Vocabulary Lists of Vocab Words from Each Chapter I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X | XI | XII H.G. Wells uses a rich and varied vocabulary in The Time Machine. For the student with average reading skills, the reading generally presents few problems. Words that are unfamiliar can be figured out from context clues, and there is, of course, the dictionary.
For the poorer readers, I find it helpful to pre-teach vocabulary words that may trip them up before asking them to read. This can be done numerous ways, but an easy standby is to introduce the words early in the week, ask the students to work with the words in some way (writing a story using all the vocab words properly is a popular alternative to just writing sentences), and then quiz them. By the time they get to the reading, the words are practically familiar old friends.
Teaching vocabulary is a good way to teach other concepts. Many of Wells' words rely on prefixes or suffixes, such as ex-pounding, re-condite or in-cadescent. The words can be used to reinforce grammar lessons. Intermittently, for example, is the adverb form of the adjective intermittent. They also can be used to introduce larger issues: speculation for example, is the form of literature that Wells wrote. Decadent as a vocab word can lead to discussions about society's direction.
In general, teaching a one-hundred year old novel with its slightly unfamiliar language can improve reading by forcing students to pay closer attention to the text to get meaning. Although The Time Machine is a "quick read" for the better readers, it is not like reading a contemporary paperback thriller. The language and ideas require attentiveness.
A note about British spelling: Non-British students need to be reminded that H.G. Wells was an English author and followed British spelling conventions, colour for color, for example.
expounding, recondite, incandescent, paradox, fecundity, controvert, infirmity, intermittently, accession, spasmodic
ingenuity, lucid, scepticism, deportment, plausibility, speculation, jocular, ingenious, articulation, exclamatory
imminent, scaffolding, palpitation, luminous, fluctuating, poignant, exhilaration, rudimentary, fluctuated, attenuated
futurity, exquisite, singularly, vivid, melodious, sphinx, edifice, portal, variegated, dingy
gibbous, complacency, leprous, stanching, dread, folly, mockery, intervention, inarticulate, monomania
manifestly, pallid, perplexity, lemur, clambering, aperture, impenetrable, abysmal, incontinently, grotesque
anguish, impeded, malign, loathed, incomprehensible, wane, villainy, sufferance, commended, pinnacles
corroded, estuary, miscellaneous, oblique, preoccupation, transversely, saltpetre (saltpeter), deliquesced, vestige, diminution
impending, insidious, camphor, atrocious, fermentation, decadence, adjacent, bole, slumbrous, succulent
cupola, steadfast, versatility, disjointed, stave, tranquil, meek, inclination, contrivance, abominable
indefinite, prodigious, extinction, lichen, perpetual, incrustation, lurid, palp, apparition, undulating
succession, fluctuating, decadent, wholesome, speculating, translucent, gaudy, substantial, reminiscence, meddle
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