Tuesday Trivia

1. Which perennial favorite Christmas book was first sold in the same year as the first Christmas card on record was sent?
2. Which American author and printer wrote his own epitaph which read, “The body of __________, Printer (like the cover of an old book, its contents torn out and stripped of its lettering and gilding), lies here, food for worms; but the work shall not be lost, for it will (as he believed) appear once more in a new and more elegant edition, revised and corrected by the Author.”
3. How tall was John Keats?
4. Which author and scientist came up with the date for the end of the world (2060) but studying biblical texts?
5. Who wrote the longest novel in the English language?

Last Week's Answers

Which author left Harvard without a diploma because he felt the $5 fee was too much to pay?

Henry David Thoreau graduated from Harvard, but refused to pay the diploma fee.


Which author wrote a letter to her niece stating, “Walter Scott has no business to write novels, especially good ones.—It is not fair.—He has fame and profit enough as a poet, and should not be taking the bread out of other people’s mouths.—I do not like him, and do not mean to like Waverly if I can help it—but fear I must.”?

Jane Austen


In 2004, the US defense budgeted $1 million to bring productions of which Shakespeare play to military bases?

Othello


Who was the first poet buried at Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey?

Chaucer was the first poet to be buried in Westminster Abbey and he now resides among 29 poets buried and 55 poets commemorated in the Poets’ Corner.


Daniel Defoe changed from his original name to Defoe because he found it “more socially and upward sounding.” What was his original last name?

Foe

Tuesday Trivia

1. Which author left Harvard without a diploma because he felt the $5 fee was too much to pay?
2. Which author wrote a letter to her niece stating, “Walter Scott has no business to write novels, especially good ones.—It is not fair.—He has fame and profit enough as a poet, and should not be taking the bread out of other people’s mouths.—I do not like him, and do not mean to like Waverly if I can help it—but fear I must.”?
3. In 2004, the US defense budgeted $1 million to bring productions of which Shakespeare play to military bases?
4. Who was the first poet buried at Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey?
5. Daniel Defoe changed from his original last name to Defoe because he found it “more socially and upward sounding.” What was his original last name?

Last Week's Answers

• William Sydney Porter/O.Henry
• Mary Westmacott/Agatha Christie
• Amandine Dudevant/George Sand
• Francois Marie Arouet/Voltaire
• Eric Blair/George Orwell
• Charles Dodgson/Lewis Carroll
• Mary Ann Evans/George Eliot

Prestwick House Releases First AP Language Test Prep Guide Designed for Use as Core Curriculum

This week, Delaware-based publishing company, Prestwick House, Inc., is proud to release its newest title for the Advanced Placement classroom, Prestwick House AP Language and Composition, written by former AP teacher Douglas Grudzina.


Grudzina has authored several successful educational guides including Writing an A+ Research Paper, Reading and Analyzing Non-Fiction: Slant Spin and Bias, Three Simple Truths and Six Essential Traits of Powerful Writing, and Grammar for Writing.


While most AP test preparation guides on the market are designed for use by students on their own, this book teaches them how to analyze the elements and devices of language assumed by the College Board and provides many of the full-length nonfiction essays, letters, and speeches that standards require students to read.


"My first priority in designing this book was to create something that the AP English Language and Composition teacher could use as a core text," says Grudzina. "The AP teacher is always in the unique and stressful position of having to teach the curriculum and prepare his or her students for the AP exam. Most AP prep materials are, at best, supplemental, and the teacher must devise ways to tailor the curriculum to address AP skills and adapt the generic AP materials to support the curriculum."


"Because this book contains so many full-length selections from the new Common Core State Standards list of illustrative texts, it can be your class's primary nonfiction literature text and its main AP prep guide. You no longer have to go looking for texts your students can practice analyzing."


Included in this student-centered guide are individual chapters that each focus on analyzing a different element of language with direct instruction and explanation. Each lesson is followed by a passage annotated to point out how the particular element is being used, and then the concept is reinforced with five AP-style multiple-choice questions. The answers to these questions are included in the text so the student can see how the material from the passage might appear on an AP exam.


Selections from Prestwick House AP Language and Composition include Martin Luther King's "Letter Written from Birmingham Jail," two of Winston Churchill's most famous speeches from World War II, several of the Federalist Papers by John Jay and Alexander Hamilton, and a number of speeches by Presidents Abraham Lincoln, John Kennedy, and Barack Obama. In addition, the new synthesis essay is addressed with two annotated models with student essays and accompanying exercises. Models and exercises include text, graphic, and pictorial documents for the students to read and glean information from for their synthesis.

Prestwick House AP Language and Composition (ISBN# 9781935466680) is now available online at PrestwickHouse.com. For more information call (800)-932-4593.

FAQs for Prestwick House Levels of Understanding

The newest product line from Prestwick House, Levels of Understanding, will hit shelves this January. This title-specific series is based on Bloom's Taxonomy, and helps students learn to independently evaluate literature. Instead of teaching your students how to answer questions about a particular text, help them develop the skills to critically evaluate literature without relying on outside guidance.

Using Bloom’s learning domains, Levels of Understanding breaks down complex questions into smaller parts and outline the steps necessary for students to develop a sound evaluation of a text. Students will begin with the most basic and fundamental skill, comprehension, move on to reader response, analysis, and synthesis, and gradually build to the highest skill, evaluation.

Not only will these guides help you prepare your students for standardized tests like the AP Language and Literature exam, the SATs, and the ACTs, but they will also give students the self-assurance to develop and articulate a personal assessment of the text — a skill that will be advantageous in college and beyond.


What do you mean by “levels of understanding”?


Each section of this guide—which may be divided by scenes, acts, chapters, or groups of chapters—contains five types of questions that are representative of Bloom’s learning domains, starting with the most basic and fundamental skill, knowledge and comprehension, and gradually building to the highest skill, evaluation.


The five types of question are as follows:

Comprehension – will ask the most basic questions to ascertain the students’ fundamental understanding of the text, such as plot facts and character identification.

Reader Response – will ask the students to “respond” to the text by relating it to personal experience or presenting an opinion on a character or event.

Analysis – will require students to study how various techniques and literary or theatrical devices (e.g., diction, symbolism, imagery, metaphors, asides, or soliloquies) function in the text. Analysis questions do not ask the student to merely identify or define a literary, theatrical, or rhetorical device, but to also explain its significance.

Synthesis – will bridge the gap between the analysis and evaluation questions, requiring students to look at other scenes in the text and draw conclusions about themes, motifs, or a writer’s style. Often, a synthesis question will require students to draw on prior knowledge—what has been learned in class or through research—and/or information from sources other than the literary title in order to arrive at a satisfactory answer.

Evaluation – will ask the student to make a qualitative judgment on the text and determine whether a particular aspect of it is effective or ineffective.

The intent of this product is to help students not only gain a better understanding of an individual text, but to aid them in developing skills to critically analyze and evaluate literature in general.



Who is the intended audience of this product?

This product can be used with classes of all ability levels, from remedial to honors. The teacher can decide which questions the students should answer, depending on the class’s goals and objectives.


Additionally, since the questions focus on the text itself, the overall difficulty level of the product will match the complexity of the book or play.



How many questions are in a unit?

The number of questions in a unit depends on the length and complexity of the specific title being studied. Generally, there are 2-5 questions for each of the levels per section.



Are these units reproducible?

Yes. Each major division of the text begins on a new page so that you need to copy only the specific parts you want.



Are these units downloadable?

Yes, these units are available for download in PDF form.



What Common Core Standards does Levels of Understanding meet?

The following table lists the Anchor Common Core Standards that this product meets:

COMMON CORE STANDARDS	CORE #
Reading Literature: Key Ideas and Details	1,2,3
Reading Literature: Craft and Structure	4,5,6
Reading Literature: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas	9
Reading Literature: Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity	10
Writing: Text Types and Purposes	1,2
Writing: Production and Distribution of Writing	4
Writing: Research to Build and Present Knowledge	9
Language: Knowledge of Language	3
Language: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use	4,5

What Are Teacher Reviewers Saying about Power Presentations: 11 Techniques of Propaganda

Last month, Prestwick House debuted Power Presentations: 11 Techniques of Propaganda, an easy-to-use, highly visual method of teaching your students how to analyze media messages and drastically improve their written and oral communication skills. In-depth slides filled with definitions, examples, and exercises can be used in conjunction with Techniques of Propaganda & Persuasion to facilitate class discussion and review or as a stand-alone addition to your curriculum.

Recently, we received feedback on Power Presentations: 11 Techniques of Propaganda from teachers on the Prestwick House National Curriculum Advisory Board. Read quotations from teachers below or find out more at PrestwickHouse.com!


“This was simply a wonderful overview of propaganda. Each section was accessible by a wide audience, provided examples in artistic and print forms, and made it clear how easy it is to be manipulated by others. The order was great because any teacher has the ability to pick and choose how things are taught. The sections were self-contained and could be used in any order.”

“The propaganda posters and the political cartoons were engaging and truly demonstrated the point. The opportunities for classroom discussion have the potential for lively and bright interaction.”

Leticia Geldart



“I would use it and would recommend it to my colleagues. The discussion topics are interesting and varied, asking students to analyze, interpret, summarize, strategize, and create. The description of each propaganda technique is thoroughly detailed and structured cohesively. Further, each unit is similarly structured, making it quite user friendly.”

Julie Petitbon


“The posters and ads should help promote good discussions and help students grasp the various techniques. The language is at an appropriate level. Most of the discussion questions should result in discussion and result in students coming to better understand the information.”

Janice Mullan


“Many students in Middle School and High School seem to feel that if they see it on the internet it must be true. This could meet the demand by teachers to inform students of the likelihood of being duped by the media.”

Judith Mayersmith




“Traditional textbooks rarely include this kind of useful unit even though Common Core Standards do emphasize persuasive writing and/or speaking, especially in the senior year.”

Michelle Peeling



“Many English teachers create their own PowerPoint presentations or slideshows dealing with Propaganda/Logical fallacies. This product will be useful for those teachers who don't have the necessary information/training in this field.”

Luis Garza



“Currently, media literacy tends to get little attention in many public school systems. This targets an essential skill needed to become media literate.”

Ceresta Smith




“I teach Animal Farm. The sections that review propaganda with visual examples would be a great additional to my instruction.”

Marsha Fortune




“Colorful graphics, clear bulleted items, never too much information at once, yet isn't dumbed down.”

John Farrell




“There has been a need for this type of product for a long time and this tool provides a simple, easy-to-use way to teach or reinforce logical fallacies and rhetorical devices in the classroom.”

Susan Mulligan

Tuesday Trivia

Can you give the more well-known author name associated with these pen names and/or given names?

• William Sydney Porter
• Mary Westmacott
• Amandine Dudevant
• Francois Marie Arouet
• Eric Blair
• Charles Dodgson
• Mary Ann Evans

Last Week's Answers

• The Great Gatsby/The High-Bouncing Lover
• 1984/The Last Man in Europe
• Atlas Shrugged/The Strike
• Dracula/The Dead Un-Dead
• The Sun Also Rises/Fiesta
• Catch-22/Catch-18
• To Kill a Mockingbird/Atticus
• Pride and Prejudice/First Impressions
• The Secret Garden/Mistress Mary
• Dubliners /Ulysses in Dublin

Tuesday Trivia

Below are the working titles of several famous works of literature. Can you name their final titles?

• The High-Bouncing Lover
• The Last Man in Europe
• The Strike
• The Dead Un-Dead
• Fiesta
• Catch-18
• Atticus
• First Impressions
• Mistress Mary
• Ulysses in Dublin

Last Week's Answers


Which Newbury Medal-winning author wrote her first book, Summer to Die about her older sister’s untimely death?

Lois Lowry

After experiencing the death of one child to measles, enduring a devastating accident with another, and nearly losing his wife to a life-threatening stroke during her pregnancy, which children’s author became an unofficial medical expert — designing concepts for a valve for draining fluid from the brain?

Roald Dahl


Which author not only illustrates her own books but also makes her own Vermont maple syrup?

Gail Gibbons


Which author says failed high school classes and needed tutoring in writing and reading?

Avi is very upfront about his learning disability and is known for encouraging young people to write despite their own difficulties.


Which world famous children’s author and World War II pilot wrote solely for adults for the first fifteen years of his writing career?

Roald Dahl

Tuesday Trivia

1. Which Newbury Medal-winning author wrote her first book, Summer to Die about her older sister’s untimely death?
2. After experiencing the death of one child to measles, enduring a devastating accident with another, and nearly losing his wife to a life-threatening stroke during her pregnancy, which children’s author became an unofficial medical expert — designing concepts for a valve for draining fluid from the brain?
3. Which author not only illustrates her own books but also makes her own Vermont maple syrup?
4. Which author is very up front about having failed high school classes and needing tutoring in writing and reading?
5. Which world famous children’s author and World War II pilot wrote solely for adults for the first fifteen years of his writing career?

Last Week's Answers

Which author (and founder of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to English) won the Newbery medal only two years after his father won for his own book?


Paul Fleischman won the Newbery Medal for his book Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices in 1989, while his father Sid Fleischman won for The Whipping Boy in 1987.



Which author used the pseudonyms Golden MacDonald, Juniper Sage, Kaintuck Brown and Timothy Hay?


Margaret Wise Brown, author of Goodnight Moon, created pen names so that people wouldn’t realize she was creating a large number of books each year.



Which author initially disguised her gender by using her initials and eventually assumed another after moving to England?


P.L. Travers, author of Mary Poppins was born Helen Lyndon Goff and originally lived in Australia. Which famous author and


illustrator has a children’s picture book art museum named after him?

The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is located in Amherst, Massachusetts.



Which author’s first book for children was about cockroaches?

Joanna Cole, author of the Magic School Bus series.