Vocabulary: Out of the Dust Sections 1, 2, & 3
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Section 1 Part I: Using Prior Knowledge and Contextual Clues
Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words appear in the text. Read the sentence. Use any clues you can find in the
sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what you think the words in bold mean.
1. Ma crouched,/barefoot, bare bottomed/over the swept boards,/because that’s where Daddy said it’d be best.
2. I came too fast for the doctor,/bawling as soon as Daddy wiped his hand around/inside my mouth.
3. They pledged revenge on the rabbit population; wagering who could kill more.
4. They scowl as they pass on the street.
5. She always gets testy about my playing,/even though she’s the one who truly taught me.
6. …but anyhow,/she was distracted enough,/I was determined enough,/this time I got just what I wanted.
Part II: Determining the Meaning: Match the vocabulary words to their dictionary definitions.
___ 1. crouched
A. sidetracked; diverted
___ 2. bawling
B. punishment in return for insult or injury
___ 3. revenge
C. irritable; touchy
___ 4. scowl
D. stooped
___ 5. testy
E. crying out loud
___ 6. distracted
F. frown
Section 2 Part I: Using Prior Knowledge and Contextual Clues
Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words appear in the text. Read the sentence. Use any clues you can find in the
sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what you think the words in bold mean.
1. …and we’re all whittled down to the bone these days…
2. I squinted back at him as I gave him Ma’s order.
3. …and thinking about the secondhand music/in a moldy box at the shop in Joyce City…
4. We shake out our napkins,/spread them on our laps,/and flip over our glasses and plates,/exposing neat circles,/round
comments/on what life would be without dust.
5. Breaking Drought
Part II: Determining the Meaning: Match the vocabulary words to their dictionary definitions.
___ 7. whittled
A. revealing
___ 8. squinted
B. a long period of low rainfall
___ 9. moldy
C. reduced gradually
___10. exposing
D. musty or stale in odor or taste
___11. drought
E. looked at with eyes partly closed
Section 3 Part I: Using Prior Knowledge and Contextual Clues
Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words appear in the text. Read the sentence. Use any clues you can find in the
sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what you think the words in bold mean.
1. …I remember being dazzled by her/whenever she played the piano.
2. …but sometimes I think she’s/just plain jealous/when I’m at the piano/and she’s not.
3. While Ma and Daddy slept/the dust came,/tearing up fields where the winter wheat,/set for harvest in June,/stood helpless.
4. The wind snatched that snow right off the fields…
Part II: Determining the Meaning: Match the vocabulary words to their dictionary definitions.
___ 12. dazzled
A. envious
___ 13. jealous
B. seized or grabbed
___ 14. harvest
C. amazed or bewildered with spectacular display
___ 15. snatched
D. gathering in of a crop