Wordly Wise
1
Language Arts 7
Thurston Middle School
Amy Cochren
1. abate
to become weaker;
to decrease
2. acknowledge
To admit existence of;
To express recognition or thanks
3. agent
A person who acts for or does business
for another;
Something that brings about a result
4. authority
The right to give orders, make
decisions, or take action;
An expert source of information
5. devastate
To ruin or destroy completely
6. epidemic
Rapid spreading of a disease to
many people at one time
7. estimate
A number that is not exact;
A careful guess;
To figure out roughly
8. evict
To force out of property by
taking legal action
9. impartial
Not favoring one side more
than another;
fair
10. industrious
Hardworking;
Not lazy
11. infuriate
To make very angry
12. irrelevant
Having nothing to do
with the subject
13. precise
Exact or accurate
14. sham
Something fake or false;
Not genuine; fake
To pretend
15. trek
A long, slow, and difficult journey;
To travel slowly and with difficulty
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
abate
acknowledge
agent
authority
devastate
6. epidemic
7. estimate
8. evict
9. impartial
10. industrious
11. infuriate
12. irrelevant
13. precise
14. sham
15. trek
Test Format:
Fifteen fill in the blank sentences with a word
bank.
The word bank will have the vocabulary word
as listed in the form given in the book.
You will have to decide if you need to change
the word in any way. You may have to
change the tense or form of the word. The
form must be spelled properly!
Strategies for Studying:
Create three lists of the vocabulary words:
a. Nouns
b. Adjectives
c. Verbs
Knowing how the word functions will help
you select the right word to fill in the blank.
Nouns:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
agent
authority
devastation
epidemic
estimate
precision
7. sham
8. trek
Adjectives:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
unabated
7. irrelevant
acknowledged 8. sham
devastating
epidemic
impartial
industrious
verbs
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
abate
acknowledge
devastate
estimate
evict
sham
7. trek
Strategies for Study:
Take the time to complete the Wordly
Wise activities thoughtfully.
Rushing through the homework just to
finish quickly will not help you on the
test!
For Example: Ex. A #5
(a) An agent is…
(d) something that produces
a result.
Strategies for Study:
Use Exercise E as a practice tool for the test.
Study how the vocabulary word was used in
the passage.
Practice asking and answering the questions
to yourself.
Question:
Why did smallpox kill so many
Cherokees in such a short
time?
Answer:
Many Cherokees were killed by
smallpox because it was an
epidemic.
Question:
About how many Cherokees
died of smallpox in 1745?
Answer:
It was estimated that
approximately half of the
population was killed by the
epidemic.
Question:
Did the Cherokees’ appeals
slow down the theft of their
land?
Answer:
The theft was unabated by their
requests.
Question:
What is the meaning of agent as
used in the passage?
Answer:
The meaning of “agent” in the
passage was “one who does
business for another”.
Question:
Why was the Cherokees’ last
treaty a sham?
Answer:
The Cherokee signers had no
authority to sign for the
Cherokee Nation.
Question:
Why might we think that the
Cherokees were good farmers?
Answer:
The Cherokees were industrious
and able to live off of their land.
Question:
Were those who wanted the
Cherokees’ land influenced by
the fact that the Cherokee
signers of the 1835 treaty had
signed illegally?
Answer:
They found that to be irrelevant.
Question:
What was the meaning of
acknowledged in the passage?
Answer:
The meaning was “commonly
accepted and recognized”.
Question:
Why do you think President
Andrew Jackson was infuriated
by the chief justice’s opinion?
Answer:
He was infuriated because he
did not want to acknowledge
that he allowed the sham and
was a cause of such hardship
to the Cherokee Nation.
Question:
What is the meaning of authority
as used in the passage?
Answer:
“Authority” meant “the right to
make decisions”.
Question:
What happened when the
Cherokees tried to evict illegal
settlers?
Answer:
The illegal settlers ignored the
requests to evict them.
Question:
How should the government
have behaved dealing with the
disputes between the
Cherokees and the settlers?
Answer:
They should have been impartial.
Question:
How far did the Cherokees have
to travel to get to what is now
Oklahoma?
Answer:
They trekked approximately
900 miles.
Question:
Is the figure of 20,000 persons
forced out of their homes and
exact guess?
Answer:
No, it was an estimate.
Question:
What kind of effect did the
forced removal of the
Cherokees from their land have
on them?
Answer:
It was estimated that
approximately 4,000 Cherokees
died on the “trail of tears” trek
to Oklahoma.