American Lit. for August 7-11
Post date: Aug 07, 2017 1:23:11 AM
Here's an overview of the week ahead:
Vocabulary: We got our first set of vocabulary words on Friday and will work with them several times in class this week before taking a quiz over them on Friday. Here they are again if you need them:
Aspiration—dream, goals
Keen—sharp, stinging
Allegiance--loyalty
Stark—distinct, obvious, clearly evident
Reverence—respect based on age or authority
Blithe—happy and carefree
Enlighten—to inform, to let someone know
Reservoir—anything that holds a supply of something (like a lake and water)
Penury—poverty, being poor
Procured—to get, to obtain
Despotic—characteristic of a cruel leader
Subsistence—the minimum needed to survive
Perpetuated—to keep it going indefinitely
Barter—trading goods and services for others goods or services
Graft—money made through corruption
American Dream Unit:
We will start our unit focusing on the American Dream Monday, defining the idea for each of us individually and as a general concept. We will also complete a series of stations that focus on different aspects of and attitudes toward the American Dream.
As the week progresses, we will read several selections that define, in various ways, what it is to be an American and what the American Dream means. These works include writings by Senator John McCain, poet Langston Hughes, and President Franklin Roosevelt.
Students will ultimately write a definition paper in which they illustrate what it means to be an American, synthesizing their own ideas with those from the things we've been reading.