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. agentA 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. impartialNot favoring one side more than another;

fair

10. industrious

Hardworking;

Not lazy

11. infuriate

To make very angry

12. irrelevantHaving 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. abate 6. epidemic

2. acknowledge 7. estimate

3. agent 8. evict

4. authority 9. impartial

5. devastate 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. agent 7. sham

2. authority 8. trek

3. devastation

4. epidemic

5. estimate

6. precision

Adjectives:1. unabated 7. irrelevant

2. acknowledged 8. sham

3. devastating

4. epidemic

5. impartial

6. industrious

verbs1. abate 7. trek

2. acknowledge

3. devastate

4. estimate

5. evict

6. sham

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.