Excerpt from "Kira-Kira"

Cynthia Kadohata's excerpt from the novel "Kira-Kira" focuses on the bond between two Japanese-American sisters growing up in 1950s Iowa.

Here are all the word lists to support the reading of Grade 6 Unit 1's texts from SpringBoard's Common Core ELA series: Imperfect Me, My Superpowers, Flipped, The Jacket, Kira-Kira, Thank You, M'am, Pandora and the Whispering Box, Eleven, The Treasure of Lemon Brown, The Fun They Had
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. glittering
    having brief brilliant points or flashes of light
    Kira-kira means " glittering" in Japanese.
  2. misuse
    apply badly or incorrectly
    My mother said we were misusing the word; you could not call a Kleenex kira-kira.
  3. dismayed
    struck with fear, dread, or consternation
    She was dismayed over how un-Japanese we were and vowed to send us to Japan one day.
  4. diary
    a daily written record of experiences and observations
    I know a lot about when I was a little girl, because my sister used to keep a diary.
  5. instance
    clarify by giving an example of
    For instance, one of my earliest memories is of the day Lynn saved my life.
  6. brief
    of short duration or distance
    I felt a brief fear as Lynn disappeared into the cornstalks.
  7. constantly
    without interruption
    When she wasn't in school, she stayed with me constantly.
  8. officially
    with authorization
    Officially, I stayed all day with a lady from down the road, but unofficially, Lynn was the one who took care of me.
  9. snarl
    make an angry, sharp, or abrupt noise
    The dog burst from the field suddenly, growling and snarling.
  10. growl
    utter or emit low dull rumbling sounds
    I ran, hearing the dog growling and Lynnie grunting.
  11. huddle
    crouch or curl up
    When I got to the house, I turned around and saw the dog tearing at Lynn's pants as she huddled over into a ball.
  12. weapon
    any instrument used in fighting or hunting
    I ran inside and looked for a weapon.
  13. lap
    take up with the tongue
    The dog rushed to lap up the milk.
  14. worried
    mentally upset over possible misfortune, danger, etc.
    She looked worried. "He's going to cut his tongue on the glass."
  15. forgive
    stop blaming
    Even if you tried to kill her and bite off her leg, she still forgave you.
Created on August 12, 2014 (updated August 13, 2014)

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