment - Mr. Craven feels 'unbound and released' - but the word itself is easy for a target-grade student and modest in academic value.

mystified: Clear, recurring Tier-2 word as the adults stay baffled, but lower difficulty and a plainer excerpt than the selected ten.

queer: The older 'strange' sense is genuinely teachable and recurs, but it is unlikely to reappear in academic reading, which held it just below the line.

portal: A good word for a weighty doorway, but it matters little to following the story here; comprehension value too low to make the ten.

abiding: A nice Tier-2 word - 'an abiding thing' - but the reader loses almost nothing without it; low comprehension importance kept it off.

astounding: Opens the novel's thesis chapter and is a solid Tier-2 word, but ordinary in difficulty and not essential to comprehension.

Joy Maker: Susan Sowerby's coinage for the power behind the 'Magic' - a lovely thematic phrase, but a creative one-off; a possible helper rather than a quiz word.