Vocabulary 12/2/07

Posted by Unknown at 6:11 PM . Sunday, December 2, 2007
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This week's vocabulary words all come from Truck, A Love Story by Michael Perry.

Decorticate

"They set out own the alley, the dog lunging, the man leaning backward, a decorticate stutter-stepping water-skier.

Context clues/word analysis - This one is hard. 'De' means away or from. Cort might have something to do with the 'cortex'. The sentence describes a man who is being pulled by his dog, so he isn't in control. Maybe he has no ability to choose, no will.

According to dictionary.com, decorticate means to debark something, like a tree or to remove the surface layer of an organ, like the brain. One option is also that it can mean you don't have a cortex. So cortex is along the right track.

I'm still having a hard time understanding it in this sentence, though. Is the man stripped bare metaphorically? Or is he just not wearing warm clothes? The story takes place in the winter in Wisconsin.

Original Sentence: The neighborhood was deserted and bare of all signs of human life, like a decorticated tree; its shape still allowing it to be known for what it once was.


Depredate

"But what gets me going in June is they depredate my garden.

Context clues/word analysis - This sentence is about squirrels which bother a man in his backyard every year. He loves his garden and the squirrels try to destroy it. I would guess this words means to tear apart in some way, or dig up.

According to dictionary.com, depredate means to ravage, pillage, plunder. So, my guess was pretty accurate.

Original Sentence: The scene after the opening of the Christmas presents was reminiscent of the aftermath of an invading's forces depredating of the conquered countryside.

Desideratum

"The scene would neither conclude nor progress, leaving me instead to hover timelessly in a stasis of poignant bliss, chastely cradling my anonymous desideratum.

Context clues/word analysis - This scene is describing a man's daydream of a beautiful canoe guide. He's imagining an idyllic afternoon with her. Desideratum could mean something that is not real.

According to dictionary.com, desdiratum is something seen as necessary or wanted. I think I was heading in the right direction in knowing that it was something the man did not have. I just thought it was the name of something like a mythical creature. Instead, it is just the desires, which is where the word comes from, the same root at desire.

Original Sentence: While many needs are universal, such as food, water, and sleep, each's individual has their own desdiratum which might have nothing in common with those around them.

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Reflection Prompts - Spring '09

Week 5 of 6 We are quickly coming to the end of this semester. For this week's reflection prompt, I want you to look at the next few weeks. How are you doing in your classes? What do you need to do to continue to be successful? What challenges do you face? What have you learned about reading, study skills, or yourself in this class that will help you in the next few weeks?
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Week 4 of 6 The unexamined life is not worth living. Socrates, in Plato, Dialogues, Apology Greek philosopher in Athens (469 BC - 399 BC) Well, this may be something of an extreme statement but in reading education circles, there are many who might paraphrase this quote in this way: If you don't spend time examining your life and the choices you make, you are less likely to make choices that will make your life better. So this week (or two since we have spring break), we are going to examine who we are by taking one or more preference tests. There is a personality test, two right brain/left brain dominance tests, and a multiple intelligences test. These tests will allow you to see a different way of knowing yourself. By better understanding your personality or learning preference, you can make better choices with your education. At least, that's my theory! ;) Go to the links in the sidebar named Online Preference Assessments. Take one or more of the online assessments and then answer the following reflection prompt: Do the results of the assessment you took seem accurate to you? If so, why. If not, why not? Did you learn anything new about yourself? THEN Taking the results into consideration, reflect on how these might affect your approach to school--the good and the bad.
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Week 3 of 6 Tim O’Brien states: “War stories, like any good story, is finally about the human heart. About the choices we make, or fail to make. The forfeitures in our lives. Stories are to console and to inspire and to help us heal…And a good war story, in my opinion, is a story that strikes you as important, not for war content, but for its heart content.” Reflect on a story that made an impact on your personally and tell why. OR Think of an event in your life and how would you share that story with somebody in a way that you did not share all the facts, but would speak to the human heart.
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Week 2 of 6 What impact has studying the vocabulary required for this class had on you? * Do you notice those words around you now? * Do you approach unfamiliar vocabulary in a different way now? * Do you find yourself using any of the new words you’ve learned? * Are you remembering the words long-term or forgetting them after you test?
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Week 1 of 6 Last week’s reflection asked you to look forward. This week’s post will ask you to look back at the past week, as well as forward to the next. What plans did you makeyou’re your time last week? Did you follow those plans? What reading strategies and study skills did you plan to use? Were you successful? Now look forward to the coming week. What adjustments do you need to make from last week to the next?