For Monday

First of all, we will meet on Monday at the front of the library– on the fourth floor!!  You need to come prepared with the idea of the word (or short phrase) that you intend to use for your “Portrait of a Word” essay! Remember this word does not need to be in English, or in proper English (it could be in slang, in Spanish, in Spanglish, in Urdu, in your work jargon, in the private language you and your siblings used to speak– whatever!) It should be the word that belongs to a group of people you belong to, though, not a broad word like “love” or “family,” but a word that INCLUDES some people and that other people don’t fully understand.  If you’re kind of lost about a word, think about the groups you’re a part of (friend groups, family, religious groups, ethnic groups, work groups) and what language is important to those groups. The best way to find a word important to you will be to PAY ATTENTION  to yourself talking and the people around you talking. What words stand out to you? Look in your favorite song lyrics. Is there a word or short phrase you remember your grandmother (or other relative) always saying to you? Ask your mom your first word. Ask your sister/ best friend/ boyfriend/ girlfriend what words or phrases they associate with you.

For homework: in your journals, write at least 1/2 page about what you KNOW about this word or phrase. Write at least another 1/2 page about you WANT to know. Then do ten minutes of research about the word (time it!) Then write a half page about what you LEARNED from your research. The final step is the PLUS (+) Write 3-4 sentences about what you still want to know about this topic.

Remember, you can write and research AROUND the word– Coates writes about the history of his word in the NFL. Diaz writes about the history of his word in the DR and with the Kennedy’s. You probably don’t want to just research the history of the word itself. If you are having a hard time writing enough about the word, you might want to pick a different word!

If you are totally stuck, you can pick a word off this list, or use it for ideas:

• Zombie (I forgot to tell you guys that zombies are actually real. Look it up!)
• Bitch (much like Coates’ essay, I think that this one is a word only women should attempt)
• Kleptocracy
• Dictator
• Censorship
• Narcissist
• Wildin (look up history of the word “wilding”)
• Woke
• Bodega
• Shlimazel (if you don’t know what it means, don’t write about it.)
• Chilango/a (again, if you don’t know what it means, don’t write about it.)
• Drop a dime (in old time language, this meant to rat someone out to the police)
• Grifter (a con-man, someone who is trying to pull tricks to get money)
• Swagger
• Gangster/ gangsta