Pre-University: Reading nonfiction, article #4

“Living Like Weasels” by Annie Dillard, Teaching a Stone to Talk

Vocabulary to discuss in class

• swivel
• fur
• inexplicably
• bias, motive
• purity, dignity, necessity
• ignobly
• will (n.)
• (vows of) poverty, chastity, obedience, silence

Vocabulary to get from context

• carcasses (para. 1)
• socketed (para. 1)
• pry
• steers (para. 4)
• water lilies – terra firma – ceiling (para. 4)
• suburbia (para. 5)
• den (para. 15)
• seize (last para.)

For each of these words,

- list the context clues that can help you determine the meaning of the word

- write what you think the word means (don’t use a dictionary!)

Things to notice while you read

• the two anecdotes/illustrations in paragraphs 1 and 2
• the setting of the story
• the main event in the story
• how the author felt about that event
• the idea about life that she took from that event

Is this a personal essay?

Figurative language

– Words and phrases that create a mental picture of something by comparing it, directly or indirectly, to something else

• Metaphor:
• Simile:
• Hyperbole:
• (Other descriptive language uses vivid verbs and adjectives.)

In the essay, to what literal things do the following phrases refer?

• “soak him off like a stubborn label”
• “a fur pendant”
• “a green horizontal plane that is terra firma to plodding blackbirds, and tremulous ceiling to black leeches, cray­fish, and carp”
• “thin as a curve, a muscled ribbon, brown as fruitwood”
• “small and pointed as a lizard’s”
• “two black eyes I didn’t see, any more than you see a window”

Variation: the following phrase is concrete, but refers to something abstract.

• “I should have gone for the throat”

Can you find other examples? Look especially in paragraphs 10 and 11.

North American Longtail Weasel (photo from U.S. National Parks Service)

 

 

 

Pre-University: Lab 12 (This I Believe)

Radio listening and writing – This I Believe

This I Believe is a project on NPR in which listeners can submit essays about their personal beliefs.

“[Host] Allison and [producer] Gediman say their goal is not to persuade Americans to agree on the same beliefs. Rather, they hope to encourage people to begin the much more difficult task of developing respect for beliefs different from their own.”

These are good examples of personal essays.

A. Listening

Listen to the following essays once before you read them.

There Is No Such Thing as Too Much Barbecue (5:25)

“Jason Sheehan heard our series on his car radio and told us he liked the concept because for many people, belief is just a nebulous clutter of half-held convictions, but the process of putting them down on paper helps cement those few things a person truly believes: the core of a principled life.

“He also noted that the subject of his belief was sitting on the seat next to him in two plastic bags.”

Vocabulary:

• soul food
• comfort food
• barbecue
• civil rights
• putting on airs
• sides
• portions

How does Jason Sheehan believe that barbecue helped change culture in the Deep South, which was racist against African Americans?

The Connection Between Strangers (4:36)

“[Sometimes the most important events in our life are just short moments.] These moments may seem insignificant at the time, but they reverberate afterwards, and even become the basis of a life’s credo. This is what happened to Miles Goodwin.”

Vocabulary

• tour of duty
• wept
• compassion

Why was Miles Goodwin nervous on the airplane?

What happened that “touched” him (gave him a good feeling in his heart)?

B. Writing

Read the details about the rules these writers were using when they wrote their essays.

• Tell a story.
• Be brief.
• Name your belief.
• Be positive.
• Be personal.

What would you say? Write a short essay about a belief you have. Try to be personal and specific. (More personal and specific than, for instance, “I believe in God” or “I believe in my country.”) Try to follow all of the rules above. Don’t forget to illustrate your belief with a story!

You may write or type your short essay, but please be legible!

Pre-university: Reading nonfiction, Article #3

Nonfiction Reading Series Article #3 – reading guide

“Unmarried, With Children” by Barbara Kantrowitz and Pat Wingert – Newsweek May 28, 2001

Vocabulary

• move in together
• “make it legal”
• ambivalent
• headed by
• out of wedlock
• unwed
• cohabiting
• stigma
• prerequisite
• compatibility
• “settling”
• sperm bank
• “the altar”
• unstable
• monogamy

Topics to notice while you read

• Introduction: hypothetical illustration
• Characteristics of single mothers today
• Reasons for single motherhood
• Disadvantages for children of being raised in single-parent homes
• Other family situations that are bad for children
• The issue of marriage in politics
• Conclusion

Cultural reference

At the beginning of the article, the writer refers to an American TV show from the 1950s, Leave It to Beaver. This family sitcom (situation comedy) featured a mother and father, Ward and June Cleaver, and their two sons, Wally and “Beaver” (“the Beav”).  Here is a scene from Leave It to Beaver.