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: Salman Rushdie

He has been in the news recently for his new book, Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder, which tells the story of the attack he suffered in August, 2022, while onstage at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York,  so now is a good time to offer this Cultural Literacy worksheet on Salman Rushdie. This is a half-page document with a reading of two sentences, on relatively simple, the other a longish compound, and two comprehension questions. The reading does mention the Satanic Verses controversy (which may have motivated Mr. Rushdie’s attacker) and the fact that it necessitated that Mr. Rushdie go into hiding.

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, 17 May 2024, Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month Week III: A Reading and Comprehension Worksheet on the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path

For the third Friday of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month 2024, here is a reading on the Four Noble Truths and the Eighfold Path along with its accompanying vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet.

I guess that is enough said.

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: Yellow Peril

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the racist concept of the Yellow Peril. This is a half-page worksheet with a reading of two sentences and two comprehension questions. There is a parenthetical element at the end of the reading the advises interested parties to See internment of Japanese Americans. If you want to take this further, you’ll find a Cultural Literacy worksheet on that topic under this link.

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: Vishnu

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on Vishnu, the Hindu deity known as The Preserver. This is a half-page worksheet with a reading of two simple sentences and two comprehension questions. Once again, just the basics.

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, 10 May 2024, Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month Week II: A Reading and Comprehension Worksheet on Nebuchadrezzar II

For the second Friday of Asian American Pacific Islander Month 2024, your Weekly Text is this reading on Nebuchadrezzar II along with its attendant vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet. There seems to be a couple of different ways of spelling the name of this Babylonian tyrant’s name; if you click on that preceding hyperlink, you will see his name spelled as Nebuchadnezzar. This reading, from the Intellectual Devotional series, notes that Nebuchadnezzar is an alternate spelling of his name.

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: Russo-Japanese War

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the Russo-Japanese War. This is a half-page worksheet with a reading of four sentences and three comprehension questions. Once again, for its brevity, this is a surprisingly thorough summary of this conflict from the editors of The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy.

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: Zhou En-Lai

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on Zhou En-Lai. This is a half-page document with a reading of three sentences ranging from simple to relatively simple, and three comprehension questions. It is, therefore, the sparest of biographies on a founder of the Chinese Communist Party and ally of Mao Zedong.

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, 3 May 2024, Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month Week I: A Reading and Comprehension Worksheet on Taoism

Today begins Asian American Pacific Island Heritage Month 2024, and hence the observance of it on this blog. The first Text for this month is this reading on Taoism along with its accompanying vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet. Like all Weekly Texts this month, this material is drawn and adapted from the Intellectual Devotional series of books.

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: Sociopath

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the sociopath and a concept and figure. This is a half-page worksheet with a reading of two relatively simple sentence and two comprehension questions. Given the tone of our current election cycle as I publish, this is probably 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.

The Weekly Text, 26 April 2024: A Lesson Plan on the Latin Word Roots Scrib and Script

This lesson plan on the Latin word roots scrib and script stands for this week’s Text at Mark’s Text Terminal. These mean, as you might have already inferred, mean “write” and “to write.” You’ll find these two roots in such high-frequency English words describe, manuscript, prescribe, and scribble.

I open this lesson with this context clues worksheet on the verb compose. The context in this document supports a definition of the verb compose, used transitively, as meaning “to create by mental or artistic labor” and “to formulate and write.”

Finally, you’ll need this scaffolded worksheet, replete with cognates from the Romance languages, to execute 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.