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.

Luis Walter Alvarez on Science and the Vox Populi

“There is no democracy in physics. We can’t say that some second rate guy has has much right to opinion as Fermi.”

Luis Walter Alvarez

Quoted in D.S. Greenberg, The Politics of Pure Science (1967)

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

Independent Practice: The Age of Exploration

Here are two independent practice worksheets on the the Age of Exploration, the historical event that was a catastrophe for indigenous Americans and a bonanza for the Spanish and Portuguese explorers who “discovered” the Americas, and in any case gave birth to the Latin American world.

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.

Manuel [Carneirode Sousa] Bandeira [Filho]

“(1886-1968) Brazilian poet and essayist, Tuberculosis cut short Bandeira’s studies in architecture. While living in a Swiss sanitarium, he came into contact with several French surrealists, notably Paul Eluard. By 1914, on his return to Brazil, he had already written a book-length manuscript of poems. Although he consistently disassociated himself from any poetic movements, his work in the 1920s—particularly O ritmo dissolotu (1924) and Libertinagem (1930)—was hailed as the spearhead of Modernismo. Distinguished for its irony and tragic wit, Bandeira’s poetics advocate ‘using all the words, especially barbarisms; and all the rhythms, especially those beyond metrics.’ Apart from his unceasing experimentation with form, Bandeira introduced the Brazilian vernacular and the African folklore of his native Recife into serious poetry. His collected works, Poesia e prosa (2 vols, 1958), includes essays, art criticism, and an autobiography, as well as verse.”

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

The Reconquista

Here at Mark’s Text Terminal chagrin has arrived with the first day of Hispanic Heritage Month 2018. As I marshall materials for material to post for the month, I find my archives nearly empty. What makes this especially embarrassing is the fact that I work in an inner-city high school with a substantial population of teenagers whose families hail from across the Hispanic world.

So some of the material that I post this month, I’m sorry to say, may in fact be a bit of a stretch in terms of relevance to the letter of Hispanic Heritage Month. This reading on the reconquista and its accompanying comprehension worksheet may indeed epitomize that stretch. In any case, however, I think these are useful documents for any high school global studies course. What do you think?

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.

Fidel Castro on Trial

La historia me absolvera.

History will absolve me.”

Speech at trial for raid on Moncada barracks, 16 October 1953

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

Cultural Literacy: Pancho Villa

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on Pancho Villa in observation of the first day of Hispanic Heritage Month for 2018.

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.

Vicente Blasco Ibanez

“(1867-1928) Spanish novelist. Blasco Ibanez’s early, naturalistic novels, dealing with life in his native Valencia, are generally considered his best; these include La barraca (The Cabin, 1898) and Canas y barro (Reeds and Mud, 1902). Later, he wrote the novels that won him great popularity and financial rewards, perhaps at the expense of his literary reputation. Among these are Los cuatros jinetes del Apocalipsis (The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, 1916), a World War I story, and Sangre y arena (Blood and Sand, 1909).”

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

Independent Practice: Aztec Civilization

It’s September 15. Today National Hispanic Heritage Month begins. I interpret the month’s mandate broadly, so I’ll post materials on people and events from across the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking world in the Americas.

Here is an independent practice worksheet on Aztec civilization to get the month started.

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.

Fallow (adj)

While I sit here waiting for files to backup to a flash drive, I’ll take a minute to post this context clues worksheet on the adjective fallow. If memory serves, and I’m confident it does, I wrote this to assist students in developing the concept of a fallow farm field for a co-teacher’s lesson on the medieval agricultural practice of three-field crop rotation.

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.

Hamlet’s Blackberry

About ten years ago, when I still listened to National Public Radio regularly. I heard William Powers interviewed. He was discussing a research endeavor at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy that resulted in report he titled Hamlet’s Blackberry. Over the years, I meant to read it. Then, in 2010, he expanded the original essay and published it as a book.

But the original essay, at 75 pages with the works cited page, is still available at no cost under the link, if you search “Hamlet’s Blackberry PDF,  The Death of Paper.

I have a particular interest in the history of books and book lore, including changes in printing technologies, I had an interest per se in this piece of writing. For educators, I think this is a good read because it says some things we need to know about the reading and reception of texts.

And Mr. Powers is a fine stylist, so this is a quick and breezy read about a subject that is, by any measure I appreciate, quite profound.