Zenith - Pine Creek High School

Noun (Click on the speech icon to hear the pronunciation of the word [zee-nith]
 Noun
o the point above the observer that is directly opposite
the nadir on the imaginary sphere against which
celestial bodies appear to be projected
o the best or most successful point
o the highest point, climax, peak

(The popularity of the band was at its zenith in the late sixties.)
Zenith means the high point––it comes from astronomy, where it
describes the highest point in an arc traveled by a star or a planet or
another celestial body. The sun reaches its zenith when it is as high
in the sky as it is going to go on that day.
Zenith — and it's opposite, "nadir" — have been appropriated by non-astronomers and are
used to describe high and low points in non-astronomical contexts. "The party lasted all night,
but the zenith was definitely the moment when we climbed up onto the roof deck and watched
the fireworks. It was all downhill from there."
Other forms::
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Synonyms: acme, apex, apogee, climax, culmination, meridian, peak, pinnacle, vertex
Antonym: nadir
Usage:
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
He hoped his new idea would help him reach the zenith of success. (top, highpoint, peak)
Shortly after Beethoven reached the zenith of his career, he lost his hearing. (top, peak,
pinnacle)
We reached the zenith of the mountain shortly past noon. (peak, top)
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In the 1860s, Tolstoy was at the zenith of his achievement.
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His career reached its zenith in the 1960s.
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Ammar was enclosed in an iron breastplate that held him down on the ground, exposed to the
blazing rays of the sun at its zenith.
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DIRECTIONS: Discuss the meaning of the word with your students, with special emphasis on any
variations or nuances of the word specific to your discipline. Consider taking it a step further by using
one or all of the following ideas as you involve students with the new vocabulary. Remember to
preview all content you intend to share with students. Not all items on the lists provided
below are appropriate for all classes or age levels.
#1 Rossetti Painting

Proserpine by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, one of the defining
images of the Pre-Raphaelite era, was auctioned at
Sotheby's in London in November.
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Sotheby's Simon Toll says “The drawing ‘represents the artist at
the zenith of his originality.’”
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Check out this July 12, 2013 article at the BBC web site:
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-23283887
#2 “R.O.T.C. Returns to New York’s City College More Than Four Decades
After Removal” from the “At War: News from the Front Lines” section of the New York
Times.
Don Gomez wrote, on May 20, 2013, about the removal of the ROTC program from the college in the
early 1970s, “when opposition to the war in Vietnam had reached its zenith,” and how it “left only
ghosts.” However, last May, “Army R.O.T.C. [was] welcomed back to the City University of New York,
with its headquarters at City College.”
Read the full article at: http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/20/r-o-t-c-returns-to-new-yorks-citycollege-more-than-four-decades-afterremoval/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=1&
#3 “Seeing Science: Solving the Mystery of the Shrinking Moon: A Perception
Problem from Science Buddies.”
Read this article from Scientific American, 22 August, 2013.
In this activity, students ”investigate Emmert's law, which
helps explain the full-moon illusion, and estimate the size of
the perceived increase in size of the moon when it is near
the horizon. Then [they] could check out the real moon and
see how this activity holds up to the full-moon illusion.”
One of the steps in this activity is to “go outside to an area
with a clear view of the horizon and zenith.“
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Key concepts
Perception
Optical illusions
Human biology
Space
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bring-science-home-shrinking-moon/
#4 “Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! –Review”
From the Games Blog on The Guardian’s web site on 8 Feb. 2011:
“The fourth Mario vs Donkey Kong title takes this most bitter and longrunning of video game rivalries and manipulates it into another creamy,
comforting slice of puzzle-platforming bliss.”
“You're never actually sure whether you've discovered a unique solution
to the level, or if that's the only way to do it. Which is pretty much the
ludological zenith of puzzle game design.
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2011/feb/08/mario-vsdonkey-kong-mini-land-mayhem
#5
Quotes to discuss with your students or have them do a quick-write response:
#6 Definition: the highest point, climax, peak
#7 A Novel
From Amazon.com:
From the most important Vietnamese author
writing today, a powerful, ambitious novel about
the thirst for absolute power.
Widely considered today’s preeminent Vietnamese
novelist, Duong Thu Huong has won acclaim for
her exceptional lyricism and psychological acumen,
as well as for her unflinching portraits of modern
Vietnam and its culture and people. In her latest
book, she offers a sweeping tale of thwarted love,
political intrigue, and treachery that centers on the
final months in the life of Ho Chi Minh at an
isolated mountain compound where he is
imprisoned both physically and emotionally. The
Zenith reveals moral truths that continue to
reverberate today among those many Americans
who still silently live with sadness and regret over
the Vietnam War.
Have students speculate on why this book
might be titled “The Zenith” and give detailed
support from their knowledge of the Vietnam
War or war in general.