Month: January 2019

Tomorrow’s Test: Vocab, Vladek, Husker Du. Remember to reload the test in the morning to get the final version!

“Vocab, 1/31.”
ominous, solace, permeate, languid, ubiquitous, dejected, meticulous, assuage, assimilate, petulant
   

1. _____ Pic of a lazy polar bear napping.
2. _____ Cartoon of a guy in a robe on a pillow enjoying a cup of hot chocolate and smiling with his eyes closed.
3. _____ Cartoon of a guy looking at his computer which says, “Oh no… Not another internet cartoon.”
4. _____Pic of scary clouds that look like a monster.
5. _____ Cartoon: Smell Wars: Office. Who will triumph? Bad perfume or burnt microwave popcorn?
6. Towards the end of the book, Vladek gets very ____ and weak because of his health issues.
7. It is taking us awhile to ______ the concepts of compound and complex sentences.
8. Vladek is so ____, he spent four hours unpacking, refolding and then repacking their luggage.
9. For awhile last year, fidget spinners were _____; you saw them everywhere you looked.
10. He spoke in _______ tones about the upcoming battle which they would probably lose.
11. (2) When your sadness is _____(ed), your soul has found ___. (Awww.)

VOCABULARY RELAY (FINALLY!)

Interview notes are due next Thursday, 2/7!

• Questions and Answers to questions (summaries, several direct quotes)
• Notes on who, how, where, when, why
• Notes on physical description and attitude

Interview Opener Examples.

“Hello Papa. I was wondering if you had time to start the interview right now?” I sent the text to my Grandpa, whom I refer to as Papa. “Sure, that’ll be fine. I’ll get ready” he sent back. I grabbed my notebook and pencils, questions, and tape recorder and headed into the office room. We had set up a week ago to FaceTime; he said he would be glad to answer my questions. The window right next to the computer was making a lot of noise, so I shut it. I logged into FaceTime, and got a call from Papa a few minutes after.

He was FaceTiming me from his iPad camera, situated in the living room. He held the iPad at an upward angle, showing most of the top of his head. I started the recorder and we got started.

Papa has short, dark grey hair that is very soft and thin. He has a large bald spot on the top of his head, and the bald spot always looks shiny. He has yellow looking teeth and a smile that lights up the entire room. Papa’s eyes are a sky blue, protected by square glasses that catch every glimpse of light. His ears are big, so are his smile wrinkles and dimples.

Papa’s voice is deep but smooth, sometimes replaced by coughing. He has a very distinct scent that sticks to all of his clothes. Papa is 75 years old and lives near the sea in San Diego, California. He was originally born in Canada. Papa is fond of traveling to very different places and playing golf with his friends. He is very laid back and chill, and laughs with a smile you can see in his eyes. He is very intelligent and “tech savvy” as well. Papa enjoys to write letters to me, and I enjoy writing back.

1. Art Spiegelman has said that the final page of Maus II really has three endings. With your group, discuss what stories they might be endings of. Be ready to point out which panels or images end each story.
2. When MAUS was published, the Washington Post said, “…impossible to describe accurately, and impossible to achieve in any medium but comics.”  What do you think about that? Do you think it’s true? Could MAUS have been anything but a comic and been as powerful?

“Vocab, 1/30.” Each word will be used ONCE.
ominous, solace, permeate, languid, ubiquitous, dejected, meticulous, assuage, assimilate, petulant

1. After he missed the tying field goal, the kicker was _____ for days.
2. When the little girl gets tired, she gets ____, and pouts about everything.
3. The light in the room didn’t seem to come from any one source; it just sort of ______(ed)  the walls, casting a soft glow.
4. Since they were so tired, they walked at a very _____ pace.
5. By definition, a meme is ______.
6. When Anja died, Vladek expected Artie to give him _____, not the other way around.
7. The root of this word means “omen.”
8. The roots of this word mean “change to sweet.”
9. The roots of this root mean “to be like.”
10. The original root of this word meant “fear.” (As in fear of failure?)

Interview

Let’s write our interview questions. Make sure your questions get them talking!
Reserve several pages somewhere in your notebook for the questions, answers, setting and other details.
Each question should be “followed up” with another question based on the previous answer.
Write down answers to questions. If you can, record the interview. (direct quotes, summaries, notes on attitude, etc.)
Note the setting of the interview. (place, time, surroundings, what you’re doing…)
Describe the interviewee. (physical, voice, relationship to you, attitude, background, hobbies…)

Examples of physical description, interview circumstances:

“Hi Grandpa. I need to do an interview for my English class,” I asked in the middle of dinner, “would you be interested on doing it?” My grandpa’s face looked at me across the table with a big smile. I knew he liked to feel very important. “I would love to! How about next Monday?” My grandpa asked me with a smile that kept growing.

It was now Monday. The warm air flowed through the back patio sliding door. The loud waves crashed against the rocks below us. The sun was disappearing into the ocean. Grandma’s cooking could be smelt down the block. Agnes, my grandparents dog was bouncing off the walls with excitement because new people were in the house. My sister Sadie sat with my grandma sat at the dinner table, and me and Grandpa looked over the ocean on the couch. Agnes finally got tired, and she layed down on her pink blanket and fell asleep. My grandpa’s laugh filled the room, and I was trying to get my papers organized.

His grey, curly hair glistened in the dim light. Grandpa has a raspy voice that sounds like home to me. The farming tee shirt that he had on was one I have seen thousands of times before. His glasses made his hazel eyes twinkle. My grandpa can always be found smiling. My grandpa is a farmer, and he takes it very seriously. However, when he is around the house he has always been the happy and goofy type of grandpa. He is the type of person you always want to be around. He was ready for bed but stayed with me to answer my questions.

Since my grandparents live in Washington state, we conducted the interview using Skype. When we first called them, their camera was pointed at the floor, so my dad had to talk them through the process of moving it and setting it up. At the time that this was going on, I was working on setting up my note taking pages, so my dad stepped in for me and talked to my grandparents while I was working. I overheard them talking about politics and what was going on with the construction in their neighborhood. It was nice for them to have a conversation, but I felt bad for keeping them waiting. Once I finished the task of setting up the papers, I went over to the computer and began the interview process.

My grandma, who I call Lita, seemed to enjoy being interviewed and showed appreciation for the challenge of remembering what it was like growing up. A few times, she had to really think about a question, and might even ask my grandpa, who I call Lito, who may have the answer to the question. Lito is not as talkative as Lita, so he wasn’t extensively descriptive with his answers. When Lita saw I was taking notes, she would slow down the pace of her talking so I could write. She was thoughtful and kind, and I had a fun time interviewing her.

When Lita is concentrating, she sticks her tongue slightly out of her mouth. I saw her do this multiple times while asking questions. I also noticed that she had a soccer game on in the background and every once in awhile she would turn to Lito and ask if their team had scored.

Lita has light grey, smooth, soft hair. She wears glasses with little nose pads and an oval rim. Her voice is happy and bubbly. When she speaks it is like the room lights up. I love talking to her! Since she lives in Washington, the home state of rain, she usually wears a sweatshirt and jeans, but in the summer she wears nice t-shirts and occasionally a tank top with shorts.

Vladek. How can Vladek have that attitude?!?!?!

“Vocab, 1/29.”
       

1. ______
2. ______
3. ______
4. ______
5. ______
6. The man finally ______(ed) his intense thirst with a drink from the fountain.
7. The smell of brownies _____ the house and made me very hungry.
   
8. The goal of immigrants used to be _____(ion), but these days people are proud of their differences.
9. With more than 42,000 locations worldwide, Subway Sandwich places are _____.
10. Mr. Coward is not happy about Jhonny’s less than _____ papers. They are very difficult to decipher, and scores might get entered incorrectly.
11. (2) Whenever she was _____, she always seemed to find _____ in her music.

Interview Update.

Each question should be “followed up” with another question based on the previous answer.
Write down answers to questions. (direct quotes, summaries, notes on attitude, etc.)
Note the setting of the interview. (place, time, surroundings, what you’re doing…)
Describe the interviewee. (physical, voice, relationship to you, attitude, background, hobbies…)

“Vladek, 1/29.” Quiz! Open book.

1. (quote) On p219, when Felix is worried about being “taken,” how does Vladek try to calm him?
2. What incident showed how much Anja’s fellow prisoners liked her?
3. On p228, how does Art Spiegelman SHOW Vladek’s uncertainty about how long he worked on Black Work?
4. On p230, Vladek says, “If I saw a couple months before how it was all arranged here, only one time I could see it!” Explain what he means.
5. On p233, Artie asks Vladek an important question. Quote one of Vladek’s answers.”
6. Why might Art Spiegelman have included the scene on p234? In other words, what might he want us to think about?

Chapter 3.