"The Southpaw"

A southpaw is a baseball pitcher who throws the ball with the left hand. However, being both a southpaw and a girl does not help Janet. In the short story "The Southpaw," Judith Viorst takes the readers through a back and forth conflict that does not end until the ninth inning.

Here are all the word lists to support the reading of Grade 6 Unit 4's texts from SpringBoard's Common Core ELA series: Shakespeare dumbed down, Shakespeare's Life, Reading Shakespeare's Language, The Southpaw, A Book of Nonsense, The Millionaire Miser, Oranges; Jabberwocky; Fireflies, The Taming of the Shrew
15 words 59 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. former
    belonging to some prior time
    Your former friend,
    Janet
  2. cavity
    a soft, decayed area in a tooth
    P.S. I hope when you go to the dentist he finds 20 cavities.
  3. tetanus
    an acute and serious infection of the central nervous system
    P.S. I hope when you go for your checkup you need a tetanus shot.
  4. ballet
    a theatrical performance of a story by trained dancers
    Just because I'm a member of the ballet club doesn't mean I'm not a terrific ballplayer.
  5. notice
    discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
    In case you didn't notice, I didn't call you.
  6. congratulations
    an expression of approval and commendation
    Congratulations on your unbroken record.
  7. laughingstock
    an object of mockery or ridicule
    I understand you're the laughingstock of New Jersey.
  8. trophy
    something given as a token of victory
    Here's the silver horseback riding trophy that you gave me.
  9. average
    the ratio of successful performances to opportunities
    P.S. In case you were wondering, my batting average is .345.
  10. tonsil
    either of two masses of lymphatic tissue one on each side of the oral pharynx
    Alfie is having his tonsils out tomorrow.
  11. pitch
    throw or hurl from the mound to the batter, as in baseball
    Dear Richard,
    I pitch.
  12. sprain
    twist suddenly so as to wrench
    Joel is moving to Kansas and Danny sprained his wrist.
  13. permanent
    continuing or enduring without marked change in status
    How about a permanent place in the outfield?
  14. base
    a place that the runner must touch before scoring
    I'll give you first base, and that's my final offer.
  15. unreasonable
    not showing good judgment
    Nobody ever said that I was unreasonable.
Created on Fri Aug 15 17:47:26 EDT 2014 (updated Fri Aug 15 22:54:14 EDT 2014)

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