Speak: Third Marking Period

by Laurie Halse Anderson
After calling the police during an end-of-summer party, Melinda is an outcast at school. How can Melinda tell the truth about what really happened when she won't even speak?

Here are links to our lists for the novel: First Marking Period, Second Marking Period, Third Marking Period, Fourth Marking Period

Here are links to our lists for other works by Laurie Halse Anderson: Speak: The Graphic Novel, Chains, Fever 1793, Shout
15 words 4019 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. conundrum
    a difficult problem
    How can I shop with Mom if I don’t want to talk to her? She might love it—no arguing that way. But then I’d have to wear the clothes she picked out. Conundrum—a three-point vocab word.
  2. full-fledged
    having gained complete status
    He is warming up for a full-fledged rant when the bell rings.
  3. spangled
    covered with beads or jewels or sequins
    A chorus line joins in, and the guidance counselor dances around a spangled cane.
  4. bigoted
    blindly and obstinately attached to some creed or opinion
    I think this is part of his punishment for that bigoted crap he pulled in class.
  5. misdemeanor
    a crime less serious than a felony
    His clothes are a little freaky maybe, but that’s a misdemeanor here, not a felony.
  6. felony
    a serious crime, such as murder or arson
    His clothes are a little freaky maybe, but that’s a misdemeanor here, not a felony.
  7. colleague
    an associate that one works with
    One of your colleagues thinks I have an authority problem.
  8. shard
    a broken piece of a brittle artifact
    They look like lockers, boxes, glass shards, lips with triangle brown leaves.
  9. obnoxious
    causing disapproval or protest
    I look at my canoe feet and my wet, obnoxious anklebones.
  10. gauzy
    so thin as to transmit light
    She wears a scarf on her head and some brown-and-red gauzy harem pants.
  11. wistful
    showing pensive sadness
    She looks wistful.
  12. banshee
    a female spirit who wails to warn of impending death
    Nothing quieter than snow. The sky screams to deliver it, a hundred banshees flying on the edge of the blizzard. But once the snow covers the ground, it hushes as still as my heart.
  13. psychiatric
    relating to the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders
    I think it’s some kind of psychiatric disorder when you have more than one personality in your head.
  14. deranged
    driven insane
    I can hear myself—I’m mumbling like a deranged drunk.
  15. gargoyle
    an ornament consisting of a grotesquely carved figure
    The moon is asleep and I’m sitting on my porch roof like a frozen gargoyle, wondering if the sun is going to blow off the world today and sleep in.
Created on Thu Feb 14 16:49:39 EST 2013 (updated Fri Aug 08 14:43:44 EDT 2025)

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