Tag Archives: building vocabulary/conceptual knowledge

The Weekly Text, June 5, 2020: A Lesson Plan on the Verb To Be

This week’s Text is a lesson plan on the verb to be used in the present progressive tense. I open this lesson with this Cultural Literacy worksheet on the idiom “Bone to Pick,” as in “I’ve got a bone to pick with you.” In the event the lesson spills over into a second day, here is a worksheet on the homophones prophet and profit.

You’ll need the worksheet at the center the lesson to do the work; you’ll probably also want (but you don’t necessarily need) this word bank as a learning support. 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.

Word Root Exercise: Quart

Here is a worksheet on the Latin word root quart. It means, you won’t be surprised to hear, fourth. It will also not surprise you to hear that this is a very productive root in English. Math teachers, this might be of some use to you, especially if you are working with English language learners.

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.

Censor (vt), Censorship (n)

OK, very quickly this morning, here are a pair of context clues worksheets on the verb censor and the noun censorship. The verb, incidentally, is only used transitively–you need a direct object, i.e. you need to censor something or someone.

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.

Edward Jenner and Smallpox

Last but not least this morning, especially considering that Edward Jenner was instrumental in refining the art and science of vaccinations, which makes him a man of his and our time, here is a reading on Edward Jenner and Smallpox along with its 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 Generation of ’68

Finally–and again, after the abject horror of yesterday in the United States–I’ll post this reading on reading on The Generation of ’68 and its accompanying vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet without further comment.

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.

Bombast (n)

Regular readers of Mark’s Text Terminal know this isn’t a political blog. Still, after I read this nonsense yesterday, I went looking for something to post like this context clues worksheet on the noun bombast.

Don’t forget the adjective bombastic.

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: Beyond the Pale

Today seems like a perfect time to post this Cultural Literacy worksheet on the idiom beyond the pale. This one is, beyond this general introduction, a very tricky item, etymologically speaking.

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.

Lend-Lease Act

This reading on the Lend-Lease Act guides students through this relatively complicated synthesis of diplomacy and trade during World War II. Here is the vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet that accompanies it.

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.

A Lesson Plan on the Crime and Puzzlement Case “Foxy Grandpa”

I notice I haven’t posted one in some time, so here is a lesson plan on the Crime and Puzzlement case “Foxy Grandpa.”

To open this lesson and get students settled after a class change, I used this Cultural Literacy worksheet on the concept of the taboo. To conduct your investigation of the Foxy Grandpa, you will need this scan of the illustration and questions that drive the case. Finally, to get to the bottom of this crime and bring the offenders to justice, here is the typescript of the answer key.

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.

Synopsis (n), Synopsize (vt)

Here is a pair of context clues worksheets on the noun synopsis and the verb synopsize. The verb is only used transitively, so don’t forget your direct object: what are you synopsizing?

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.