Part one: Reading 1

I. Read the Dear Abby Letters and responses, “Racism in America in Its Subtlest Forms”

II. Highlight new vocabulary and phrases that you think are idiomatic.

III. Answer the following comprehension questions and be prepared to discuss them in class:

1. What is racism?

2. What aspects of racism are discussed in the 3 situations in the letters to Dear Abby?

3. What point is Abby trying to make by mentioning CNN?

4. Describe the instances of racism found in the letters as they relate to:

a. The man in his 60s -

b. Lawrence -

c. Proud Chinese American -

d. Midwest “patriots” –

IV. Reread the letters and make notes on the following discussion topics:

1. Why are the words “exotic” and “patriots” in quotation marks? What are some other terms that could be used to replace them?

2. In her letter to “Proud Chinese American,” Abby points out a remark made by the writer which might be considered racist. What was that remark? Do you think it was racist?

3. Why do many Americans dislike hearing foreign languages spoken in public? How do you feel when you hear a conversation in a language you don’t understand?

4. What is a “red-blooded” American? Why doesn’t Theresa B. consider herself to be one?

5. What do you think “Disillusioned” wrote in his letter to Abby?

Part two: Vocabulary – group work

Underline each of the following words in the “Dear Abby” reading. Discuss them with the members of your group and write a brief definition for each. Label verbs transitive or intransitive. Don’t use a dictionary unless you really have to! Then paraphrase the sentence where you found each word.

1. subtle, subtlest

2. disillusioned

3. intercede

4. chastise

5. xenophobia

6. fragmentation

7. biculturally

8. hard-pressed

9. bigotry

10. racist (adj.)

11. heritage

13. Caucasian

13. exotic

14. accost

15. accommodate

Vocabulary Exercise

Fill each blank with one of the following words from the reading. Four are not used.

accost accommodate hard-pressed bilingual

xenophobia fragmentation biculturally bigotry

subtle disillusioned intercede chastise

racist heritage Caucasian exotic

1. A child who is raised ___________________ has the benefit of two languages, two traditions and two ways of thinking.

2. The computer lab can ___________________ only 30 students. If you are the thirty-first, you’ll just have to wait.

3. Although it seems like a compliment to say that one ethnic group is good at math, it’s still a ___________________ statement.

4. You should ___________________ your friends if you hear them making prejudiced comments about other people.

5. Insisting on “English only” is a ____________________ way of telling people that their native culture isn’t as valuable as American culture.

6. There are many restaurants in San Francisco where you can try strange and ____________________ dishes from all over the world.

7. ____________________ occurs in a society when there is no political or cultural unity; it’s the opposite of unification.

8. If we are willing to ignore the dangers of racial and cultural ___________________, we are helping the spread of intolerance in our society.

9. A lot of immigrants become ___________________ when they discover that it really isn’t as easy to become wealthy in America as they had hoped it would be.

10. Many kinds of fear, especially __________________, have increased in the United States since the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001

11. Immigrants who forget their native language lose an important part of their cultural ____________________.

12. When two friends are having an argument, do you usually ____________________, or do you let them settle it by themselves?