"Legal Alien"

In her poem, Pat Mora shows how a Mexican-American heritage can be both useful and alienating.

Here are all the word lists to support the reading of Grade 10 Unit 1's texts from SpringBoard's Common Core ELA series: What Is Cultural Identity, Ethnic Hash, Two Kinds, Honestly Frida, Legal Alien, By Any Other Name, HAPA, Where Worlds Collide, My Mother Pieced Quilts, Everyday Use, Two Ways to Belong in America, An Indian Father's Plea
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. bilingual
    using or knowing two languages
    Bi-lingual, Bi-cultural,
    able to slip from "How's life?"
    to "Me'stan volviendo loca"
  2. panel
    sheet that forms a distinct section of something
    able to sit in a paneled office
  3. draft
    draw up an outline or sketch for something
    drafting memos in smooth English
  4. fluent
    expressing yourself readily, clearly, effectively
    able to order in fluent Spanish
    at a Mexican restaurant
  5. exotic
    characteristic of another place or part of the world
    viewed by Anglos as perhaps exotic
  6. inferior
    of or characteristic of low rank or importance
    perhaps inferior, definitely different
  7. alien
    from another place or part of the world
    viewed by Mexicans as alien
  8. fringe
    the outside boundary or surface of something
    a handy token
    sliding back and forth
    between the fringes of both worlds
  9. discomfort
    an uneasy feeling of mental painfulness or distress
    by smiling
    by masking the discomfort
  10. bilateral
    having two sides or parts
    of being pre-judged
    Bi-laterally
Created on Tue Oct 07 11:57:30 EDT 2014 (updated Wed Oct 08 18:16:34 EDT 2014)

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