1-page, Section-by-Section Vocabulary Printables

A pervasive academic word students meet across their reading; the towering introduction of Mr. Morrison as 'the most formidable-looking being' makes the meaning vivid and teaches both the size and the awe senses in one strong excerpt.

Anger at injustice sits at the heart of this book, and the word recurs here (Little Man's indignant anger over the stamped books, Miss Crocker's own indignation), so it pays off in comprehension as well as vocabulary growth. A useful Tier-2 word.

A valuable Tier-2 word with real connotation ('made resentful over time'); Little Man's mounting anger at the bus that splashes him mirrors the book's larger injustices, so the excerpt both teaches the word and deepens the theme.

High comprehension value at the section's tense climax, the night riders' 'caravan of headlights ... like cat eyes in the night,' and an everyday word worth owning. The vivid image carries the sense of a line of vehicles moving together.

A common, high-utility Tier-2 word; the irony of fastidious Little Man 'happily oblivious to the mud' makes 'completely unaware' stick. Strong excerpt and an everyday word students will reuse.

A rare, high-value word ('reckless boldness'); small Little Man daring to call the book dirty gives it a memorable, dramatic excerpt. Chosen over 'appalled' from the same sentence as the harder, more distinctive word.

A strong Tier-2 word introduced in the opening characterization of Little Man, who keeps his clothes spotless; the trait recurs through the section, so the excerpt teaches 'careful and precise' while supporting comprehension.

A vivid Tier-2 word ('an independent nonconformist'); the community's label for Mama frames a central character and her radical ideas, earning its place on both vocabulary and comprehension grounds.

A genuinely useful academic word, both literal (cotton 'gleaned from the fields') and figurative ('glean information'); the harvest image anchors the literal sense and the academic extension makes it worth teaching.

A useful Tier-2 word ('giving no clear opinion'); Mama's deliberately guarded tone toward Miss Crocker is exactly what the word names, and catching it helps the reader read her quiet resistance.

careened: Vivid, well-crafted excerpt ('careened drunkenly'), but a narrower descriptor; edged out by words with stronger academic reach or comprehension pull.

appalled: Strong dramatic excerpt, but shares the sentence with the rarer 'temerity,' chosen instead, and is a more familiar word.

transfixed: Good word with rich connotation, but its excerpt and academic reach sit just below the chosen ten.

concession: Pervasive academic word, but low comprehension importance here and a plainer excerpt kept it just below the line.

traverse: Pervasive academic word, but limited nuance and low comprehension importance in this passage left it just short.

trudged: A classic, nuance-rich word in a moody, well-crafted excerpt, but fairly familiar to many target-grade students and low comprehension importance kept it below the line.

gusto: Warm, clear excerpt with nice connotation, but lower comprehension importance and academic reach than the chosen ten.

engrossed: Useful Tier-2 word, but a low-comprehension, scene-setting use left it below stronger options.

A high-value academic word taught in its less-common 'be a customer of, shop at' sense -- the very sense students miss. Central to the boycott Mama is urging, so it carries real comprehension weight, and the excerpt is clear and purposeful.

Strong Tier-2 word for 'pretended,' the kind students meet across academic reading. The children faking disinterest to bait T.J. into talking makes the meaning vivid, and the word rewards teaching well beyond a one-line definition.

Thematically central: Cassie's shame at the Barnett store is the emotional core of the section, so the word matters greatly to comprehension and carries rich feeling. Familiar to many, but worth deepening, in an unforgettable excerpt.

Vivid, uncommon word for acting 'with hatred'; Stacey's eyes flashing as he shoves Cassie through the crowd give it a concrete, memorable image. Rich connotation and real difficulty make it strong to teach, though the line itself is not plot-critical.

Useful Tier-2 word for flinching back in fear or disgust; Mr. Barnett's recoil at Cassie's touch is a pivotal, emotionally charged moment. Good connotation and a strong excerpt make it teach well.

A strong academic word ('imagined, pictured') students reuse in their own writing and reading. Cassie's let-down at the real Strawberry, so unlike the big town she had envisioned, gives a clear, memorable contrast to anchor the meaning.

Valuable Tier-2 word for acting 'carefully, so as not to be noticed'; Cassie lowering her voice to ask Stacey about Mr. Morrison supports the meaning. Good difficulty and connotation in a solid, if not pivotal, excerpt.

Vivid, uncommon word ('coax by flattery') that captures exactly how T.J. talks his way back into favor -- strong characterization a student can feel. Rich connotation and real difficulty teach well despite a modest academic frequency.

Strong Tier-2 word for being 'distant and uninvolved'; Stacey's coolness toward Mr. Morrison, echoed later in Uncle Hammer's 'aloofness,' lets the idea recur within the section. Clear context and good difficulty.

Academic word for 'explaining at length'; T.J. lecturing the boys on how to dodge work models it cleanly. Good difficulty and likely to reappear in academic reading; edges out the similar 'chided' for its broader reach.

chided: Strong academic word ('scolded mildly'); essentially tied with 'expounding' and edged out only narrowly for the quiz.

wizened: Vivid, difficult word with an unforgettable excerpt (the burned Mr. Berry), but limited academic reach kept it just under the line.

vex: Solid Tier-2 word for 'annoy or trouble'; clear context, but a slightly less distinctive excerpt than the chosen ten.

gingerly: Nice word for handling something with delicate care; good difficulty, but a quieter moment than the selected words.

meekly: Strong, thematically resonant word (the woman's fearful disavowal of Cassie), but narrower academic reach than the chosen ten.

languidly: Rich word ('slow, unhurried') in a fine moment -- Uncle Hammer's lazy gesture masking anger -- but lower academic frequency left it just short.

ransacked: Vivid word for plundering; the wartime looting of the Granger place anchors it well, but stronger academic words outweighed it.

retaliated: Useful Tier-2 word ('struck back'); good, but its passage sits right beside the already-selected 'humiliated.'

subdued: Solid Tier-2 word ('quiet, restrained'); a clear but ordinary excerpt left it just below the line.

emphatic: Good academic word ('forceful, definite'); Cassie's firm nod is clear, but it ranked just behind richer choices.

Drives the section's central conflict: the families' refusal to shop at the Wallace store sets up every confrontation that follows. A word students meet often in history and current events, made concrete here by the danger of losing the land.

Academic word ('to indicate, signify') at the heart of Mr. Jamison's argument that punishing a white man for wronging a black man 'would denote equality.' Recurs across academic reading, and the charged context makes its meaning land.

High-value term ('property pledged to secure a loan') most target-grade students won't know. Central to following the family's fear of losing their land, and useful well beyond this book in any talk of money or credit.

Strong Tier-2 word ('showing off') tied to a thread that runs through the section: T.J. parading Stacey's coat. The vivid scene teaches the word, and its meaning carries cleanly into everyday and academic use.

Rich Tier-2 word ('calm, untroubled') in a memorable image, Mr. Jamison's unreadable 'perfect lawyer face.' Good for connotation work, and the excerpt's craft makes the meaning stick while rewarding a look at characterization.

Strong Tier-2 word ('scolded, warned firmly') in Mama's quiet, angry rebuke over the given-away coat. The emotionally charged moment makes the meaning clear, and the word recurs in academic reading.

Vivid Tier-2 word ('rudely defiant') captured in Uncle Hammer's insolent smile at Mr. Granger, a charged moment of resistance. Strong for connotation work, and a word students will meet again in academic texts.

Strong Tier-2 word ('overlooked wrongdoing') in Mr. Granger's veiled threat about what Paul Edward 'would've condoned.' The tense scene gives clear context, and the word is common in academic and civic discussion.

Academic word ('the highest social class') describing Mr. Jamison's voice as 'a soft mixture of Southern aristocracy and Northern schooling.' Useful across history and literature, and the phrase rewards attention to how background shapes a character.

Useful Tier-2 word ('made unable to move') that helps the reader picture Papa's injury, his leg strapped straight to a shotgun. The meaning is fairly plain, but a strong excerpt and clear comprehension payoff edge it past the craft close-calls.

premature: Strong Tier-2 word in a vivid image ('premature green darkness'); low comprehension stakes left it just below the line.

furrowed: Good Tier-2 word taught in its 'plowed into ridges' sense with notable imagery; edged out because comprehension stakes here are minor.

jovial: The 'jovial mask' image teaches word and craft together, but the word is fairly easy and not comprehension-central.

exasperation: Solid Tier-2 word with rich connotation, but a plainer excerpt and minor comprehension role kept it off the quiz.

impaled: Vivid figurative use ('impaled Mr. Granger with an icy stare'), but the special, non-literal sense limits its general value.

interminable: Useful Tier-2 word ('seemingly endless'), but an ordinary excerpt and low comprehension stakes placed it below stronger picks.

sullenly: Good Tier-2 word with strong connotation, but a brief, plain excerpt and a minor comprehension role left it just short.

ashen: Evocative word ('pale with shock') in a charged moment, but narrower academic reach kept it below the line.

flailed: Vivid action word in Cassie's fight with Lillian Jean, but limited nuance and academic reach left it just short.

A high-utility word a target-grade reader meets often in academic and literary reading. Stacey's reflection on whether even T.J. deserves a friend gives the 'deserving contempt' sense real weight, at a turning point in the story.

A widely useful word most target-grade students only half-know - they sense the attitude but cannot define it. Melvin's smirk, lost on T.J., shows the looking-down-on-others meaning in one vivid social moment; strong Tier 2 value.

Excellent teaching word: many target-grade readers know only 'sad' or 'lonely,' so the charred, burned-out field opens the richer 'barren and lifeless' sense. Strong Tier 2 value and a memorable image after the fire.

Rich word worth teaching both its musical root and this transferred sense - the swelling voices of the mob. The figurative use stretches students past the literal meaning, in an emotionally charged scene.

Strong, nuanced word for loss of hope. Stacey staring at the broken leg he blames himself for makes the dejected sense concrete and felt; a useful Tier 2 word with a clear, affecting excerpt.

Strong Tier 2 word with teachable parts (inter- + termin-, 'without end'). The dread of the headlights creeping nearer and nearer makes 'seeming to last forever' something the reader feels, not just defines.

Useful adverb in a pivotal, frightening moment - Mrs. Avery flung against the house. The savage-force meaning is unmistakable in context, and the scene is one of the section's emotional peaks.

Strong Tier 2 adverb students gain real precision from. Papa's flat refusal to let Hammer stay shows the unshakable-firmness sense clearly; the excerpt is functional rather than vivid, but the word carries the slot.

High-value academic verb that recurs across school reading. Plain in connotation, so it earns its place on usefulness; T.J.'s cry of pain after the kick gives concrete, memorable context in a pivotal moment.

Rich word for being held motionless by strong feeling. The children frozen as the flames gobble the cotton is a striking, near-iconic image; notable craft and solid Tier 2 value make it a rewarding teach.

frenzied: Rich, vivid word in a strong excerpt; lost the last slot to transfixed, a near-equal with an even more pivotal image.

wan: Genuinely rare word most students will not know, in a strong excerpt, but low likelihood of recurring in academic reading kept it just under the line.

lethargically: Strong Tier 2 adverb, but the context ('slowly ... as if under water') nearly hands the reader the meaning, lowering its value as a quiz word.

acrid: Vivid sensory word with notable craft, but a notch below the selected words in nuance and comprehension weight.

wistfully: Nuanced word for regretful longing, but Big Ma's spelled-out wish gives much of the meaning away, reducing its quiz value.

phenomenal: Useful Tier 2 word in a strong excerpt, but more familiar to a target-grade reader than the selected words, so less to teach.

reproachfully: Nuanced look of blame, but the excerpt is only adequate and the comprehension stakes are lower than the chosen words.

comprehend: High academic value, but mixed difficulty - many target-grade readers already use it - and a plainer excerpt held it back.

sweltering: Vivid heat word with craft, but lower difficulty and comprehension importance than the selected field.

ambled: Solid Tier 2 verb showing the Simmses' swagger, but lower comprehension stakes and a plainer excerpt left it just outside.