VOCABULARY

As with other books by Katherine Paterson, students may have to reach to understand some words. You'll find many of these words on the following list. Have students work in groups to define the words. Suggest that they begin by writing what they think each word means. They should then use dictionaries to confirm or revise their definitions. You might then bring the class together for a lesson on word endings. For example, students might identify and discuss words with inflected endings such as -ed and -ing and words with suffixes such as -y, -ly, -ence, and- ize.