Monthly Archives: December 2017

A Thought for the New Year from Christa McAuliffe

Posted on December 22, 2017 | Leave a comment

“I touch the future. I teach.”

Christa McAuliffe (1948-1986)

Excerpted from: Howe, Randy, ed. The Quotable Teacher. Guilford, CT: The Lyons Press, 2003.

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The Weekly Text, December 22, 2017: Five Worksheets on Using the Homophones There, Their, and They’re

Posted on December 22, 2017 | Leave a comment

Here are five worksheets on the homophones there, their, and they’re. I assume I needn’t belabor the point that these are some of the most commonly confused homophones out there.

That’s it:  See you on Friday, January 5, 2018, with a new Weekly Text–a full lesson on adverbs.

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.

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Posted in English Language Arts, Independent Practice, The Weekly Text, Worksheets

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The Devil’s Dictionary: Achievement

Posted on December 21, 2017 | Leave a comment

“Achievement, n. The death of endeavor and the birth of disgust.”

Excerpted from: Bierce, Ambrose. David E. Schultz and S.J. Joshi, eds. The Unabridged Devil’s Dictionary. Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 2000.

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Cultural Literacy: David Ricardo

Posted on December 21, 2017 | Leave a comment

We’ve been studying the Industrial Revolution and the birth of capitalism in my sophomore global studies class. That means we’ve been spending a lot of time with Adam Smith, but for the sake of expedience, I imagine, very little on David Ricardo. Certainly, Ricardo is one of the most important of the political economists.

But perhaps not for the high school curriculum. In the event you might need it (it might make a good short introduction to a lesson on Smith, Thomas Malthus, or James Mill, if you teach those thinkers), here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on David Ricardo.

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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Oscar Wilde on Learning from Mistakes

Posted on December 20, 2017 | Leave a comment

“Experience is that name everyone gives to their mistakes.”

Oscar Wilde

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

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Grievance (n)

Posted on December 20, 2017 | Leave a comment

Here is a context clues worksheet on the noun grievance I recently wrote to attend a lesson on the French Revolution. I can’t imagine how students in high school can meaningfully participate in social studies classes–or come to think of it, how meaningful social studies classes can occur–without knowledge of this word and the concept it represents.

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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Horace Mann’s Memo from the Nineteenth Century

Posted on December 19, 2017 | Leave a comment

“A human being is not attaining his full heights until he is educated.”

Horace Mann (1756-1859)

Excerpted from: Howe, Randy, ed. The Quotable Teacher. Guilford, CT: The Lyons Press, 2003.

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Pair (n), Pare (vt), and Pear (n)

Posted on December 19, 2017 | Leave a comment

If you can use them, here are five homophone worksheets on the noun pair, the transitive verb pare, and the noun pear. I just wrote these, though at the moment I’m not sure why. They’re short exercises written to be used at the beginning of a class period.

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.

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Rotten Rejections: The Ginger Man

Posted on December 18, 2017 | Leave a comment

“…publication of The Ginger Man would not be a practical proposition in this country. So much of the text would have to be excised that it would almost destroy the story, and even a certain amount of rewriting would not overcome the problem…. I do not think you will find another publisher who would be willing to undertake the publication under present circumstances.”

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

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A Short Exercise on the Greek Word Root Ecto

Posted on December 18, 2017 | Leave a comment

Here is a short exercise on the Greek word root ecto; it means outside. This is one of those roots that show up in words in the sciences, so it and its words are important for literacy in science courses.

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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