Category Archives: Independent Practice

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

Independent Practice: The Crusades

Here is a independent practice worksheet on the Crusades, which is probably useful for social studies teachers.

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.

Hagia Sophia

Here is a reading on the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, and the comprehension worksheet that accompanies it. This is a key piece of Late Antique architecture in one of the crossroads of the world. It’s hard to imagine why students shouldn’t know about this building and this history it represents.

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.

Parsing Sentences Worksheets: Prepositions

If you can use them–I must admit I haven’t yet found an entirely appropriate place for them in my classroom–here are four parsing sentences worksheets for prepositions.

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: Mass Extinction

The horrendous heat here yesterday moved me to cull from my files and post this Cultural Literacy worksheet on mass extinction. It’s hard to see a time when, well, henceforth, this will not be timely material.

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.

A Lesson Plan on Geography and History

Earlier this week I read Jacqueline Grennon Brooks and Martin G. Brooks’ book The Case for a Constructivist Classroom. Because I was mostly educated by constructivist teachers, particularly in high school and college, I find the method salubrious and use it whenever I can. I prefer to ask questions and let students talk rather than operating my own pie-hole for an entire class period. So I have been gratified this week, perusing my first unit for freshman global studies, to find several constructivist lessons in it.

In fact, I posted one yesterday on the causes of history. That entire first unit is entitled “Cause of History,” and it is simply an attempt to induce students to think of history as a process rather than a set of facts to be mastered (and, alas, regurgitated in high-stakes tests).

So here is a complete lesson plan on geography and history. I open this lesson with this context clues worksheet on the noun age (as in historical age). This is a discussion lesson, so if the discussion seems promising, and is leading to the creation of meaning among students, I will take it into a second day. If you see fit to do that, you might want this Cultural Literacy worksheet on the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Finally, here is the worksheet for this lesson, which is really little more than a note-taking template.

I want to stress that this is a student-centered lesson driven by the teacher’s Socratic questioning.

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.

Independent Practice: Niccolo Machiavelli

Can you use this independent practice worksheet on Niccolo Machiavelli? At my school, we teach him (never, alas, hitting on key concepts he represents, like “political science” or “political philosophy”) in the freshman global studies cycle.

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.

Commodore Matthew Perry and Japan

If you teach global studies or world history, I expect you might be able to use this reading on Commodore Perry and Japan and the comprehension worksheet that attends it. When I taught sophomore global studies for the first time last year, I was surprised to learn that the curriculum the administration of my school prescribed didn’t introduce students to the key concept implicit in this material, namely gunboat diplomacy.

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: Mississippi

Here’s a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the state of Mississippi that might be useful for a variety of lessons.

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.

A Complete Introductory Lesson to Verbs

Here’s another late-summer Text, this one, a complete introductory lesson plan for verbs. At the change of class, when students arrive and need a moment of assistance to settle, I use this Cultural Literacy exercise on verbs; in case the lesson goes into a second day, for whatever reason, I keep this Everyday Edit worksheet on Poe’s ‘The Raven'” ready (and, incidentally, you can find a year’s worth of Everyday Edit worksheets at Education World, where the proprietors of that site give them away). The mainstay of this lesson is this scaffolded worksheet on identifying and using verbs. Finally, you might want teacher’s copy of the 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.

Word Root Exercise: Dem/o, Demi

The second post immediately below this one is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on pandemics. In that post I mention that one can discern the Greek word root dem within that noun, and that dem–or, as in the case of this Greek word root worksheet, dem/o and demi–means people. That said, I must make note of, and offer caution on account of, the fact that in Latin the root demi means half or less than. Now you know why espresso is served in a demitasse.

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.