Grade 11-12: Vocabulary Lesson for Wednesday, Week 1

Word List 1

1. audacious: fearless, recklessly bold or daring
2. blasé: uninterested, unconcerned, bored
3. capacious: capable of containing a large capacity, roomy, spacious
4. desist: to stop, to cease doing something
5. enigma: puzzling, unexplainable, mysterious
6. formidable: arousing fear, dread, or alarm; inspiring awe or admiration
7. matriculate: being admitted officially into a university

Wednesday Activities

1. Make Mind Maps - Link your vocabulary words to words that you already know. >Here is an example of a mind map. On a piece of paper, or on the computer in Word, draw a circle and write/type the vocabulary word inside the circle. Think of words that mean the same thing and put those in circles around the outside of the word drawing a line to connect the synonyms.
2. Mind Games - Create a mind map with words that mean the opposite or antonyms. Use the thesaurus built into your word program to find more words that are antonyms. Or you can go to this this on-line thesaurus. Click on the button in front of Thesaurus at the top of the page, then type your word into the white area.
3. Use your word list to put in the information at this link. Choose which arcade game you wish to play. Good luck!

Other Help

If you need more information on your words, click on the link to use a on-line dictionary.

Use the daily activities to help you remember words that you learn each week. It is much easier to remember what the words mean if you do something with them and use them frequently in talking with your parents, family and friends.

Sample sentences:

Jim's audacious prediction of victory put a lot of pressure on the whole team.
Everyone on the other team was insulted by the opposing coach's audacious proclamation.

"Billy, your blasé attitude will make school very hard for you.^
My neighbor has a blasé attitude about housekeeping; you should see the mess.

After riding in Granny's tiny car, Dad's capacious SUV was a welcome change.
For several minutes Aunt Sue kept pulling things from her capacious shopping bag.

My very proper English teacher demanded that I desist complaining about the summer assignment.
Trying to defuse the rowdy crowd the park policeman ordered us to cease and desist at once.

How the universe began is one of the enigmas or cosmology.
"Billy," my algebra teacher said to me, "how you can pass my course without studying is truly an enigma.^

With four All-State players on the team, our next opponent is truly formidable.
A formidable opponent is not one that you can take lightly.

After filling out numerous applications, Alan was finally matriculated into one of the top schools.
She matriculated into the state university last fall.

 
 

For more vocabulary, reading and other language arts resources, please visit our interactive skillbuilders.