Download MF`s Reading/Listening Proposal for Elementary Students

MF's Reading/Listening Proposal for Elementary Students
EPONYMS
Listen here:
Eponyms are proper names that have become nouns or adjectives. (Or well, as people think,
nouns which come from proper names!) Eponyms can come from real life, literature,
mythology, trademarks... Can you think of any eponyms in your own language?
MEDUSA
Medusa, a Greek myth, was a beautiful woman. Poseidon, the god of the sea, fell in love with
her. They got involved. The goddess Athena was very jealous. She punished Medusa. Athena
changed Medusa's hair into serpents and her face into something horrible--if you looked at
Medusa you turned to stone. ¡Poor Medusa!
Today medusas are jellyfish. You can find them in the sea, when you go on holidays.
HOOLIGAN
Patrick Hooligan was born in Ireland. He travel(l)ed to England and he became a criminal. He
was active in the 1890s. He and his family met the members of their gang every night. They all
met at The Lamb & The Flag, a pub in south London. By the way, pubs are “public houses”,
places to eat and drink, to socialize and sometimes to sleep!
At the beginning, hooligans were lawless people. Today hooligans are violent football
supporters.
JACUZZI
The Jacuzzis were Italian inventors. Candido created a pump for ornamental gardens. In 1968
Roy used this pump for massage in baths because he had a son who was ill, and he wanted to
cure the child.
Today jacuzzis are very popular. But they are very expensive, too.
SANDWICH
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich (1718-92), was an English diplomat. He was addicted to
gambling. He could play cards for two days non-stop! So he told his servants to bring him
food--slices of cold beef and bread. This had never been done before. It was very strange and
very funny.
Today a sandwich is a snack made with sliced bread, not French bread.
CEREAL
Ceres was the Roman goddess of grain and agriculture. So the Romans called cerealis their
grains. Then the Anglo Saxons used the Latin word (a borrowing), but adapted it to English-they said "cereal".
"Cereal" is pronounced like "serial". They are homophones. Tell me, why are people obsessed
with cereal killers?
PANIC
Pan was the Greek god of woods, shepherds and flocks. He had a human body and human
ears. But he had the horns and the legs of a goat. He was very naughty. He scared people in the
forest--he appeared suddenly and made weird noises at night.
Today “to panic” is to be terrified, very scared or frightened.
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BLOODY MARY
Mary I was the last Catholic Queen of England (1553-58). She tried to re-introduce
Catholicism and repressed the Protestants. Mary burned nearly 300 people at the stake for
their beliefs. Her father Henry VIII burned 81 people and her younger sister Elizabeth I, 5
people. This was why Mary was called "Bloody Mary".
Today a bloody mary is a drink made with vodka and tomato juice!
QUIXOTIC, DON QUIXOTE
Don Quixote is the hero of the most famous novel by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (15471616), one of the most relevant Spanish writers ever! The novel was written to make fun of
chivalry and the very popular chivalric novels, which were extremely popular at the time. Don
Quixote, infatuated by stories of chivalry, travels Castilla in pursuit of noble adventures and
fights windmills thinking these are threatening giants.
Strangely enough (or not), today being quixotic or a Quixote means being idealistic, and this
is meant to be derogatory! 0_0
CASSANDRA
Cassandra was the daughter of Priam, the king of Troy, in Greek mythology. She had the gift of
prophecy, but after she rejected Apollo*, she was punished: her prophecies would never be
believed. Cassandra prophesied the sacking of Troy.
Today a cassandra is a person whose analysis is ignored in spite of its value to speak about
real events. Feminists are a bit like modern cassandras in spite of all the good things their
struggle has brought to the human race.
* In Greek and Roman mythology gods used to rape women but storytelling presented it as
seduction.
DALTONISM
John Dalton (1766-1844) was a scientist, but he was not permitted to attend Cambridge or
Oxford because those schools were only for members of the Church of England, and Dalton
was a Quaker. So after Elementary School he became self-taught. Dalton created a law for
gases and an atomic theory, and he was awarded a medal for this. Dalton and his brother were
color blind, so he also devoted research time to this visual defect and was the first to describe
the condition in 1794.
Today daltonism means color blindness.
For eponym lovers, follow-up online crossword (difficult): http://www.talkingpeople.net/tp/hotpot/crosswordseponyms01.htm
In Spanish, by field of knowledge, http://espanolinternacional.blogspot.com.es/2010/10/eponimos-ciencia-tecnologia.html
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POEMS
This Is Just To Say, by W. Carlos Williams
Dreams, by Langston Hughes
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
Listen here:
http://www.talkingpeople.net/tppodcast/2009/10/23/poe
ms-this-is-just-to-say-by-william-carlos-williams/
Listen here:
http://www.talkingpeople.net/tppodcast/2010/12/23/poe
ms-dreams-by-langston-hughes/
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
Autobio
Autobiography In Five Short Chapters, by Portia Nelson
Listen here: http://www.talkingpeople.net/tppodcast/2009/06/14/poems-autobiography-in-5-short-chapters-by-portianelson/
III
I
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in ... it's a habit.
my eyes are open
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I fall in.
I am lost ... I am helpless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes me forever to find a way out.
II
IV
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in the same place
but, it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
V
I walk down another street.
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Story-telling
The Housing Poem, by Dian Million
Listen here: http://www.talkingpeople.net/tppodcast/2009/08/29/poems-the-housing-poem-by-dian-million/
Minnie had a house
which had trees in the yard
and lots of flowers
she especially liked the kitchen
because it had a large old cast iron stove
and that
the landlord said
was the reason
the house was so cheap.
Pretty soon Minnie's brother Rupert came along
and his wife Onna
and they set up housekeeping in the living room
on the fold-out couch,
so the house warmed and rocked
and sang because Minnie and Rupert laughed a lot.
Pretty soon their mom Elsie came to live with them too
because she liked being with the laughing young people
and she knew how the stove worked the best.
Minnie gave up her bed and slept on a cot.
Well pretty soon
Dar and Shar their cousins came to town looking for work.
They were twins
the pride of Elsie's sister Jo
and boy could those girls sing. They pitched a tent under
the cedar patch in the yard
and could be heard singing around the house
mixtures of old Indian tunes and country western.
When it was winter
Elsie worried
about her mother Sarah
who was still living by herself in Moose Glen back home.
Elsie went in the car with Dar and Shar and Minnie and Rupert and got her.
They all missed her anyway and her funny stories.
She didn't have any teeth
so she dipped all chewable items in grease
which is how they're tasty she said.
She sat in a chair in front of the stove usually
or would cook up a big pot of something for the others.
By and by Rupert and Onna had a baby who they named Lester,
or nicknamed Bumper, and they were glad that Elsie and Sarah
were there to help.
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One night the landlord came by
to fix the leak in the bathroom pipe
and was surprised to find Minnie, Rupert and Onna, Sarah and Elsie, Shar and Dar
all singing around the drum next to the big stove in the kitchen
and even a baby named Lester who smiled waving a big greasy piece of dried fish.
He was disturbed
he went to court to evict them
he said the house was designed for single-family occupancy
which surprised the family
because that's what they thought they were.
NURSERY RHYMES
ABC - ABCDEFG HIJK LMNOP QRS TUV WXYZ
http://youtu.be/yseWMJS8IHw
FIVE LITTLE MONKEYS - Don't look for the lyrics. Let's see if you can hear the words you
don't understand!
http://youtu.be/b0NHrFNZWh0
RAIN, RAIN
http://youtu.be/nB0hPuG7Kjc
finish later on...
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