When the Lights Go Out

Eight words for the quiet hour, when the sun goes down and the town gets sleepy.

Meet each word one at a time, then take the quiz to lock them in.

1. 1 lantern noun
2. 2 shadow noun
3. 3 blanket verb
4. 4 doze verb
5. 5 sleepy adjective
6. 6 silent adjective
7. 7 quietly adverb
8. 8 bravely adverb

Nelson's word

noun

Lantern. A noun. I file it under a lamp you can carry. It is not the light on your ceiling, which stays put. A lantern goes where you go. You lift it by the handle, and it throws a warm ring of light around your feet. Campers carry one. So do people when the power goes out. State it precisely: a lantern is a light you can pick up and take with you.

The camper held up a lantern to light the dark trail.

Nelson's word

noun

Shadow. A noun. I file it under the dark shape a thing makes when light hits it. Stand in the sun, and your shadow stretches out on the ground behind you. A tree makes a shadow. A lantern can make one too. Carry the light to a new spot, and the shadow shifts with it. State it precisely: a shadow is the dark shape a thing leaves when light cannot pass through it.

The tree cast a long shadow across the yard.

Vinny's word

verb

Blanket! To cover something all over, from edge to edge, so nothing peeks out! When the fog blankets the yard, it spreads over every inch until you cannot see the grass. That is the verb, and it is mine! But beware, this word has a secret. Say a warm blanket, the soft thing on your bed, and now it is a noun, a thing you can hold. Same word, two jobs. We sort those hats in Practice.

The thick fog blankets the whole yard by morning.

Vinny's word

verb

Doze! To sleep lightly, just a little, for a short time! It is not the deep sleep of night. When Grandpa dozes in his chair, his eyes close, but a soft sound can wake him right up. That is the verb, and it is mine! A cat dozes in the sun. A rider dozes on the bus. Learn it, and you will know the small sleep from the big one.

Grandpa dozes in his chair after dinner.

Jake's word

adjective

Sleepy. Oh, a soft one, and it is mine. As an adjective, sleepy describes someone ready to fall asleep: heavy eyes, a big yawn, a slow head. See how it is built? Take the noun sleep, add a y, and you get sleepy, which means full of sleep. Its Frown is wide-awake. Could we be more specific than saying the puppy was tired? We could say sleepy, and let the reader almost feel the yawn. Magnifique.

The sleepy puppy could not keep its eyes open.

Jake's word

adjective

Silent. An adjective, and mine, describing a thing with no sound at all, not one peep. A silent room. A silent night. Its Frown is noisy, full of sound. Could we be more specific than saying the room was quiet? We could say silent, which means there was no sound at all, not even a whisper. Quiet is soft, but silent is all the way empty of sound.

The room went silent when the teacher walked in.

Benny's word

adverb

Quietly. This one is mine, an adverb. It tells how you do a thing: in a soft, low way. She closed the door quietly. He tiptoed quietly down the hall. Hear the ly on the end? That ending turns quiet into quietly, and it tells you how the action happened. Good work spotting it. Now push for the sharp word: not just walked, but walked quietly, so the reader hears how soft the step was.

She closed the door quietly so the baby would not wake.

Benny's word

adverb

Bravely. Mine again, an adverb, and a strong one. It tells how you do a thing: in a way that faces fear head on. He walked bravely into the dark. She spoke bravely in front of the class. See the ly? It turns brave into bravely, telling you how the action was done. You can do better than scared or not scared. Tell me the child acted bravely, and I know she felt the fear and moved anyway.

He walked bravely into the dark basement.