Category Archives: Independent Practice

This is material either specifically designed for or appropriate to use for what is more commonly known as “homework.”

A Lesson Plan on the Greek Word Root Bio-

Posted on March 21, 2020 | Leave a comment

OK, before I go out for a walk on this beautiful early spring afternoon, here is a lesson plan on the Greek word root bio, which means life. I open this lesson with this context clues worksheet on the adjective vital, which hints for students at the meaning of word root at the base of of this lesson. Finally, here is the worksheet that is the primary work of this lesson.

I’ll assume, particularly of you science teachers, that I need not belabor the point of this root’s productivity in English, or its place at the base of so many words related to the life sciences.

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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Garry Kasparov

Posted on March 20, 2020 | Leave a comment

OK, homebound chess club members, here is a reading on Garry Kasparov and its accompanying vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet.

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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A Lesson Plan on Nouns as the Direct Objects of Verbs

Posted on March 20, 2020 | Leave a comment

Here is a lesson plan on nouns as direct objects of verbs in clauses and sentences. I open this lesson with this worksheet on the homophones compliment and complement as both nouns and verbs. Nota bene that many grammar manuals use complement as a noun to designate the direct object of a verb, so I want students to recognize it if they encounter it in such a book. Finally, here is the scaffolded worksheet that is at the center of 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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Aesop’s Fables: “The Bats and The Weasel”

Posted on March 20, 2020 | Leave a comment

OK, here is a lesson plan on the Aesop’s fable “The Bats and The Weasel” along with the fable itself with comprehension questions. I prepared this material in haste, so there is plenty of room to expand it. As always, these are Microsoft Word documents, so you can alter them for your needs.

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, Worksheets

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The Weekly Text, March 20, 2020, Women’s History Month 2020 Week III: A Reading and Comprehension Worksheet on the Flappers

Posted on March 20, 2020 | Leave a comment

Alright, I do want to remember that March is Women’s History Month. This week’s Text, in observation of the month, is a reading on flappers along with its accompanying vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet. The reading is short, but it allows for the possibility of asking a critical question about them: were they avatars of female agency, and thus an early paradigm of feminism?

This post on the cartoon character Betty Boop, which I posted almost exactly a year ago, might complement today’s Text, depending on how far you want to go with this. I can tell you that the Betty Boop material has been of relatively high interest to the students I’ve served over the years.

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, Social Sciences, The Weekly Text, Worksheets

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Cultural Literacy: Tour de Force

Posted on March 19, 2020 | Leave a comment

Alright, I’ve run out of steam for today. I’ll return here tomorrow with another raft of documents that will, I fervently hope, keep young, homebound minds engaged in something other than anxiety about our current dystopian state. So here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the concept tour de force.

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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Word Root Exercise: Mar, Mari

Posted on March 19, 2020 | Leave a comment

Here is a worksheet on the Latin word roots mar and mari. They mean sea. These are very productive roots in English that yield commonly used words like maritime and mariner, to name just two. If you live near water of any kind, chances are good you have a marina offering its goods and services in your community.

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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Sandy Koufax

Posted on March 19, 2020 | Leave a comment

By now, as most people who care surely–and sadly–know, the opening day of Major League Baseball has been pushed out to mid-May at least. Sniff. Team owners hope for a full schedule, but that seems optimistic at best.

In the meantime, for kids at home as the COVID19 pandemic runs its course, here is a reading on Sandy Koufax and its attendant vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet.

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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A Lesson Plan on the Crime and Puzzlement Case: “A Comedy of Errors”

Posted on March 19, 2020 | Leave a comment

Here is yet Crime and Puzzlement lesson plan, this one on “A Comedy of Errors.” I open this lesson, in order to get students settled after a class transition, with this Cultural Literacy worksheet on the expression “Touch and Go.” Here is the scan of the illustrations and questions needed to conduct the investigation–and here is the typescript of the answer key.

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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Heal (vi/vt), Heel (n)

Posted on March 19, 2020 | Leave a comment

Here are five worksheets on the homophones heal and heel, used respectively as an intransitive and transitive verb, and a noun.

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, Worksheets

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