Category Archives: English Language Arts

This category contains domain-specific material–reading and writing expository prose, interpreting literature etc.–designed to meet the Common Core standards in English language arts while at the same time being flexible enough to meet the needs of diverse and idiosyncratic learners.

Albert Camus on Philosophy and Courage

Posted on July 21, 2020 | Leave a comment

“Those who lack the courage will always find a philosophy to justify it.”

Albert Camus

Excerpted from: Winokur, Jon, ed. The Big Curmudgeon. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal, 2007.

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Posted in English Language Arts, Quotes, Reference, Social Sciences

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Idealism

Posted on July 21, 2020 | Leave a comment

I prepared this reading on philosophical idealism and its accompanying vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet  for one student. I used it once (so did he, then moved on to philosophical materialism), then never thought about it again until I found it just now in the back reaches of my warehouse. I doubt readers of this blog will find further use for it either, but who knows? Since I have metaphorical acres (gigabytes, to the literal-minded) of storage space on this website, I put it out on offer.

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, Essays/Readings, Independent Practice, Social Sciences, Worksheets

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Inculcate (vt)

Posted on July 21, 2020 | Leave a comment

It’s Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day, so, accordingly, here is a context clues worksheet on the verb inculcate. N.B. that it is only used transitively. It’s clearly a word students and teachers ought to know; for some reason, I had some difficulty writing context clues for it. Anyway, as always, this document is in Microsoft Word, so you can alter it to suit the needs of your classroom.

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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Posted in English Language Arts, Social Sciences, Worksheets

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The Algonquin Wits: Herman Mankiewicz on the Algonquin Wits

Posted on July 20, 2020 | Leave a comment

“Watching his Round Table friends leaving the Algonquin one afternoon (while they were still young and relatively unsuccessful), Herman Mankiewicz (not yet a Hollywood producer) said to Murdock Pemberton, ‘There goes the greatest collection of unsaleable wit in America.’”

Excerpted from: Drennan, Robert E., ed. The Algonquin Wits. New York: Kensington, 1985.

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Posted in English Language Arts, New York City, Quotes, Reference

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Term of Art: Colloquialism

Posted on July 20, 2020 | Leave a comment

“Colloquialism: A word or expression appropriate to informal conversation but not usually suitable for academic or business writing. They wanted to get even (instead of they wanted to retaliate).”

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

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Word Root Exercise: Sect

Posted on July 20, 2020 | Leave a comment

Alright then, as the great thespian and pet detective Ace Ventura would say, here is a worksheet on the Latin word root sect. It means, as you will quickly see, to cut. You’ll also see that it is a productive root in English, particularly for words in the sciences. So the next time your students are required to dissect something, they will know something about the family of words that sprouts from this root.

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

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A Lesson Plan on the Fastest Animals on Earth from The Order of Things

Posted on July 20, 2020 | Leave a comment

Here is another reading and analysis lesson from Barbara Ann Kipfer’s The Order of Things, this one on the fastest animals on this planet. You’ll need this list and comprehension questions to work kids through this lesson.

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, Lesson Plans, Worksheets

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Deconstruction

Posted on July 20, 2020 | Leave a comment

“Deconstruction: In architecture deconstruction is a more disruptive element within a postmodern zeitgeist. Architectural postmodernism often enacts a nostalgic reinvestment of meaning through the inclusion of historicizing references such as classical columns and ornamentation. Deconstructive architecture, on the other hand, seeks a deregulation of architectural meaning and function. Bernard Tschumi’s structures at the Parc de la Villette in Paris do away with the great synthesis of modern architecture: form follows function. Their playful uselessness is a travesty of the functionalist paradigm. See SEMIOTICS.”

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

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Posted in English Language Arts, Quotes, Reference, Social Sciences

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Derelict (adj)

Posted on July 20, 2020 | Leave a comment

It’s the Word of the Day at Merriam-Webster today, so here is a context clues worksheet on the adjective derelict. As an adjective, it means “abandoned by the owner or occupant.”

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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Posted in English Language Arts, Social Sciences, Worksheets

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Term of Art: Broca’s Area

Posted on July 18, 2020 | Leave a comment

“Broca’s area: A part of the brain included in a massive area of damage suffered by an aphasic patient of P. Broca in the mid-19th century. ‘Broca’s aphasia’ is a form characterized by agrammatism and associated in clinical lore with lesions in this area.”

Excerpted from: Matthews, P.H., ed. The Oxford Concise Dictionary of Linguistics. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.

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