It’s National Hispanic Heritage Month

Posted on September 15, 2026 | Leave a comment

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.”

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Posted in Announcement, English Language Arts, Independent Practice, Social Sciences

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William Carlos Williams

Posted on October 9, 2026 | Leave a comment

“William Carlos Williams: (1883-1963) U.S. poet. Trained as a pediatrician, Williams spent a lifetime writing poetry and practicing medicine in his hometown of Rutherford, New Jersey. He is noted for making the ordinary appear extraordinary through clear and discrete imagery and powerful evocation of the world of common objects, as in the fresh impressions of the sensuous world expressed in ‘The Red Wheelbarrow,’ from Spring and All (1923). Paterson (1946-58), a five-part long poem, evokes a complex vision of modern American life. His other poetry includes Pictures from Brueghel (1962; Pulitzer Prize). His numerous prose works include essays, a trilogy of novels, short stories, drama, and autobiography.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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Posted in English Language Arts, Independent Practice, Quotes, Reference

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Common Errors in English Usage: Nevertheless and Notwithstanding

Posted on October 9, 2026 | Leave a comment

From the pages of Paul Brians’ book Common Errors in English Usage (Sherwood, Oregon: William James 2013, to which he allows unfettered access at no charge at his Washington State University web page, here is a worksheet worksheet on the adverb nevertheless and the adverb and preposition notwithstanding. This document stresses that these word are always spelled as one, not, therefore, as never the less or not withstanding.

My own contribution to this material involves defining these words–which mean basically the same thing–and stressing their use as transition words in prose. This is an unstructured worksheet; in other words, there are no cloze exercises here. Students will write declarative sentences from subject to period using nevertheless and notwithstanding.

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.

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Rotten Reviews: Cat Man

Posted on October 9, 2026 | Leave a comment

[This rotten review refers to the novel Cat Man by Edward Hoagland]

“This lengthy description of the lower depths of existence among men who pick up a living around travelling circuses is frequently disgusting in an eager, repetitious, small-boy way.

The New Yorker 

Excerpted from: Barnard, Andre, and Bill Henderson, eds. Pushcart’s Complete Rotten Reviews and Rejections. Wainscott, NY: Pushcart Press, 1998.   

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Cultural Literacy: T.S. Eliot

Posted on October 9, 2026 | Leave a comment

Although I expect he is not much taught at the secondary level (where, nonetheless, I first encountered him), here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on T.S. Eliot. This is a full-page worksheet with a reading of four sentences and four comprehension questions. A short, symmetrical, and almost thorough introduction to this important, if controversial, twentieth-century poet.

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.

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Word Origins: Bimbo

Posted on October 9, 2026 | Leave a comment

“bimbo: [E20th] Bimbos in English are young women, but in Italian a bimbo is a baby, and in English bimbo was originally an American slang term for a fellow or chap, especially a foolish one. In 1947 P.G. Wodehouse wrote of ‘Bimbos who went about the place making passes at innocent girls after discarding their wives.’ This meaning is first recorded in 1918, and by the 1920s the modern sense was being used. In the 1980s the word himbo was coined to mean ‘a male bimbo.’ At the same time bimbette was coined for a younger bimbo. Compare BABE.’

Excerpted from: Creswell, Julia. Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.

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The Weekly Text, 16 October 2026: An Article on the Bookstores of Buenos Aires, Argentina

Posted on October 9, 2026 | Leave a comment

Hispanic Heritage Month 2026 ended yesterday, but I want to post, from the Summer 2026 issue of Fine Books & Collections magazine, this article on the bookstores of Buenos Aires. It speaks for itself, so there is no need for me to carry on here–other than to mention, I suppose, if it is not obvious, that I am a bibliophile.

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Posted in English Language Arts, Essays/Readings

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Voltaire on History

Posted on October 9, 2026 | Leave a comment

“History is nothing but a pack of tricks that we play upon the dead.”

Voltaire

Excerpted from: Winokur, Jon, ed. The Portable Curmudgeon. New York: Plume, 1992.

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Posted in Quotes, Social Sciences

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Cultural Literacy: Tariff

Posted on October 9, 2026 | Leave a comment

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the tariff as a means of raising revenue for governments. This is a half-page worksheet with a reading of one sentence and one comprehension question. Under the circumstances, I think it might be useful to press this document into service as the initial step in answering the question “Who really pays tariffs on a good, in the final analysis?”

I should have posted this a year or eighteen months ago.

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.

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Editorial

Posted on October 9, 2026 | Leave a comment

“Editorial (noun): A newspaper of magazine column that voices the opinions of the editors or publisher, usually about an issue of current importance or interest; fervid or long-winded harangue. Adjective: editorial; adverb: editorially

‘He knew he could probably write smarter editorials if he read The Brothers Karamazov and some of the other great works of all time, but there was the trouble: if he sat around reading the great works of all time, how would he ever get his editorials written?’ Richard Yates, A Good School”

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

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A Writing Tools Quick List from Roy Peter Clark

Posted on October 9, 2026 | Leave a comment

OK, here is a learning support in the form of a a Writing Tools Quick List from legendary journalist and journalism teacher, Roy Peter Clark. This material, which is adapted from Mr. Clark’s book Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer (New York: Little Brown, 2008), is a simple two-page outline. This is a book that is heavily covered–and generally astutely–in a variety of blogs across the Internet. So if this post is inadequate, simply search the book’s title in your favorite search engine.

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.

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