Monthly Archives: April 2010

May Day

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Information is from KRP’s The Ultimate Holiday Activity Guide distributed by the NIE Institute

May Day (cultural/religious)
The first day of May marks the traditional arrival of spring and has been celebrated as a holiday in Europe since ancient times. It was often marked with spring festivals, dancing around the Maypole, and the gathering of flowers — traditions that continue today. In the United States, such May Day festivities are usually reserved for schoolchildren.


 

Since the 1880s, May Day has also been a workers’ holiday, or Labor Day, in most countries, evolving from the struggle for the eight-hour work day. It resembles the U.S. Labor Day holiday in September.
 

The Puritans, members of a religious and social group that spread to the United States when it was first settled, disapproved of the May Day festivities. Therefore, the holiday has never been celebrated with enthusiasm in the United States.

Ask students to research this ancient holiday to find out why the Puritans disapproved of May Day. Then have them assume the identity of an American settler and write an editorial or letter to the editor that might have persuaded the Puritans to rethink their position and allow May Day festivities to proceed. Prior to the assignment, point them to the editorial pages in the newspaper for examples of persuasive writing.
 

What Do You Mean?

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From KRP’s What’s in a Word NIE supplement from the NIE Institute.

Meaning is what a word conveys or communicates; it’s what words are all about. There are two kinds of meaning: what a word denotes (what it literally means) and what it connotes(what it implies or suggests). Words with similar denotative meanings may have very different connotations.
 

An example is the word slow. If we describe a person as slow, we are saying he doesn’t think or act in a hurry. That’s the literal meaning of slow. But aren’t we also suggesting something: that he is sluggish or dull? If we said he was deliberate, we’d be implying something different. Deliberate also describes someone who doesn’t think or act in a hurry, but it implies something admirable. A deliberate person is one who is careful, thorough, and steady. Deliberate writers weigh their words carefully, choosing the ones that say exactly what they mean.

ACTIVITIES                                                                                                             1.  Find a letter to the editor that’s either critical or complimentary of a person, situation, or thing. Circle all the descriptive words used. Can you think of synonyms that would change the connotations?
 

2. News stories (as opposed to columns and feature articles) usually present facts in a straightforward manner. See if you can find an example of words that reflect an attitude or a bias in a news story. If you find an example, try to rephrase it using more neutral language.
 

3. One place where connotations are freely used is advertisements. Find an ad that uses connotations to give its message an emotional impact. What emotions is the ad trying to convey? Why?

Compound it!

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From KRP’s What’s in a Word NIE supplement from the NIE Institute.

A compound word is formed from two or more words or word parts. Words formed with prefixes and suffixes are sometimes called compound words, but the term most often refers to whole-word combinations such as downtown, sorehead, high school, or backseat.

ACTIVITIES

1. Cut out a group of single words from newspaper advertisements. Combine them in various ways to invent compound words.
 

2. See who can find the most compound words in today’s newspaper headlines. For an added challenge, set a time limit of 2-5 minutes.
 

3. Pick any compound word from today’s newspaper and use your dictionary to look up the origins of the root words involved. Be prepared to share your findings with the class.

WHERE DO WORDS COME FROM?  English is related to a large group of other languages, including Spanish, French, Latin, and German. Thousands of years ago,  Europeans living in one area shared a common language. They began to develop separate languages after they migrated to different areas. English developed out of the German spoken by fifth-century Anglo-Saxons who settled in England. They called their language Englisc. Today, we call it Old English. It developed over time into modern English, borrowing words from many other languages (including those closely related to it) along the way.

Language is borrowed from the Old French word langue (“tongue,” “language”), in turn borrowed from the Latin lingua (“tongue”). What other words can you think of that might be related to language? Hint: Think “pasta.” Verify your guess by checking the dictionary.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE OLDE WORDS GONE?  Most Old English words have disappeared, but not all. Of the 100 most commonly used words in our language, all are Old English. Of the 200 most common words, all but 17 are Old English. These words – the, and, of, for, love, think, man, wife (which originally meant “woman”), child, heart, house, eat, drink, live, work – are the core of our language. Most of them express simple, unrefined ideas.
 

In the Context

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From KRP’s What’s in a Word NIE supplement from the NIE Institute.

In reading, you sometimes come across words you haven’t seen before. Take the following sentence as an example: The sequins on her dress scintillated under the ballroom’s glittering lights. You may be able to guess at the meaning of “scintillated” from the context, the words that surround it. In this sentence, the dress has sequins, which are shining things. The setting is a ballroom with bright lights. What does a shiny thing do when exposed to lights? It gives off flashes of reflected light. So “scintillated” means “sparkled.” Guessing meaning from clues in the context is a little bit like playing detective.
 

Use the following sentences for practice before tackling the newspaper activity listed at the end of the blog. Decide what you think each italicized, boldedword means, then on a piece of paper write down the meaning.

1. His flowery praise was so effusive that she wondered how sincere it was.
2. Because of her finesse as a dancer, every move looked easy.                                       3. He was soon lost in the winding, labyrinthine hallways.
4. Only the best students can hope to matriculate at colleges with high standards.
5. They couldn’t understand why the noisy child was suddenly quiescent until they found she had fallen asleep.
6. Stand off, thou foul and deceitful rapscallion!
 

ACTIVITY – Skim the front page of your newspaper, looking for unfamiliar words. As a class, list all the words you find on the blackboard. Then go back and see if you can guess what each word means by clues in the context.

I just talked to Paulette Tobin, the Arts & Entertainment Reporter at the Herald.  She is trying to find a home for her piano.  It’s free, you just have to pick it up.  Email her at ptobin@gfherald.com.  Here is the link to her blog, if you want to see photos and additional information  www.areavoices.com/popculture/

Celebrate Theatre and The Music Man

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CELEBRATE THEATRE and The Music Man

Theatres and newspapers offer unique perspectives on our lives and the world.  Newspapers give us the reality of the world.  Newspapers and theatre both help us understand that reality. Celebrate Theatre is a 45 page Newspapers in Education guide filled with lots of activities and information.  The guide was produced by The League of American Theatres and Producers Inc. and the Newspaper Association of America Foundation. 

Download the guide by clicking on this link legacy.grandforksherald.com/pdfs/CelebrateTheatreR.pdf

Speaking of theatre, Toni Grove, a teacher from Crookston High School sent this information regarding their upcoming musical, "The Music Man."  Thanks Toni!

Crookston High School presents, "The Music Man" April 16, 17, and 18th in the High School Auditorium at 7:30 pm.

The Music Man
By: Senior Student Ben Dufault

The Music Man is the story of a con man Mr. Harold Hill (Max Wolpert), who travels to a little town in Iowa called River City. Harold Hill wastes no time in promoting the fact that River City needs a boy’s band. As Mr. Hill spins his web of deceit the librarian Marian Paroo (Andrea Wright) doesn’t buy the act.

Every other year, the Crookston High School Theater Department puts on a musical. This year, with a large cast and a familiar show, the Crookston High School actors are very excited to showcase their talents. Beth Carlson and Joyce Johnson will direct the show, and Phyllis Hagen created costumes. The Music Man will be performed April 16, 17, and 18th in the High School Auditorium at 7:30 pm. Ticket prices are $10 for adults and $8 for students and can be purchased from cast members, Montague’s Flower Shop, or at the door.

The Music Man Cast of Characters

Traveling Salesmen –Shane Chapman, Brandon Lyczewski, Cole Sondreal, Ethan Pilger, Keaton Gast
Charlie Cowell ——–Chris Plante
Conductor ——–Dustin Wohl
Harold Hill ——–Max Wolpert
Newspaper Readers ——–Jordan Rauner, Hannah Edlund, Alex Regeimbal
Mayor Shinn——–Robert Dorman
 

The Quartet
Ewart Dunlop ——–Dustin Wohl
Oliver Hix ——–Luke Loegering
Jacey Squires ——–Noah Fagerlund
Olin Britt ——–Christian Halos


 

Marcellus Washburn ——–Ben Dufault
Tommy Djilas ——–Daniel Cooley
Marian Paroo ——– Andrea Wright
Mrs. Paroo ——–Kristin Remick
Amaryllis ——–Emma Gilman
Winthrop Paroo ——–Zach Sanders
Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn ——–Caitlin Crane
Zaneets Shinn ——–Michelle Stahlecker
Gracie Shinn ——–Kailey Mykleseth
Alma Hix ——–Krystina Rasmussen
Maud Dunlop ——–Aryanna Ostgaard
Ethel Toffelmier ——–Kathryn Hefta
Mrs. Squires ——–Hayley Sullivan
Constable Locke ——–Cole Sondreal
River City Townspeople/Dancers ——–Monique Burgoz, McKaela Sandstrom, Lucas Butler, Cyrina Ostgaard, Mitchel Wright
Lights and Sound ——–Kathryn Erickson, Addy Peck, Emma Dufault, Abby Wilder    Directors: Beth Carlson and Joyce Johnson 

"The Music Man" is presented through special arrangements with Music Theatre International, New York, New York 10019.
 

Synonyms, Antonyms, Homonyms …

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From KRP’s What’s in a Word NIE supplement from the NIE Institute.

 

SYNONYMS                                                                                                           A synonym is a word that has the same or almost the same meaning as one or more other words. Our language has many synonyms, and one of the reasons is that English has more than one source. For example, Old English had words like craft, hide, and carve. Norse people who settled in England around the end of the eighth century had their own words for the same things: skill, skin, and cut. Both versions of these words survived through the centuries and are part of our modern vocabulary.  ACTIVITY  – Go to the sports section of your newspaper and see how many synonyms you can find for the word win. Do the same thing for the word lose. Make a list. 

 

ANTONYMS                                                                                                         An antonym is a word that means the opposite of another word. Antonyms are handy
when you want to express a contrast between things or ideas. Some antonyms are formed simply by adding prefixes such as un, in, or dis to a word. Aware becomes unaware, active becomes inactive, and like becomes dislike. Other antonyms come in forms unrelated to their opposites: Difficult is an antonym for easy, and noise is an antonym for silence.  ACTIVITY – For fun, replace all of the adjectives in a help-wanted ad with antonyms. Share the finished ad with your class.

 

HOMONYMS                                                                                                          A homonym is one of two or more words that are pronounced and spelled alike but differ in meaning. Mine (not yours) and mine (a place where minerals are found) are homonyms.

Homophones are words that are pronounced alike but differ in spelling and meaning. Desert (abandon) and dessert (a treat) are homophones.

A homograph, on the other hand, is one of two or more words that are spelled alike but differ in meaning and (usually) pronunciation. Produce (make) and produce (fruits and vegetables), and conduct (lead) and conduct (behavior), are examples of homographs.  ACTIVITY – Go on a homograph/homophone/homonym hunt! Pick one section of your newspaper and read the articles quickly, circling any homograph, homophone, or homonym you find.

If you’re having trouble telling the difference between homonyms, homophones, and homographs, remember this: The root homo comes from a Greek word homos, which means “same.” Homonym equals homo + onyma (“same name”), homophone equals homo + phone (“same sound”), and homograph equals homo + graph (“same writing”).

Congratulations Dominic!

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Congratulations Dominic Mangino!

03/30/2010 — Grand Forks middle school student wins contest co-sponsored by UND Center for Human Rights and Genocide Studies

For the second straight year, a Grand Forks middle school student has won a Holocaust essay contest co-sponsored by the University of North Dakota Center for Human Rights and Genocide Studies (CHRGS).

Dominic Mangino, 14, an eighth grade student at South Middle School, received a trip to Washington, D.C., and a tour of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum for his essay “The Holocaust: Then, Now and How.” He and his parents, Ernest and Joan Mangino, were in Washington last week where a member Sen. Byron Dorgan’s staff gave them a special tour of the U.S. Capitol building. “He has a 4.0 GPA and is a very strong student,” English teacher Andrea Simon said of Mangino, who is the second student from her English class to win the annual contest. “I encouraged him to enter an essay, and he took it upon himself to do it.”

Simon said Mangino’s three-page essay explored anti-Semitism during the Holocaust and its existence in today’s society. She noted that for most of her students, their first exposure to the Holocaust is when they study “The Diary of Anne Frank.” “We talk about other examples of genocide in today’s world,” she said. “It helps students learn to be involved in the world, to stay informed by paying attention to the news and to ask questions.”

Gregory Gordon, UND law professor and CHRGS director, will speak to Simon’s class about the Holocaust and human rights. “It really opens up an aspect of history to kids in our area that they might not otherwise learn,” he said. “We consider that an important part of the center’s mission.”

CHRGS sponsors the annual essay contest with the United Jewish Fund and Council of St. Paul, Minn., and the Jewish Community Relations Council. Two Minnesota students also entered winning entries in the contest.  (Source:  UND Press Release)

  

The 15th Street/Eisenhower Plaza entrance to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Credit: Max Reid, USHMM Photo Archives.

Visit the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum online at www.ushmm.org/