English Language Arts6-8
Introducing Home of the Brave: Vocabulary Worksheet for Grade 6
By Sidney H.
A short beginning-of-unit worksheet for Katherine Applegate's Home of the Brave that introduces key background about Kek's story and builds vocabulary like refugee, proverb, and immigrant. It is designed for a 6th grade reading class and works well as a 20-30 minute warm-up before students start the novel.
Customize for your classroom
Teacher Guide & Tips
- Use this as a pre-reading activity before students begin Home of the Brave, either as a whole-class warm-up or as independent work at the start of the unit.
- Discussion question: Why might Kek find snow so surprising and difficult, and what does his comparison to wading across a river tell us about how he feels?
- Scaffold for struggling readers: Pair them with a partner to read the key terms aloud and define each word in their own words before writing the definitions on the page.
- Extension for advanced students: Ask them to write a short paragraph explaining how the word refugee differs from immigrant in Kek's situation, using evidence from the excerpt.
- Plan roughly 20-30 minutes for reading the background, completing the vocabulary section, and discussing the questions as a class.
English Language Arts6-8
Introducing Home of the Brave: Vocabulary Worksheet for Grade 6
By Sidney H.
A short beginning-of-unit worksheet for Katherine Applegate's Home of the Brave that introduces key background about Kek's story and builds vocabulary like refugee, proverb, and immigrant. It is designed for a 6th grade reading class and works well as a 20-30 minute warm-up before students start the novel.
Customize for your classroom
Teacher Guide & Tips
- Use this as a pre-reading activity before students begin Home of the Brave, either as a whole-class warm-up or as independent work at the start of the unit.
- Discussion question: Why might Kek find snow so surprising and difficult, and what does his comparison to wading across a river tell us about how he feels?
- Scaffold for struggling readers: Pair them with a partner to read the key terms aloud and define each word in their own words before writing the definitions on the page.
- Extension for advanced students: Ask them to write a short paragraph explaining how the word refugee differs from immigrant in Kek's situation, using evidence from the excerpt.
- Plan roughly 20-30 minutes for reading the background, completing the vocabulary section, and discussing the questions as a class.