Students are asked comprehension questions that prompt them to judge a character's mental state or intentions, for example: "Do you think Tornado knew a card trick? Why or why not?" and "Do you think Tornado poked Pete's leg because he wanted to play cards? Why or why not?" Students also answer why Tornado obeyed Pete's father but not Pete, which asks them to infer degrees of certainty or intent from behavior.

Students are given a vocabulary list that includes state-of-mind words (mood, pleasure, fond, miserable) and are asked to look up and discuss the meanings of each word. Students place vocabulary note cards in alphabetical order and read sentences aloud, then match the correct vocabulary word to blanks on sentence strips. Option 2 asks students to write specific examples from the story to justify descriptive words for Tornado, encouraging use of precise word choice.

Students are asked in Question #5 to state how the girl feels after she thinks the tornado took her dog, with suggested answer words such as "sad, awful, worried, or anxious." Students are prompted to describe the saddest day of Pete's life (Question #1) and to write journal entries summarizing events and feelings, which elicits use of emotion words. The Story Conflict activity asks students to explain characters' conflicts and responses, which involves naming states of mind.

Students reread the passage describing Pete's sadness and record the words and phrases the author uses to show how he feels (e.g., "I couldn't eat," "my eyes kept filling up with tears"). Students use a thesaurus to look up "happy" and "sad," record additional synonyms, and generate three different ways to say "I feel sad" and "I feel happy." Students discuss that synonyms can have different shades of meaning and are given explicit examples contrasting "sad" vs. "depressed" and "happy" vs. "excited."

Students record definitions, synonyms and/or antonyms, syllable counts, and example sentences for vocabulary words (mishap, specialist, disappointment, passion, trial, accomplishment). Students play a clue game in which they guess words using definitions, syllable counts, sentences, or synonyms/antonyms as clues. Students locate the words in the text and read aloud the sentences that contain them, reinforcing word meaning in context.

The bio-poem activity asks students to fill in prompts such as "Who feels ____, ____, and ____," and the "A Poem About Me" page contains similar prompts for feelings, needs, and fears. The lesson's skill list includes "Increase oral and written vocabulary by listening, discussing, and composing texts," and a sample bio poem models using feeling words in context.

Students are asked to record in a journal three thoughts, feelings, or phrases that the character uses and to note important events, which requires attending to words that express states of mind. Activity 3 directs students to identify words, phrases, and sentences that tell us about each character's personality. The listed skills include discussing the effect of an author's choices for nouns, verbs, modifiers, and specific vocabulary that help the reader comprehend a narrative.

Students are asked to describe Mr. Ocax's feelings after he missed Poppy (Question #2), with suggested answers including angry, embarrassed, disappointed, or hurt. Students are also asked how Poppy's family felt about Ragweed (Question #8) and to justify whether those feelings were correct. The questions require students to choose and use words that describe states of mind and to write or speak answers in complete sentences.

Students choose between related words that differ in intensity in the "Choose the Right Word" activity (for example, comparing "cross" and "furious," and "gobble" and "nibble") and are asked to explain their selections. Students underline the best-fitting word in sentence sets that present synonyms with different strengths (e.g., "heartbroken, sad, unhappy"; "scorching, hot, warm"). Students write and match synonyms in Option 1/2 and are prompted to produce their own synonym pairs, reinforcing nuanced word-choice practice.

Students answer a comprehension question asking why Poppy did not feel joy when she realized Mr. Ocax was dead, prompting them to consider and describe emotional states. Students are asked to interpret Ereth's phrase that Poppy was the "salt of the earth," which requires them to think about nuance in meaning and tone. Students write epitaphs for Ragweed and Mr. Ocax and are asked to discuss how Mr. Ocax's epitaph will have a different tone than Ragweed's, encouraging them to choose words that convey different feelings. Students record "new words" on the Story Tree, which could lead them to notice and reflect on word choices related to characters' feelings.

The lesson includes an adjective/web activity that asks students to choose descriptive words for family members and to use a thesaurus to find interesting synonyms, requiring students to consider word choices and provide reasons for selections. The vocabulary activity has students match words to definitions, find the words in context, and write sentences, which practices distinguishing meanings and using nuance in context. The vocabulary list includes words that express attitudes or qualities (e.g., modest, admiration), giving some exposure to words that relate to states of mind.

Activity 2 (Vocabulary Webs) asks students to look up definitions, read words in context, and record synonyms and antonyms for vocabulary words. The provided example for gratitude lists related words (appreciation, gratefulness, thankfulness) and asks students to write a new sentence using the word. The activity requires students to choose correct definitions from context and to produce sentences that show their understanding of word meanings.

Students are given a vocabulary word list (fuming, imposter, glaring, fend, coach, betray, fathom, fret) and directed to read a paragraph and select the word that fits each blank from paired choices. The directions ask students to look up unfamiliar words, read each dictionary definition, and decide which meaning fits best in context. The activity includes pairs that invite comparison of similar emotion-related words (for example, fuming/glaring and fend/fret appear as choice pairs).

The lesson includes vocabulary words that describe a state of mind or certainty—specifically "convinced" and "glum"—and asks students to locate the words and choose sentences that use them correctly. The Chapters 1-6 Vocabulary activity instructs students to look up definitions when needed, which requires students to consider word meanings. The Reactions Chart asks students to write characters' reactions and their personal reactions, prompting students to identify emotional states and responses in context.