Category Archives: Independent Practice

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

Cultural Literacy: Due Process of Law

This Cultural Literacy worksheet on due process of law could probably serve as an introduction to any number of lessons that deal with the concepts of constitutions, constitutional law,  and civil rights,  as well as jurisprudence in general.

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: Nom, Nomin, Nomen, Onomas and Onomat

Here is a worksheet on the Latin roots nom, nomin, nomen, onomas, and onomat. These are very productive roots in English; they mean name and noun. They turn up in words like anonymous, synonymous, and nominate.

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.

The Weekly Text, September 6, 2019: A Lesson Plan on Using Interrogative Pronouns

This week’s Text is a complete lesson plan on the interrogative. pronoun. I begin this lesson with this worksheet on the homophones you’re and your. Should classroom events stall this lesson, here is a second short exercise, this on a Cultural Literacy worksheet on plagiarism. Finally, here is the structured, scaffolded worksheet on the interrogative pronoun that is the mainstay 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.

The Wizard of Oz

Finishing up on this unutterably beautiful morning in Southwestern Vermont, here is a reading on the classic film The Wizard of Oz along with its accompanying worksheet for building vocabulary and comprehension.

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.

Cultural Literacy: Double Jeopardy

Here’s a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the legal concept of double jeopardy. Given that this is an important Constitutional principle in the United States, I think this document is probably relevant in a high school 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.

Ascent (n), Assent (vi)

At this point, I’ve settled sufficiently into my new job to begin publishing a round of blog posts beyond the Weekly Text. So, as I sit in my classroom first thing in the morning, long before students arrive, I’ll offer these five homophone worksheets on the noun ascent and the verb assent. The verb, apparently, is only used transitively; that said, it’s worth mentioning that assent can also be used as a noun. An exemplary sentence might be something like “Mike gave his assent to the zombies to crash in his garage for one night only.”

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.

The Weekly Text, August 30, 2019: A Reading and Comprehension Worksheet on the Joint Stock Company

For my erstwhile colleagues at the High School of Economics & Finance in Lower Manhattan, I offer as this week’s Text this reading on the joint-stock company and its role in colonizing North America, along with its 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.

A Lesson Plan on the Crime and Puzzlement Case “Back to the Classroom”

Ok, to finish up this Sunday morning, here is a lesson plan on the Crime and Puzzlement case “Back to the Classroom.”

I begin this lesson with this Cultural Literacy worksheet on the idiom “If the Shoe Fits, Wear It.” To proceed in solving this case, you and your students will need the illustration and questions that drive the lesson. Finally, here is the answer key that interprets the evidence in the illustration for students and teachers.

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.

Superman

Here is a high-interest reading on comics superhero Superman and its accompanying vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet if you need them.

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.

Word Root Exercise: Meter, Metr, and Metry

Here is a vocabulary-building worksheet on the Greek roots meter,metr, and -metry.  They mean measure, to measure, and science of measuring. This root gives rise to words in all domains of the the common branch curriculum, as well as of numerous academic terms of art like psychometric and econometric.

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.