Commonly Confused Words, Grades 9–10: List 4

The first method is to teach a song by rote, a technique also known as aural learning, or “by ear.” Music and the Child

I can stand in front of a class and deliver an oral report fearlessly. Dry

I nod, but Ms. Monroe says, “Please give a verbal response.” The Hate U Give

The twenty-four teachers had won a contest held by the St. Louis Republic that entitled them to a free stay at the fair at the newspaper’s expense. The Devil in the White City

The title of Mom’s book Count the Ways on Kahlo and Rivera is a line taken from her favorite poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. I'll Give You the Sun

“The study of insects is called ‘entomology,’” Mrs. V said. Out of My Mind

I was thinking a lot about the etymology of the word “grieve”—from the Latin gravare, meaning “to burden,” from gravis, meaning “heavy, grave”—when I started the story. The New Yorker

The boy looked like he got a lot of fresh air and exercise. Dog Squad

They crowded into her darkened room, throwing open the windows, singing hymns and praying over the grieving woman-child, exorcising the demon of grief and calling Ann back to the world in Jesus’ name. The Best of Enemies

His mother began making the traditional fruit brandy, sealing it in jars to ferment until the celebration. Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps

Mom is fomenting her own brand of anarchy closer to home. Dreaming in Cuban

When the future finally arrived, they didn’t flaunt their modest wealth, but they bought nice clothes, some jewelry for Billie, a Cadillac. Into the Wild

In their eyes, he was a danger to democracy—“a man who flouted the authority of the Senate, who overrode the Constitution while his followers cheered.” The Woman All Spies Fear

Of all the beasts brought from far-off countries to please the crowds with their ferocity, the tiger was one of the most formidable. Tiger, Tiger

She spoke as if she had spent her formative years in some boarding school, walking around with a big-lettered sweater tied around her shoulders. Bodega Dreams

I am an introvert through and through; I like to spend my free time reading and pursuing solitary hobbies. Washington Post

A natural extrovert, he would leave the hotel as soon as we arrived and hit the streets, learning by seeing and talking to people. Long Walk to Freedom

I wanted to keep my feelings out of it, to be objective in my observations. Black Like Me

In the Essays Montaigne was making a fundamental claim about our knowledge of the world, that knowledge is always subjective, personal. The Invention of Science

This premier city was the cradle of ancient art and architecture, as well as the site of both the Hanging Gardens and Tower of Babel. The Annotated Mona Lisa

Arletta Paisley’s summer season premiere was only a few days away, and H & H was showing a heavy rotation of reruns to build excitement about the new show. Hope Springs

Agnew and Hamilton knew from their years practicing military surgery that the human body often encases a bullet in a cyst, or sac, making it harmless. Ambushed!

But when Miss Celia told me to take a dozen peaches home I pulled out a sack and plopped twelve right in. The Help

I picture Rania’s slight smile, barely visible under her hazmat suit. A Rover's Story

Hazel passed a diamond between her fingers in a sleight of hand. The House of Hades