Vol. 9, Issue 1 Dr. Jeanne Ramirez Mather, Ed. December 2006
The Genius Kid Dust Bowl Balladeer Next Door Who would have thought that The Dust Bowl Balladeer Texas; jobs such as working in the men. In 1939 he moved to David Meigooni at age 14 would was Okemah native Woody fields, carpentry, moving garbage New York and wrote and be an award winning scientist? Guthrie, who was named after cans, shining shoes, painting signs, worked with such folk singers Of course he started before he Woodrow Wilson. While and washing spittoons. His life as Burl Ives and Pete Seeger. In was 14. In fourth grade he de- Woody is often referred to as changed when his uncle bought 1940 he wrote the song perhaps veloped a science project called the voice of the common man him a guitar and taught him to he is best known for, This Land “Mom’s Fear of Radiation” in and a singer with a social con- play. He found that all around him is Your Land. The Department which he proved that his mother science, he was also a Renais- was life worth singing about. He of Interior commissioned actually was exposed to more sance Man. He was not only a wrote about what he saw and Woody in 1941 to write songs radiation while gardening than singer, musician, and song felt—the good, the bad, and how about the Grand Coulee Dam while watching television. writer, but also an artist and an to make things right. being built in Oregon. This in- Later he wondered if the rela- author. He married young, and had cluded Roll on Columbia and tionship between the curry in the Knowing some of Woody’s three children. He continued fac- Grand Coulee Dam. In 1943 Indian diet, and the low incident history might give light to his ing hard times with the Great De- his autobiographical book of bowel and prostrate cancer ability to empathize with the pression and the Dust Bowl and he Bound for Glory, describing his was related. What he discovered downtrodden. He grew up in left Texas, and his family, and Dust Bowl Years, was pub- was that both radiation and cur- one of Oklahoma’s first Oil hitchhiked his way to Los Ange- lished to critical acclaim, and cumin (the major component in Boom towns. Before he was les. Some of his songs of this later would become a movie curry) killed cancer cells. At the 12 his family had lost several period include I Ain’t Got No starring David Carradine. age of fourteen and still inter- homes and fortunes to fires; his Home, Goin’ Down the Road His passion for justice led ested in radiation he decided to older sister had died in one him to serve in both the Mer- investigate the effect of curcu- fire; his father, a cowboy/land chant Marines and the Army min on radiation effectiveness. speculator/local politician, was during World War II. Woody’s What he found was that not only severely injured in another fire life was hard on his family and does curcumin prevent cancer, suffering financial ruin; and after about 10 years and three but it can sensitize cancer cells his mother was institutional- children and having an affair, he so that only one seventh as much ized in an asylum for life. But divorced his first wife and mar- radiation was needed to destroy Woody was able to draw Feelin’ Bad, So Long It’s Been ried his mistress. This marriage them. So it is no surprise that strength from his father’s re- Good to Know Ya, and Hard Trav- produced four children, includ- David won several national sci- fusal to give up and continuous elin’. ing his son Arlo who would fol- ence awards and now at age attempts to bounce back, and He eventually got a radio job low in his father’s musical foot- nineteen is studying to be an from his parents’ love of sing- giving him an opportunity to sing steps. After a few years, oncologist. ing. some of his protest songs, and Woody and his deteriorating Who would have thought that Woody spent much of his comment on unions and some of health and behavior resulted in 16-year-old Yunchao Lou, who early life working odd jobs in his socialist beliefs about corrupt yet another failed marriage. He was born in Shanghai and boom towns in Oklahoma and politicians, lawyers, and business- (Continued on page 4) moved to the United States when she was 5, and was passionate about music, tennis and debate Table of Contents would be inducted into The Na- The Genius Kid Next Door; Dust Bowl Balladeer 1 tional Gallery For America's Young Inventors in 2005. Af- Yote 2 ter a fire and near tragedy in Who Was Boudica? The Literature Connection 3 (Continued on page 3) Alvarado’s Leap 4
USAO’s Classroom Spice Yote Yote is a West African game influenced by European checkers, but at a much faster pace. Tradi- tionally it is usually played with sticks and pebbles as markers, on a grid of holes on the ground. Each player has 12 pieces and of course the object of the game is to capture all of the opponent’s pieces.
Materials: A traditional grid of 5x6 is simply marked off on the ground, with 30 small holes scooped out. However, to play indoors you may use the grid below. Instead of sticks and stones you may use 24 markers (twelve markers of each of two colors)
Players: 2 players
Preparation: Enlarge playing board.
To Play: Decide who starts. Take turns placing a stone (marker) in an empty hole or on an empty circle. At any time you may use a turn to move one of your pieces already in play, or may add another to the board. *Note, you do not have to have all 12 pieces on the board before you can start moving any given marker already in play (in fact it is a smart move to do just that). Pieces may be moved up, down, right, or left, but not diagonally. As in checkers, when you jump an opponent’s piece you capture and remove it from the board. However, unlike in checkers you may then select any other piece to remove from the board as a bonus capture! The first player to capture all 12 of the opponent’s pieces wins. Note: it is possible for the game to end in a tie.
2 USAO’s Classroom Spice (Genius—cont’d from page 1) her neighborhood and without ever The Literature Connection having studied electronics Yunchao invented a life saving device called The In recognition of Oklahoma's Centennial likes to write poetry and hang out with his Alarm-Triggered Shut-off Appliance System. It can be programmed to recog- the first book to be reviewed is Crossing Bok cousin and uncle. But living in the barrio he nize an audio alarm and automatically Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship and finds himself enticed into a gang as so many turn off any appliance to which it is at- Freedom by Tim Tingle, the well-known youngsters do. The story follows the initiation tached. Thus, if a television or stereo author of Walking the Choctaw Road, the and trouble that Monchi encounters. The au- system were plugged into it they would “Oklahoma Reads Oklahoma” 2005 Book. thor knows well the gang mentality and situa- automatically be shut off if a smoke de- This is a children's adaptation of one of the tion as he was a gang member from age 11 tector went off, allowing the resident to short stories from that book. It is set in Mis- until 18, so this story shows how difficult it is hear the alarm and take appropriate ac- sissippi during the early 1800s. Bok Chitto is to stay out of gangs and some of the conse- tion. Yunchao hopes to pursue a career a river on one side live the Choctaw, on the quences of being a member might be. Today in the medical field. other the plantation owners and their slaves. Luis is a poet, author, and educator who coun- Who would have thought that Krysta Unbeknownst to the non-Indian sels young gang members. (ISBN 0- Morlan who suffers from cerebral palsey population the Choctaw have 89239-161-8) would have become an award winning built a stone path just below the The Ainu of Japan by Barbara inventor as a tenth grader? Her first in- water's surface, building it up in Aoki Poisson is a fascinating book vention, the cast cooler, was a device times of flooding, and down in about the "native people" of Japan. that pumped air into a cast through a times of drought. As a secret After years of living with other Japa- plastic tube to relieve the irritation crossing it is not to be used by nese, many of the ancient differences caused by wearing the cast. In 2000, the children, however, young Martha Tom have disappeared, and relatively few full- while still in high school, she also in- crosses the river in search of berries and loses blooded Ainu still live in Japan. As was/is true vented the Waterbike, a semi- her way. A young black boy helps her back of many Native Americans, Ainu often do not submersible, fin-propelled pedaled ve- to the river, where she shows him the secret want to reveal their heritage for fear of reprisal hicle featured in National Geographic World. Krysta’s interests lay in adap- path. In time the Black family of seven is or discrimination. The book covers not only tive technology and genetics. able to sneak across the river to freedom. the land, but the ancient ancestors who had Who would have thought two broth- Illustrated in acrylic on watercolor board curly hair and pale skin, men had long beards ers, Brandon Whale age 10, and paintings, this is a touching, beautiful chil- and women wore painted tattoos on their faces. Spencer Whale, age 8 would be in- dren's book. (ISBN # 0938317741) It talks about their culture (including their ducted into the National Gallery for It Doesn't Have to Be This Way: A Barrio economy, homes, important animals such as Young Inventors? Their mother had to Story, by Luis J. Rodriguez, is a bilingual the bear, clothing, art, language, festivals, and have a pacemaker implanted and when story about a ten year old boy, Monchi, who (Continued on page 4) the sensor-bracelets used to send the EKG were found to be too big for her wrists, Brandon, then eight, decided to Who was Boudica? modify them by adding elastic to the sensors on her bracelet, and created Following the Roman invasion, 43 AD, estimated 70,000-80,000 Romans were killed packages with small electrolyte-soaked the Iceni British tribe stayed out of the fight by Boudica’s warriors. But Boudica ulti- sponges to help the electrical conduc- and were allowed to become a ‘client king- mately was defeated by the Romans lead by tivity. His invention the PaceMate, has dom,’ which allowed significant independ- Paulinus, killng approximately 80,000 tribes- been successfully marketed. Brandon’s ence. However, in 60AD the client king died men with only 400 Romans killed. It is said brother Spencer, at age 6, built a proto- and the Romans negated his will which would that following the defeat Boudica committed type IV holder to fit wheelchairs so leave the kingdom to his wife and two daugh- suicide. A statue of Boudica, which is Celtic children in the children’s ward did not ters. When his widow, Boudica, Queen of the for ’victory,’ and her daughters, was erected have to be trailed by their parents try- Iceni tribe, appealed the action she was pub- next to the Houses of Parliament in 1902. ing to keep up with the wheelchair roll- licly stripped and flogged, and her daughters A very interesting website appropriate for ing all their IV tubes and equipment middle school and up can be seen at www. behind them. raped. Roman brutality enabled Boudica to bgfl.or/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ Who would have thought that chil- gather forces among her tribesmen and ks2/history/boudicca/ provides a perspective dren could be award women, including children and the elderly, for winning inventors? a rebellion. This tall, relatively young woman from four characters, a brief content sum- Maybe a kid in your in her thirties, with red hair to her waist, lead mary, a brief discussion of related events, and class could be the an army waging war against Roman rule. thought provoking questions., all in a fun next inductee? Boudica was a fierce and brutal warrior. It is cartoon format. Check it out.
3 USAO Multicultural Resource Center 1727 W. Alabama Chickasha, OK 73018
Phone (405) 574-1291
Current and archived issues are available at our website www.usao.edu/Classroom-Spice/
In This Issue... Woody Guthrie; The Genius Kid Next Door; Literature; Who Was Boudica?; Alvarado’s Leap
(Literature—Cont’d from page 3) (Woody Guthrie—Cont’d from page 1) period of 28 years, and anybody caught singin’ it without our per- Alvarado’s Leap? spiritual beliefs); and their strug- married yet once more and had gle to keep it alive over the one more child. mission, will be mighty good years. (ISBN 0-8225-4176-9) Woody’s erratic behavior led friends of ourn, cause we don’t In 1519 in a battle be- Eve Bunting is an award many to believe he was an alco- give a dern. Publish it. Write it. tween the Aztecs and winning author. Her children's holic, and others to believe he Sing it. Swing to it. Yodel it. the Spaniards, Pedro de books are insightful, sometimes was schizophrenic. In actuality We wrote it, that’s all we wanted Alvarado found himself haunting, but always touching. he had Huntington’s Chorea* to do.” He wrote over 1,000 cut off from his troops One Candle is no exception. It the same disease that caused his songs between 1936 and 1954. by a “very wide” body of tells the story of one family's mother to be institutionalized A wonderful website for water. Those who were teachers is www.woodyguthrie. watching declared it im- Hanukkah celebration which when he was a youngster, al- possible to jump such a reflects not only the traditional though it was not correctly diag- org/curriculum/curriculumhome. river, let alone in full Jewish ceremony, but the mem- nosed at the time. (It is believed htm. It has great lesson plans conquistador metal uni- ory of the time spent by the that most of the fires the Guthrie related to Woody Guthrie for form such as Alvarado elder women in the family in a family suffered were due to his elementary and secondary stu- wore. When both sides mother’s mental health. Woody dents, and includes connections realized what Alvarado German concentration camp. In this book Ms. Bunting shows was in and out of institutions to language arts, science, social was going to try, the studies, mathematics, music, and battle stopped and all the importance of tradition, fam- over the next fifteen years and watched. Alvarado did ily, and remembering the tri- died at age 55. art. indeed make the jump, umphs and tragedies of the past. Woody’s penchant for the * Note Huntington’s Chorea is both sides cheered him, In honoring the past, she gives people and his music can be seen a genetic disease characterized and then the battle con- hope to the future. The pastel in the following statement he by nerve degeneration causing tinued. The feat gained drawings by K. Wendy Popp placed on his songbook distrib- spasmodic movements and pro- fame and was called gressive mental deterioration. “Alvarado’s Leap.” are stunning, and are an integral uted to people who wanted the part of the story and its effec- lyrics to his songs: “This song The symptoms usually appear in tiveness. is Copyrighted in U.S., under the patient’s 40s, with death fol- Seal of Copyright #154085, for a lowing in 12-15 years. 4