My Guess - Norwell Public Schools

Name: ___________________________ Date: ________________
A Single Shard: Vocabulary Chapters 11-13
Directions: You will be learning how to improve your vocabulary skills identifying the definitions of each
of the following terms within the context of the novel. This is a crucial skill to improving reading
comprehension, but it is also a skill that takes practice.
For each term below, you are to locate the vocabulary word on the given page and write out the
sentence. (If the word is present more than once on the page, just write out one sentence.) Use the
following strategies to help you determine the meaning of the word. If you do not feel confident that you
have figured out the meaning, still give your best educated guess. We will go over the terms together in
class. Leave the Definition part of each term blank until the class has discussed the terms and the
correct definitions have been given.
1. Read the paragraph before and the paragraph after the word to gain enough context.
2. If the word has a prefix or suffix, pay attention to the HINT provided.
3. Look for comparisons indicated by like, similar to, as, or the use of a synonym. (Mrs. Morton
was feeling harried, like every other time she had to rush to get her children to school on time.)
4. Look for a contrast indicated by but, not, although, or the use of an antonym. (The soldier
realized he had made an egregious error, but he also realized nothing this bad could be hidden
for long.)
5. Look for cause and effect relationship often indicated by words such as because, since, then,
etc. (Because Ava was so gregarious, she had numerous friends.)
6. Try to determine the word’s part of speech (noun, verb, adjective, etc.) to help you figure out how
the word is being used in the sentence.
Follow this sample provided:
Term:
dignity (p. 6):
Sentence:
“Work gives a man dignity, stealing takes it away,” he often said.
My guess:
I think dignity might mean having pride in yourself.
Definition:
(Leave this area blank until we discuss the accurate definition in class.)
1. Term:
Sentence:
quell (p. 121)
My guess:
Definition:
2. Term:
Sentence:
menacing (p. 122)
My Guess:
Definition:
3. Term:
Sentence:
My Guess:
Definition:
pallor (p. 122) (Hint: the suffix “or” means condition or activity)
4. Term:
Sentence:
throttling (p. 124)
My Guess:
Definition:
5. Term:
Sentence:
skepticism (p. 138) (Hint: “ism” means belief or action.)
My Guess:
Definition:
6. Term:
Sentence:
barrage (p. 144) (Hint: “age” means result of an action/activity.)
My Guess:
Definition:
7. Term:
Sentence:
subside (p. 144) (Hint: “sub” means under/below/from/secretly)
My Guess:
Definition:
8. Term:
Sentence:
eddy (p. 145)
My Guess:
Definition:
9. Term:
Sentence:
girth (p. 146)
My Guess:
Definition:
10. Term:
Sentence:
My Guess:
Definition:
bestowed (p. 147) (Hint: “be” in this case means to make/cause/or name)