Lincoln, Abraham (12 February 1809–15 April 1865), sixteenth president of the United States, was born in Hardin County, Kentucky, the son of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks, farmers.
Important elements that students should include in their biographical essay, usually in the introduction or first paragraph.
Lincoln’s Legacy
This explains some of Lincoln's contributions to society and how he became an important figure in history.
Read the following model of a biographical essayabout George Washington.
Having a model essay shows the students how it all comes together. I like that certain parts are highlighted and notes on the side. It provides an explanation for what the writer was doing.
organize your writing
Students should create or use a graphic organizer to plan out the essay.
You are ready to write athesis statement
The teacher should spend one class period going over thesis statements and how to write one with the whole class. For some students, it is a difficult task to complete.
Writing Workshop373Gather information
The research part of the essay. Important for students to develop their own questions about the person.
Choose aperson whose life seems especiallyappealing to you
The teacher can provide some options students can write about. Depending on the subject of the essay, the people could be important in History, Science, Math, etc.
Eachstep will include an example from a sample essay discussing the lifeof George Washington
I like how there are step-by-step instructions that also includes examples of what the students should be doing. This will help students figure out what needs to be in a biographical essay.
Pre-wallet, Sasha had been in the grip of a dire evening
Because she is having a boring night on this date, stealing the wallet could make it better, giving her more excitement
accept the challenge
It wasn't that she wanted whatever was in the wallet, she just wanted the thrill of taking something without being caught
traceries
Ornamental stone openwork, typically in the upper part of a Gothic window.
Higher, higher, snaillike in pace, but torch or rocket in its pride.
Explains the slow process for building the tower. Still a motivation to finish the belltower "rocket in its pride".
the unblest foundling
not blessed, abandoned by parents when he was an infant and cared by others.
Anders saw that the other woman, her friend, was looking in the same direction.
This is where the story shifts, with the twist that the main character is in a bank robbery. It is also when time begins to slow down and the shifts of time become a part of the story.
”but for the grace of God…”
I do not understand what this phrase has to do with the poem. Is the mother saying/thinking this phrase?
To the wind she says, “They have eaten me alive.”
When talking to this man, she seems to look like she is happy with her life and children but really she isn't. She talks to the wind to express how she really feels and not be judged by her comments.
his departing smile
If this man is her a former love of hers, when she starts to talk about her children that makes him sad and maybe he does miss her. He sees that she has a new life without him and that she looks to be happy with her children.
flickering light
The flickering light could represent the love these two people had in the past. When they see each other again, there is a small spark that is "flickering" between them again, suggesting that maybe there still is love for each other after all this time a part.
When I taught you at eight to ride
The poem has very little punctuation, a few commas to separate some of the lines.There is a flow with having many enjambed lines and it reminds me of someone riding a bike which is constantly moving until the rider decides to stop. The only period in the poem is at the end where the narrator finished sharing a memory about teaching her daughter to ride a bicycle.
sprinted
The word sprint means to run at full speed for a short distance. I think the author used the word "sprinted" instead of "ran" to show how fast and how at some point the mother had stopped, realizing she was never going to catch up to her daughter.
I sprinted to catch up
The mother is trying to keep up with her daughter growing up and becoming more independent.
loping
"To run with a long, bounding stride".
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
my own mouth rounding
For this mother, seeing her daughter learn a new skill makes her overjoyed but at the same time an overwhelming feeling of fear starts to emerge. The daughter is becoming more independent and that scares the mother because she cannot stop any of the "bad things" in the world from hurting her daughter.
embarrassed at the laughter of my children, the grocer, the mailman
I wonder if the narrator thinks that these people are making fun of her because she cannot speak English very well and sees them laughing. But the people may not think that they are laughing in a hurtful way.
My husband frowned, drank more beer.
Do you think that her husband is upset because he feels the same way as this woman does (alone,dumb) when her children laugh and talk in English? Or is it more about that his wife bought a book to learn English?
clamor
to describe a noisy outcry from a group of people, but more generally, the word means any loud, harsh sound.
This woman is, this old, white-haired woman Standing here in the doorway, Welcoming him in.
I think it is interesting how the author uses these lines to end the poem. As a reader, I was not expecting that ending but it does fit with the topic of the poem. That is something that does happen when someone has Alzheimer's- he can't remember his wife but earlier in the poem, he is able to remember himself as a young man and the type of music he enjoyed.
rhododendron
This means: "widely cultivated shrubs and trees of the heath family with alternate leaves and showy flowers"
Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rhododendron