Answer Key: Should Students See themselves in the Books They Read?

Lesson Plan: Should Students See themselves in the Books They Read?

Word Inference

  1. Abandoned əˈband(ə)nd| adjective-1 having been deserted or cast off: an abandoned car | abandoned pets.
  2. imbue |imˈbyo͞o| verb (imbues, imbuing, imbued) [with object] (often be imbued with) inspire or permeate with a feeling or quality: the entire performance was imbued with sparkle and elan.
  3. migrate |ˈmīˌɡrāt| verb [no object] –(of a person) move from one area or country to settle in another, especially in search of work: rural populations have migrated to urban areas.
  4. taboo |təˈbo͞otaˈbo͞o| noun (plural taboos) a social or religious custom prohibiting or forbidding discussion of a particular practice or forbidding association with a particular person, place, or thing.
  5. minority  |məˈnôrədē| noun (plural minorities)   a relatively small group of people, especially one commonly discriminated against in a community, society, or nation, differing from others in race, religion, language, or political persuasion: representatives of ethnic minorities | [as modifier] : minority rights.
  6. gaze  |ɡāz| verb [no object] look steadily and intently, especially in admiration, surprise, or thought: he could only gaze at her in astonishment.
  7. exposure |ikˈspōZHər| noun experience of something: his exposure to the banking system.
  8. mezzanine |ˈmezəˌnēn| noun  a low story between two others in a building, typically between the ground and first floors.
  9. reflect embody or represent (something) in a faithful or appropriate way: stocks are priced at a level that reflects a company’s prospects | schools should reflect cultural differences.
  10. chronicle verb [with object] record (a related series of events) in a factual and detailed way: his work chronicles 20th-century displacement and migration.

Source: New Oxford American Dictionary 

Grammar Focus: Identifying Prepositions

I grew up in Bushwick, Brooklyn, in the 1980s, in what felt like a forgotten neighborhood.

Abandoned buildings loomed over piles of garbage and rubble.

My mother migrated from Honduras to New York in 1971.

My life took a turn at 13 when my social studies teacher saw promise in me.

Millie’s brother drove me to school in a beat-up blue Pentecostal church van.

I saw myself reflectedin the story of the Garcia sisters, who had fled to the United States from the Dominican Republic with their parents.

Reading Comprehension

True /False/NA-Statements

  1. F- The author grew up in Bushwick, Brooklyn, in the 1980s.
  2. F-The playgrounds were overrun by drug dealers.
  3. T-The grocer  Miguel gave the author’s mother credit when their food stamps ran out.
  4. F- Her mother migrated from Honduras to New York in 1971.
  5. F- The mother fell in love with another woman.
  6. T-The author was offered  a four-year scholarship to Wellesley High School in Massachusetts.
  7. F-While at Wellesley, the author realized that  she was different.
  8. T-Her English professor, Mr. Goddard introduced her to the book How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, by Julia Alverez.
  9. T-For years  she would chronicle her  joys and heartbreaks in journals.
  10. T-The author’s  mother still lives in the same apartment in Bushwick.