1. ASManager2_6.zip Driver
2. B_BRTHDY.txt File Contents

B_BRTHDY.txt Driver File Contents (ASManager2_6.zip)

Name: <  >
Class: <  >
Date: <  >

Birthdays
March, April, May

Think about people you know with spring birthdays. Maybe you have a spring birthday.

List people you know with a birthday in March, April, or May. Type the dates of their birthdays, if you know them.

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Name and save this file now.  (Press Ctrl-S, type a name for the file, and press Enter.)

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Of the many famous people born in spring, five are written about below. A sixth, a famous Native American, died in spring. Her birth date is not known. Read some of the biographical sketches, then write your response to the question or activities following the sketch.

March

March 9 -- How did Amerigo Vespucci become an explorer? He was born in 1454 to a wealthy family in Florence, Italy. His father put him to work in foreign trade at a time when Portugal and Spain, greedy for riches of the East, wanted a westward route to Asia. Amerigo found the money to fund Christopher Columbus' sailing expeditions! Now, Columbus was stubborn. He believed the islands he discovered were off the coast of Asia. But Amerigo Vespucci was doubtful.

A hard-headed businessman, Vespucci made personal inspections. He made at least two (probably four) voyages across the Atlantic. He sailed far greater distances along the coast of the Western Hemisphere than Columbus. He sailed thousands of miles along South America, convinced he was seeing a new continent -- a New World. And, in 1507 a map maker redrew that world. He named the new continent "America." Amerigo Vespucci also learned to find longitude by making lunar observations -- one of the great achievements of the Age of Discovery.

Why do you think we should remember Amerigo Vespucci? Write a short paragraph telling about one of his achievements.

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March 21 -- Pocahontas is a Native American folk heroine. Her real name was "Matoaka," but her father, Chief Powhatan, nicknamed her "Pocahontas," meaning "the playful one." The tale that made her a folk heroine concerns Captain John Smith. His writings tell that he was about to be killed, when twelve-year-old Pocahontas rushed to his side. She laid her head on top of his own and stopped the execution! Then, in 1612, a British sea captain, Samuel Argall, took Pocahontas prisoner. On board his ship, she became a Christian, and later married the English colonist John Rolfe. Their marriage brought a time of peace between Native Americans and settlers.

Then, in 1616, Rolfe and Pocahontas (renamed "Rebecca") and their little son, Thomas, went to England. She was called an "exotic creature." But one year later, just before the ship left to take them back to Virginia, Pocahontas became ill and died. She was buried March 21, 1617, in an unmarked grave on a bank of the Thames River in England.

Write from your imagination! Write a short paragraph about Pocahontas as a young girl. Write a short paragraph about Rebecca as a wife and mother. Then, write a third paragraph that draws a conclusion about her startling life.

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April

April 5 -- Actress, Bette Davis. In the 1930s, an "actress" meant "live" theater -- not Hollywood films. Hollywood women were just glamor queens or walk-on characters. Bette Davis changed all that. She wanted challenging, quality scripts. She blazed the trail for many fine actresses to follow. Bette was born in Lowell, Massachusetts. Her father left home when she was seven. She and her sister lived with their mother and attended boarding school.

Later, Bette worked as a waitress to help pay for her education. She studied drama and dance in New York, and was determined to be an actress. Broadway gave her acting parts, but Universal Studios in Hollywood offered her a contract. They wanted to change her name and her image. They called the future star of Jezebel and Of Human Bondage the "little brown wren." During World War II, she helped found the American Canteen for servicemen. Later came her famous roles as Queen Elizabeth, and roles in All about Eve, and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane. She brought dignity and a powerful presence to each role she played.

Write a short paragraph about the actor or actress you most respect. What qualities does this person have?

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April 21 -- Naturalist-writer, John Muir. Those who love unspoiled wilderness areas of the United States owe a debt to John Muir who was born in Scotland. In 1849, the year of the California Gold Rush, he and his parents sailed for the United States. But gold was not what would lure John west. After struggling through the University of Wisconsin, he made his reputation in geology. He loved to wander. He explored the jungles of the Amazon, the heart of Africa, and the glacial wilderness of the Arctic, where he discovered the glacier that now bears his name.

He loved the high Sierras of California. He took a job herding sheep in the Tuolumne Meadows to be in the mountains -- this, after his scientific reputation was well established. Thanks in part to Muir, that area is now Yosemite National Park. He was a crusader, and wrote with passion about conserving and preserving wilderness. Muir Woods National Monument is named after him. Muir, it was said, "...did as much as any man of his time to preserve some corners of our country in their pristine condition."

Write a short description of the most beautiful place you've ever seen. Use words that "show" the picture in your mind.

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May

May 12 -- Film Star, Mickey Mouse. The exact date of his "birth" is unknown although we celebrate it on May 12th. We do know that Mickey Mouse "came to life" on a train enroute from New York to Los Angeles. He was named after a real mouse who scurried around a garage at night while a man named Walt Disney hunched over a drawing board. The mouse took food from the man's hand. Its quick movements fascinated Disney. When a central character for a first animated cartoon was needed, Disney's "Mickey" mouse was a natural for the part.

His first film, Steamboat Willie, was a smash hit in 1928. So were hundreds of cartoons which followed. The little mouse made millions and never realized a dime! A similar fate befell his best girl, Minnie, and friends Pluto and Donald Duck. While each had a popular claim to fame, only one has an official Mickey Mouse Day, first proclaimed in Worcester, Massachusetts. And only one had a fan club, "The Mickey Mouse Club" on national TV with a cast of 24 Mouseketeers!

Why do you think people all over the world like Mickey Mouse? By yourself or with a partner, list Mickey's characteristics -- how he looks, acts, talks, thinks, and what he does.

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Take a poll! See if your classmates agree on a main reason for Mickey's worldwide popularity.

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May 21 -- Ecologist, Rachel Carson. Rachel Carson made the word ecology a household word, although she didn't invent the term. The author of Silent Spring and The Sea around Us was born in 1907 in Springdale, Pennsylvania. A very early memory, she said, was sitting in her highchair on the porch, listening to the song of meadowlarks. As she grew up, she took long walks near her family's farm. She'd observe woods, plants, and pond life, and became an amateur birdwatcher.

Interest in the natural world led to her studies in zoology and to teaching at the University of Maryland. Later, she worked as an aquatic biologist. Her writings gave early warnings against wasting our natural resources. She called for a nationwide conservation policy to prevent depletion or extinction of wildlife. She warned against uncontrolled industrial spraying, saying someday a silent spring would dawn without birds singing in trees or fish leaping in streams.

What is your earliest "outdoor" memory? Describe the place. Tell if the place has changed or if you think it looks the same today as you remember it.

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Choose a person you know who was born in March, April, or May. You might choose a person from the list you typed at the beginning of this file. If you were born in the spring, you might choose yourself. Write about the person as you answer the questions and fill in the information below.

Date of Birthday: <  >

Person's Name: <  >

Tell what is outstanding about <  >?

(Use words that describe a physical or mental quality or ability.)

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How do you feel about <  >?

Use words that describe "feelings," such as like, admire, love, etc.

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Now put your ideas and information together into a paragraph similar to the descriptions above.

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Write about Yourself

Feel left out? Were you born in a month other than March, April, or May?

Choose a spring date to celebrate your birthday! (If your real birthday is July 4, your spring "birthday" could be the 4th of March, April, or May.)

Write about yourself. Give your name, real birth date, spring "birth date," and place of birth. Tell what you like to do best, least, etc. Tell what is special about the month you chose for your spring "birthday."

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If you haven't done so already, name and save this file now.  (Press Ctrl-S, type a name for the file, and press Enter.)

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end of activity
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