Category Archives: Reference

These are materials for teachers and parents, and you’ll find, in this category, teachers copies and answer keys for worksheets, quotes related to domain-specific knowledge in English Language Arts and social studies, and quotes on issues of professional concern. See the Taxonomies page for more about this category.

Book of Answers: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

Posted on January 3, 2025 | Leave a comment

What was the alternative title to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein? The Modern Prometheus.

Excerpted from: Corey, Melinda, and George Ochoa. Literature: The New York Public Library Book of Answers. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993.

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Monolith

Posted on December 13, 2024 | Leave a comment

“Monolith: A single block of stone carved into a pillar, statue, or column. Large size is implied.”

Excerpted from: Diamond, David G. The Bulfinch Pocket Dictionary of Art Terms. Boston: Little Brown, 1992.

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Copywriting

Posted on December 13, 2024 | Leave a comment

“Copywriting (noun): The writing of promotional, public relations, or advertising copy. Noun: copywriter.

‘The narrator’s admission that he is using the language of the advertising copy-writer is a revealing one, and he resorts, later, to the same jargon: “The Aston-Martin started with a deep, healthy roar.”’ David Lodge, Language of Fiction”

Excerpted from: Grambs, David. The Random House Dictionary for Writers and Readers. New York: Random House, 1990.

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Leviathan

Posted on December 13, 2024 | Leave a comment

“Leviathan: A word from the Hebrew, meaning literally ‘that which gathers itself in folds,’ and given in the Bible to a mythical sea serpent (Job 41:1; . 27:1; Ps. 104:26). The name is also applied to the whale and the crocodile, and by extension it has come to mean something vast and formidable of its kind.”

Excerpted from: Murphy, Bruce, ed. Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia, Fourth Edition. New York: Harper Collins, 1996.

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Term of Art: Strand

Posted on December 6, 2024 | Leave a comment

“strand: A group of related themes or concepts within an overall curricular area. For example, a social studies curriculum might be divided into such strands as citizenship, history, economics, geography, legal systems, political systems, and so on.”

Excerpted from: Ravitch, Diane. EdSpeak: A Glossary of Education Terms, Phrases, Buzzwords, and Jargon. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 2007.

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Atahualpa

Posted on November 29, 2024 | Leave a comment

“Atahualpa: (1502?-1533) Last free-reigning emperor of the Incas. He became ruler after defeating his half-brother in what may have been the greatest military engagement in Inca history. The conquistador Francisco Pizarro met Atahualpa just before the emperor’s triumphal entry into Cuzco and invited him to a feast in his honor. When Atahualpa and his unarmed retainers arrived, Pizarro ambushed them on horseback with cannons and guns, slaughtered thousands, and took Atahualpa prisoner. Pizarro accepted Atahualpa’s offer of a ransom of a roomful of gold, then, having received 24 tons of gold and silver, ordered Atahualpa burned at the stake, The sentence was changed to death by garrote when Atahualpa agreed to convert to Christianity.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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Shawnee

Posted on November 29, 2024 | Leave a comment

“Shawnee: Algonquian-speaking people from the central Ohio River Valley. Closely related in language and culture to the Fox, Kickapoo, and Sauk, the Shawnee were also influenced by the Seneca and Delaware. In the summer the Shawnee lived in bark-covered houses grouped into large villages near fields in which women cultivated corn. The primary male occupation was hunting. In winter the village broke into small patrilineal family groups, which moved to hunting camps. In the 17th century the Shawnee were driven from their home by the Iroquois, scattering into widely separated areas. After 1725 the tribe reunited in Ohio. Following their defeat by General Anthony Wayne (1794), they broke into three independent branches that eventually settled in Oklahoma. Today they number about 4,000.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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Sacagawea

Posted on November 29, 2024 | Leave a comment

“Sacagawea: (1786?-1812) Shoshone Indian woman who, carrying her infant son on her back, traveled thousands of wilderness miles with the Lewis and Clark expedition (1804-6). Though she had been separated from her people for nearly 10 years when the expedition began, Sacagawea was instrumental in obtaining horses and guides from a band of Shoshone (led by her brother, Cameahwait) at a point when the expedition may well have ended. Her fortitude in the face of hazards and deprivation became legendary.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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Penutian Languages

Posted on November 21, 2024 | Leave a comment

“Penutian languages: Hypothetical superfamily of North American Indian languages that unites a number of languages and language families mainly of the far western United States and Canada. The Penutian hypothesis was proposed by Roland B. Dixon and Alfred B. Kroeber in 1913 and refined by Edward Sapir in 1921. Like the Hokan hypothesis (see Hokan Languages), it attempted to reduce the number of unrelated language families in one of the world’s most linguistically diverse areas. At its core was a group of languages spoken along California’s central coast and in the Central Valley, including Ohlone (Costanoan), Miwok, Wintuan, Maidu, and Yokuts. Sapir added Oregon Penutian (spoken along the lower Columbia River), Plateau Penutian (languages of Plateau Indian peoples), Tsimshian (spoken in western British Columbia), and Mexican Penutian (spoken in southern Mexico). Aside from the Mexican group, all the languages today are either extinct or spoken exclusively by older adults. Though the hypothesis remains unproven, at least some languages of the group are probably related to each other.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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Salishan Languages

Posted on November 21, 2024 | Leave a comment

“Salishan languages: Family of about 23 North American Indian languages, spoken or formerly spoken in the Pacific Northwest and adjoining areas of Idaho, Montana, and southern British Columbia. Today, Salishan languages are spoken almost exclusively by older adults. They are remarkable for their elaborate consonant inventories and small number of vowels. Grammatically, all words except for particles tend to assume predicative function, so there is no clear demarcation between nouns and verbs.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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