For the first Friday of Black History Month 2024, and following last week’s relatively turgid Text, this week’s Text is the second lesson of five on the British young adult novelist Alex Wheatle. The do-now for this unit is this Cultural Literacy worksheet on the British Empire. I think a word of caution on this document is called for: this is a full-page worksheet with a reading of four long compound sentences and seven comprehension questions. In other words, it can and probably should be pared down. But I do think it’s important, when teaching about racism around the world, and particularly England, to deal with the problem of imperialism, manifest destiny, or whatever other nonsensical ideologies are in play to justify imperial land and resource grabs.
This biography of Alex Wheatle is adapted from The Guardian; if you want the full version of the article, it’s under that hyperlink–and is 1,898 words long, a fact which strikes me as salient here. Finally, here is the comprehension and analysis worksheet that accompanies the reading.
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.
Mark's Text Terminal 