"A Day's Work," Excerpt from "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"

In these scenes from the novel by Mark Twain, Tom is sad that he is given a chore on a beautiful Saturday morning. But he talks his friends into doing it for him. Work on this list to get some tips on how he manages that.

Here are all the word lists to support the reading of Grade 8 Unit 4's texts from SpringBoard's Common Core ELA series: Made You Laugh, Brothers, Pet Peeves, Underfunded Schools Forced to Cut, The Open Window, A Day's Work, They Have Yarns, Mooses, Is Traffic Jam Delectable?, The Power of Pets, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Fear Busters
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. whitewash
    wash consisting of lime and size in water
    Tom appeared on the sidewalk with a bucket of whitewash and a long-handled brush.
  2. melancholy
    a feeling of thoughtful sadness
    He surveyed the fence, and all gladness left him and a deep melancholy settled down upon his spirit.
  3. sorrow
    sadness associated with some wrong done or disappointment
    He began to think of the fun he had planned for this day, and his sorrows multiplied.
  4. expedition
    a journey taken for pleasure
    Soon the free boys would come tripping along on all sorts of delicious expeditions, and they would make a world of fun of him for having to work--the very thought of it burnt him like fire.
  5. examine
    observe, check out, and look over carefully or inspect
    He got out his worldly wealth and examined it--bits of toys, marbles, and trash; enough to buy an exchange of WORK, maybe, but not half enough to buy so much as half an hour of pure freedom.
  6. straiten
    bring into difficulties, especially financial hardship
    So he returned his straitened means to his pocket, and gave up the idea of trying to buy the boys.
  7. inspiration
    special influence of a divinity on the minds of human beings
    At this dark and hopeless moment an inspiration burst upon him! Nothing less than a great, magnificent inspiration.
  8. tranquil
    not agitated
    He took up his brush and went tranquilly to work.
  9. survey
    look over carefully or inspect
    Tom surveyed his last touch with the eye of an artist, then he gave his brush another gentle sweep and surveyed the result, as before.
  10. contemplate
    look at thoughtfully; observe deep in thought
    Tom contemplated the boy a bit, and said: "What do you call work?"
  11. resume
    take up or begin anew
    Tom resumed his whitewashing, and answered carelessly: "Well, maybe it is, and maybe it ain't. All I know, is, it suits Tom Sawyer."
  12. criticize
    engage in the analysis and interpretation of works of art
    Tom swept his brush daintily back and forth--stepped back to note the effect--added a touch here and there--criticized the effect again
  13. consent
    give an affirmative reply to; respond favorably to
    Tom considered, was about to consent; but he altered his mind: "No--no--I reckon it wouldn't hardly do, Ben
  14. particular
    exacting especially about details
    Yes, she's awful particular about this fence; it's got to be done very careful; I reckon there ain't one boy in a thousand, maybe two thousand, that can do it the way it's got to be done.
  15. alacrity
    liveliness and eagerness
    Tom gave up the brush with reluctance in his face, but alacrity in his heart.
Created on Tue Sep 15 17:29:35 EDT 2015 (updated Wed Sep 16 02:23:47 EDT 2015)

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