Category Archives: Independent Practice

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

The Weekly Text, November 10, 2017: A Lesson Plan on Using Nouns as Subjective Complements

This week’s Text is a complete lesson plan on using nouns as subjective complements.

When I teach this lesson I begin with this short exercise on the homophones compliment and complement. The mainstay of this lesson is this scaffolded worksheet on using nouns as complements. Here is a learning support to aid students in the labors on this lesson. Finally, you might find useful the teachers’ copy of the worksheet.

That’s it. Now I must return to cleaning up the mess that accumulated in my absence. I hope you have much-deserved, relaxing weekend.

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 Short Exercise on the Greek Word Root Caust- and Caut-

If you’re teaching the Holocaust or related issues to your students, and you want to delve deeper into meaning of that Greek word, you might find this short exercise on the Greek word roots caust and caut useful. Otherwise, it’s a quick and systematic way to build vocabulary. In either case, it means to burn. You’ll see these roots showing up in words like holocaust and cauterize.

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.

Cultural Literacy: Verb

On this rainy Monday morning in New York City, I offer this Cultural Literacy worksheet on verbs.

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, October 27, 2017: A Reading and Comprehension Worksheet on Vlad the Impaler

[Addendum: If you need or want a more recent and comprehensive version–replete with lesson plan and context clues worksheet on the transitive verb impale, click on this hyperlink.]

Although he has gone by many names, Prince Vlad III of Wallachia and his legend have come down to us in a number of forms, including rural folk tales, he is best known from Irish author Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula. Since Halloween is right around the corner, here is an Intellectual Devotional reading on Vlad the Impaler along with a reading comprehension worksheet to accompany it.

To complement this exercise, finally, you might want to use this short Cultural Literacy exercise on the Grim Reaper.

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.

Block (n) and Bloc (n)

Here are five homophone worksheets on the nouns block and bloc that you might find useful. Both are important words for high school students to understand and be able to use.

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, October 20, 2017: A Reading and Comprehension on Swedish Botanist Carl Linnaeus, Father of the Linnaean System of Taxonomy

For this week’s Text, Mark’s Text Terminal engages in a rare act of promotion, namely, exposing readers of this blog to the beautiful “My Dream for Animals” website. A colleague of mine in this school is involved in this. The photos are gorgeous, and the avowed mission of the site noble.

To accompany the site, here is a reading on Swedish botanist and taxonomist Carl Linnaeus together with this reading comprehension worksheet to complement it.

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: Transitive Verb

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the transitive verb that I just now used in a lesson on transitive and intransitive verbs. This document serves as  a quick way to introduce the skill of recognizing and correctly using this type of verb.

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, October 13, 2017, Hispanic Heritage Month Week V: A Reading and Comprehension Worksheet on the Panama Canal

Today is the final Friday of National Hispanic Heritage Month. This week, Mark’s Text Terminal offers a reading on the Panama Canal together with this comprehension worksheet to accompany it.

I debated myself at some length about whether or not these materials properly fit with the idea of National Hispanic Heritage month. In the final analysis, I think this short article does a nice job of exposing the kind of imperial meddling Latin Americans have dealt with for centuries.

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.

Michelangelo

A reader wrote in this morning asking if I could post this Intellectual Devotional reading on Michelangelo. I typed this into a Word document so that I could edit and differentiate it for a variety of readers; the document’s header reflects the course in which I primarily use it. Since it is a Word document, you may edit it for your purposes as well. Finally, here again is the reading comprehension worksheet to accompany the reading.

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, October 6, 2017, Hispanic Heritage Month 2017 Week IV: A Reading and Comprehension Worksheet on Diego Velazquez

For this, the fourth week of National Hispanic Heritage Month, Mark’s Text Terminal offers this Intellectual Devotional reading on Diego Velazquez. Here is a reading comprehension worksheet to accompany it.

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.