VOCAB-O-GRAM

In this strategy, students are given a list of words for a story they are about to read. They then make predictions about where these words will be used within the structure of the story. Working in groups, they speculate about the elements of the story and make connections between and among the words in the word bank. Any words that don’t seem to fit anywhere can be placed in the Mystery Words box.

In the following example, the students are preparing to read The Scarlet Letter.

VOCAB-O-GRAM

Use the vocabulary words in the word bank to make predictions about the book we are reading. You can use the words more than once to make your predictions. Think about how you think the author of the book will use the words in the story. Help each other define the words. If you use a dictionary, you may have to do some interpretation.

List words that you think will go with each category of the story structure and then use those words to make predictions and answer the questions about the structure. If there are words your group can’t use because they are too unfamiliar, list those words at the bottom as Mystery Words.

Word Bank:

Throngcalamityhussypenitence

Sepulchersedificeprimevalimp

Portaldankmelancholyspectre

Illegitimateoraclesdepravedgallows

Scaffoldamissbeadlephysiognomies

Blightedpaternityparishionerretribution

Setting

How will the author describeIt will be dank and blighted…It’s primeval.

the setting?

Characters

What predictions can you There’s a hussy and she’s probably melancholy. There’s an

make about the characters? Illegitimate child. A parishioner might be involved.

Conflict

What will the conflict be?We think the paternity suit is the conflict.

Who will be involved?The hussy! A crowd (throng). Something’s amiss.

Plot

What will happen in the story?Some calamity will take place. Is there a portal to another

world? Maybe that’s where the imp comes in…and the beadle.

Resolution

How will the story end?Badly! Someone might get hanged in the gallows. Someone

Who is depraved gets retribution!

Questions

What questions do you haveIs there time travel? (oracles?) Are there ghosts? (spectre)?

about the story? Dead bodies? (sepulchers)?

Mystery Wordsphysiognomies..that’s a mouthful!