Monthly Archives: May 2018

The Weekly Text, May 4, 2018, Asian Pacific American History Month 2018 Week I: A Reading and Comprehension Worksheet on the Chinese Exclusion Act

Posted on May 4, 2018 | Leave a comment

For the first text of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, I offer a materials on one of the most ignoble pieces of legislation ever to pass through our legislative and executive branch, the Chinese Exclusion Act.

So, here is a reading on the Chinese Exclusion Act along with this comprehension worksheet on it. Finally, here is an Everyday Edit on the late Senator Daniel Inouye (and if you want or need more Everyday Edit worksheets, I highly recommend visiting the Everyday Edit page at Education World, where you will find the generous proprietors of the site give away away a yearlong supply of them for free!).

If you find typos in these documents, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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U Thant (1909-1974)

Posted on May 3, 2018 | Leave a comment

“Third secretary-general of the United Nations (1961-1971), the first Asian to hold the post. Born in Myanmar (Burma), he was educated at the University of Yangon but had to leave before graduating. He taught high school before entering government service. Posted to the U.N. in 1952, he became Burma’s U.N. ambassador in 1957. In 1961 he became acting secretary-general after Dag Hammarskjold’s death; he became permanent secretary-general in 1962. In his two full terms (1962-1971), he played a diplomatic role in the Cuban missile crisis, devised a plan to end the Congolese civil war (1962), and sent peacekeeping forces to Cyprus (1964).”

Stevens, Mark A., Ed. The Merriam Webster Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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Independent Practice Worksheet: Buddhism

Posted on May 3, 2018 | Leave a comment

Here, on a Thursday morning, is a short independent practice assignment on Buddhism. In other words, this is homework; I don’t use the word in my classroom because it is loaded. In any case, consistent with Alfie Kohn’s book The Homework Myth, which exercises a large influence on my thinking on this issue, I try to help students understand the difference between homework qua homework and independent practice, which calls upon them to practice that day’s classwork on their own.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998)

Posted on May 2, 2018 | Leave a comment

“Japanese film director. Kurosawa gained international recognition with Rashomon (1950), which won first prize at the Venice Film Festival in 1951. Other noteworthy films include Ikiru (1952), Seven Samurai (1954; remade by Hollywood as The Magnificent Seven, 1960), Throne of Blood (1957; an adaptation of Macbeth), Yojimbo (1961), Dersu Uzala (1975), Kagemusha (1980) and Ran (1985; an adaptation of King Lear), which received the National Film Critics Award for best picture of 1985.

Widely recognized as one of the greatest directors of all time, Kurosawa helped introduce Japanese film—and Japan itself—to the world. His distinctive ‘international’ style is immediately accessible to foreign audiences, whether the subject is rampaging Samurai or corporate intrigue. In this sense, his work many contrasted with the more understated, ‘quintessentially Japanese’ films of his great contemporary, Ozu Yasujiro.”

Excerpted from: Murphy, Bruce, ed. Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia, Fourth Edition. New York: Harper Collins, 1996.

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Cultural Literacy: Genghis Khan

Posted on May 2, 2018 | Leave a comment

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, May 1st begins Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Initially, I was concerned that I lacked significant materials to observe the month properly; however, upon review of the Text Terminal Archives, I find that I have an abundance of materials to offer in observation of it.

So, let’s start with this Cultural Literacy Worksheet on Genghis Khan. As a college professor of mine once put it, he was an “industrious fellow.”

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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The Devil’s Dictionary: Inhumanity

Posted on May 1, 2018 | 1 comment

“Inhumanity, n. One of the signal and characteristic qualities of humanity.”

Excerpted from: Bierce, Ambrose. David E. Schultz and S.J. Joshi, eds. The Unabridged Devil’s Dictionary. Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 2000.

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A Short Exercise on the Greek Word Root Oste/o

Posted on May 1, 2018 | Leave a comment

This worksheet on the Greek word root oste/o–it means bone–is another of those Greek roots that produces a lot of words used in the health professions, e.g. osteopathy.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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