scoria -- Kristin

sco·ri·a  (skôr-, skr-) n. pl. sco·ri·ae (skôr-, skr-) 1. Geology Porous cinderlike fragments of dark lava. Also called cinders, slag. 2. Metallurgy The refuse of a smelted metal or ore; slag. Also called cinder. [Middle English, dross, from Latin scria, from Greek skri, from skr, excrement, dung; see sker-3 in Indo-European roots.] scori·aceous (-shs) adj.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language.

Kristin loves to snow ski, and she knows that she should ski in snow deep enough so that her skis do not toss up scoria. 

androcentric -- Isabella

an·dro·cen·tric  (ndr-sntrk) adj. Centered or focused on men, often to the neglect or exclusion of women: an androcentric view of history; an androcentric health-care system. andro·centrism n. andro·centrist n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published byHoughton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Isabella recognizes and challenges the androcentric world she lives in.

recursive -- Ann, Todd and Jack

re·cur·sion  (r-kûrzhn) n. Mathematics 1. An expression, such as a polynomial, each term of which is determined by application of a formula to preceding terms. 2. A formula that generates the successive terms of a recursion. [Late Latin recursi, recursin-, a running back, from Latin recursus, past participle of recurrere, to run back; see recur.] re·cursive adj.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published 
byHoughton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Ann, Todd, and Jack --all mathematicians -- solve recursions effortlessly. 

senescence -- Sam

se·nes·cent  (s-nsnt) adj. Growing old; aging. [Latin senscns, senscent-, present participle of senscere, to grow old, inchoative of senre, to be old, fromsenex, sen-, old; see sen- in Indo-European roots.] se·nescence n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published byHoughton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

A teenager, Sam is respectful of his senescent parents, aunts and uncles, and grandparents. 

somatic -- Willie, Sam, Jack, Isabella

so·mat·ic  (s-mtk) adj. 1. Of, relating to, or affecting the body, especially as distinguished from a body part, the mind, or the environment; corporeal or physical. See Synonyms at bodily. 2. Of or relating to the wall of the body cavity, especially as distinguished from the head, limbs, or viscera. 3. Of or relating to the portion of the vertebrate nervous system that regulates voluntary movement. 4. Of or relating to a somatic cell or the somatoplasm. [French somatique, from Greek smatikos, from sma, smat-, body; see soma1.] so·mati·cal·ly adv.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published byHoughton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Willie, Sam, Jack and Isabella know that tennis requires somatic intelligence for success on the court rather than the intelligence of the mind that is more useful in the school.