Tag: vocabulary

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

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Vocabulary Preview:

Civil rights movement: n., actions between 1954 and 1968 taken to change laws of racial discrimination

Protests: n., a gathering of people who believe the same thing and want others to learn about it.

Abolish: v., to eliminate or stop something completely

Segregation: n., when all of one kind of people have to be together; for example, racial segregation.

Boycott: n., to stop buying or using something as a protest

Unconstitutional: adj., an act or belief that is not part of the ruling document of a country

Orator: n., someone who speaks powerfully and well

Martin Luther King, Jr. was an important leader in the civil rights movement in America in the ‘50s and ‘60s.  He used peaceful protests to secure basic rights for people of color, including the right to vote.  It was by nonviolent methods that he helped abolish the racial discrimination and segregation laws that were in place at the time.  These laws ruled where people of color could sit or walk or even go to school.

His first efforts in the civil rights movement were inspired by the Montgomery Bus boycott.  This began in 1955, when an African American woman named Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus for a white man, as the driver had told her to.  Parks was arrested and fined. Subsequently, people of color refused to ride the buses at all, and this boycott continued for over a year.  Eventually, the Supreme Court ruled that these laws were unconstitutional.

King went on to work hard helping people of color, changing many laws and attitudes in America. He became known as a great orator, and his speech “I Have a Dream” is one of the most famous in this country’s history.  Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated when he was 39 years old, while still trying to improve the lives of others.  We mark his birthday nation-wide as a federal holiday and try to increase our awareness of the racial problems that still exist in America.

Sign From Segregated Nashville Bus Number 351

Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. addresses the crowd at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., where he gave his “I Have a Dream” speech on Aug. 28, 1963, as part of the March on Washington.

The speech was ranked the top American speech of the 20th century in a 1999 poll of scholars. The speech has also been described as having “a strong claim to be the greatest in the English language of all time.”

Sources:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Have_a_Dream

AFP via Getty Images

To listen to King’s famous speech:

https://www.npr.org/transcripts/122701268

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LIGHT INTO DARKNESS – WINTER HOLIDAYS

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VOCABULARY PREVIEW

chilly – adj., cold
winter solstice – n., when the North Pole of the earth is farthest from the sun, the shortest day of the year
glittering – adj., sparkling, shiny
lavish – adj., fancy, elaborate
signify – v., to stand for something, to symbolize
struggles – n., difficulties
Stonehenge – n.place, a site of huge, ancient, carefully-arranged stones in England
doldrums – n., sad and bored feelings
renewal – n., newness, rebirth

The last months of the year bring winter, and winter brings cold and darkness. The days are short and the nights are long and chilly.

BUT – we are lucky that winter also brings holidays for almost everyone! Diwali, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Christmas, and winter solstice celebrations all bring warm cheer and shared joy. These holidays have different meanings for different cultures, but they all share one thing:

LIGHT!

The winter holidays begin with Diwali, celebrated by Hindus the world over, usually in November. It is a five-day-long party. A festival of lights and happiness, it falls on the darkest night of the year in the Hindu month of Kartik.

People celebrate Diwali by lighting their homes and streets with candles, dressing up in new clothes, exchanging gifts, and eating traditional food.

Source: https://blog.asaptickets.com/

Christmas comes with candles, lights, and glittering tinsel. A shining star is an important part of any Christmas story. In America, people decorate their homes with lights, inside and out. Some of the lighting displays are lavish! Dyker Heights, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, is well-known for its Christmas lights. Map to Dyker Heights: https://maps.app.goo.gl/nKRPh96XcMsy7nAg6 Go take a look!

Houses in Dyker Heights

Sources: https://mommypoppins.com/ and https://www.viator.com/

Kwanzaa has a tradition of lighting the kinara, a candleholder for 7 candles. One is lit each night for a week, and the different colors of the candles signify Africa and its peoples’ struggles and hopes. “Kinara” means “candleholder” in Swahili.

Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/12/18/kwanzaa-2020-when-and-how-black-families-celebrate-virtually/6540958002/

Hannukah celebrations include the lighting of a menorah, an eight-branched candleholder. Jews light Hannukah candles to remember victory in ancient battles, and the miracles that happened in those times.

Finally, the actual solstice, which takes place on December 21 in the Northern Hemisphere, has been a special time of celebration since the Stone Age. This was a significant and dramatic moment in the year for many cultures. Because it was the darkest night of all, there are monuments and traditions that revolve around bringing light into this darkness.

Sunset at  Stonehenge in England during the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice

No matter how you celebrate the solstice, use it as a way to replace winter doldrums with a sense of renewal. The winter solstice may signify the day the sun rises lowest in the sky, but it’s also the day before we start growing closer to days of more light.

https://www.sparksaba.com/family-resources

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Day of the Dead: A Celebration of Life

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“Our dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten them.” – George Eliot

Vocabulary Preview:

  • Meaningful – adj., when something is important to you
  • Significant – adj., important, big
  • Deceased – adj., something or someone who is not alive
  • Reunion – n., a time when many people get together
  • Altar – n., platform or table used as a center of worship
  • Ancestors – n., pl., your relatives who lived before you
  • Skeleton – n., the bones of a human or an animal
  • Wacky – adj., silly, crazy

A beautiful and meaningful holiday for many Catholics, the “Day of the Dead” serves as a significant way to honor the deceased. The holiday, which is celebrated mostly in Mexico on November 1 and 2, is like a family reunion—except dead ancestors are the guests of honor. Day of the Dead is a joyful time that helps people remember the deceased and celebrate their memory.

First, people set up a candlelit altar in their homes so spirits can find their way back to their relatives. The altar also offers some of the favorite foods of the deceased—just in case they get hungry. Items that were important to the ancestors when they were alive, such as a favorite book or musical instrument, are placed on the altar as well. Then it’s off to the graveyard for a big party. Families bring a huge feast to eat while they clean tombstones, sing songs, and talk to their ancestors. Parents might even introduce a baby to a grandparent who died before the baby was born.

And don’t forget the skeletons. During Day of the Dead, life-size papier-mâché skeletons and miniature plastic or clay skeletons are everywhere. Why? Mexicans honor their ancestors on Day of the Dead, but they’re also reminding themselves that death is just a part of life. Hanging out with skeletons reminds people that one day they will be skeletons—but not for a very long time!

The skeletons are posed doing all sorts of wacky things, such as playing guitar, taking a bath, or making tortillas. Apparently people aren’t the only ones who get to have fun on Day of the Dead!

Source: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/

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Idiom of the Week: “Benefit of the Doubt”

US Adult Literacy1 Comment

Meaning: To give someone the benefit of the doubt is to choose to not be disappointed or upset when they may have made a mistake because you have some trust in them.

Examples:

My daughter is usually so good with studying that I gave her the benefit of the doubt when I saw her watching TV all night, and I knew she had a math test the next day.

Last night the food wasn’t good at my favorite restaurant, but I will give them the benefit of the doubt and go back again because the chef probably had just one bad night.

He didn’t have any professional experience but he said he was an excellent barber, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt and let him cut my hair because my friend knew him.

Pop Quiz:

Which student should get the benefit of the doubt?

Student A and Student B have the same problem – both are often late to class. Student A has arrived several times in gym clothes and carrying a gym bag. Student B has talked with the teacher about her lateness, explaining that she has to drop off her son right before class, but she seems to be trying to avoid be being late. The teacher needs to select one student to be cancelled first.

Read More to see the answer.

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Idiom of the Week: “A Blessing in Disguise”

US Adult Literacy1 Comment

Meaning: A blessing in disguise is something that seems to be bad but actually there is a positive result.

Examples:

I wasn’t accepted to my first choice school, but it was a blessing in disguise because another school accepted me and that’s where I met my wife.

Having a baby in high school was a blessing in disguise since it turned his life in a positive direction by making him realize he had to grow up himself.

Sometimes we don’t see a blessing in disguise right away – it could be years before we see the blessing.

Pop Quiz:

Which of these sounds like a blessing in disguise?

a. I had no money, then won the lottery.

b. When I tripped and fell on the street, I hurt myself but found $100.

c. I failed my test, but my mom still bought me ice cream.

Read More to see the answer.

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Idiom of the Week: “Cutting Corners”

US Adult Literacy1 Comment

Meaning:

Cutting corners is to take the fastest way to finish something in order to do less work, however the result is also lesser.

Examples:

Copying other students’ homework is just cutting corners – you may fool the teacher but you won’t learn.

The big assignment was due Thursday morning and Wednesday he hadn’t started, so he cut corners to finish.

Cutting corners will only get you so far – eventually you will be passed over by those who work harder.

Pop Quiz:

True or False? When you cut corners, you…

1. Work as hard as you can

2. Leave out details

3. Finish quickly

4. Do the best job possible

5. Will always succeed

Read More to see the answers.

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