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Teachers.Net Gazette Vol.6 No.2 | February 2009 |
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![]() A Month of Writing Prompts ![]() ![]() | ||
by James Wayne
Continued from page 1 |
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![]() In 1693, King William and Queen Mary of Britain gave a charter for a new college in the colony of Virginia. The Virginians named it the College of William and Mary, and it is the second oldest college in the United States. William and Mary is an unusual name for a college. Make a list of other things you have heard about or seen that have unusual names. Businessman Harold Geneen said, "I don't believe in just ordering people to do things. You have to sort of grab an oar and row with them.” What do you think he meant by that? John Ruskin was born in 1819. He was a writer on art and travel who was the first important critic who pointed out that the value of working to preserve historical buildings. If you could go anywhere in the world to see a famous building, where would you go and what would you see? Why does that building appeal to you? February is the shortest month. Some people have suggested taking some of the days from the 31 day months (January, March, May, July, August, October, or December) and adding them to February to make the months more uniform in length. Which months would you prefer to have days taken from? Why? February 9: In 1863, Anthony Hope was born. He was an English writer whose most famous book was The Prisoner of Zenda, about a British soldier that happens to look exactly like a foreign ruler, and the problems this causes him. Suppose you looked exactly like a famous person. What person would you like to look like? What problems might that cause you? February 10: Both the Chinese and Muslim New Years occur during this time. Having a lot of holidays very close together can be both fun and confusing, especially if different people are celebrating different things, or on different days. List at least 3 problems this situation might cause in a country with large numbers of Christians, Muslims, and Chinese people, like the USA.
February 11: Thomas Edison was born in 1847. He patented more inventions than any other single person in history. His talent was to see situations where an invention could make life better, then to work out a way to make the things he imagined. Imagine an invention that would make your life better. What would it do? February 12: February 13: Indians called the full moon of February the Snow Moon, because this is the coldest time of year in most places in the northern hemisphere. What is your favorite activity to do when it snows? The first public school in America, Boston Latin School, opened in 1635. This school is still in operation. There have been a lot of changes in public schools since 1635. How has school changed since you started going? February 14: Charles Dickens attended a large party in his honor during a visit to New York City. Despite his popularity, his experiences in America gave him a very bad impression of our country and in several of his novels, America is portrayed as a very rough and savage place, with many unfriendly people. If you could, what things could you say to Charles Dickens to show him the friendly, pleasant side of America? In 1764, a trading post was started that slowly grew into the city of St. Louis, Missouri. It served Indians and European settlers that were traveling on the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. Make a list of things that people traded in 1764 that we almost never buy or sell today. To get you started, there were no matches, so people used pieces of flint rock to make sparks. In 1896, Edward, Prince of Wales (he later became King Edward VII) became the first member of the British royal family to ride in a car. In those days, every car was built by hand, very likely to break down a lot, and many times more expensive than they are today. Suppose no way to build cheaper, more reliable cars had ever been found? How would your life be different if only very rich people had cars? ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||
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