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.

Pre-University: Fall 2009 reading projects schedule

Welcome to Shayna’s class! This semester, we will do some fiction and non-fiction reading projects. I will give you a handout with the schedule, but in case you need to access it online, here it is:

August

• 31 (Mon) – discuss book report process and choosing books

[If you need ideas choosing a book, there are some ideas in this post.]

September

• 2 (Wed) – book choice due to teacher by email or in class (Teacher will approve choice or suggest something else)
• 4 (Fri) – book choice form due in class (Lab 1)
• 7 (Mon) – Book Progress Report 1 (15 minutes in class, summarize what you read in the past week)
• 14 (Mon) – Book Progress Report 2; deadline to change book (new book must be approved by teacher)
• 21 (Mon) – Book Progress Report 3
• 28 (Mon) – Book Progress Report 4

October

• 5 (Mon) – Book Progress Report 5
• 12 (Mon) – Book Progress Report 6
• 13 (Tues) – talk about book report essays
• 16 (Fri) – deadline to finish reading novel
• 22 (Thurs) – written book reports due
• 26 (Mon) – talk about non-fiction; assign topics for nonfiction-related speeches; hand out Article #1
• 27 (Tues) – talk about oral book reports (presentations)
• 30 (Fri) – Article #1 quiz and discussion; oral book report presentation drafts due

November

• 2, 3 (Mon, Tues) – oral book report presentations in class
• 2 (Mon) – hand out Article #2
• 6 (Fri) – Article #2 quiz and discussion
• 9 (Mon) – hand out Article #3
• 13 (Fri) – Article #3 quiz and discussion
• 16 (Mon) – hand out Article #4
• 20 (Fri) – Article #4 quiz and discussion

* This schedule could change as we go on, but this is our goal.

Reading resources

If you would like to do more reading for practice and pleasure, here are some ideas. Most of these are books and resources I think would be good for middle- to upper-level adult ESL students. (The Storybooks section has some links for beginning level ESL students.)

Novels
Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder (easy history, American culture)

books by Lois Lowry

Big Fish by Daniel Wallace

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (American culture)

The Dark Is Rising books by Susan Cooper (fantasy)

Animal Farm and 1984 by George Orwell (political satire and future fiction)

The Little Prince (English translation) by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

books by Ernest Hemingway

books by Elizabeth George Speare

books by Roald Dahl (some are for children, but are interesting and culturally relevant)

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Non-fiction articles
Time or Newsweek magazine (higher reading level)
Reader’s Digest – easy, short stories about many subjects

Graphic novels (comic books)
17 Free, Downloadable Graphic Novels

Storybooks

Children’s Storybooks Online has illustrated books for beginning readers to more advanced readers. Scroll down for lists for young children, older children, and young adults.

Other resources
Searchlit.org

This website helps you find many free online texts. It lets you choose which level of reading you want to look for (beginning, middle and strong readers) and you can search by “grade” level (for instance, 7th graders are about 12 years old) and you can choose short stories, poems, novels and plays.

I will add to these lists as I have more ideas. I hope they help!

(Updated 1 June 2009)

Literacy: National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry month! To finish the celebrations, the website Poets.org has declared April 30 “Poem In Your Pocket Day.”

“The idea is simple: select a poem you love during National Poetry Month then carry it with you to share with co-workers, family, and friends on April 30, 2009.”

For Pre-University A: since we will be almost finished with our semester on April 30, we will celebrate Poem In Your Pocket Day on Tuesday, April 28. On that day, if you show me a poem you are carrying in your pocket, I will give you 1 bonus point toward your final grade. I might ask you why you chose the poem!

If you need ideas, this page has some poem .pdf documents you can print out.

Have fun choosing a poem!

Pre-Univeristy: Lab 10 (Poetry)

In class this week, we will be discussing literature. One type of literature is poetry.

1. Go to one or more of the following poetry websites:

• Poets.org ( http://www.poets.org/audio.php )
• BBC Arts – Poetry Out Loud ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/poetry/outloud/ )
• Plagiarist.com – (http://plagiarist.com/poetry/poets/ )
• Poetry X – ( http://poetry.poetryx.com/ )

You may also use other poetry resources you know of: books or other websites.

2. Browse. Read or listen to some poems.

3. Choose one poem you like. (Please do not choose song lyrics.) Print it out.

The poem does not need to be originally written in English, but if it isn’t, you need to provide a translation.

Also remember to include the poet’s name (the author of the poem).

4. Write a paragraph describing why you like the poem. Use detail and examples!

Do you like it because of…

• the subject matter? (does it remind you of something?)
• the message/meaning?
• the way it sounds? (rhythm, rhyme, alliteration)

5. Bring the poem and your paragraph to class Friday, April 10. If we have time, you will have a chance to share your poem with the class.

For an example of a poem I chose for this assignment, see here.

Pre-University: Reading questions

Reading questions for Insights 1 Unit 4 p. 145 “The Way We Are”

Vocabulary/phrases

[write down any words or phrases you would like to discuss in class]

Discussion questions

1. What does the author consider to be a “traditional family”? A“nontraditional family”? Which does she feel is more accepted in her culture? (para. 1-4)

2. List several reasons that nontraditional families are becoming more common. (para. 5)

3. Was the current idea of a “traditional family” always true? What did families use to look like? (para. 7)

4. What are some advantages of non-traditional/extended families? What might be a disadvantage of “nuclear” family structure? (para. 7-9)

5. What does the author feel is most important for raising children? (para. 11)

Intermediate: Lab 12 (Earth Facts)

Due Thursday, April 25, 2008

Tuesday (April 22) is Earth Day! This is a special day when we celebrate the earth and learn how to take care of it.

The teacher will give you a page with ten or eleven facts about the Earth. Each student will have different facts. You can read the whole article here: 101 Amazing Earth Facts.

Read and learn your facts. If you need help, use a dictionary, talk to your friends, or visit the teacher during office hours.

In class Thursday, there will be a quiz. Some questions will come from your reading page, others will come from other students’ pages. You can help each other on the quiz! But if you don’t know the information on your page, the other students might get that question wrong, too. This is TEAMWORK.

Pre-University: Reading (Living Like Weasels)

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

For this assignment we will be reading an essay, “Living Like Weasels” by Annie Dillard from her book Teaching a Stone to Talk. You may answer these questions on your own paper.

Vocabulary to discuss in class

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

Vocabulary to get from context

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

For each of the above words, please

1. list the context clues that can help you determine the meaning of the word
2. write what you think the word means (don’t use a dictionary!)

Reading comprehension

1.

..Once, a man shot an eagle out of the sky. He examined the eagle and found the dry skull of a weasel fixed by the jaws to his throat. The supposition is that the eagle had pounced on the weasel and the weasel swiveled and bit as instinct taught him, tooth to neck, and nearly won. I would like to have seen that eagle from the air a few weeks or months before he was shot: was the whole weasel still attached to his feathered throat, a fur pendant?

What has happened in this quote? Be prepared to demonstrate the scene in class.

2. In paragraph 6, what is the author sitting on? (give a description, not just a word)

3. “Our eyes locked, and someone threw away the key.”

This sentence in paragraph 9 uses figurative language. What does it mean, literally?

4. In paragraphs 10, 11 and 12, the author uses a lot of metaphor and descriptive language to describe how she felt in this special situation with the weasel. It is okay if you don’t understand all of it. Just try to explain, in a sentence or two, what Annie Dillard feels was so wonderful and unusual about her meeting with the weasel.

5. In the last paragraph, the author uses an image from the second paragraph to make her main point. What quality or belief does she think is important for people to have?

Holiday: Easter resources

This Sunday, many Americans will be celebrating Easter. If you are unfamiliar with this holiday and how it is celebrated in the United States, here are some resources to look at:

Video: The History of Easter

Video: Dyeing Easter eggs

The Traditions of Easter – an article about the history and traditions of the holiday

Whyeaster.com’s articles about Easter Sunday, Eggs & Chicks, Bunnies, Rabbits and Lambs, Easter Foods and Easter Flowers

Worldwide Easter celebrations

Comprehension questions:

• What are some Christian religious traditions and symbols of Easter?
• What are some modern cultural (non-religious) traditions and symbols of Easter?
• Which modern Easter traditions and symbols came from pagan (non-Christian) beginnings?
• Name some foods people  traditionally eat for the Easter holiday.

Holiday: St. Patrick’s Day resources

You may have noticed that we have a holiday coming up: St. Patrick’s Day. This is a traditional festival or celebration, but not a holiday from work or school. Here are some resources if you would like to learn more about the holiday and its traditions.

History.com’s St. Patrick’s Day mini-site – includes links to the articles “Who Was St. Patrick?” and “History of the Holiday.”

Video: The History of St. Patrick’s Day

The St. Patrick’s Day Festival in Ireland – includes a nice video showing Ireland and the parade there.

The World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade – in Hot Springs!

Comprehension questions:

• What country and culture does St. Patrick’s day celebrate?
• When did St. Patrick live? What is he famous for?
• On which date is St. Patrick’s Day celebrated? Why was this date chosen?
• Name a modern St. Patrick’s Day tradition related to…

1. – Clothing
2. – Drink
3. – A plant
4. – Public celebrations