“Usumacinta River: River, southeastern Mexico and northwestern Guatemala. Rising in western Guatemala, it flows northwest, forming a section of the Guatemala-Mexico boundary, before emptying into the Grijalva River in Mexico. Its upper course is known as the Chixoy or Salinas River; with the Chixoy, it is approximately 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) long.”
Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.
Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on Portugal. As presently formatted–in Microsoft Word, which means, like almost everything you’ll find on Mark’s Text Terminal, you can revise and edit this document to suit the needs of your students–this is a two-page document with a reading of six sentences and nine comprehension questions. For its size (relatively large for this series of documents as I have prepared them), it is a remarkably thorough introduction to this nation-state.
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.
“Felipe Pedrell: (1841-1922) Spanish musicologist and composer. He was largely self-taught as a musician, A scholarship for study in Rome exposed him to the great past of Spanish music preserved in archives there, and he determined to revive the tradition by bringing to light both folk and older art music and by promoting a national style of composition. His own works include operas and orchestral and choral works. He is regarded as the father of Spanish musical nationalism.”
Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.
Posted in English Language Arts, Quotes, Reference
Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the tango, the dance that originated on the Rio de la Plata, which forms the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. I learned, while conducting the modest research this post required, that the tango in 2009 joined the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List at the proposal of the Argentinian and Uruguayan governments.
In any case, this is a half-page worksheet with a one-sentence reading and one comprehension question; it is the sparest of introductions to a fascinating cultural phenomenon.
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.
David Alfaro Sigueiros: (1896-1975) Mexican painter. A Marxist active in his youth, he fought in the Mexican Revolution alongside Venustiano Carranza, who rewarded him by sponsoring his studies in Europe. Back in Mexico (1922), he began his lifework of decorating public buildings with murals and organizing unions of artists and workers. With Diego Rivera and Jose Clemente Orozco, he cofounded the renowned school of Mexican mural painting. His activism interrupted his career several times when he was imprisoned, chose self-imposed exile, or fought in the Spanish Civil War. His murals are marked by great dynamism, monumental size and vigor, and a limited color range subordinated to dramatic effects of light and shadow. His easel paintings (e.g. Echo of a Scream, 1937) helped establish his international reputation. In 1968 he became the first president of the Mexican Academy of Arts.
Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.
On this fourth Friday of Hispanic Heritage Month 2022, here is a reading on Pablo Picasso with its attendant vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet.
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.
“Guillermo O’Donnell: (1936-2011) Argentine political scientist. He earned a law degree in Argentina and a PhD from Yale University. He taught at universities in South America, Europe, and the United States (principally Notre Dame), and has written many books on Latin American authoritarianism and democracy and the transition from one to the other. His pathbreaking analysis of ‘bureaucratic authoritarianism’ as a specific type of military rule found especially in Latin America from the 1960s to the 1980s contributed greatly to the understanding of comparative politics.”
Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.
Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on Juan Peron. And yes, it does mention Eva (“Evita”) Peron, the Argentine dictator’s wife, subject of the West End musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim RIce. This is a half-page worksheet with a reading of three sentences and three comprehension questions.
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.
“Astor Piazzola: (1921-1992) Argentine composer. Born in Buenos Aires, he lived in the Bronx, New York, until he was 15, then returned to Argentina to play the bandoneon (a type of accordion) in a tango band led by Anibal Troilo (1917-1975). From 1944 he led his own groups. His interest in classical music led to study with Nadia Boulanger (1954-55) and the development of his own compositional style, infusing elements of jazz and modern music into tango. Not always initially popular with tango fans, his music is now recognized as having revived the genre and greatly expanded its artistic potential.”
Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.
Posted in English Language Arts, Quotes, Reference
Tagged hispanic history, music, professional development, readings/research
Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on Jorge Luis Borges. This is a half-page worksheet with a two-sentence reading and three comprehension questions–a spare but reasonably effective introduction to a major figure (whom, to my deep chagrin, I have not read) in world literature.
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.
 | A Measurement Conver… on An Elegantly Simple Cooking Co… |
| A Measurement Conver… on The Weekly Text, October 25, 2… |
 | markstextterminal on Cree |
 | panzer046a139293db on Cree |
| markstextterminal on Cree |
Mark's Text Terminal 
You must be logged in to post a comment.