Writer’s Mark 2020-2021 SAT Vocabulary List

 

Writer’s Mark 2020-2021 SAT Vocabulary List

1. abject
   of the most contemptible kind

2. abscond
   run away, often taking something or somebody along

3. accost
   approach and speak to someone aggressively or insistently

4. acumen
   shrewdness shown by keen insight

5. adamant
   impervious to pleas, persuasion, requests, or reason

6. admonish
   scold or reprimand; take to task

7. adverse
   in an opposing direction

8. advocate
   a person who pleads for a person, cause, or idea

9. affluent
   having an abundant supply of money or possessions of value

10. aggrandize
embellish; increase the scope, power, or importance of

11. alacrity
liveliness and eagerness

12. alias
a name that has been assumed temporarily

13. ambivalent
uncertain or unable to decide about what course to follow

14. amenable
disposed or willing to comply

15. anathema
a formal ecclesiastical curse accompanied by excommunication

16. annex attach to

17. antediluvian
of or relating to the period before the Biblical flood

18. antiseptic
thoroughly clean and free of disease-causing organisms

19. apathetic
showing little or no emotion or animation

20. antithesis exact opposite

21. a pocryphal
being of questionable authenticity

22. arbitrary
based on or subject to individual discretion or preference

23.archetypal
of an original type after which other things are patterned

24. ascetic
someone who practices self denial as a spiritual discipline

25. aspersion
a disparaging remark

26. assiduous
marked by care and persistent effort

27. bashful self-consciously timid

28. beguile influence by slyness

29. bereft
sorrowful through loss or deprivation

30. bombastic ostentatiously lofty in style

31. cajole
influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering

32.callous
emotionally hardened

33. calumny
a false accusation of an offense

34. camaraderie
the quality of affording easy familiarity and sociability

35.candor
the quality of being honest and straightforward

36. capitulate
surrender under agreed conditions

37.cavort
play boisterously

38. circumvent
surround so as to force to give up

39. clamor
utter or proclaim insistently and noisily

40. cleave
separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument

41. c ogent
powerfully persuasive

42. cognizant
having or showing knowledge or understanding or realization

43. commensurate
corresponding in size or degree or extent

44. complement
something added to embellish or make perfect

45. compunction
a feeling of deep regret, usually for some misdeed

46. congruity
the quality of agreeing; being suitable and appropriate

47. connive
form intrigues (for) in an underhand manner

48. construe
make sense of; assign a meaning to

49. contusion
an injury in which the skin is not broken

50. contrite
feeling or expressing pain or sorrow for sins or offenses

51. contentious
showing an inclination to disagree

52. convivial
occupied with or fond of the pleasures of good company

53. c ovet
wish, long, or crave for

54. debunk
expose while ridiculing

55. defunct
no longer in force or use; inactive

56. demagogue
a leader who seeks support by appealing to popular passions

57. denigrate
attack the good name and reputation of someone

58. disaffected
discontented as toward authority

59. discomfit
cause to lose one's composure

60. disparate
fundamentally different or distinct in quality or kind

61. dispel
cause to separate and go in different directions

62. disrepute
the state of being held in low esteem

63. divisive
causing or characterized by disagreement or disunity

64. dogmatic
pertaining to a code of beliefs accepted as authoritative

65. dour
showing a brooding ill humor

66. duplicity
the act of deceiving or acting in bad faith

67. eclectic
selecting what seems best of various styles or ideas

68. elegy
a mournful poem; a lament for the dead

69. elicit
call forth, as an emotion, feeling, or response

70. empirical
derived from experiment and observation rather than theory

71. emulate
strive to equal or match, especially by imitating

72. enervate
weaken mentally or morally

73.enfranchise
grant freedom to, as from slavery or servitude

74. engender call forth

75. ephemeral
anything short-lived, as an insect that lives only for a day

76. epistolary
written in the form of letters or correspondence

77. equanimity
steadiness of mind under stress

78. equivocal
open to two or more interpretations

79. espouse
choose and follow a theory, idea, policy, etc.

80. evanescent
tending to vanish like vapor

81. evince
give expression to

82. exacerbate make worse

83. exhort
spur on or encourage especially by cheers and shouts

84. execrable unequivocally detestable

85. exigent
demanding immediate attention

86. expedient appropriate to a purpose

87. expiate
make amends for

88. expunge
remove by erasing or crossing out or as if by drawing a line

89. extraneous
not belonging to that in which it is contained

90. extol
praise, glorify, or honor

91. extant
still in existence; not extinct or destroyed or lost

92. expurgate
edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate

93. fallacious
containing or based on incorrect reasoning

94. fatuous
devoid of intelligence

95. fetter
a shackle for the ankles or feet

96. flagrant
conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible

97. foil
hinder or prevent, as an effort, plan, or desire

98. forbearance
good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence

99. fortuitous
lucky; occurring by happy chance

100. fractious
easily irritated or annoyed

101. hapless
unfortunate and deserving pity

102. iconoclast
someone who attacks cherished ideas or institutions

103. idiosyncratic
peculiar to the individual

104. impetuous
characterized by undue haste and lack of thought

105. impinge infringe upon

106. inane
devoid of intelligence

107. incontrovertible impossible to deny or disprove

108. inoculate
inject or treat with the germ of a disease to render immune

109. insidious
working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way

110. instigate provoke or stir up

111. insurgent
in opposition to a civil authority or government

112. intimation
a slight suggestion or vague understanding

113. irreverence
a mental attitude showing lack of due respect

114. knell
the sound of a bell rung slowly to announce a death

115. laconic
brief and to the point

116. largesse
liberality in bestowing gifts

117. linchpin
a central cohesive source of support and stability

118. maudlin
effusively or insincerely emotional

119. maverick
someone who exhibits independence in thought and action

120. modicum
a small or moderate or token amount

121. morass
a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot

122. mores
the conventions embodying the fundamental values of a group

123. negligent
characterized by undue lack of attention or concern

124. noxious
injurious to physical or mental health

125. onerous
burdensome or difficult to endure

126. ostracism
the act of excluding someone from society by general consent

127. panacea
hypothetical remedy for all ills or diseases

128. paradigm
a standard or typical example

129. pariah
a person who is rejected from society or home

130. penchant
a strong liking

131. pert
characterized by a lightly saucy or impudent quality

132. pernicious exceedingly harmful

133. phlegmatic showing little emotion

134. philanthropic
of or relating to charitable giving

135. pithy
concise and full of meaning

136. platitude
a trite or obvious remark

137. plenitude a full supply

138. plethora extreme excess

139. portent
a sign of something about to happen

140. potentate
a powerful ruler, especially one who is unconstrained by law

141. preclude
make impossible, especially beforehand

142. predilection
a predisposition in favor of something

143. preponderance
exceeding in heaviness; having greater weight

144. presage
a foreboding about what is about to happen

145. probity
complete and confirmed integrity

146. proclivity
a natural inclination

147. profligate
unrestrained by convention or morality

148. promulgate state or announce

149. pugnacious
ready and able to resort to force or violence

150. quaint
attractively old-fashioned

151. quandary
state of uncertainty in a choice between unfavorable options

152. remiss
failing in what duty requires

153. reprieve
postpone the punishment of a convicted criminal

154. rescind cancel officially

155. rife
excessively abundant

156. sanctimonious
excessively or hypocritically pious

157. sanguine
confidently optimistic and cheerful

158. scurrilous
expressing offensive, insulting, or scandalous criticism

159. serendipity
good luck in making unexpected and fortunate discoveries

160. tome
a large and scholarly book

161. trite
repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse

162. ubiquitous
being present everywhere at once

163. utilitarian
having a useful function

164. veracity unwillingness to tell lies

165. vilify
spread negative information about

166. virtuoso
someone who is dazzlingly skilled in any field

167. vitriolic
harsh, bitter, or malicious in tone

168. vociferous
conspicuously and offensively loud

169. winsome
charming in a childlike or naive way

170. yoke
join with stable gear, as two draft animals

A Midsummer Night's Dream 1935 (Oberon & Puck) " I know a bank where.....

Is Leveled Reading Right for Our Kids

Readers' Advisory:  Advising readers in their book choices

Teachers, tutors, and  librarian engage in readers’ advisory when matching readers to books. It is important to note that readers’ advisory does not end when a child walks out with books in hand. After the book is read, follow up in the form of questions and discussion are imperative. The follow up  should reveal the student's understanding of the content and which titles the student enjoyed (or didn’t).

That process is often different from the hunt for “just right” books in classrooms and collections in which books are organized by reading level. Rather than having a conversation about interests, children in leveled classrooms and school libraries are often directed to color-coded bins or shelves labeled by level. 

In classrooms across the country, reading instruction, assessment, and labeling of material have impacted how people search for and engage with books, sometimes resulting in restricted reading choices—even for independent reading. That, as (*1)Betty Carter, professor emerita of children’s and young adult literature at Texas Woman’s University, noted in a July 2000 SLJ article, is a “formula for failure.”

WHAT’S WRONG WITH “JUST RIGHT” BOOKS?

The move toward leveled or “just right” books stems from research showing that children’s reading comprehension improves when they read texts at—or slightly above—their reading level. What that level is, how it’s determined, and how reading instruction is implemented varies from school to school, district to district, and state to state. Two of the most common methods for leveling books are (*2) Lexile and the “A to Z” gradient found in (*3)  Fountas and Pinnell’s Guided Reading system.

“Research says that students should spend most of their time in ‘just right’ or ‘at their level’ books, but that research does not say to limit students and what they would like to read,” says (*4) Pernille Ripp, creator of the Global Read Aloud and author of Passionate Learners: How to Engage and Empower Your Students (Routledge, 2015).

Most educators and researchers agree that student choice is a huge part of reading motivation. Does restricting kids to a prescribed level do more harm than good? Yes, according to Ripp. “Those levels, to quote Fountas and Pinnell, are ‘a teacher’s tool, not a child’s label.’ But that’s exactly what levels have become—labels that restrict our readers and tell them that their reading identity needs to be based on an outside influence—the teacher—and not their own intuition,” she says.

(*5) Donalyn Miller, author of Reading in the Wild: The Book Whisperer’s Keys to Cultivating Lifelong Reading Habits (Jossey-Bass, 2013), has called leveling “educational malpractice.” Schools have gone too far, she believes. “There is a lack of fundamental understanding by many educators about the limitations of leveling systems and their role in children’s reading development,” she says. “Matching children with books solely by reading level removes the teacher’s responsibility for knowing much about children’s literature or teaching children meaningful strategies for self-selecting books beyond level.”

Helping youth develop the skills needed to find interesting, appropriate reading material, without leveling, was the focus of (*6) Linda Wedwick Haling’s doctoral research and led her and coauthor Jessica Ann Wutz to write Bookmatch: How to Scaffold Student Book Selection for Independent Reading (IRA, 2008). Now an assistant professor at the Center for Reading and Literacy at the College of Education at Illinois State University, Haling believes that “the readability formulas have some usefulness. But ultimately, they never account for…what the reader brings to the experience. A reader’s ‘match’ to a book is going to change with what prior knowledge the individual brings to that specific topic. What’s most important is teaching kids how to match themselves to ‘just right’ books. In the real world, books are not leveled.”

Bookmatch focuses on teaching children nine key criteria—collectively forming the acronym BOOKMATCH—to consider when selecting a title for independent reading: 

book length

ordinary language

organization

knowledge prior to book

manageable text

appeal to genre

topic appropriateness

connection

high interest

It’s a process that involves asking questions, interacting with the text, considering personal preferences, and allowing room for trial and error as kids strengthen their skills.

Carter agrees that more attention is needed on teaching children how to find books rather than relying on prescriptive reading systems. “If we are trying to help kids become independent learners, then they need to develop skills for finding their own books,” she says.

LEVELING THE BOOKS, OR THE CHILD?

In a 2012 article for Reading.org, “Guided Reading: the Romance and the Reality”, Fountas and Pinnell cautioned that they “never recommended that the school library or classroom libraries be leveled or that levels be reported to parents.” If levels are noted -- do not adhere to those delineation. Instead, encourage readers to look for books that interest them across the "levels." Using leveled texts in classrooms following the “A to Z” matrix, Lexile, or other systems, however, seems to contradict this advice, as educators report that more schools are leveling, with some districts mandating it. Teachers often discuss individual reading levels with their students, and some let students know one another’s levels.

Miller says that this can be very damaging. “While children are learning the skills of reading, they must also develop a positive reading identity or they will not become lifelong readers,” she says. “Removing, defining, limiting, or rejecting children’s reading choices disempowers them and creates negative attitudes toward reading—and most likely, school.”

Ripp agrees. “I think a few kids will be empowered by it, mostly if they are above grade level,” she says. However, those with lower levels “would not be motivated,” feeling so behind that they might never catch up.

Fountas and Pinnell advise against making reading levels known to individual students: “We level books, not children.” Still, many lament leveling’s overuse, to the detriment of literacy and considering the whole child. “Painting kids into a level can…break their desire to read,” says (*7) Eric Neuman, a school librarian in New York City. “I have witnessed kids with low reading levels working their way through difficult texts because of how interested they are in the subject matter. I’ve also witnessed proficient readers mess up on passages that they’re not interested in.”

Supporters, however, view leveling as a motivator. It provides clear goals for improvement that can offer encouragement and structure. “[L]evels were instrumental in helping my eight-year-old overcome her reading struggles,” says (*8) Jacqueline Miller of Darien, CT. “She could not read the [higher level] books that her friends were reading, and that was far more shame-inducing than knowing what level books were her ‘just right’ books,” Miller says. “The leveled books didn’t matter as much for my non-struggling reader. And they both read a huge variety of non-leveled books outside of school.”

AT THE SCHOOL LIBRARY

Many school librarians have leveled collections to support curriculum and in response to mandates from district literacy specialists. (*9) Michael Bento, a school librarian in Burien, WA, labeled his books according to Fountas and Pinnell’s “A to Z” gradient. It’s a slow, time-consuming process, Bento notes, but he is pleased with the results. “Students and teachers now refer to this leveling system when looking for appropriate [material],” he says. “It makes it easier for us to help them if we are on board as well.”

Neuman says that several years ago, he felt pressure from teachers to level the school library. He resisted and presented a compromise solution. Neuman installed Level It Books, an app for iOS that allows users to scan an ISBN and look up Lexile numbers for most texts. “If a student absolutely had to read something on their specific level, I could make that happen,” he says. The New York City Department of Education also provides Follett’s Destiny to school libraries to manage circulation, and Destiny includes reading levels for most titles, he adds. “So when kids check books in and out, I can see a level.”

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), strongly discourages school librarians from labeling, according to the ALA Position Statement on Labeling Books with Reading Levels. “It is the responsibility of school librarians to promote free access for students and not to aid in restricting their library materials,” reads the statement. It also notes that labeling by level can compromise student privacy and First Amendment rights as well as negatively affect browsing and motivational reading.

An ALA document clarifying the Library Bill of Rights states “While some parents and teachers may find housing books by grade or reading levels helpful in guiding developing young readers, a library should not use such labels as a classification system, or to promote any restrictive or prejudicial practice.”

Public librarians have also reported requests from parents and teachers to adapt their collections to match classroom reading systems. (*10) Amy Martin, a children’s librarian at Oakland (CA) Public Library, notes a scenario in which “a teacher brings [in] a class of 25 students, tells me a number or letter range for each one, and asks me to help each find one book at their level...in the space of a 30-minute class visit,” she says. “This would not be difficult in a leveled collection….But in a public library, where books are categorized by type (picture book, easy reader, etc.), it’s extremely difficult.”

WHAT’S A LIBRARIAN TO DO?

Martin focuses on creating a teachable moment—even for teachers—and doing her best to have her patrons leave satisfied. “When a parent or teacher asks me for books at a certain level, I start by explaining a little about how the public library organizes books and say something along the lines of ‘Your school library may organize books by reading level; at this library, we organize them by book type,’ and then give them a quick tour of the collection,” she says. “I ask what kind of books they like, what other books they’ve read lately, and show them a couple samples and ask if they look too hard/too easy/just right. I get them to focus on one or two books, and then say, ‘OK, let’s see what level those are.’ ”

Haling says that it comes down to investing time in helping kids develop skills to select books independently. “We should trust kids when it comes to selecting their own books,” she says. “They do have opinions and preferences, even if they’re in first grade. They are capable of learning to match themselves to ‘just right’ books—without the teacher directing them to a labeled bin.”

The key is more choice, not less, Carter believes. “Let them take out a lot of books so that somewhere in that pile they find something that satisfies them,” she says. “But we have to keep that process going….When they come into the library the next time, talk about their choices: what worked; what didn’t. They have to learn their own processes for selecting books, and if we keep narrowing the choices by artificial constraints, we aren’t giving them that chance.”

(*11) Pat Scales, past president of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and author of SLJ’s “Scales on Censorship” column, denounced labeling library books by reading level in a March 2015 interview on the ALSC Blog. She advises public librarians to communicate with their school counterparts about reading lists, selection, and student privacy issues.

It’s essential, Ripp adds, that librarians and educators step up as advocates for the freedom to read—even if that choice extends below or above a student’s reading level. “If a child wants to check out a book, let them . . . Students are telling us in droves they don’t like to read anymore because of these rules. So as school communities, we need to start listening to the students and let them read the books they want to read.”

List of quote sources:

(*1) Betty Carter:

• professor emerita of children’s and young adult literature at Texas Woman’s University

(*2) Lexile

(*3)  Fountas and Pinnell’s Guided Reading system - A to Z” gradient

(*4) Pernille Ripp:

• creator of the Global Read Aloud 

• author of Passionate Learners: How to Engage and Empower Your Students 

(*5) Donalyn Miller:

• author of Reading in the Wild: The Book Whisperer’s Keys to Cultivating Lifelong Reading Habits

 (*6) Linda Wedlock Haling: 

• assistant professor at the Center for Reading and Literacy at the College of Education at Illinois State University

• coauthor with Jessica Ann Wutz of Bookmatch: How to Scaffold Student Book Selection for Independent Reading  

(*7) Eric Neuman:

• school librarian in New York City

(*8) Jacqueline Miller of Darien, CT:

• mother of an 8 year old - personal testimony 

(*9) Michael Bento

• school librarian in Burien, WA

(*10) Amy Martin:

• children’s librarian at Oakland (CA) Public Library

(*11) Pat Scales:

• past president of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) 

• author of SLJ’s “Scales on Censorship” 

original article: by Kiera Parrott 

Aug 28, 2017 | Filed in News & Features

https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=thinking-outside-the-bin-why-labeling-books-by-reading-level-disempowers-young-readers

edited: by Soutenus