Category Archives: Social Sciences

You’ll find domain-specific material designed to meet Common Core Standards in social studies, along with adapted and differentiated materials that deal with a broad array of conceptual knowledge in the social sciences. See the Taxonomies page for more about this category.

Everyday Edit: Charles R. Drew

Were you aware that Charles R. Drew, a black man, discovered that blood plasma could last over time if it were kept cool? I wasn’t until I began using this Everyday Edit worksheet on him about ten years ago. If you’d like more of these, you can find them at Education World, where you can actually take for free a whole year’s supply of them.

If you find typos in this document, fix them, for heaven’s sake! It’s an Everyday Edit worksheet….

Cultural Literacy: Civil Disobedience

As is (I hope) well known, Dr. King found in civil disobedience the key to winning the struggle for dignity and basic civil rights for Americans of African descent. So, I believe I am justified in including this Cultural Literacy worksheet on civil disobedience in Mark’s Text Terminal’s observation of Black History Month 2020.

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.

Term of Art: Analysis

“Analysis: A detailed splitting up and examination of a work of literature. A close studies of the various elements and the relationship between them. An essential part of criticism. As T.S. Eliot put it, the tools of the critic are comparison analysis. Analytical criticism helps to make clear an author’s meaning and the structure of his work. It is argued that analysis spoils an intuitive and spontaneous response to a work of literature. Those in favor of “deep” analysis content that, on the contrary, it enhances the reader’s enjoyment.”

Excerpted from: Cuddon, J.A. The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. New York: Penguin, 1992.

Mixed Media

“Mixed Media: The use of several different materials in the same work of art. Also, performances which combine such elements as song, dance, film, sound, light, spoken word, etc. The term multi-media is synonymous with mixed media when applied to a performance.”

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

The Lumiere Brothers

Here is a reading on the Lumiere Brothers with the vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet that accompanies it.

The Lumieres, as you may know, are pioneers of filmmaking technology and cinema. At my current posting I serve a couple of students highly interested in photography; yesterday I developed a series of research worksheets for learning about still photographers. In other words, there is more material related to photography forthcoming and Mark’s Text Terminal.

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.

Everyday Edit: Montgomery Bus Boycott

OK, it’s time for me to get out of here this afternoon. Before I go, here is and Everyday Edit worksheet on the Montgomery Bus Boycott. If you and your students like this document, you can get a yearlong supply of them from the good people over at Education World.

And if you find typos in this worksheet…fix them! That’s what it’s for.

Richard Wright, Metaphorically, on Seismic Cultural Shifts

“Who knows when some slight shock, disturbing the delicate balance between social order and thirsty aspiration, shall send the skyscrapers in our cities toppling.”

Richard Wright

Native Son, bk. 1 (1940)

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

Cultural Literacy: The Dred Scott Decision

Until 1954 (i.e. Brown v. Board of Education), the United States Supreme Court was a reliable upholder of white supremacy. This Cultural Literacy worksheet on the Dred Scott decision helps students understand the precedent behind this illogical jurisprudence. It’s worth remembering that this was the case in which Chief Justice Roger Taney made some particularly trashy, racist comments in his decision.

For God’s sake….

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 Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

“The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: A fantasy (1950) for children by C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), the first of seven books about the mythical land of Narnia. The lion, known as Aslan, is a Christ-like figure. The witch has held Narnia in thrall for a hundred years. The wardrobe is the means through which four children from our world enter Narnia. A televised version was made in 1963, followed by a re-creation in the series Chronicles of Narnia (1988-90).”

Excerpted from: Crofton, Ian, ed. Brewer’s Curious Titles. London: Cassell, 2002.

A Lesson Plan on the Crime and Puzzlement Case “Tread Lightly”

Since they are clearly popular, here is another  lesson plan from the pages of Crime and Puzzlement, this on on the case “Tread Lightly.”

I open this lesson on this Cultural Literacy worksheet on Josephine Baker–an exemplary American, by the way. The illustration and questions drive the lesson. Finally, here is the answer key to solve the case.

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.