Name___________________________Date_____________Class Period_______
The Wife’s Story
Reading Guide
Exploring Deeper Meanings
Choose the statement that provides an accurate example of the meaning of each vocabulary word.
rouse
A) The speaker’s monotone and dreary delivery failed to inspire the audience.
B) The roosters wake the family at 5 A.M. every morning.
mortal
A) Thunderstorms are my grandfather’s worst fear.
B) Randy enjoys the thrills and the fears of downhill ski racing.
brandished
A) The bank robbers pulled out their guns during the robbery.
B) The crowd waved their flags at the Independence Day parade.
cowering
A) I shivered as I stepped out into the cold morning air.
B) Jeff was hiding under the sofa cushions during that scary scene in the movie.
Changing Contexts
Each vocabulary word from “The Wife’s Story” is used at least once in the following sentences. Fill
in each word where it best fits the context.
kin
rouse
mortal
brandished
Example The little boy brandished his toy sword at the imaginary monster.
Even the loudest alarm clock fails to _______________________ Rafael before 10 A.M.
He is one of my ______________________, but I do not remember how we are related.
That scary book had me _______________________ under the covers last night.
The hero in that movie _______________________ his bow and arrow at the giant.
I have a _______________________ fear of snakes.
My friends and all of my _______________________ came to my graduation.
I was ashamed to see my brother _______________________ in front of the class bully.
The noisy children often _______________________ the elderly woman from her afternoon nap.
cowering
Semantic Mapping
Creating a semantic map can help you represent different types of word knowledge in graphic form. Create
a semantic map for each of these vocabulary words from “The Wife’s Story” on your own paper: rouse,
mortal, brandished, cowering.
Meaning
Examples
Sentence
ROUSE
Meaning
Examples
Synonym
Sentence
MORTAL
Meaning
Synonym
Sentence
BRANDISHING
Examples
Synonym
Meaning
Sentence
COWERING
Examples
Synonym