Wednesday January 20, 2010

We will continue to read chapter 7 in class. You are responsible for the following responses by the end of class on Thursday. There will be in class time Thursday to work on them.
REMEMBER: FINAL ASSESSMENT ON LOST NAMES FRIDAY
VOCABULARY QUIZ MONDAY

"In the Making of History-Together" chapter 7
1. (160) What is it like during the rainy season?

2. (161) Describe the boy's physical condition after he leaves the labor camp.


3. (164) What does the Korean community burn?

4. (169) Why does the narrator save the Japanese monk and his wife?


5. (170) How does the narrator feel about his compassionate decision?

6. (171) How does the Japanese commandant at the detention camp die?


7. (176)How long did the Japanese occupy Korea?

8. (182) How old is the narrator at the end of the novel?


9. (189) What are the terms of the Japanese surrender to the town?

10. (195) Does the takeover happen peacefully or in battle?


11. (195) What are the years of the setting of the novel?


12. What is the mood at the end of the novel?

Tuesday January 19, 2010

We are finishing up Lost Names as a class on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. There will be a cumulative test on the book this Friday. It will be multiple choice and will include tangential historical information that was covered in class. If you have been reading all along, this will be quite easy.

Please note that your midterm is a week Tuesday (January 26)in the afternoon. I'll let you know the classroom.

On Monday January 25, we will have a vocabulary quiz on the following words. Please take the time to learn them. Even with our daily review, you need to study these independently. See list below

English I vocabulary words for the week of January 18, 2010 Quiz Friday
1. to eradicate (verb)- destroy
2. disservice (noun)- harm
3. euphoria (noun)- bliss, much happiness
4. demerit (noun)- mark of misconduct
5. mandate (noun)- command
6. preconception (noun)- bias
7. derogatory (adjective)- uncomplimentary
8. narcissism (noun)- self-love
9. dexterous (adjective)- skilful
10. clavicle- (noun)- collarbone
11. melancholic (adjective)- sad
12. to muse- (verb)- to ponder, think deeply

Thursday January 14, 2010

Kamikaze attack

REMEMBER: VOCABULARY QUIZ TOMORROW- SEE EARLIER BLOG IF YOU HAVE MISPLACED YOUR LIST. EXPECT THE SAME FORMAT AS LAST WEEK.

Questions for chapter 6 "Is Someone Dying?"



1. (page 144) Why does the teacher sleep in the same tent as the students?



2. (145) Why do the students choose to not go home on their day off?


3. (146) Why does the narrator not quit school?



4. (148) What is a “quickie” soldier?



5. ((149) What excuse did the narrator’s mother give to the Japanese in charge for why she was visiting her son?



6. (151) What news does the mother impart to her son?



7. (157) What does the Japanese teacher hope that the boy’s father will do after the war?



8. (158) When does the narrator see his teacher again and what is he doing?


9. (159) Where has the narrator’s father been taken?

Monday January 11, 2010

PLEASE NOTE WE HAVE BENCHMARK ASSESSMENTS ON TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY: IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU ARE PUNCTUAL>

In class Friday, we finished reviewing chapter 4, Lost Names. Today we'll go over the following questions as pertains to chapter 5. These are due at the end of class. The questions are as follows:
Lost Names by Richard Kim
Chapter 5 questions for An Empire for Rubber Balls

1. (117) What is it that the narrator eats for breakfast?



2. (117) Our narrator is to be in a play at school, where he will play the part of a Japanese lieutenant, who will deliver a long speech. Why is this play being performed?




3. Why is this play an act of humiliation for the Korean people?




4. (118) The boy is told by his grandmother that “They are making you play the part because of your father.” Why is this statement true?





5. (120) What must every house have in preparation for the supposed bomb attacks on the Koreans by the Americans?




6. (122) What must the upper class children in school do with the bamboo sticks? And why?





7. (125) Why is there no school that morning?



8. (126) What does the narrator have his class do with the balls they have collected? Why?



9. (133-134) What does the Japanese teacher do to the narrator and how does the boy handle it?



10. (140-142) In several sentences describe how the narrator handled giving the speech that evening, even though he had been severely beaten. How do you think the audience reacted?

The following are the new vocabulary words from Lost Names. There will be a quiz on Friday.
Lost Names by Richard Kim

Vocabulary 2

1. guffaw (noun)- a hearty, boisterous laugh. (A loud guffaw bellowed from the back of the room when the principal announced that all the students must remain two hours later each day.)
2. to requisition (verb)- a formal written request for something needed. (The school must requisition everything from soap to paper to keep the building supplied.)
3. intricacies (noun)- complexities (The intricacies of filling out our tax forms is an annual frustration.)
4. humiliation (noun)- disgrace, shame, mortification (The humiliation imposed upon Germany by the allies after World War I helped feed the vengeance of World War II.)
5. to annihilate (verb)- To destroy completely: The naval force was annihilated during the attack.
6. predicament (noun)- a situation that is particularly trying or difficult. (Her predicament left her with choices that were both disagreable.)
7. contempt (noun)- The feeling or attitude of regarding someone or something as inferior, base, or worthless; scorn (Narrow minded people are often filled with contempt for those who do not share their ideas.)
8. rancid (adjective)- Having the disagreeable odor or taste (The milk was left out all afternoon in the warm room and now had a rancid taste.)
9. personae non gratae (noun) Fully unacceptable or unwelcome, especially to a foreign government: (The diplomat was persona non grata.)
10. gaudy (adjective)- tasteless, showy, flashy (Her bright yellow flowered dress was too gaudy to wear to the funeral.)
11. hara-kiri (noun) this is a colloquialism, the proper term being seppuku. This is ritual Japanese suicide ritual accomplished through disembowelment.
12. to entrench (verb) to dig in or occupy (The enemy was entrenched on to of the hill, so that we could not attack

Thursday January 7, 2010

Remember that you have a vocabulary quiz tomorrow. Review with your flash cards. Be prepared to use the word correctly in a sentence.

Classwork: we are reviewing chapter 4 Lost Names. The section from 100 to the end of the chapter we'll read as a class.

You received chapter 5, An Empire of Red Balls. This should be read by Monday.

Tuesday January 5 2010

Lost Names is a useful, rare, and wonderful book for several reasons. The book’s title reflects the Japanese Pacific War policy of forcing Koreans to replace their own names with Japanese ones. Lost Names is the story, as recounted by a young boy, of one Korean family’s experience during the war years. Although Lost Names is technically a novel, according to author Richard Kim, " . . . all the characters and events described in the book are real, but everything else is fiction."


Today is the last opportunity to turn in the three synoposis from the first three chapters of Lost Names.

Chapter 4 reading is due tomorrow.

In class work: review material from the first three chapters. Responses are due at the end of class.

Lost Names by Richard Kim

Crossing

1. (page 3) What is the river that separates Korea and Manchuria that the family must cross?


2. (page 6) Why is the family heading up to live in Manchuria?


3. (page 15) How does the family get to Manchuria now that the train has left?


4. (page 20) What were some the obstacles the family faced with the crossing?


Homecoming


1. (page 22) Why has the family returned to Korea?



2. (page 27-28) Describe how children and the teachers at the new school.







3. (page 30) What do the students do every morning at assembly?




4. (page 31) What are the slogans written on the blackboard?




5. (page 34-35) What is the tradition for the new student and what does he do exactly?



6. (page 39) What are the boys going to do instead of attending the propaganda movie?



7. (page 42) What does the Japanese teacher do to the boy?

8. (page 56-67) What happens to Pumpkin and the Korean teacher who defended the boy?

Monday January 4, 2010

As a reminder your synopsis of the first three chapters of Richard Kim's Lost Names is due tomorrow. We'll review this material in class and you will receive chapter 4 entitled Lost Names for homework. This reading is due Wednesday. This is thirty pages, so plan accordingly.

In class you will also have a vocabulary handout. (See copy below) As well, we are looking at some slides to give you a better sense of the historical setting. Unfortunately, I cannot get them up on the blog; so if you are absent, bring in your thumb drive and I'll copy them for you.

Lost Names vocabulary QUIZ FRIDAY
You should know the definition and be able to comfortably use the word in a sentence that clear demonstrates you understand the word. See examples below.

Please make flashcards to help yourself study!

1. to bewilder (verb)- confused, disoriented. (I am feeling bewildered and have no idea where I am going.)
2. to gyrate (verb)- to more in a spiral. (In the merry-go-round we felt like tops, gyrating until we toppled over in laughter.)
3. dingy (adjective)- darken with smoke or grime, shabby.(Not having been dusted for months the knick knacks on the cupboard were dingy with an oily dust.)
4. khaki (noun)- a heavy cloth uniform of light brown (The teachers at the school wore khaki that resembled military uniforms.)
5. pandemonium (noun)- a very noisy place (The wild things yelled and danced under the moonlight, creating pandemonium under the night sky.)
6. azure (noun)- a light purplish blue (The azure of her eyes reflected the soft blue of her gown.)
7. to feign (verb)- to pretend, to imitate to deceive (Opossums are known to feign death when a predator is around.)
8. camaraderie (noun)- goodwill and lighthearted rapport among friends. (Their camaraderie was evident in the way they spent hours chatting about nothing.)
9. enigmatic (adjective)- puzzling, confusing (From her enigmatic expression, I could not tell whether she was angry or merely amused with my behavior.)
10 dexterity (adjective)- skill and grace with physical movement or mental cleverness. (Odysseus was known for his dexterity as exemplified with his outwitting the Cyclops.
11. naïve (adjective)- lacking worldly experience (Hansel and Gretel were two naïve children who unwittingly fell prey to the witch in the candied cottage in the woods.)
12. demure (adjective)- modest, reserved, shy (She looked too demure to ever do such a bold thing.)