Word Roots 2/ Up from Slavery and Give Me Liberty Instructor: Cindi Cartwright
Prerequisites: none
Grade Level: 7th -12th
Fees: $35 month PLUS $15 per semester copy fee Materials:
Prerequisites: none
Grade Level: 7th -12th
Fees: $35 month PLUS $15 per semester copy fee Materials:
- First Semester: Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington, Dover Thrift Edition
- Second Semester: Give Me Liberty by Noel B. Gerson, I will provide this book on
loan—it’s getting hard to find. - Membean Membership-about $50/year, https://membean.com/. You can look at
the program and even do a free trial, but I will give you a code to sign up when
class starts. - Internet access at home for Membean
Course Description:
In this class we will be building vocabulary using an online program at home from Membean https://membean.com/. This is an interactive, personalized, robust program for building vocabulary. They recommend three 15-minute sessions per week. In class, for about half the time in class we will study word roots and word history. The other half will be working through "Up from Slavery” by Booker T. Washington for the first semester. This autobiography tells of Washington’s experiences from being born into slavery and growing up to lead the Tuskegee Institute through its founding years—it’s an incredible story. We will also briefly touch on a few points of history, particularly Emmit Till’s story and the Tulsa Race Massacre, to better appreciate Washington’s courage. In the second semester, we will read “Give Me Liberty, a novel of Patrick Henry.” This historical fiction book is a well-written page-turner that gives the reader a real taste of Henry’s life, and the work of our founding fathers. I will be giving some additionalinsights where the book is more fictionalized; the details of Patrick Henry’s personal life are not actually well-known—he didn’t keep notes! But I hope to spark a real appreciation of what our founders did. This class is suitable for any student 7th grade and up. The homework should take about an hour or just a bit more, plus the Membean time. The Word Roots classes can be done in any order, but I do expect a slightly higher reading level in this one.