The Great Gatsby Visual Vocabulary Boards

As students read, they'll encounter unfamiliar vocabulary words. A great way to engage students with new words is to have them create visual vocabulary boards for the story. Students can choose between coming up with their use of the vocabulary board, finding the specific example from the text, or depicting it without words. Students can select their own words from The Great Gatsby, or you can provide them with the list below.

Gatsby Vocabulary

• feign
• supercilious
• conscientious
• infinitesimal
• hauteur
• repose
• vestige
• portentous
• lethargic
• magnanimous
• succulent
• permeate
• cynical
• affront
• punctilious
• jaunty
• vacuous
• retribution
• innuendo
• sporadic
• deft
• transpire
• garrulous
• pander

Student-created sentence for supercilious:

“When Tom hit Myrtle, he was supercilious because he believed she had no right to say Daisy's name.”

The actual usage from the novel:

“Now he was a sturdy straw-haired man of thirty with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner. Two shining arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face and gave him the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward.”

Student Instructions

Demonstrate your understanding of the vocabulary words in The Great Gatsby by creating visualizations.

1. Choose three vocabulary words from the story and type them in the title boxes.
2. Find the definition in a print or online dictionary.
3. Write a sentence that uses the vocabulary word.
4. Illustrate the meaning of the word in the cell using a combination of scenes, characters, and items.
• Alternatively, use Photos for Class to show the meaning of the words with the search bar.