It’s National Hispanic Heritage Month

National Hispanic Heritage Month runs from 15 September to 15 October every year. I have very little new in the way of major documents sets for this year–though I have, as I mentioned in previous years, a solid beginning of a unit on the infamous Sleepy Lagoon Murder and the Zoot Suit Riots, two separate but connected events in Los Angeles during World War II that involved the persecution of Mexican-American youth. By this time next year, I should have that forged into a four-to-six-lesson unit.

In the meantime, there are a number of documents on this blog that will help students understand the significance of this month of historical observance. Simply look to your right in the word cloud for “hispanic history.”

Acrylic Resin Paint

“Acrylic Resin Paint: An oil-compatible synthetic medium which is thinned with linseed oil and turpentine.”

Excerpted from: Diamond, David G. The Bulfinch Pocket Dictionary of Art Terms. Boston: Little Brown, 1992.

Common Errors in English Usage: Near, Nearly

Adapted from text in Paul Brians’ book Common Errors in English Usage (which he allows unfettered, no-cost access to at his Washington State University web page), here is a worksheet on the use of adverbs near and nearly. This is a full-page worksheet with a reading of one sentence and ten modified cloze exercises.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

Term of Art: Retrieval

“retrieval: The searching and finding process that leads to recognition and recall, bringing information out of long-term memory.”

Excerpted from: Turkington, Carol, and Joseph R. Harris, PhD. The Encyclopedia of Learning Disabilities. New York: Facts on File, 2006.

Cultural Literacy: Topic Sentence

Here is Cultural Literacy worksheet on the topic sentence as a unit of composition in a paragraph. This is a half-page document with a reading of two sentences and two comprehension questions. A basic, symmetrical, and surprisingly thorough exposition of the form and function of a topic sentence.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

Aestheticism

“Aestheticism: Generally, a term applied to a way of perceiving things that was common among the writers and artists of the 19th century who adhered to the doctrine of art for art’s sake. The movement, or cult, was largely influenced by German romantics, particularly Goethe. Because of the quest for beauty and the insistence that art should serve no moral or didactic purpose, it was related with the work of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the Parnassians. Major exponents of aestheticism in America were Edgar Allan Poe and Ralph Waldo Emerson.”

Excerpted from: Murphy, Bruce, ed. Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia, Fourth Edition. New York: Harper Collins, 1996.

The Weekly Text, 2 October 2026: Introduction to Writing Sentences Lesson 17, Avoid the Run-On Sentence!

Phew. We’ve made it. Here is the seventeenth lesson plan (of seventeen!) of the Introduction to Writing Sentences unit. This final lesson, as the header indicates, deals with avoiding run-on sentences. If you teach English, I imagine the run-on sentence is one of the bane of your existence; they were mine.

This lesson opens with this Cultural Literacy worksheet on the run-on sentence, which, obviously, is the appropriate do-now for this lesson. Here is the scaffolded worksheet on avoiding run-on sentences that is the primary work of this lesson. This learning support on the types of run-on sentences and this one on coordinating conjunctions will help students–and you–get through this lesson.

And that’s it! Seventeen posts of lessons on writing sentences conclude with this post.

If you find typos in these documents, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

Book of Answers: Miss Havisham’s House

What is the name of Miss Havisham’s house in Dickens’s Great Expectations? Satis House

Excerpted from: Corey, Melinda, and George Ochoa. Literature: The New York Public Library Book of Answers. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993.

Common Errors in English Usage: Name, Pronoun

Here is a worksheet on the use of name and pronoun in tandem. This is an oddball document with a reading of seven sentences and six-sentence rewriting exercises. This worksheet derives, as do all worksheets under the header above, from Paul Brians’ book Common Errors in English Usage (to which he allows unfettered, no-cost access at his Washington State University web page).

This document should help students understand the basic concept of usage; as far as the usage issue this document raises, I think you’ll see that students probably aren’t likely to commit the solecism this worksheet addresses.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

Dogmatic

“Dogmatic (adjective): Assertively doctrinal, or promulgating a strong belief or viewpoint as if it were fact; showing firm and forceful opinion; unyieldingly certain or prescriptive; narrow and magisterial. Adjective: dogmatical; adverb: dogmatically; noun: dogma, dogmatism, dogmatist, dogmaticism; verb: dogmatize.

‘For ten minutes, Challee tried to get Bird to withdraw the word “sick.” The young doctor was upset. He became querulous and dogmatic, and threw up clouds of terminology.’ Herman Wouk, The Caine Mutiny”

Excerpted from: Grambs, David. The Random House Dictionary for Writers and Readers. New York: Random House, 1990.

Cultural Literacy: Verse

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on verse; this is a full-page document with a reading of four relatively straightforward sentences, with the fourth sentence, a bit longish, possibly posing a challenge for emergent or struggling readers, and four comprehension questions. Otherwise, this is a simple yet elegant exposition of the concept of verse.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.