Vocabulary Acquisition
PAIRED TEXTS: “Is Anything Wrong With This Picture?”and
®
THE LANGUAGE ARTS MAGAZINE
“How the Telephone Made Americans Rude,” pages 24-27
September 2016
Name: ___________________________________________________ Date: ________________________
Paired Texts Vocabulary
1. c
onduct (KAHN-duhkt or kuhn-DUHKT) noun or verb; As a noun, conduct [KAHN-duhkt]
means “behavior.” If your little brother behaved himself at a wedding, your parents might say they
were impressed by his conduct.
As a verb, conduct [kuhn-DUHKT] means “to control or manage something.” Your student body
president might conduct monthly meetings of the student council. Conduct can also mean “lead
the performance of musicians,” as in, “Alan Gilbert conducts the orchestra with great skill.”
2. conscientious (kahn-shee-EN-shuhs) adjective; A conscientious person takes great care to
do what is right—to do what he or she is supposed to do and to do it well.
3. c
onsiderate (kuhn-SIHD-uh-riht) adjective; If you are considerate, you think about other
people’s needs and feelings and treat other people with respect.
4. etiquette (EHT-ih-kit) noun; Etiquette is a set of rules about the proper and polite way to
behave. Etiquette tells us, for example, the proper way to eat and to introduce ourselves. Etiquette
varies among different groups of people and from place to place. According to Chinese etiquette,
for example, burping after a meal is a way to show satisfaction, while in the U.S., burping is
generally considered rude.
5. i ncentive (in-SEHN-tiv) noun; An incentive is something that encourages someone to do
something or to work harder. Your principal might offer the incentive of a class pizza party for the
student who sells the most raffle tickets.
6. oblivious (uh-BLIH-vee-uhs) adjective; Someone who is oblivious is totally unaware of
something. Let’s say an escaped goat is running around in the street in front of your house,
bringing traffic to a stop and causing all kinds of trouble. But you calmly do your homework with
no idea that anything is going on. In this situation, you could be described as being oblivious.
7. r efrain (rih-FRAYN) verb; To refrain is to stop yourself from doing something that you want
to do. You might be asked to refrain from taking photos at a museum. If you want more mac and
cheese but know you’ve already eaten enough, you might refrain from taking a second helping.
8. u
ncivil (uhn-SI V-uhl) adjective; To be uncivil is to be rude or impolite.
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Vocabulary Acquisition
PAIRED TEXTS: “Is Anything Wrong With This Picture?”and
“How the Telephone Made Americans Rude,” pages 24-27
September 2016
Directions: In the space below, list any other words from either text with a definition you are unsure about. For
each word, use context clues to try to figure out the meaning. Then look up the word in a few different dictionaries.
Discuss the meaning of the word with your teacher or another adult. Then write a definition for the word and one
example sentence.
©2016 BY SCHOLASTIC INC. TEACHERS MAY PROJECT OR MAKE COPIES OF THIS PAGE TO DISTRIBUTE TO STUDENTS.
PAGE 2 OF 3
Vocabulary Acquisition
PAIRED TEXTS: “Is Anything Wrong With This Picture?”and
“How the Telephone Made Americans Rude,” pages 24-27
September 2016
Paired Texts Vocabulary Practice
Directions: Fill in the circle to show whether you think each statement is true or false. Briefly explain your choice.
1. A store owner would want to hire someone who is considerate and conscientious.
A true
B false
Reason:
2. Getting sent to jail is a great incentive to rob a bank.
A true
B false
Reason:
3. If Gina is really embarrassed by the bad haircut she got, it would be kind to refrain from making jokes
about it.
A true
B false
Reason:
Directions: Choose the word or phrase that is most similar in meaning to each word in bold.
4. r efrain
A hold back
B allow
6. considerate
C r educe
D continue
5. oblivious
A stubborn
B informed
A self-centered
B thoughtful
C friendly
D smart
7. uncivil
C quiet
D clueless
A ignorant
B uncertain
C polite
D ill-mannered
Directions: Complete each unfinished sentence in a way that makes the meaning of the boldfaced word clear.
8. Ms. Tate told our class that we had to discuss our conduct during the assembly because ______________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
9. Proper table etiquette is important to my grandmother. Whenever we go to her house, ________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
10. Brian was completely oblivious to the puddle in front of him as he rode his bike. He ______________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
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