TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD Vocabulary

2/21  “She was only another lady in the neighborhood but a relatively benign presence….[W]e could play on her lawn” (42).  “Miss Maudie’s benevolence extended to Jem and Dill…[E]very time she baked she made a big cake and three little ones” (43).

ROOT: BEN=GOOD  benign (adjective)= harmless  benevolence (noun)= goodwill; desire to do good to/for others (other words from root: beneficial, beneficiary, benefit, benefactor)

BEN=GOOD  Although pit bulls have a bad reputation, most of them are benign and sweet and love to cuddle.  Her benevolence was shown when she volunteered to help clean the park even though she would not receive community service credit for her actions. -NAME SOME PEOPLE/THINGS THAT ARE BENIGN -NAME A PERSON WHO SHOWS BENEVOLENCE

2/26  “The night-crawlers had retired…and the darkness was desolate with the barking of distant dogs” (57).  “Dill and I were halfway to the shelter of the schoolyard’s solitary oak…” (53).

ROOT: SOLI=ONE  desolate (adjective)= without people; empty; abandoned; destroyed  solitary (adjective)= alone; isolated (other words from root: solo, soliloquy, solitude, sole)

SOLI=ONE  On a Saturday night, the hallways of Penncrest are desolate.  After he broke up with his girlfriend, Bob took a solitary walk on the beach. -NAME SOME PLACES THAT ARE DESOLATE -NAME A TIME WHEN SOMEONE WOULD BE SOLITARY

2/28 Both sentences refer to the Radley family and their house  “The chinaberry trees were malignant, hovering, alive”  “Inside the house lived a malevolent phantom”

MAL=BAD  Malignant: causing harm; harmful; cancerous  Malevolent: evil Other words from root “MAL”=malodor, malicious, maltreatment, malefactor

MAL=BAD  We were happy to hear the tumor was not malignant.  Because he assigns a lot of homework and gives impossible tests, students view Mr. Hanrahan as malevolent when he is just trying to be a good teacher.  Name some things malignant to one’s health  Name a malevolent cartoon character

3/4  “I was proceeding on the dim theory, aside from the innate attractiveness of such words, that if Atticus had discovered I had picked them up at school, he wouldn’t make me go” (79).  “I guess it ain’t your fault if Uncle Atticus is a nigger-lover besides, but I’m here to tell you it certainly does mortify the rest of the family-” (83).

ROOT: NAT=TO BE FROM  innate (adjective)= to be born with, natural (other words from root: natal, native, natural, renaissance)

ROOT: MORT=MORTAL, DEATH  mortify (verb)= embarrass, humiliate (other words from root: mortal, immortal, mortality, mortician, mortuary )

MORT=DEATH, NAT=TO BE FROM  Kayla was mortified when her mom took her phone and read all her text messages!  Some athletes have an innate ability to jump high and run fast!  -NAME A TIME YOU (OR A FRIEND) FELT MORTIFIED  -NAME A PERSON WHO HAS AN INNATE TALENT

3-5 Her use of bathroom invective leaves nothing to the imagination, but she doesn’t know the meaning of half of what she says—she asked me what a whore lady was” “Did you tell her?” “No, I told her (a story) about Lord Melbourne (instead).” “When a child asks you something, answer him. They can spot an evasion quicker than adults and evasion simply muddles ‘em.”

VAS/VAD=TO GO/WALK “E” (PREFIX)=OUT OR WITHOUT  evasion (noun): avoidance; the act of dodging others or an issue evade (verb): to avoid or dodge; to cleverly escape  other words with “vas/vad”: invade, invasion, invasive,  other words with prefix “e”:exit, eject, emit, explode, emigrate

VAS /VAD=TO GO/WALK “E” (PREFIX)=OUT OR WITHOUT  Lying is simply an evasion of the truth.  To evade the enemy army, the troops trudged through the swamp rather than walk through the woods where the enemy lay hiding.  Name something you have tried to evade

3/7  “Jem became vaguely articulate: “ ‘d you see him, Scout? ‘d you see him just standin’ there? …’n’ all of a sudden he just relaxed all over, an’ it looked like that gun was a part of him…” (97).

ROOT: VAG=TO WANDER  vague (adjective)= to be unclear, not detailed (other words from root: vagabond, vagrant)

VAG= TO WANDER  Mrs. Kirk’s directions for the paper were very vague. They were: “Write a paper about a topic.”  After Jessica got home at 2 AM and her mom asked her where she was, Jessica gave the vague response, “I was…out…somewhere.”  NAME A TIME WHERE YOU WERE CONFUSED BY VAGUE DIRECTIONS  NAME A TIME WHEN SOMEONE GAVE YOU A VAGUE EXPLANATION