Global Literature
Unit: South Africa
Final Project
In lieu of a test or final essay we would like to give you a chance to show us through a medium of your choice what you have learned about South Africa. Think about central issues and questions that have been raised in this unit. Take one or several issues from our unit and explore them in a final project. To help you narrow down some topics or issues to explore, we’ve included a list of suggested topics below. Additionally, we gathered several quotations that relate to South Africa which may function as a source of inspiration. We expect you to ponder the complexity of the issues alluded to and then express your ideas in one of the following modes.
Writing
Write a play, original short story, a collection of poems , a song (lyrics and music), or a formal essay.
Note: Although length is not the most important aspect of your work remember that the more you write the more opportunity you have to show us what you have learned.
Art
Create a painting, drawing, sculpture, photo essay, quilt, etc
Performance
Write/ create a play, puppet show, interpretive dance, song, speech, video, power point presentation, animation, etc. Note: You will only be able to perform for about 5 minutes. Keep your work short or show a selection and turn the rest in on paper, tape/CD, or computer disk.
Your work must show depth of thought and considerable effort. This assignment is worth 75 points so show off your talents. This is no time for half hearted sketches on lined paper, ripped out of your notebook….
Other requirements:
Typed or calligraphy (where appropriate)
All art work or performances should include a short explanation of your work (typed, one page)
Include at least three specific references to issues/ works we studied in class
Title your work with a quotation or central question/ topic
You may work in pairs on this assignment but we will expect double the effort & double the thought
Due Date: Alpha (Sheldon) March 13th ` Omega (Churchill) March 14th
Examples of topics
• What is courage?
• What is justice?
• Fear as a prison/ obstacle to change and reconciliation
• The need for violence (or not)
• The power of teenagers in transforming society
Quotations
• “Power in defense of freedom is greater than power on behalf of tyranny and oppression” Malcolm X
• “Hate has no medicine.” Ga Proverb
• “We aim to remember, to forgive and to go on, with full recognition of how fragile the threads of community are.” Desmond Tutu
• “Force is the only language the imperialists can hear, and no country became free without some sort of violence.” Nelson Mandela
• “To get justice, we must strive to undo the top dog/ underdog reversals that make human errors endure. There is no point exacting vengeance now, knowing that it will be the cause for future vengeance by the offspring of those we punish. Vengeance only leads to revenge” Desmond Tutu
• “Non-violence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time; the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence.” M.L. King
• “But somehow tenderness survives.” Dennis Brutus
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Two voice poems
Only A …Two voice poem
A two-voice poem is a poem written in two columns, where two different perspectives are explored as in a dialogue. The purpose of a two-voice poem is to show the different perspectives as well as similarities of two sides. These poems are meant to be read out loud, in pairs, where the voices alternate/ take turns, and sometimes speak in unison.
Your poem should explore the inner world of the girls and the older woman in “Only A”. Include lines from the story as well as your own words to accomplish this. Challenge yourself to look beneath the surface of this story. Allude to larger issues at play in South African history, or the human experience, and don’t be afraid to use figurative language (symbols, metaphors, similes, personification).
You can see an example of this at:
http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1709882
A two-voice poem is a poem written in two columns, where two different perspectives are explored as in a dialogue. The purpose of a two-voice poem is to show the different perspectives as well as similarities of two sides. These poems are meant to be read out loud, in pairs, where the voices alternate/ take turns, and sometimes speak in unison.
Your poem should explore the inner world of the girls and the older woman in “Only A”. Include lines from the story as well as your own words to accomplish this. Challenge yourself to look beneath the surface of this story. Allude to larger issues at play in South African history, or the human experience, and don’t be afraid to use figurative language (symbols, metaphors, similes, personification).
You can see an example of this at:
http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1709882
Thursday, February 21, 2008
2-21/22 Amandla!
Lesson:
We had a lecture on the history of Apartheid. and viewed the film Amandla!
If absent, rent the movie Amandla. View it and answer the following questions. If you can't rent it, check out these websites to find the answers (The movie is a much more engaging way to answer these).
http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~cale/cs201/apartheid.hist.html
http://www.africanaencyclopedia.com/apartheid/apartheid.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartheid
1. Who was Verwoerd?
1960 Sharpeville:
2. Why did the people protest at Sharpeville?
3. How many people died? What was significant about how they died?
4. Who was Nelson Mandela? What happened to Nelson Mandela?
June 19, 1976 Soweto Uprising
5. Why did the children rise up?
6. Why is this uprising so significant in the history of South Africa?
7. How did the fight against Apartheid chnage in the 1980's?
8. What was the global response to the crisis in South Africa?
9. Describe the final transition to democracy in South Africa.
HMWK:
Vocab Day 3&4
Study for vocab test
Vocab Test next class
Friday, February 15, 2008
South Africa Extra Credit
Extra Credit Books and Movies for South Africa
Books
Cry, the Beloved Country - Alan Paton
Cry, the Beloved Country is a beautifully told and profoundly compassionate story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son Absalom, set in the troubled and changing South Africa of the 1940s. The book is written with such keen empathy and understanding that to read it is to share fully in the gravity of the characters' situations. It both touches your heart deeply and inspires a renewed faith in the dignity of mankind. Cry, the Beloved Country is a classic tale, passionately African, timeless and universal, and beyond all, selfless.
A Dry White Season - Andre Brink
André Brink's novel, A Dry White Season, is a captivating, yet realistic tale about the unfair treatment of blacks in Johannesburg, South Africa. I found it to be an excellent read because of how Brink is in touch with reality. He has his readers ponder a true-to-life question, an ongoing question about racism. Ben Du Toit, the protagonist, finds the deaths of his African-American friend, Gordon Ngubene, and Gordon's son, Jonathan, to be unusual. Both deaths appeared to be caused and covered up by the government. Ben spends his entire life in hopes of uncovering the truth behind these two mysterious deaths. Were they treated unjustly because they were black? This is the question that Ben solves throughout the novel and unfortunately, his quest draws him away from his family and friends. In the end, Ben, living in complete isolation and sadness, discovers that his country is unfair. He triumphs, however, because he is no longer ignorant of his country's behavior. This novel relates to us because we are well aware of racism and injustice. It is very true that Ben's family would leave him if he did not spend time with them. Brink did not falsify the truth with a happy ending but instead allowed the reader to feel Ben's loneliness.
Kaffir Boy - Mark Mathabane
Mark Mathabane was weaned on devastating poverty and schooled in the cruel streets of South Africa's most desperate ghetto, where bloody gang wars and midnight police raids were his rites of passage. Like every other child born in the hopelessness of apartheid, he learned to measure his life in days, not years. Yet Mark Mathabane, armed only with the courage of his family and a hard-won education, raised himself up from the squalor and humiliation to win a scholarship to an American university.
This extraordinary memoir of life under apartheid is a triumph of the human spirit over hatred and unspeakable degradation. For Mark Mathabane did what no physically and psychologically battered "Kaffir" from the rat-infested alleys of Alexandra was supposed to do -- he escaped to tell about it.
Burger’s Daughter - Nadine Gordimer
Rosa Burger grew up in a home under constant surveillance by the South African government. Her parents were detained for their political beliefs; her father died in prison, and her mother, whose health suffered from her time in jail, eventually dies. Rosa, a white South African in her early twenties, is left the only surviving member of her family. Yet even after her parents' deaths, the history of their anti-apartheid beliefs and practices have a daily impact on her life: it seems everyone has expectations of her and the government is still watching. A quiet, private person, Rosa constantly searches her memories to find herself, to grasp this heritage that weighs her down. Over a period of several years Rosa comes to understand the impact of the South African political climate on her and how she became who she is. Take time to read this novel; the political realities it describes are complicated. The narrative style varies from straightforward storytelling to Rosa's most personal thoughts. In Burger's Daughter, Nobel Prize-winner Nadine Gordimer takes a situation most read about in newspapers and makes it real, creating a memorable story of coming to terms with circumstances over which we have little control, yet which directly affect our lives.
You Can’t Get Lost in Cape Town - Zoe Wicomb
Zoë Wicomb’s complex and deeply evocative fiction is among the most distinguished recent works of South African women’s literature. It is also among the only works of fiction to explore the experience of “Coloured” citizens in apartheid-era South Africa, whose mixed heritage traps them, as Bharati Mukherjee wrote in the New York Times, "in the racial crucible of their country."
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight : An African Childhood- Alexandra Fuller
In Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, Alexandra Fuller remembers her African childhood with candor and sensitivity. Though it is a diary of an unruly life in an often inhospitable place, it is suffused with Fuller’s endearing ability to find laughter, even when there is little to celebrate. Fuller’s debut is unsentimental and unflinching but always captivating. In wry and sometimes hilarious prose, she stares down disaster and looks back with rage and love at the life of an extraordinary family in an extraordinary time.
Movies (Check with your parents, many are rated R)
Cry, the Beloved Country
This moving 1995 adaptation of Alan Paton's celebrated novel stars James Earl Jones as a beloved, rural minister in South Africa who makes his first trip to Johannesburg in search of his son. The latter's destiny has been linked with that of a doomed, young white man, whose racist father (Richard Harris) is approached by Jones's character in the spirit of mutual understanding. Directed by Darrell James Roodt (Sarafina!), the film is most powerful in those scenes featuring Harris and Jones together, though early sequences grounded in the hard life and times of Jones's community are colorful and dramatic. It's impossible not to be touched by the cautious but real connection made between the principal characters and by the moral authenticity of the actors.
A World Apart
This true story reveals the world of apartheid South Africa through the eyes of the daughter of prominent anti-apartheid activists. The film's power lies in its understatement and attention to period detail. If you want to get an authentic look at what South Africa was like in that period, on both sides of the fence, this is the film to watch. It's a touching family story, too.
Sarafina
Academy Award-winning star Whoopi Goldberg ) lights up the screen in her latest hit -- the exhilarating and entertaining SARAFINA! In a world where truth is forbidden, an inspiring teacher dares to instill in her students lessons not found in schoolbooks. In doing so, she challenges their freedom and hers. Applauded by critics and audiences everywhere, this upbeat and powerful story promises to stir your emotions and make your spirits soar!
A Dry White Season
A movie about the Soweto uprising in 1976.
Bopha
In his directorial debut, actor Morgan Freeman cast a knowing eye on the ways the racist apartheid movement in South Africa--now demolished--divided South African blacks even from each other in this story of a black policeman. Danny Glover plays the cop, who believes he's trying to help his people, even while serving as a pawn of the racist government. When his son gets involved in the antiapartheid movement, he finds himself torn between his family (including long-suffering wife Alfre Woodard) and what he believes is his duty. A sorrowful, anger-tinged film featuring a complex performance by the marvelous Glover, who seems to come apart at the seams before your very eyes
Cry Freedom
When I saw this movie I knew next to nothing about South Africa, and I'd never heard of Steven Biko. After I'd seen the movie I wanted to know anything and everything about apartheid generally and Steven Biko in particular. One of the most disturbing parts of the film came at the very end when the names of those who died from "falling" scrolled by on the screen. That list seemed to be unending, and it was difficult to shake off the feelings the film left with me when the last name appeared on the screen. It doesn't seem right to label this film as good entertainment when the subject is about something so grim, but the movie rates 5 stars because of the actors' performances and because of the conversation it is bound to generate with those who see it.
Mandela
A vibrantly presented and emotionally charged portrait of the dynamic African leader, this needed tighter narration to close informational gaps. For instance, there is very little mention of F.W. de Klerk, although as the corecipient of the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize (along with Nelson Mandela), he most certainly figured greatly in the peaceful passing of the political baton. It may leave you with a few questions but otherwise captures Mandela's remarkable spirit. It follows him from his early days and tribal education through his work with the African National Congress to his election as Africa's first black president. Produced by Jonathan Demme, this wisely includes poetry of Africa, as much a part of Mandela's story as his own inner strength. Nominated for 1997 Academy Award for Best Documentary.
Books
Cry, the Beloved Country - Alan Paton
Cry, the Beloved Country is a beautifully told and profoundly compassionate story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son Absalom, set in the troubled and changing South Africa of the 1940s. The book is written with such keen empathy and understanding that to read it is to share fully in the gravity of the characters' situations. It both touches your heart deeply and inspires a renewed faith in the dignity of mankind. Cry, the Beloved Country is a classic tale, passionately African, timeless and universal, and beyond all, selfless.
A Dry White Season - Andre Brink
André Brink's novel, A Dry White Season, is a captivating, yet realistic tale about the unfair treatment of blacks in Johannesburg, South Africa. I found it to be an excellent read because of how Brink is in touch with reality. He has his readers ponder a true-to-life question, an ongoing question about racism. Ben Du Toit, the protagonist, finds the deaths of his African-American friend, Gordon Ngubene, and Gordon's son, Jonathan, to be unusual. Both deaths appeared to be caused and covered up by the government. Ben spends his entire life in hopes of uncovering the truth behind these two mysterious deaths. Were they treated unjustly because they were black? This is the question that Ben solves throughout the novel and unfortunately, his quest draws him away from his family and friends. In the end, Ben, living in complete isolation and sadness, discovers that his country is unfair. He triumphs, however, because he is no longer ignorant of his country's behavior. This novel relates to us because we are well aware of racism and injustice. It is very true that Ben's family would leave him if he did not spend time with them. Brink did not falsify the truth with a happy ending but instead allowed the reader to feel Ben's loneliness.
Kaffir Boy - Mark Mathabane
Mark Mathabane was weaned on devastating poverty and schooled in the cruel streets of South Africa's most desperate ghetto, where bloody gang wars and midnight police raids were his rites of passage. Like every other child born in the hopelessness of apartheid, he learned to measure his life in days, not years. Yet Mark Mathabane, armed only with the courage of his family and a hard-won education, raised himself up from the squalor and humiliation to win a scholarship to an American university.
This extraordinary memoir of life under apartheid is a triumph of the human spirit over hatred and unspeakable degradation. For Mark Mathabane did what no physically and psychologically battered "Kaffir" from the rat-infested alleys of Alexandra was supposed to do -- he escaped to tell about it.
Burger’s Daughter - Nadine Gordimer
Rosa Burger grew up in a home under constant surveillance by the South African government. Her parents were detained for their political beliefs; her father died in prison, and her mother, whose health suffered from her time in jail, eventually dies. Rosa, a white South African in her early twenties, is left the only surviving member of her family. Yet even after her parents' deaths, the history of their anti-apartheid beliefs and practices have a daily impact on her life: it seems everyone has expectations of her and the government is still watching. A quiet, private person, Rosa constantly searches her memories to find herself, to grasp this heritage that weighs her down. Over a period of several years Rosa comes to understand the impact of the South African political climate on her and how she became who she is. Take time to read this novel; the political realities it describes are complicated. The narrative style varies from straightforward storytelling to Rosa's most personal thoughts. In Burger's Daughter, Nobel Prize-winner Nadine Gordimer takes a situation most read about in newspapers and makes it real, creating a memorable story of coming to terms with circumstances over which we have little control, yet which directly affect our lives.
You Can’t Get Lost in Cape Town - Zoe Wicomb
Zoë Wicomb’s complex and deeply evocative fiction is among the most distinguished recent works of South African women’s literature. It is also among the only works of fiction to explore the experience of “Coloured” citizens in apartheid-era South Africa, whose mixed heritage traps them, as Bharati Mukherjee wrote in the New York Times, "in the racial crucible of their country."
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight : An African Childhood- Alexandra Fuller
In Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, Alexandra Fuller remembers her African childhood with candor and sensitivity. Though it is a diary of an unruly life in an often inhospitable place, it is suffused with Fuller’s endearing ability to find laughter, even when there is little to celebrate. Fuller’s debut is unsentimental and unflinching but always captivating. In wry and sometimes hilarious prose, she stares down disaster and looks back with rage and love at the life of an extraordinary family in an extraordinary time.
Movies (Check with your parents, many are rated R)
Cry, the Beloved Country
This moving 1995 adaptation of Alan Paton's celebrated novel stars James Earl Jones as a beloved, rural minister in South Africa who makes his first trip to Johannesburg in search of his son. The latter's destiny has been linked with that of a doomed, young white man, whose racist father (Richard Harris) is approached by Jones's character in the spirit of mutual understanding. Directed by Darrell James Roodt (Sarafina!), the film is most powerful in those scenes featuring Harris and Jones together, though early sequences grounded in the hard life and times of Jones's community are colorful and dramatic. It's impossible not to be touched by the cautious but real connection made between the principal characters and by the moral authenticity of the actors.
A World Apart
This true story reveals the world of apartheid South Africa through the eyes of the daughter of prominent anti-apartheid activists. The film's power lies in its understatement and attention to period detail. If you want to get an authentic look at what South Africa was like in that period, on both sides of the fence, this is the film to watch. It's a touching family story, too.
Sarafina
Academy Award-winning star Whoopi Goldberg ) lights up the screen in her latest hit -- the exhilarating and entertaining SARAFINA! In a world where truth is forbidden, an inspiring teacher dares to instill in her students lessons not found in schoolbooks. In doing so, she challenges their freedom and hers. Applauded by critics and audiences everywhere, this upbeat and powerful story promises to stir your emotions and make your spirits soar!
A Dry White Season
A movie about the Soweto uprising in 1976.
Bopha
In his directorial debut, actor Morgan Freeman cast a knowing eye on the ways the racist apartheid movement in South Africa--now demolished--divided South African blacks even from each other in this story of a black policeman. Danny Glover plays the cop, who believes he's trying to help his people, even while serving as a pawn of the racist government. When his son gets involved in the antiapartheid movement, he finds himself torn between his family (including long-suffering wife Alfre Woodard) and what he believes is his duty. A sorrowful, anger-tinged film featuring a complex performance by the marvelous Glover, who seems to come apart at the seams before your very eyes
Cry Freedom
When I saw this movie I knew next to nothing about South Africa, and I'd never heard of Steven Biko. After I'd seen the movie I wanted to know anything and everything about apartheid generally and Steven Biko in particular. One of the most disturbing parts of the film came at the very end when the names of those who died from "falling" scrolled by on the screen. That list seemed to be unending, and it was difficult to shake off the feelings the film left with me when the last name appeared on the screen. It doesn't seem right to label this film as good entertainment when the subject is about something so grim, but the movie rates 5 stars because of the actors' performances and because of the conversation it is bound to generate with those who see it.
Mandela
A vibrantly presented and emotionally charged portrait of the dynamic African leader, this needed tighter narration to close informational gaps. For instance, there is very little mention of F.W. de Klerk, although as the corecipient of the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize (along with Nelson Mandela), he most certainly figured greatly in the peaceful passing of the political baton. It may leave you with a few questions but otherwise captures Mandela's remarkable spirit. It follows him from his early days and tribal education through his work with the African National Congress to his election as Africa's first black president. Produced by Jonathan Demme, this wisely includes poetry of Africa, as much a part of Mandela's story as his own inner strength. Nominated for 1997 Academy Award for Best Documentary.
South Africa Vocab Day 3 & 4
Name:__________________
South African Vocabulary
Day Three
New Words: stope thwart implore malevolent itinerant
Gumboots
Forced to work for hours deep underground carving stopes and tunnels in South Africa’s gold mines, miners were often faced with great dangers. To add insult to injury, the life of a miner was further affected by the ill treatment from malevolent mining officials. Miners were not allowed to visit families more than once or twice a year regardless of imploring letters from wives and children (the result of bringing in itinerant labor from the homelands), were poorly paid, and suffered serious health consequences from life in the dark and dusty tunnels.
In order to alleviate the stress of this kind of life, South African miners developed a dance of stomping and thigh slapping not unlike German lederhosen dances. These dances quickly became a form of communication (like a morse code) and entertainment for the miners. Officials often attempted to thwart Gumboots performances, but were not able to stop this expressive dance from becoming an international phenomenon. Today, Gumboots performances have made it to the stages of Broadway and London’s West End.
Sample sentences: Try your hand now at using your new words by writing them in their correct form (change endings if necessary) in these sentences:
1. The young man _____________ the police officer not to arrest him after he failed to produce his identity pass.
2. Mine workers in South Africa led an ________________ lifestyle, making it difficult to sustain relationships with their families.
3. The ________________ and passages under my house have caused it to tilt at a precarious angle.
4. The __________________ slaughter of an entire Zulu community by the river is remembered by the Blood River Monument in South Africa.
5. The police ________________ the school children’s uprising in Soweto by killing hundreds of kids, yet they were not able to quell the wave of ensuing protests.
Definitions: Match the new words with their dictionary meanings.
6. stope___ a. having or exhibiting ill will; wishing harm
to others; malicious.
7. itinerant___ b. an excavation in the form of steps made
by the mining of ore from steeply inclined
or vertical veins.
8. implore___ c. to beg, plead.
9. malevolent ___ d. to hinder, defeat
10. thwart___ e. traveling from place to place, especially
to perform work or a duty.
Today’s Idiom
Out of the frying pan into the fire - to go from a difficult situation to a worse one.
Name:____________________
South African Vocabulary
Day 4
New Words: veld(t) belittle din arrhythmia inter
Frightened by the Sound
The rumbling shook the rock causing the everyday din of the mines to come to an abrupt halt. Not a sound was to be heard. Joseph listened through the sounds of dripping water and thought he heard an arrhythmia in his chest. There had been a number of these tremors as of late and the baas had always tried to belittle the sounds and ordered everyone to keep working. Joseph noticed the baas was avoiding coming down to this level of the mine more and more over the last few days.
A crackle could be heard further down and suddenly all light disappeared. Joseph felt sweat drip down his nostrils. This was it. He would never see his children play. He would never see animals leaping along the veld again. He would be interred in this mine forever, a fossil. He heard the drip of water and saw only blackness surrounding.
Suddenly, the engines started up again; the lights switched back on. False alarm. He was lucky this time. Hopefully his luck would hold out until he was able to go back to his family.
Sample sentences: Try your hand now at using your new words by writing them in their correct form (change endings if necessary) in these sentences:
1. In the diamond mines, it was impossible to hear over the ____________ of the machines and the workers.
2. Although South Africa experienced great turmoil, the ___________ was still filled with some of the most exotic animals I had ever seen.
3. Although Ralph can’t play, he doesn’t hesitate to ___________ the efforts of our soccer team.
4. The crumbling of the diamond mine left two workers ____________ under the ground.
5. After the riots, the nervous student experienced a(n) ______________ as she walked down the alley late at night.
Definitions: Match the new words with their dictionary meanings.
6. veldt ___ a. any of the open grazing areas of southern Africa
7. belittle ___ b. an irregularity in the force or rhythm of the heartbeat
8. din ___ c. a jumble of loud, usually discordant sounds
9. arrhythmia ___ d. to make seem less important
10. inter ___ e. to place in a grave or tomb; bury
Today’s Idiom
a red herring-- something that diverts attention form the main issue (a red herring drawn across a fox’s path destroys the scent)
We felt that the introduction of his war record was a red herring to keep us from inquiring into his past work in the scandalous company.
South African Vocabulary
Day Three
New Words: stope thwart implore malevolent itinerant
Gumboots
Forced to work for hours deep underground carving stopes and tunnels in South Africa’s gold mines, miners were often faced with great dangers. To add insult to injury, the life of a miner was further affected by the ill treatment from malevolent mining officials. Miners were not allowed to visit families more than once or twice a year regardless of imploring letters from wives and children (the result of bringing in itinerant labor from the homelands), were poorly paid, and suffered serious health consequences from life in the dark and dusty tunnels.
In order to alleviate the stress of this kind of life, South African miners developed a dance of stomping and thigh slapping not unlike German lederhosen dances. These dances quickly became a form of communication (like a morse code) and entertainment for the miners. Officials often attempted to thwart Gumboots performances, but were not able to stop this expressive dance from becoming an international phenomenon. Today, Gumboots performances have made it to the stages of Broadway and London’s West End.
Sample sentences: Try your hand now at using your new words by writing them in their correct form (change endings if necessary) in these sentences:
1. The young man _____________ the police officer not to arrest him after he failed to produce his identity pass.
2. Mine workers in South Africa led an ________________ lifestyle, making it difficult to sustain relationships with their families.
3. The ________________ and passages under my house have caused it to tilt at a precarious angle.
4. The __________________ slaughter of an entire Zulu community by the river is remembered by the Blood River Monument in South Africa.
5. The police ________________ the school children’s uprising in Soweto by killing hundreds of kids, yet they were not able to quell the wave of ensuing protests.
Definitions: Match the new words with their dictionary meanings.
6. stope___ a. having or exhibiting ill will; wishing harm
to others; malicious.
7. itinerant___ b. an excavation in the form of steps made
by the mining of ore from steeply inclined
or vertical veins.
8. implore___ c. to beg, plead.
9. malevolent ___ d. to hinder, defeat
10. thwart___ e. traveling from place to place, especially
to perform work or a duty.
Today’s Idiom
Out of the frying pan into the fire - to go from a difficult situation to a worse one.
Name:____________________
South African Vocabulary
Day 4
New Words: veld(t) belittle din arrhythmia inter
Frightened by the Sound
The rumbling shook the rock causing the everyday din of the mines to come to an abrupt halt. Not a sound was to be heard. Joseph listened through the sounds of dripping water and thought he heard an arrhythmia in his chest. There had been a number of these tremors as of late and the baas had always tried to belittle the sounds and ordered everyone to keep working. Joseph noticed the baas was avoiding coming down to this level of the mine more and more over the last few days.
A crackle could be heard further down and suddenly all light disappeared. Joseph felt sweat drip down his nostrils. This was it. He would never see his children play. He would never see animals leaping along the veld again. He would be interred in this mine forever, a fossil. He heard the drip of water and saw only blackness surrounding.
Suddenly, the engines started up again; the lights switched back on. False alarm. He was lucky this time. Hopefully his luck would hold out until he was able to go back to his family.
Sample sentences: Try your hand now at using your new words by writing them in their correct form (change endings if necessary) in these sentences:
1. In the diamond mines, it was impossible to hear over the ____________ of the machines and the workers.
2. Although South Africa experienced great turmoil, the ___________ was still filled with some of the most exotic animals I had ever seen.
3. Although Ralph can’t play, he doesn’t hesitate to ___________ the efforts of our soccer team.
4. The crumbling of the diamond mine left two workers ____________ under the ground.
5. After the riots, the nervous student experienced a(n) ______________ as she walked down the alley late at night.
Definitions: Match the new words with their dictionary meanings.
6. veldt ___ a. any of the open grazing areas of southern Africa
7. belittle ___ b. an irregularity in the force or rhythm of the heartbeat
8. din ___ c. a jumble of loud, usually discordant sounds
9. arrhythmia ___ d. to make seem less important
10. inter ___ e. to place in a grave or tomb; bury
Today’s Idiom
a red herring-- something that diverts attention form the main issue (a red herring drawn across a fox’s path destroys the scent)
We felt that the introduction of his war record was a red herring to keep us from inquiring into his past work in the scandalous company.
South Africa Vocab Day 1 & 2
Name:__________________
South African Vocabulary
Day One
New Words: crackling irony apartheid omniscient Afrikaner
A Tale of Turmoil
In South Africa, during the time of Afrikaner rule, there were many crimes against humanity. The great irony of the system of apartheid that was set in place was that the black South Africans outnumbered the white South Africans two to one. Through the government policy of apartheid, however, the white Afrikaners were able to control the country. They left the black South Africans eating the crackling, while the whites feasted on the finest meats. Although many Afrikaners thought they were special and more important, one did not have to be an omniscient being to see that this was not true at all. This unfair system had to end.
Sample sentences: Try your hand now at using your new words by writing them in their correct form (change endings if necessary) in these sentences:
1. The system of ______________ caused many black South Africans to live indigent lives.
2. The teacher appeared ________________ to the first grade students; it was as if she could read their minds and see everything they did.
3. The ____________ of the situation was that she was a vegetarian and she worked in a meat packing factory.
4. The boy loved to eat _____________ on his toast every morning to add some flavor to the dryness.
5. The ______________ lived in a beautiful house in Cape Town where he employed many black South Africans.
Definitions: Match the new words with their dictionary meanings.
6. Afrikaner___ a. An official policy of racial segregation formerly practiced in the Republic of South Africa, involving political, legal, and economic discrimination against nonwhites
7. apartheid___ b. An Afrikaans-speaking South African of European ancestry, especially one descended from 17th-century Dutch settlers
8. crackling___ c. having total knowledge; knowing everything
9. irony ___ d. the use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning
10. omniscient___ e. the crisp bits that remain after rendering fat from meat or frying or roasting the skin, especially of a pig or a goose
Today’s Idiom to keep a stiff upper lip--to be courageous in the face of trouble
It was admirable to see how the British managed to keep a stiff upper lip in spite of German bombing.
Name:__________________
South African Vocabulary
Day Two
New Words: blatant arbitrary oust succumb sporadic
The Class
As I walked into the classroom I realized immediately that the day was going to be filled with sporadic surprises but I didn’t expect the events that followed. The teacher began by arbitrarily choosing students who would be in charge for the day. Why wasn’t I picked!! I was forced to succumb to their every whim as they blatantly made me do such horrid things as sing, clean desks, and write poetry about how great they were. What an abuse of power!! By the end of the lesson I was so frustrated I was ready to oust the six students and the teacher. Let’s just hope they never put me in charge of the class. Grrrrr!
Sample sentences: Try your hand now at using your new words by writing them in their correct form (change endings if necessary) in these sentences:
1. Besieged by debt, the corporation finally had to ____________ to bankruptcy.
2. The body guards moved rapidly to __________ the student crowd-surfing at the rock show.
3. With ___________ discourtesy the reporters continued to harass the bereaved family.
4. The lackluster battle was punctuated by ______________ , staccato gunfire.
5. To my mind the decision to randomly choose the six students to be singled out was unreasonable and _____________.
Definitions: Match the new words with their dictionary meanings.
6. sporadic ___ a. occasional
7. arbitrary ___ b. disagreeably loud, very showy
8. oust ___ c. to give way, yield
9. succumb ___ d. based n a whim, dictatorial
10. blatant ___ e. to drive out, eject
Today’s Idiom a bitter pill to swallow--a humiliating defeat
It was a bitter pill to swallow for the famous billiard player to be beaten by the 12-year-old girl.
South African Vocabulary
Day One
New Words: crackling irony apartheid omniscient Afrikaner
A Tale of Turmoil
In South Africa, during the time of Afrikaner rule, there were many crimes against humanity. The great irony of the system of apartheid that was set in place was that the black South Africans outnumbered the white South Africans two to one. Through the government policy of apartheid, however, the white Afrikaners were able to control the country. They left the black South Africans eating the crackling, while the whites feasted on the finest meats. Although many Afrikaners thought they were special and more important, one did not have to be an omniscient being to see that this was not true at all. This unfair system had to end.
Sample sentences: Try your hand now at using your new words by writing them in their correct form (change endings if necessary) in these sentences:
1. The system of ______________ caused many black South Africans to live indigent lives.
2. The teacher appeared ________________ to the first grade students; it was as if she could read their minds and see everything they did.
3. The ____________ of the situation was that she was a vegetarian and she worked in a meat packing factory.
4. The boy loved to eat _____________ on his toast every morning to add some flavor to the dryness.
5. The ______________ lived in a beautiful house in Cape Town where he employed many black South Africans.
Definitions: Match the new words with their dictionary meanings.
6. Afrikaner___ a. An official policy of racial segregation formerly practiced in the Republic of South Africa, involving political, legal, and economic discrimination against nonwhites
7. apartheid___ b. An Afrikaans-speaking South African of European ancestry, especially one descended from 17th-century Dutch settlers
8. crackling___ c. having total knowledge; knowing everything
9. irony ___ d. the use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning
10. omniscient___ e. the crisp bits that remain after rendering fat from meat or frying or roasting the skin, especially of a pig or a goose
Today’s Idiom to keep a stiff upper lip--to be courageous in the face of trouble
It was admirable to see how the British managed to keep a stiff upper lip in spite of German bombing.
Name:__________________
South African Vocabulary
Day Two
New Words: blatant arbitrary oust succumb sporadic
The Class
As I walked into the classroom I realized immediately that the day was going to be filled with sporadic surprises but I didn’t expect the events that followed. The teacher began by arbitrarily choosing students who would be in charge for the day. Why wasn’t I picked!! I was forced to succumb to their every whim as they blatantly made me do such horrid things as sing, clean desks, and write poetry about how great they were. What an abuse of power!! By the end of the lesson I was so frustrated I was ready to oust the six students and the teacher. Let’s just hope they never put me in charge of the class. Grrrrr!
Sample sentences: Try your hand now at using your new words by writing them in their correct form (change endings if necessary) in these sentences:
1. Besieged by debt, the corporation finally had to ____________ to bankruptcy.
2. The body guards moved rapidly to __________ the student crowd-surfing at the rock show.
3. With ___________ discourtesy the reporters continued to harass the bereaved family.
4. The lackluster battle was punctuated by ______________ , staccato gunfire.
5. To my mind the decision to randomly choose the six students to be singled out was unreasonable and _____________.
Definitions: Match the new words with their dictionary meanings.
6. sporadic ___ a. occasional
7. arbitrary ___ b. disagreeably loud, very showy
8. oust ___ c. to give way, yield
9. succumb ___ d. based n a whim, dictatorial
10. blatant ___ e. to drive out, eject
Today’s Idiom a bitter pill to swallow--a humiliating defeat
It was a bitter pill to swallow for the famous billiard player to be beaten by the 12-year-old girl.
Tell Freedom Rewrite
Global Literature
Unit: South Africa
“Tell Freedom”
As we learned throughout our past units, there is a lot of grey area in this world. Issues are not black and white. To show your understanding of this, please rewrite the ending of “Tell Freedom” from the perspective and voice of one of the other characters. (Aunt Liza, Uncle Sam, White Baas, The young Bassie). Start with the door being pushed open and get into the head of this other character. Remember people are complex. No one is simply filled with hate. What lies beneath this? Use writing tools you have learned to show this (flashbacks, metaphors, similes, allusions). Think about how your character responds externally and explore this story internally from their perspective. For example, what made the Young Bassie so cruel? What caused Liza’s spirit to break? For this rewrite, you may only use 3 lines from the actual story (you will probably want to use dialogue). Really dive in to the internal conflict.
Type your response, please.
(25 points)
Unit: South Africa
“Tell Freedom”
As we learned throughout our past units, there is a lot of grey area in this world. Issues are not black and white. To show your understanding of this, please rewrite the ending of “Tell Freedom” from the perspective and voice of one of the other characters. (Aunt Liza, Uncle Sam, White Baas, The young Bassie). Start with the door being pushed open and get into the head of this other character. Remember people are complex. No one is simply filled with hate. What lies beneath this? Use writing tools you have learned to show this (flashbacks, metaphors, similes, allusions). Think about how your character responds externally and explore this story internally from their perspective. For example, what made the Young Bassie so cruel? What caused Liza’s spirit to break? For this rewrite, you may only use 3 lines from the actual story (you will probably want to use dialogue). Really dive in to the internal conflict.
Type your response, please.
(25 points)
Friday, February 8, 2008
Letter to Mr.K
Letter to Mr.K
Transition
1. What have been your strengths/ weaknesses in making the transition to high school?
2. As a student, what are your strengths? In what areas would you like to improve?
3. What has been your greatest success in high school thus far?
4. What is your action plan for making the improvements you’d like to see? What’s your plan to maintain your strengths?
Music and Poetry
1. Describe your current relationship with music?
2. What are some of your favorite groups/bands, songs, genres, etc?
3. Describe your current relationship with poetry.
4. What are some of your favorite poems/ poets?
5. Describe one poem or song that you connect with. What is it about this poem or song that causes you to connect so strongly?
Transition
1. What have been your strengths/ weaknesses in making the transition to high school?
2. As a student, what are your strengths? In what areas would you like to improve?
3. What has been your greatest success in high school thus far?
4. What is your action plan for making the improvements you’d like to see? What’s your plan to maintain your strengths?
Music and Poetry
1. Describe your current relationship with music?
2. What are some of your favorite groups/bands, songs, genres, etc?
3. Describe your current relationship with poetry.
4. What are some of your favorite poems/ poets?
5. Describe one poem or song that you connect with. What is it about this poem or song that causes you to connect so strongly?
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
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