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.

Caravan (n)

I wrote this context clues worksheet on the noun caravan to introduce a lesson on the African gold-salt trade. In any case, it seems like a good word for young people to know.

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.

Term of Art: Morphology

“Morphology: The study of the grammatical structure of words and the categories realized by them. Thus, a morphological analysis will divide girls into girl and –s; singer into sing and –er, which marks it as a noun referring to an agent.

A category is ‘morphological’ if it is realized within words. This morphological case is case as realized by different elements within nouns or words of other classes as opposed to an abstract case which might be realized differently or not at all. A morphological causative is a causative form of a verb as opposed to a causative construction, and so on.”

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

Cultural Literacy: Copyright

Since I’m already sitting here this afternoon, here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on copyright. It’s something students with budding artistic talents and aspirations ought to know.

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.

Wilson Mizner on Education

“I respect faith, but doubt is what gets you an education.”

Wilson Mizner, quoted in Edward Dean Sullivan, The Fabulous Wilson Mizner (1935)

Excerpted from: Shapiro, Fred, ed. The Yale Book of Quotations. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006.

A Learning Support on Using Context for Understanding

Because by now it is a truism that context determines meaning, I won’t bother to ornament this post with the myriad quotes about that maxim. Moreover, I think the preponderance of posts containing context clues sheets on this site affirms my insistence on using context to help students understand meaning–particularly of the vocabulary words they must possess in order to achieve in school.

While rummaging through the archives just now, I round this learning support on using context for understanding. It’s really just a squib that I copy and paste into worksheets in various iterations in order to support students in mastering this way of knowing. Looking at it, I can see how it could serve as the basis for a variety of worksheets.

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.

Book of Answers: The Old Corner Bookstore

“On what corner was the Old Corner Bookstore? It was located on the corner of Washington and School streets in Boston. Founded in 1828. The store became a well-known gathering place for writers like Emerson, Hawthorne, Longfellow, and Whittier. Its owners were publishers William D. Ticknor and James T. Fields.”

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

Master List of Greek and Latin Word Roots

This year, for the first time, I am teaching English Language Arts to a group of high school seniors. Not to put too fine a point on it, but it has been one hell of a good time. I have all but no experience teaching upperclassmen, as my practice tends to focus on building academic literacy and skills in freshmen so that they may make it to the senior class.

At my school, the school I am incidentally four working days from departing, the Class of 2019 shows great promise. Three years ago these children arrived, and now have become extraordinary young adults, ready to go forth and contribute to the dignity and freedom of humanity.

The two classes I teach have assented to word root worksheets on Friday, which has been a routine of my classroom practice for several years. This morning I post this master list of Greek and Latin Word roots so that it is easily searchable for this group of kids–or anyone else that wants or needs it.

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.

3 Fates

Clotho * Lachesis * Atropos

“In the classical world, it was the three white-robed Fates who spun, measured out, and cut the thread of life: Clotho spins, Lachesis measures and Atropos cuts. They were known as the Moirai to the Greeks–those who ‘apportion’ your time–and by the superstitious Romans by the euphemism of Parcae, ‘the sparing ones.'”

Excerpted from: Rogerson, Barnaby. Rogerson’s Book of Numbers: The Culture of Numbers–from 1,001 Nights to the Seven Wonders of the World. New York: Picador, 2013.

Independent Practice: Plato

This independent practice worksheet on Plato might need some editing for some students. At the same time, there might be room to add material to it as well,

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.

Word Root Exercise: Eu

This worksheet on the Greek word root eu–it means good and well–will help students quickly acquire an understanding of several key English words. I would think these words would be particularly useful for students interested in pursuing inquiry in the life sciences.

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.