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.

Wilson Mizner on Education

Posted on October 27, 2018 | Leave a comment

“I respect faith, but doubt is what gets you an education.”

Wilson Mizner, quoted in Edward Dean Sullivan, The Fabulous Wilson Mizner (1935)

Excerpted from: Shapiro, Fred, ed. The Yale Book of Quotations. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006.

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A Learning Support on Using Context for Understanding

Posted on October 27, 2018 | Leave a comment

Because by now it is a truism that context determines meaning, I won’t bother to ornament this post with the myriad quotes about that maxim. Moreover, I think the preponderance of posts containing context clues sheets on this site affirms my insistence on using context to help students understand meaning–particularly of the vocabulary words they must possess in order to achieve in school.

While rummaging through the archives just now, I round this learning support on using context for understanding. It’s really just a squib that I copy and paste into worksheets in various iterations in order to support students in mastering this way of knowing. Looking at it, I can see how it could serve as the basis for a variety of worksheets.

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.

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Posted in English Language Arts, Essays/Readings, Independent Practice, Reference

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Book of Answers: The Old Corner Bookstore

Posted on October 27, 2018 | Leave a comment

“On what corner was the Old Corner Bookstore? It was located on the corner of Washington and School streets in Boston. Founded in 1828. The store became a well-known gathering place for writers like Emerson, Hawthorne, Longfellow, and Whittier. Its owners were publishers William D. Ticknor and James T. Fields.”

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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Master List of Greek and Latin Word Roots

Posted on October 27, 2018 | Leave a comment

This year, for the first time, I am teaching English Language Arts to a group of high school seniors. Not to put too fine a point on it, but it has been one hell of a good time. I have all but no experience teaching upperclassmen, as my practice tends to focus on building academic literacy and skills in freshmen so that they may make it to the senior class.

At my school, the school I am incidentally four working days from departing, the Class of 2019 shows great promise. Three years ago these children arrived, and now have become extraordinary young adults, ready to go forth and contribute to the dignity and freedom of humanity.

The two classes I teach have assented to word root worksheets on Friday, which has been a routine of my classroom practice for several years. This morning I post this master list of Greek and Latin Word roots so that it is easily searchable for this group of kids–or anyone else that wants or needs it.

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.

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Posted in English Language Arts, Essays/Readings, Independent Practice, Quotes, Reference, Social Sciences

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3 Fates

Posted on October 27, 2018 | Leave a comment

Clotho * Lachesis * Atropos

“In the classical world, it was the three white-robed Fates who spun, measured out, and cut the thread of life: Clotho spins, Lachesis measures and Atropos cuts. They were known as the Moirai to the Greeks–those who ‘apportion’ your time–and by the superstitious Romans by the euphemism of Parcae, ‘the sparing ones.'”

Excerpted from: Rogerson, Barnaby. Rogerson’s Book of Numbers: The Culture of Numbers–from 1,001 Nights to the Seven Wonders of the World. New York: Picador, 2013.

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Term of Art: Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)

Posted on October 27, 2018 | Leave a comment

“Sophisticated cognitive ability, including the ability to understand complex concepts, to compare and contrast different opinions, or to apply conflicting information to the solution of a problem that has more than one answer. Although such skills are highly praised today—and indeed, often prized above content knowledge—they cannot be attained without also gaining mastery of a significant amount of knowledge to think critically about.”

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

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Posted in Essays/Readings, Quotes, Reference, Social Sciences

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The Devil’s Dictionary: Serial

Posted on October 27, 2018 | Leave a comment

“A literary work, usually a story that is not true, creeping through several issues of a newspaper or magazine. Frequently appended to each installment is a ‘synopsis of preceding chapters’ for those who have not read them, but a direr need is a synopsis of succeeding chapters for those who do not intend to read them. A synopsis of the entire work would be still better.

The late James F. Bowman was writing a serial tale for a weekly paper in collaboration with a genius whose name has not come down to us. They wrote, not jointly but alternately, Bowman supplying the instalment for one week, his friend for the next, and so on, world without end, they hoped. Unfortunately they quarreled, and one Monday morning when Bowman read the paper to prepare himself for his task, he found the work cut out for him in a way to surprise and pain him. His collaborator had embarked every character of the narrative on a ship and sunk them all in the deepest part of the Atlantic.”

Excerpted from: Bierce, Ambrose. David E. Schultz and S.J. Joshi, eds. The Unabridged Devil’s Dictionary. Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 2000.

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Cabala

Posted on October 27, 2018 | Leave a comment

“Cabala (or kabbalah; fr Heb qabbalah, ‘tradition’) The oral traditions of the Jews, said to have been delivered by Moses to the rabbis and handed down through the centuries by word of mouth. In the Middle Ages, the word was a popular term for the Jewish theosophy describing the World of Souls. The rabbis, or cabalists, who were the guardians of the cabala were feared as possessing secrets of magical powers.”

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

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Cabal

Posted on October 27, 2018 | Leave a comment

“In English history, an influential clique of ministers at the court of Charles II from 1667 to 1674. The group derived its name from the initials of its members (Clifford, Ashley, Buckingham, Arlington, and Lauderdale), who were notorious for their intrigues and corruption. The word cabal, which is now used to signify a body of political intriguers, was probably popularized by the activities of the English cabal, but it had long been associated with secrecy and magic, See CABALA.”

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

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Anachronism

Posted on October 26, 2018 | Leave a comment

“Anachronism (noun): A chronological error; a person, thing, word, or idiom inappropriate to the time of a literary work, especially something placed or assumed too early; specific temporal or historical error. Adj. anachronistic, anachronic, anachronous, anachronical; adv. Anachronistically, anachronically, anachronously. Also: METACHRONISM.

‘Of course, the deep south holds on by main strength to it regional expressions, just as it holds and treasures some other anachronisms, but no region can hold out for long against the highway, the high-tension line, and the national television.” John Steinbeck Travels with Charley'”

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

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