Reading and Vocabulary

In reading this year, we will be using the reading series and whole group novel studies. When we are using the reading series, your child will need to learn and know the vocabulary words for the story title. Please review the story's vocabulary with your child.

Unit 1

"Old Yeller"

1. lunging: moving forward suddenly

2. nub: a lump or small piece

3. rowdy: rough and disorderly

4. speckled: covered with small spots

5. romping: play in a rough boisterous way

6. slung: thrown, cast, or hurled

"Mother Fletcher's Gift"

1. apparently: readily understood or seen, obvious

2. incident: something which happens

3. subscribe: to give your consent or approval; agree

4. fixtures: things put in place to stay

5. flimsy: easily torn or broken

6. survive: to continue to exist; remain alive

"Viva New Jersey"

1. mongrel: an animal of mixed breed

2. corridors: long hallways

3. destination: the place to which one is going

4. pleas: requests or appeals

5. menacing: threatening

6. groping: to feel about with the hands

7. persisted: to keep on; refuse to stop or be changed

"Saving the Rain Forests"

1. basin: all the land drained by a river

2. charities: funds or organizations which help

3. equator: an imaginary line around the middle of the Earth

4. erosion: wearing away by rain, glacier, running water, wind

5. evaporates: changes from a liquid to a gas

6. exported: to send goods out of a country for sale or trade

7. industrial: connected with business, trade or manufacturing

8. recycled: processed to be used again

9. tropics: regions of the world near the equator

"Hachiko"

1. fixed: held steady

2. furious: very angry; full of wild, fierce anger

3. morsel: a small bit of food

4. nudge: to push gently

5. quietly: making no sound

6. ruff: a fringe of fur or feathers growing around the neck

7. stooped: hunched over, bend forward

8. vigil: a time of watching, act of staying awake for a purpose

Unit 2

"The Universe"

1. astronomers: scientists who study the sun, moon, planets, stars, etc.

2. collapse: to cave in

3. collide: to hit or strike violently together

4. compact: closely joined, firmly packed together

5. galaxy: group of billions of stars forming one system, ex: Milky Way

6. particles: extremely small units of matter

"Emperor's Silent Army"

1. approximately: nearly correct

2. divine: supremely great or holy; god-like

3. excavated: uncovered, unearthed, or dug out

4. mechanical: of or involving a machine or machinery

5. pottery: pots, dishes, vases, etc. made from clay and hardened by heat

6. restore: to bring back to its original condition by rebuilding or fixing

7. superstitious: characterized by having unreasonable beliefs

8. terra cotta: kind of hard, often unglazed, brownish-red earthenware, used for flowerpots, vases, etc.

9. watchful: watching carefully, on the lookout, wide-awake

"Stones...Petroglyphs"

1. alcoves: recess or large, hollow space in a wall

2. decades: periods of ten years

3. obsidian: hard, dark, glassy rock which is formed when lava cools

4. prehistoric: belonging to times before histories were written

5. pueblo: Native American village built of homes of adobe and stone

6. trowels: tool with a flat, usually wide blade used for spreading or smoothing plaster or mortar

"Good-bye to the Moon"

1. combustion: act or process of burning

2. dingy: lacking brightness or freshness; dirty-looking

3. negotiate: to talk over and arrange terms; confer, consult

4. traversed: to pass across, over or through

5. waft: to carry over water or through air

6. waning: to go through the moon's regular reduction in the amount of its visible portion

"Egypt"

1. abundant: very plentiful; more than enough

2. artifacts: anything made by human skill or work, especially a tool or weapon

3. decrees: something ordered by authority; official decision; law

4. eternity: all time; time without beginning or ending

5. immortal: living forever; never dying; everlasting

6. receded: to go backward; withdraw

7. reigned: to rule

Unit 3

"Hatchet"

1. hatchet: a small ax with a short handle, for use with one hand

2. ignite: to set on fire

3. painstaking: very careful; particular; diligent

4. quill: a stiff, sharp hair or spine like the pointed end of a feather

5. registered: to have had some effect; to have made an impression

6. smoldered: burned and smoked without flame

7. stiffened: to have been made or become rigid; fixed

"When Marian Sang"

1. application: an official request for something, such as a job, an education, or a loan

2. dramatic: like a drama; of or about plays

3. enraged: very angry; furious

4. formal: according to set customs or rules; official; orderly

5. momentous: very important

6. opera: a play in which music has an essential and prominent part

7. prejudice: unreasonable dislike of an idea or group of people

8. privileged: having special rights, advantages, or favor

9. recital: a musical entertainment, usually given by a single performer

"Learning to Swim"

1. customary: according to custom; usual

2. emphasized: stressed; called attention to

3. frantic: very much excited; wild with rage, fear, pain, or grief

4. stunned: dazed, bewildered, shocked, overwhelmed

5. treaded: kept the body straight in the water with the head above the surface by moving the arms and legs

"Morning Traffic"

1. pawn: in chess, one of the sixteen pieces of the lowest value

2. reception: the quality of sound reproduced in a radio or other device

3. remote: far away; distant

4. resume; to begin again; to get or take again

5. rummage: to search in a disorderly way

6. rustling: moving or acting with energy or speed

7. simultaneous: existing, done, or happening at the same time

Unit 4

"Into the Ice"

1. conquer: to overcome; get the better of

2. destiny: what becomes of someone or something

3. expedition: journey for special purpose

4. insulated: lined or surrounded with a material that prevents the loss of heat or cold, electricity, or sound

5. isolation: the state of being separated from others

6. navigator: person in charge of finding the position and course of a ship, aircraft, or expedition

7. provisions: a supply of food, drinks, and other necessities

8. verify: to prove to be true; confirm

"The Chimpanzees I Love"

1. captive: kept in confinement

2. companionship: friendly feeling among companions; fellowship

3. existence: condition of being; live

4. ordeal: a severe test or experience

5. primitive: very simple

6. sanctuaries: places of refuge or protection

7. stimulating: lively; engaging

"Black Frontiers"

1. bondage: being held against your will under the control of another; slavery

2. commissioned: holding the rank of second lieutenant or above in the U.S. Army

3. earthen: made of ground, soil, or earth

4. encounter: meet unexpectedly; meet in battle

5. homesteaders: persons who own and live on land granted by the U.S. government

6. settlement: a group of buildings and people living in them

"Deep-Sea Danger"

1. ego: a person's idea of his or her own importance or worth

2. hatch: a door or opening in the floor or ceiling of something, especially on a boat or other craft

3. intrepid: very brave

4. propulsion: the force by which something, such as a ship, is moved forward

5. silt: very fine particles of earth or sand, carried by moving water and deposited as sediment

6. submersible: a submarine

7. tentacles: long, slender, flexible growths, usually occurring on the head or around the mouth of an animal, used to touch, hold, or move

"Inventing the Future"

1. converts: changes

2. devise: invent, plan

3. efficiency: ability to produce the effect wanted without waste of time or energy

4. generated: produced

5. percentage: allowance figured by percent; part of each hundred

6. proclaimed: declared publicly

7. reproduced: to make a copy of

8. transmitted: sent out (signals) by means of electromagnetic waves or by wire

Unit 5

"The View from Saturday"

1. accustomed: used to

2. decline: to lose strength, to worsen; to politely refuse

3. former: earlier; past

4. presence: condition of being in the current place or time

5. unaccompanied: not with another person; alone

"Harvesting Hope"

1. access: right to approach, enter, or use; admittance

2. authority: power to enforce obedience; right to command or act

3. lush: covered with thick growth

4. obstacle: something that prevents or stops progress; hindrance

5. toll: something paid, lost, or suffered

6. torment: cause of great pain

7. wilt: to become limp and bend down; wither

"The River That Went to the Sky"

1. densest: most closely packed together; thickest

2. eaves: lower edges of a roof

3. expanse: open or unbroken stretch; wide; spreading surface

4. moisture: slight wetness; water or other liquid suspended in very small drops in the air or spread on a surface

5. ventured: dared to come or go

"Gold"

1. characteristic: distinguishing one person or thing from another; special

2. corrode: to wear or eat away gradually

3. engulfed: swallowed up; overwhelmed

4. exploit: to make use of

5. extract: to pull or draw out

6. hoard: what is saved and stored away

"Greensburg Goes Green"

1. consequences: results or effects

2. emissions: substances given off into the air

3. ferocious: savagely cruel or destructive

4. forecasters: people who predict weather conditions on the basis of meteorological data

5. incubator: place or situation that encourages formation and development

6. sustainable: able to be maintained or kept in existence

7. turbines: engines or motors consisting of series of paddles or blades mounted on wheels around central shafts

Unit 6

"Don Quixote and the Windmills"

1. lance: long, wooden spear with a sharp iron or steel head

2. misfortune: bad luck

3. quests: expeditions by knights in search of something

4. renewed: made like new again; refreshed, restored

5. renowned: famous, well-known

6. resound: to echo

7. squire: young attendant to a knight

"Ancient Greece"

1. architecture: style or special manner of building

2. democracy: government that is run by the people who live under it

3. empire: a group of countries or states under one rule or government

4. ideal: just as a person would wish; perfect

5. mythology: a group of legends or stroies about a particular country or person

"The All-American Slurp"

1. digraced: to have caused a loss of honor or respect

2. progress: an advance or growth; development; improvement

3. promoted: raised in rank, condition, or importance

4. relish: a side dish or sauce to add flavor to food

5. retreat: the act of withdrawing

6. revolting: disgusting; repulsive

7. unison: together; as one

"The Aztec News"

1. benefits: things that are for the good of someone or something

2. campaigns: series of related military operations in a war

3. comrades: fellow workers or soldiers

4. enrich: make rich or richer

5. foreigners: persons from another country

6. invaders: enemies who enter with force or attack

"Where Opportunity Awaits"

1. burden: something carried; load of things, care, work, or duty

2. conformed: the sam as; agreed with

3. leisure: free, not busy

4. maintenance: act or keeping in good repair

5. rural: in the country

6. sufficient: enough

7. urban: typical of cities