Fourth Grade Rats: Chapters 1–7

by Jerry Spinelli
In this sequel to Third Grade Angels, Suds Morton tries to take his first steps to becoming a man by acting tough and mean.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–7, Chapters 8–14
25 words 132 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. smirk
    smile in a mocking or condescending way
    His face was smirky.
    I looked around the lunchroom. “What’s funny?”
  2. glum
    moody and sorrowful
    “Now, don’t be so glum. Before you know it, fourth grade will be over, and you’ll be a—what’s fifth grade?”
  3. scramble
    move hurriedly
    I scrambled after the stuff on my hands and knees.
  4. feisty
    showing spirit and courage
    The kid on the other tire looked feistier than her pal. From the look in her eyes, you might
 have thought she was a ten-foot cat and I was a mouse.
  5. slump
    fall or sink heavily
    I slumped on the sofa. “Worst first day ever.”
  6. glare
    look at with a fixed or angry gaze
    I glared at her. “Yeah? Well, you wouldn’t think it was so funny if you were in fourth grade and everybody was giving you a hard time. Life isn’t as simple as it was in the old days, you know. I got problems.”
  7. cranky
    easily irritated or annoyed
    When I was a baby, I had upset stomachs a lot. It made me pretty cranky. “You were not a ton of fun to be with,” my mother says.
  8. sneer
    smile contemptuously
    As soon as I sat down to dinner, Zippernose—otherwise known as my sister, Amy—sneered at me: “Rat.”
  9. imitation
    copying the actions of someone else
    She puckered her mouth
 and raised her upper lip, baring her two front teeth. I had to admit, it was a good imitation. “Rat—rat—rat,” she went.
  10. rodent
    a mammal having two pairs of ever-growing front teeth for gnawing
    Before she ran upstairs, she yelled back, “Rodent!”
  11. shrivel
    decrease in size, range, or extent
    We’ll hire a tutor to come in and teach you. She can sit on the toilet seat while you’re in the tub. We’ll serve you your meals there. After a couple months, you should be shriveled down to the size of, oh, a frog.
  12. hoist
    raise
    “Hoist away!”
    His arm started to crank up. My legs got straight, then I was on tiptoes, then I was off the ground.
  13. squawk
    a harsh, screeching sound
    I didn’t bother with the squawks coming from Zippernose’s room.
  14. snarl
    make an angry, sharp, or abrupt noise
    First-graders called fourth-graders “Rats!” Fourth-graders bared their front teeth and snarled.
  15. nominate
    propose as a candidate for some honor
    One day in class we had pretend elections, to learn how government works. Joey nominated himself for President of the United States.
  16. practically
    almost; nearly
    He got his hair cut practically down to the nubs. “Like Marine boot camp,” he said.
  17. gawk
    look with amazement
    He just kept staring at the bee.
    By now, other kids were coming over, gawking.
  18. agony
    intense feelings of suffering; acute mental or physical pain
    A bee sting! Next to a car door slamming on your hand, probably the most painful thing in the world. Major agony.
  19. convulsion
    a violent uncontrollable contraction of muscles
    Would Joey be in convulsions? Conscious? Alive?
  20. conscious
    having awareness of surroundings and sensations and thoughts
    Would Joey be in convulsions? Conscious? Alive?
  21. ward
    block forming a division of a hospital shared by patients
    “You think we ought to go to the emergency ward?”
  22. traitor
    a person who says one thing and does another
    “Yeah, big help. I didn’t hear you telling her she was wrong. I didn’t hear you say you don't like her.”
    “I don’t. You know it. You can have her all you want.”
    “Traitor,” I said.
  23. encyclopedia
    a reference work containing articles on various topics
    He pulled out four or five volumes from his encyclopedia and threw them on the floor.
  24. hamper
    a basket usually with a cover
    He dragged his dirty clothes hamper from the closet and dumped it on the floor.
  25. root
    dig around or dig into
    He opened the jar of nails and dumped them out. He rooted through them until he found one he liked: a long, thin one.
Created on Sat Apr 29 11:46:42 EDT 2023 (updated Sat Apr 29 13:24:46 EDT 2023)

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