Tag Archives: building vocabulary/conceptual knowledge

Word Root Exercise: Sect

Alright then, as the great thespian and pet detective Ace Ventura would say, here is a worksheet on the Latin word root sect. It means, as you will quickly see, to cut. You’ll also see that it is a productive root in English, particularly for words in the sciences. So the next time your students are required to dissect something, they will know something about the family of words that sprouts from this root.

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.

Derelict (adj)

It’s the Word of the Day at Merriam-Webster today, so here is a context clues worksheet on the adjective derelict. As an adjective, it means “abandoned by the owner or occupant.”

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.

Appearance and Reality

Last but not least on this hot Saturday afternoon, here is another one-off that I wrote in response to the request of one student, then never used again. Maybe you have a philosophically-minded student whom this reading on appearance and reality and its accompanying vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet might interest.

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.

Adhere (vi/vt)

If you can use it, here is a context clues worksheet on the verb adhere. It’s used both intransitively and transitively. It seems like a word students ought to know by the time they walk the stage at their graduation.

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.

Cultural Literacy: Munich Pact

Several years ago, during a round of professional development at the school in which I was serving, a group of social studies teachers reviewed the results of our students’ performance on the New York State Global Studies and Geography Regents Examination. They found a high incidence of error on questions related to Neville Chamberlain’s appeasement of Adolf Hitler in 1938. I took that as my cue to develop materials to address this issue–the first document was this context clues worksheet on the transitive verb appease.

This Cultural Literacy worksheet on the Munich Pact, which is a short and general introduction to Chamberlain’s pandering to Hitler may also be useful in ensuring students understand this key moment in global history.

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.

Mien (n)

OK, last but not least this afternoon, let’s deal with Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for today by way of this context clues worksheet on the noun mien. It means “air or bearing esp. as expressive of attitude or personality.” Not a word students necessarily need to know, but a nifty noun I’ve always liked, and certainly a nice synonym of demeanor, appearance, or the polysemous aspect.

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 Weekly Text, July 17, 2020: A Lesson Plan on the Simple Future Tense of Verbs

This week’s Text is a lesson plan on the simple future tense of verbs. I open this lesson with this worksheet on differentiating the homophones veracious and voracious, which are both adjectives. It always pays to prepare for a lesson to spill over into a second day. So here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the concept of nuance, which is really something students ought to know before they graduate high school.

You’ll need the scaffolded worksheet that is the mainstay of this lesson to do its work. You might also find this learning support and word bank useful in presenting this lesson and completing its work. Finally, here is the teacher’s copy of the 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.

Ulysses S. Grant

If you teach United States history, I imagine this reading on Ulysses S. Grant along with its accompanying vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet. I guess there is not much to say about this other than to reiterate that the day General Grant took the surrender of the Confederate Army at Appomattox Court House was the last day the Confederate Flag should have flown anywhere in this nation.

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.

Common Errors in English Usage: Systematic and Systemic

Here is an English usage worksheet on the adjectives systematic and systemic and how to differentiate their. By any measure I recognize, these are a couple of important words for educated citizens to know, understand, and deploy properly. Systemic is an especially important word and concept for teaching and learning in the sciences.

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.

Callous (adj)

On my way out the door, so to speak, here is a context clues worksheet on the adjective callous, which seems like a word everybody ought to know at this moment, and use regularly.

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.