Lesson Plan: Monkeys Would Talk…If Only They Could
II. While Reading Activities
Word Inference
- Primate |ˈprīˌmāt| noun –Zoology-a mammal of an order that includes the lemurs, bushbabies, tarsiers, marmosets, monkeys, apes, and humans. They are distinguished by having hands, handlike feet, and forward-facing eyes, and, with the exception of humans, are typically agile tree-dwellers.
- intrigue verb |inˈtrēɡ| (intrigues, intriguing, intrigued) arouse the curiosity or interest of; fascinate: I was intrigued by your question.
- vocal tract The vocal tract is the cavity in human beings and in animals where sound that is produced at the sound source (larynx in mammals; syrinx in birds) is filtered. In birds it consists of the trachea, the syrinx, the oral cavity, the upper part of the esophagus, and the beak. wikipedia
- debate |dəˈbāt| noun-a formal discussion on a particular topic in a public meeting or legislative assembly, in which opposing arguments are put forward.
- crucial |ˈkro͞oSHəl| -adjective-decisive or critical, especially in the success or failure of something: negotiations were at a crucial stage. of great importance: this game is crucial to our survival.
- neuroscientist |ˈn(y)o͝orōˌsīəntəst| noun-an expert in neuroscience: there is a significant and growing need among neuroscientists to exchange experimental data.
- gab |ɡab| informal verb (gabs, gabbing, gabbed) talk, typically at length, about trivial matters: Franny walked right past a woman gabbing on the phone.
- intelligible |inˈteləjəb(ə)l| adjective-able to be understood; comprehensible: this would make the system more intelligible to the general public.
- evolve |ēˈvälv| verb- develop gradually, especially from a simple to a more complex form: the company has evolved into a major chemical manufacturer | the Gothic style evolved steadily and naturally from the Romanesque | each school must evolve its own way of working.
- jaw |jô| noun-each of the upper and lower bony structures in vertebrates forming the framework of the mouth and containing the teeth.
Reading Comprehension: Word -Recognition
Dr. Lieberman would go on to study chimpanzee vocal tracts and look for clues to speech in the fossils of ancient humans and Neanderthals. He argued that a crucial part of the evolution of speech was a gradual anatomical change to the vocal tract in humans. Crucial to this transition was the human tongue’s descent back into the throat. It’s not until about 75,000 years ago that you find fossils of fully modern humans with a vocal tract like that, Dr. Lieberman said in an interview.
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