Category: Uncategorized
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Teaching Julius Caesar
Part II For Part II, I wanted to share the group work activity I used while teaching Julius Caesar. This activity works especially well for a class of about 32 students. (Here is Part I). I prepared a set of discussion/presentation topics and handed them out to the students. Then, I put all of the…
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Easy Tongan ‘Otai
‘Otai (pronounced OH—tie) is a fresh drink usually made with fresh fruits, heavy cream, ice cream, or coconut milk. Tongans claim to have invented the drink, but Hawaiians, Samoans, Fijians, and other Polynesian cultures enjoy it. Living on an island where fruit is abundant, this creative drink became a staple in the Tongan diet. Years…
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Niuafo’ou: Tin Can Island
In Tonga’s First King and Other Folk Tales, the last folktale in the book is about how the island of Niuafo’ou (many new coconuts) came to be. This island is unique because it is also called the Tin Can Island. Unlike other islands worldwide, it does not have a natural harbor or pier, so there…
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Do You Make Your Bed Everyday?
I always find interviews with authors so interesting. William McRaven is a former Navy Seal Admiral who has written quite a few books, but one of his most famous books, Make Your Bed, is filled with basic lessons on life. McRaven writes: “If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first…
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One Year Ago!
One year ago, I published my first book! I cannot believe how fast this year this year has gone. Here are five things that I learned in this journey of self-publishing. 2. ExpectationsEven though I had read and understood expectations about publishing and promoting my book, I was still naive about expectations. It takes time…
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Tangible Evidence
Claire Messud, a writer, posits that “Things we write down are the fragments shored against our ruins. They outlast us, these scraps of words on paper…writing leaves behind a visceral sense of what it was like to be alive on the planet in a particular time. Writing tells us what it means for someone to…