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.

Charlemagne

There’s already a short independent practice worksheet on Charlemagne in these pages. He is a major figure in world history, so here is a slightly longer reading on Charlemagne and a vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet to accompany it.

If you find typos in this 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.

Book of Answers: The Jungle

“What is the name of the stockyard district where main character Jurgis Rudkis lives and works in The Jungle? It is known as Packingtown, in Chicago. The 1906 book led to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act.”

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

A Learning Support on the Milestones of World History

I posted this learning support on the milestones of world history in a lesson plan; it seems like a sufficiently useful document to publish as a standalone post.

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.

Academy

“The name of Plato’s school near Athens. It was named after a legendary hero, Hecademus or Academus. The school had a long history, continuing until Justinian suppressed the philosophical school in AD 529.”

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

Vox Populi (noun phrase)

While I doubt you have much call for it, here, nonetheless, is a context clues worksheet on the Latinism vox populi. It’s a noun phrase meaning, just as it sounds, “voice of the people.”

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.

Term of Art: Brain-Compatible Strategies

“Instructional approaches that incorporate thinking processes and real-life activities in the classroom, make use of visual and auditory stimuli in addition to written materials, and engage higher-order thinking skills. Critics say there is no scientific basis to such strategies and that they simply reflect the pedagogical preferences of advocates.”

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

Usury (n)

Here, on a fine spring morning, is a context clues worksheet on the noun usury.

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.

Friction

In response to student demand, I have begun producing some new materials for basic science literacy. To that end, here is a reading on friction and its attendant vocabulary building and comprehension worksheet.

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 Atlantic on Homework

This article on homework from The Atlantic–a practice of which teachers really ought to be skeptical–is definitely worth a look.

Term of Art: Adage

“Adage (noun): An often quoted saying.

‘The urge to be first with the facts on Wolfe appears to have reflected an authentic version of the old academic adage: for Halberstadt it was ‘scoop or perish.’ He may accomplish both. Eliot Fremont-Smith, Village Voice.'”

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