"Dogs Make Us Human"

Temple Grandin, with the help of Catherine Johnson, incorporates research into her autobiography "Animals in Translation" to make the argument that "Dogs Make Us Human."

Here are all the word lists to support the reading of Grade 6 Unit 2's texts from SpringBoard's Common Core ELA series: Walk Two Moons, The Little Mermaid, …And Although the Little Mermaid Sacrificed Everything…, He Might Have Liked Me Better with My Tail, Travels with Charley, Saying Farewell to a Faithful Pal, Dogs Make Us Human, My Story, Temple Grandin
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. aborigine
    an indigenous person who was born in a particular place
    The aborigines have a saying: "Dogs make us human."
  2. literally
    in a sense limited to explicit meaning
    Now we know that's probably literally true.
  3. evolve
    undergo development
    People wouldn't have become who we are today if we hadn't co-evolved with dogs.
  4. intelligence
    the ability to comprehend
    That's why I hope we will start to think more respectfully about animal intelligence and talent.
  5. companion
    a friend who is frequently with another
    That's probably okay for a dog who's been bred to be a companion animal, but a lot of the bigger breeds and practically all of the mix breeds were built for work.
  6. herd
    keep, move, or drive animals
    The sad thing is, now that hardly anyone makes his living herding sheep, most dogs are out of a job.
  7. capable
    having ability
    I read a little story on the website for the American Veterinary Medical Association that shows the incredible things animals are capable of doing, and would do if we gave them a chance.
  8. monitor
    keep an eye on; keep under surveillance
    It was about a dog named Max who had trained himself to monitor his mistress's blood sugar levels even while she was asleep.
  9. severe
    very bad in degree or extent
    The lady who owned him was a severe diabetic, and if her blood sugar levels got low during the night Max would wake up her husband and bug him until he got up and took care of her.
  10. realize
    be fully aware or cognizant of
    You have to think about that story for only five seconds to realize how much dogs have to offer.
Created on Wed Aug 13 14:17:44 EDT 2014 (updated Wed Aug 13 16:25:15 EDT 2014)

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