Monthly Archives: July 2020

Term of Art: Tabula Rasa

Posted on July 14, 2020 | Leave a comment

“Tabula Rasa: Also known as the blank-slate or white-paper thesis, a name for the radically empiricist view of the mind and knowledge which inspired so-called associationism in psychology. According to John Locke, the contents of the mind are written on it by experience as if it were white paper, a view comparable with modern behaviorist theories which try to account for mental processes as a product of external stimulus and behavioral response.”

Excerpted from: Marshall, Gordon, ed. Oxford Dictionary of Sociology. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.

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Word Root Exercise: Pneum/o, Pneumon/o, Pneumat/o, –Pnea, and -Pnoea (Greek)

Posted on July 14, 2020 | Leave a comment

Finally this morning, here is a worksheet on the Greek roots pneum, pneumon-o, -pnea and -pnoea. They mean, variously, breathing, lung, air, and spirit (leave it to the Greeks to blend the literal and metaphorical with ease). This is another worksheet for students interested in the health professions.

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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Book of Answers: Dalton Trumbo

Posted on July 14, 2020 | Leave a comment

“When was Dalton Trumbo summoned before the House Committee on Un-American activities? In 1947. The screenwriter and author of Johnny Got His Gun (1939) was imprisoned and blacklisted for his refusal to answer questions about his Communist affiliations.”

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

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Vietnam Protest Movement

Posted on July 14, 2020 | Leave a comment

Here is a reading on the Vietnam protest movement in the 1960s along with its vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet. This material might provide valuable context for students seeking to understand the actions and (I hope) changes consequent to them in our nation right now.

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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Term of Art: Articles

Posted on July 14, 2020 | Leave a comment

“Articles: The words a, an, and the, which signal or introduce nouns. The definite article the refers to a particular item: the report. The indefinite article a and an refer to a general item or one not already mentioned: an apple.”

Excerpted from: Strunk, William Jr., and E.B. White. The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition. New York: Longman, 2000.

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Tutelage (n)

Posted on July 14, 2020 | Leave a comment

It’s Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day today, and it well may be a word, as the 2020 school year takes shape, that parents and students need to know. So, here is a context clues worksheet on the noun tutelage. You can no doubt hear its relationship to tutor.

So enough said.

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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Crocodile

Posted on July 13, 2020 | Leave a comment

“Crocodile: A symbol of deity among the ancient Egyptians. According to Plutarch, it is the only aquatic animal that has its eyes covered with a thin transparent membrane, by reason of which it sees and is not seen, as God sees all, Himself not being seen. To this, he adds: ‘The Egyptians worship God symbolically in the crocodile, that being the only animal without a tongue, like the Divine Logos, which standeth not in the need of speech’ (De Iside et Osiride). Achilles Tatius says, ‘The number of its teeth equals the number of days in a year.’ Another tradition is that, during the seven days held sacred to Apis, the crocodile will harm no one.

‘Crocodile tears’ are hypothetical tears. The tale is that crocodiles moan and sigh like a person in deep distress to lure travelers to the spot and even shed tears over their prey while in the act of devouring it. Shakespeare refers to this in the second part of Henry VI.”

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

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The Second of Two Lesson Plans on Ancient Egypt

Posted on July 13, 2020 | Leave a comment

OK, here is the second of two lessons on ancient Egypt. I open this lesson with this worksheet on the noun diaspora; this is a very heavily used words in historical discourse, and I cannot tell you how many times students have asked me to define if for them over the years. If this lesson goes into a second day (I wrote this and the five lessons that precede it below to be taught over a two-day period, FYI), here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the grim reaper. It might not be the best choice for this lesson, but there are plenty of others elsewhere on this website–simply click on the “Cultural Literacy” tag in the word cloud. Finally, here is the worksheet at the center of this lesson with its reading and comprehension questions.

And that is it. In the the six documents posts below (with the interstitial quotes between them), you’ll find most of the rest of the lessons in this far-from-perfect unit.

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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Term of Art: Autonomy

Posted on July 13, 2020 | Leave a comment

“Autonomy (Gk., self-law). Self-government, often used in a context where there are pressures which might alter this state of prevent its attainment.”

Excerpted from: Cook, Chris. Dictionary of Historical Terms. New York: Gramercy, 1998.

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The First of Two Lesson Plans on Ancient Egypt

Posted on July 13, 2020 | Leave a comment

Here’s the first of two lesson plans on ancient Egypt. I open this lesson with this context clues worksheet on the noun empire. In the event that this lesson goes into a second day (and, as below, I’m fairly certain I wrote all of the preceding five lessons with this in mind, so if you teach this lesson over two days, you’ll need this second do-now exercise), here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta. Finally, here is the worksheet at the center of this lesson with its reading and comprehension questions.

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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