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.

Term of Art: Distributive

“Distributive: Indicating reference to a particular thing of to every member of a group, e.g., the pronouns ‘each’ and ‘none.’”

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

Word Root Exercise: Rub

Here is a worksheet on the Latin word rub. It means red, as you will quickly infer from its basis in the English word ruby. It also shows up in the noun rubella, a form of measles. Care to guess what color they are?

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.

Herm

“Herm: Pillar-form sculpture of classical antiquity, typically with a bearded face, armless torso, and prominent phallus. Originally, it probably represented the god Hermes. In European iconography it is symbolic of revelry and abandonment.”

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

The Algonquin Wits: George S. Kaufman to Adolph Zukor

“Hollywood’s Adolph Zukor was said to have offered a trifling $30,000 for movie rights to a Kaufman play. The playwright sent back a telegram offering Zukor $40,000 for Paramount.”

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

Bono

To finish up this morning, here is a reading on Bono, the lead singer of the rock group U2, along with its vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet. This work raises some interesting questions about the privileges and responsibilities of fame. I’ve never been a big fan of U2, and Bono has been a bit too messianic for my tastes. In any case, I assume that this is high-interest material, so I have tagged it as such.

It’s hard to argue, however, with the way he has accepted social responsibility for his fame and used it for good works.

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.

Historical Term: Ailing Giants

“ailing giants Declining industries in the 1920s and 30s—coal, textiles, shipbuilding, iron and steel—which had formed the basis of Britain’s 19-century supremacy. Weakened by outdated techniques and management, falling demand and foreign competition, they accounted for the bulk of long-term unemployment.”

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

Cultural Literacy: British Empire

This Cultural Literacy worksheet on the British Empire probably has a number of uses in a social studies classroom, including as an independent practice (i.e. homework) exercise.

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.

 Renaissance Art

Renaissance Art: Strictly, art of the period from ca. 1400 to ca. 1520, but sometimes traced back to the time of Giotto, ca. 1300. During the 14th century, Italian art, especially painting, increasingly took account of scientific perspective and moved toward realism. During the 15th century, early Renaissance development was spurred by the rediscovery of ancient classical art. Reached its climax in the first decades of the 16th century with High Renaissance Art.”

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

A Lesson Plan on the Crime and Puzzlement Case “The Great ‘Drug’ Bust”

Here is a lesson plan on the Crime and Puzzlement case “The Great ‘Drug’ Bust.”

If you use do-not exercises at the beginning of lessons, then the one for this lesson is this Cultural Literacy worksheet on the legend of Saint George and the Dragon. To investigate this case, you’ll need the PDF of the illustration and questions that contain the evidence of this crime. Finally, here is the typescript of the answer key to help you apprehend your culprit.

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.

Term of Art: Disjunctive

“Disjunctive: Indicating contrast, difference, alternatives, etc., between words, phrases or clauses, e.g. the conjunctions ‘but,’ ‘or,’ ‘though.’”

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