Shades of the prison-house begin to close
Upon the growing Boy,
But he beholds the light, and whence it flows,
He sees it in his joy.
The stanza from the poem above was written by William Wordsworth, a great poet of the 1800s. What do you think it is talking about? What do you think the boy see that makes him joyful? This stanza is used at the beginning of the novel we will start in class on Monday, The Light in the Forest, by Conrad Richter.
We will be immersed in the colonies of Pennsylvania and Delaware, and be reading about the relationships among the British soldiers, the American colonists, and the Native Americans of the region--and one boy who finds himself confused about all three groups of people.
This week, all of our reading will be done at school since you have history reading as homework. HOWEVER, if you do not finish your reading at school, you must finish it at home. You will be keeping a chart as you read, and must be able to participate in our discussions each day in class. Your spelling and vocabulary words will be taken from your history book as well as this novel. They are below. You must be able to spell the words correctly, and recognize the correct definitions for the words. Your test over these words will be Friday, January 7.
You will have homework from this book for NEXT MONDAY, January 10: You will need to read Chapters 9 and 10, pages 85-106; keep your notes on your chart, and be ready to discuss.
1. embark = to set off on a voyage or trip
2. gaudy = showy and brightly colored
3. peril = a danger or risk
4. privateer = a government paid pirate
5. abundance = plenty
6. estuary = where the river meets the sea
7. yeoman = a small farmer who farmed his own land
8. flotilla = a small fleet of ships
9. humiliate = to humble or shame
10. conscious = aware
11. redoubt = a temporary fort used to secure hilltops
12. frontier = unexplored territory
