Vocabulary
September 2015
Name: ____________________________________________ Date: ________________
Word Nerd’s Word Workout
Flex your vocab muscles with Word Nerd’s 10 favorite big, bad words from this issue!
Directions: Read each sentence below, which shows how Word Nerd’s word appears in the magazine. Write the
definition of the word, or a synonym for it, on the next line. Finally, complete each sentence we’ve started for
you, checking to be sure it makes sense.
•crave (verb) krave
“Kids who craved sweets had to settle for dried fruits or puddings sweetened with molasses, a cheap syrup.”
(p. 14)
Definition/Synonym: ____________________________________________________________________________________
Complete the sentence: After a week of sailing, the ship’s crew grew tired of eating freeze-dried bananas
and salami and craved ___________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
•data (noun) DAY-tuh
“Studying storm data on the laptop in his truck, Piotrowski was convinced that a tornado was about to
strike.” (p. 7)
Definition/Synonym: ____________________________________________________________________________________
Complete the sentence: Anna gathered data about kids’ sports leagues so her science report would be
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
• debris (noun) duh-BREE
“The Piotrowskis drove alongside the tornado, swerving to avoid flying debris, fallen telephone poles, and
sizzling wires.” (p. 9)
Definition/Synonym: ____________________________________________________________________________________
Complete the sentence: After the train slammed into the ice cream truck that was abandoned on the
tracks, ice cream bars and other debris _________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Continued on next page >
© 2015 Scholastic Inc. Teachers may make copies of this page to distribute to their students.
Vocabulary
September 2015
Name: ____________________________________________ Date: ________________
Word Nerd’s Word Workout, p. 2
• exotic (adjective) eg-ZOT-ik
“Today, chocolates are mixed with exotic flavors, like cayenne pepper and açai [ah-sah-EE] berry.” (p. 15)
Definition/Synonym: ____________________________________________________________________________________
Complete the sentence: As Dominique walked around the tropical island, the sweet scent of exotic
flowers _____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
•forecaster (noun) FOR-kast-ur
“Piotrowski and other forecasters believed that a tornado was most likely going to strike in eastern Kansas,
near the border with Missouri.” (p. 6)
Definition/Synonym: ____________________________________________________________________________________
Complete the sentence: Malik and his family made plans to head to the beach after forecasters ________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
•glint (verb) glint
“His sharp teeth glint in the moonlight.” (p. 24)
Definition/Synonym: ____________________________________________________________________________________
Complete the sentence: The silver charms Latrice wore around her neck glinted when she __________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
•laden (adjective) LAYD-uhn
“Tiny spies a bush laden with white fruit.” (p. 24)
Definition/Synonym: ____________________________________________________________________________________
Complete the sentence: During the holidays, Justin’s uncle and aunt often arrive at his home for dinner
laden with _________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Continued on next page >
© 2015 Scholastic Inc. Teachers may make copies of this page to distribute to their students.
Vocabulary
September 2015
Name: ____________________________________________ Date: ________________
Word Nerd’s Word Workout, p. 3
• monitor (verb) MON-uh-tur
“Still, Bennett’s mom sent the kids to the basement and turned on the TV to monitor weather reports.”
(p. 7)
Definition/Synonym: ____________________________________________________________________________________
Complete the sentence: Before getting into his car to drive to work, Shaun turns on the radio to monitor
the _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
•relent (verb) rih-LENT
“Finally, Father and Mother relent.” (p. 23)
Definition/Synonym: ____________________________________________________________________________________
Complete the sentence: When babysitting their nieces and nephews, Rosa and Jose always relent when
the children beg for _______________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
•sanctuary (noun) SANGK-choo-ayr-ee
“He was rescued by a group of caring people and brought to Haller Park, a sanctuary in the African country
of Kenya that provides a safe home for wild animals in need of help.” (p. 27)
Definition/Synonym: _____________________________________________________________________________________
Complete the sentence: After finding an injured bird, Lena took it to a nearby bird sanctuary that _____
_______________________________________________________________________________________
© 2015 Scholastic Inc. Teachers may make copies of this page to distribute to their students.