American Civil War

Word Up

The 2015-2016 Word Up LISTS are in this document. The lessons are arranged by weeks. The purpose of Word Up is to help students learn the

vocabulary on college entrance exams.

There are 20 lists for the year, each list contains 18 words that begin with two

consecutive letters of the alphabet, followed by 1 Cultural Knowledge term and

1 Cultural Knowledge acronym, for a total of 20 items per list. With 36 weeks

in the school year, this leaves 16 “free” weeks without a Word Up lesson, which

should allow teachers to begin Word Up shortly after beginning a new semester

and to finish Word Up before exams begin each semester. Even with these free

weeks, students should learn and/or review more than 350 words that appear on

the SAT, and they should become more familiar with common terms and acronyms used in our culture and in the media.

As agreed, tests should be given in the magnet classes, scored as a 20-point daily

grade (in the 35% category) and administered on Fridays.

This document only holds the word lists. The tests and keys are enclosed in other

digital documents.

Word Up FOR August 31 – September 4

aberration – (noun) the act of departing from the usual course

abstinence – (noun) self-restraint from an action

abstract – (adjective) apart from concrete realities; theoretical

acquiesce – (verb) to comply silently and without protest

admonish – (verb) to caution or advise against something

alienated – (adjective) removed or disassociated from friends, family or home

alleviate – (verb) to ease a pain or a burden

alliance – (noun) a union of two or more groups

ambiguous – (adjective) open to more than one interpretation

baleful – (adjective) destructive; harmful

balm – (noun) ointment for soothing pain; something that comforts or soothes

banal – (adjective) boring; common; ordinary; dull

beguile – (verb) to deceive by charm; to make time pass pleasantly

belie – (verb) to give a false idea; to fail to fulfill a promise

belittle – (verb) to regard or to...