Category Archives: Worksheets

Classroom documents for student use. Most are structured and scaffolded, and most are pitched at a fundamental level in terms of the questions they ask and the work and understandings they require of students.

Cultural Literacy: Persona non Grata

Posted on October 2, 2020 | Leave a comment

As the election began to approaches, I admit, I went into my archive of Cultural Literacy worksheets to find a few that had civics themes or related ideas. Continuing with that, and I hope this document speaks for itself in our current political, social, and economic circumstances, here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the Latinism persona non grata. It means, of course, “unwelcome person.”

Of which we as a society currently bear a surplus.

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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Common Errors in English Usage: Reeking Havoc/Wreaking Havoc

Posted on October 2, 2020 | Leave a comment

It’s not a particularly common expression, perhaps simply from lack of use, but maybe this English usage worksheet on the expression wreaking havoc will return this useful expression to the vernacular, if not only academic discourse.

This worksheet’s reading (like this whole series, from Paul Brians’ book Common Errors in English Usage) explains that the expression is not “reeking havoc” but rather “wreaking havoc.” So, I wrote the worksheet so that students may develop their understanding of the use of wreaking havoc by working with it and the verb to reek.

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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Metacognition (n)

Posted on October 2, 2020 | Leave a comment

It’s something I try to work into my units and lessons, and the evidence for its necessity in the classroom is widespread and incontrovertible, so I have used heavily, across the common branch curriculum, this context clues worksheet on the noun metacognition.

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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Cultural Literacy: Fifth Amendment

Posted on October 1, 2020 | Leave a comment

Last but not least on this distinctly autumnal day, here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. This amendment most famously protects defendants against self-incrimination–i.e. they can “take the Fifth” when asked a question whose answer may incriminate them in a crime. The Fifth Amendment also prohibits double jeopardy and mandates due process of law.

This knowledge will help prepare students to what I expect will be heavy use in the coming months of this shield against self-incrimination.

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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Word Root Exercise: Avi-

Posted on October 1, 2020 | Leave a comment

Here is a worksheet on the Latin word root avi, which means bird. So now you know why the place where the birds live at the zoo is called an aviary.

What do birds spend a lot of their time doing? Flying. That’s why this root also appears in a flight-related noun like aviator. This is a very productive root in English for certain kinds of technical terms in flight, like avionics and aviation.

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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Circadian Rhythms

Posted on September 30, 2020 | Leave a comment

For just over ten years, I served in a school without windows in any of the classrooms. In fact, that school has been in the news recently for deficiencies in its reopening plan.

Students, as they will (and I thank them for it), often questioned and commented about the building–it really was dismal–and wanted to discuss it at times. I used this reading on circadian rhythms and its attendant vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet as a way of capitalizing on students’ desire to know why their school possessed the architectural charm of a maximum security prison.

In any case, the reading doesn’t necessarily answer any questions. It does present opportunities to ask critical questions about allocation of public resources, investment in communities, and whether or not one needs to see daylight to operate on a circadian cycle.

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.

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Cultural Literacy: Bread and Circuses

Posted on September 30, 2020 | Leave a comment

After last night, I can’t think of a better time to post this Cultural Literacy the concept of bread and circuses. The term comes from ancient Rome, as I suspect most people know; it was meant, originally, as a plaint against the declining heroism of the Roman people, who were willing to exchange the Roman Republic for the Roman Empire–to forego the work of maintaining a republic for the spectacle, noise, and distraction of the empire’s conquests and programs–free bread among them–designed to control the populace.

In the context of current American politics, I suppose a teacher could contextualize this to describe how Americans were willing to sacrifice intellect and reason for emotion and nonsense.

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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A Lesson Plan on the Chronology of Space Flights from The Order of Things

Posted on September 30, 2020 | Leave a comment

Here’s a lesson on the chronological order of international space flights and the list as reading and comprehension questions that constitute the lesson’s work. This lesson derives, as does every lesson on this blog under the header The Order of Things, from Barbara Ann Kipfer’s book of the same name.

Incidentally, I’ve just finished writing all the lessons and worksheets for the unit they comprise. There are 50 lessons in all, and I’ll soon post supporting documents for the unit, including a user’s manual for the worksheets and the unit plan itself.

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.

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Abstain (vi)

Posted on September 28, 2020 | Leave a comment

OK, last but not least this morning, here is a context clues worksheet on the verb abstain, which is in fact Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day today. It is only used intransitively, and it is a word students probably ought to know and be able to use.

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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Cultural Literacy: Populism

Posted on September 28, 2020 | Leave a comment

If there was ever a time where students ought to be receiving rigorous instruction in civic and politics, it’s now. And I don’t mean to say that this Cultural Literacy worksheet on the political philosophy of populism is the solution to any deficit in civics instruction, but it’s a start, especially for struggling learners and emergent readers.

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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