George Bernard Shaw on Fashion

Posted on September 18, 2026 | Leave a comment

“Fashions are the only induced epidemics, proving that epidemics can be induced by tradesmen.”

George Bernard Shaw

Excerpted from: Winokur, Jon, ed. The Portable Curmudgeon. New York: Plume, 1992.

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Common Errors in English Usage: Multiply by Double/Double, Multiply by 2

Posted on September 18, 2026 | Leave a comment

Once again, from Paul Brians’ book Common Errors in English Usage–to which he gives you, yes you!–free access at his Washington State University web page, here is strange (but, I think useful for inculcating the importance of good writing for clear communication) worksheet on the locutions multiply by double:double, multiply by 2. This is a full-page document with a reading of three sentences and ten modified cloze exercises.

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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Term of Art: Special Needs

Posted on September 18, 2026 | Leave a comment

“special needs: A term used to describe the needs of students with disabilities that must be addressed by their teachers and their school, as required by federal law.”

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

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Cultural Literacy: Vowels

Posted on September 18, 2026 | Leave a comment

It’s hard to imagine that I haven’t (my primary interest as a teacher has been in assisting students in developed advanced literacy) that I haven’t heretofore published this Cultural Literacy worksheet on vowels somewhere along the line in the ten-year existence of this blog. It’s probably embedded in a lesson plan somewhere. But here it is as an easily searchable standalone post.

This is a half-page document with a (longish) one-sentence reading and two comprehension questions.

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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Concepts in Economics: Economic Systems

Posted on September 18, 2026 | Leave a comment

“Economic system: The part of the social system composed of institutions and customs related to the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Important characteristics of an economic system are the property rules and the degree of economic planning: examples are traditional, capitalist, socialist, and mixed systems.”

Excerpted from: Black, John, Nigar Hashimzade, and Gareth Miles. Oxford Dictionary of Economics. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.

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The Weekly Text, 18 September 2026: Introduction to Writing Sentences Lesson 15, Writing the Complex Sentence for Practice

Posted on September 18, 2026 | Leave a comment

OK, this fifteenth lesson plan is a direct companion to the preceding fourteenth lesson plan from the Introduction to Writing Sentences unit: both of these deal with the tricky business of writing complex sentences. The first of these two (again, the fourteenth) introduces students to the subordinating conjunctions that writers use to form complex sentences. This lesson calls upon students to practice this newly acquired (I hope) understanding of composing complex sentences.

This Cultural Literacy worksheet on the grammatical concept of coordination serves to open this lesson. Finally, here is the scaffolded worksheet to write complex sentences for practice that is the mainstay of this lesson.

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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Acroterion

Posted on September 11, 2026 | Leave a comment

“Acroterion: The ornamental finial placed on the angles of a pediment in classical architecture or on a stele. Also refers to the angle of a pediment.”

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

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Common Errors in English Usage: Motion/Move

Posted on September 11, 2026 | Leave a comment

Here is a worksheet on the noun motion and the verb move and their use when moving for something in a meeting (e.g. “I move to adjourn and go pig out at an Indian buffet in Murray Hill” or “Herman made a motion to adjourn to an Indian buffet”). This is adapted, as is every document you’ll find under the title header for this post, from Paul Brians‘ book Common Errors in English Usage (which you can access for free at Professor Brians’ Washington State University web page).

This is full page with a reading of two sentences and ten modified cloze exercises.

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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Dissertation

Posted on September 11, 2026 | Leave a comment

“Dissertation (noun): A formal and extensive treatment of a subject, such as an academic thesis; treatise; earnest presentation of one’s opinion; discourse; explanation. Adjective: dissertational, dissertative; noun: dissertator; verb: dissert.

‘As the local landlady Signora Maura shows the young couple about the house they have just rented from her, she distracts their attention from the walls with a long dissertation on the gas meter.’ Gore Vidal, Matters of Fact and Fiction”

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

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Cultural Literacy: Xenophobia

Posted on September 11, 2026 | Leave a comment

For some reason, I have held back this Cultural Literacy worksheet on xenophobia for just the right moment; this blog is now ten years old, and so it goes without saying there have been a plethora of just the right moments since then.

This is a half-page document with a reading of one sentence and two comprehension questions. Just enough to help student understand the social and economic implications and costs of this particular phobia.

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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