Gryphon
By: Charles Baxter
About the Author
Charles Baxter is an American fiction writer. He was born on May 13, 1947 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He graduated from Macalester College in Saint Paul. He taught for several years at Wayne State University. He received a National Book Award for " The Feast of Love" in the year 2000.
Pre-Reading Reflection:
When I have a substitute teacher I expect to learn all the things that we are supposed to learn on that day. I expect them to follow the guidelines that the normal teacher game them. Sometimes when someone receives a substitute teacher, they have a much different teaching style than their regular teacher. The strategies that substitute teachers do are to ask the student what they usually do in class and go with it. They rely on the students so that they can properly teach the class.
Vocabulary in Context:
Painstakingly- boringly painful"Let us go on to your assigned problems for today, as painstakingly outlined, I see, in Mr. Hibler's lesson plan." (Page 69)
Cosmic- something relating to the universe
"The nature of a pyramid is to guide cosmic energy forces into a concentrated point." (Page 72)
Improvise- say or do something without preparation
"I had to improvise, to outrage him." (Page 74)
Variant- variable
"Gryphon: variant of griffin." (Page 76)
Fabulous- astonishing
"A fabulous beast with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion." (Page 76)
Pretense- false display of feelings
"This time there was no pretense of doing a reading lesson or moving on to arithmetic." (Page 76)
Demoralized- lost confidence
"He seemed demoralized." (Page 79)
Cosmic- something relating to the universe
"The nature of a pyramid is to guide cosmic energy forces into a concentrated point." (Page 72)
Improvise- say or do something without preparation
"I had to improvise, to outrage him." (Page 74)
Variant- variable
"Gryphon: variant of griffin." (Page 76)
Fabulous- astonishing
"A fabulous beast with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion." (Page 76)
Pretense- false display of feelings
"This time there was no pretense of doing a reading lesson or moving on to arithmetic." (Page 76)
Demoralized- lost confidence
"He seemed demoralized." (Page 79)
Typical• She follows the lesson plan
• She teaches her students • She yells at them like a normal teacher would • She tells small stories • She follows the schedule • She teachers normal subjects |
Not Typical• She told fortunes to her students.
• She tells her own opinion about history. • She tells stories that are unrealistic • She tells the students to stare at her the first day at school. • She makes up facts. • She always changes her appearance. • She never eats in the teachers lounge |