Tag Archives: cultural literacy

Cultural Literacy: Defense Mechanism

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the defense mechanism as a psychological concept. This is a half-page worksheet with a three-sentence reading and three comprehension questions. The symmetry between reading and questions, if I say so myself, makes this a concise and therefore, I hope, effective document for building understanding of this simple but potent Freudian (the reading even mentions its origins in Freud’s work) concept.

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: Colosseum

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the Colosseum in Rome. This is a half-page worksheet with a five-sentence reading and three comprehension questions. It’s a solid and concise introduction to the Colosseum and the spectacles that were staged in it. Perhaps three comprehension questions are insufficient; if so, this is (like almost everything that can be downloaded from this site) a Microsoft Word document which you can alter to you or your students’ needs.

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: Cyclops

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on Cyclops. This is a half-page worksheet with a four-sentence reading and three comprehension questions. It covers the basics of this one-eyed, mythical creature, including Odysseus’s encounter with Polyphemus in The Odyssey.

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, 2 December 2021: A Lesson Plan on the Crime and Puzzlement Case “Westward Ho-Hum!”

This week’s Text is a lesson plan on the the Crime and Puzzlement case “Westward Ho-Hum!” I open this lesson with this half-page Cultural Literacy worksheet (with a two-sentence reading and three comprehension questions) on the Gallicism esprit de corps. To fortify this document with a bit of context, Merriam-Webster defines this noun as denoting “the common spirit existing in the members of a group and inspiring enthusiasm, devotion, and strong regard for the honor of the group.”

To investigate this case, your students will need this PDF of the illustration and questions that serve as both evidence and procedure of inquiry into this heinous crime. Finally, to solve your case and apprehend a suspect, here is the typescript of the answer key.

And that’s it for this week. I hope you and yours enjoyed a relaxed and (if this is your bent), suitably gluttonous Thanksgiving.

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.

Cultural Literacy: Cupid

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on Cupid. This is a half-page worksheet with a five-sentence reading and three comprehension questions. I think this is a relatively well-balanced reading in terms of the amount of content it contains. Whether or not three comprehension questions are sufficient to understand the reading in its fullness is up to you. As this is a Microsoft Word document, you can do with it as you wish.

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: D-Day

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on D-Day. This is a half-pager, with a three-sentence reading and three comprehension questions. The sparest of introductions, I imagine this document has only specific uses in a classroom. Review? It’s a Microsoft Word document, so you can copy and paste out of it as you like.

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: Cybernetics

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on cybernetics. It appears that this noun remains in general use as a term of art in its own field of study–which strikes me as complex. But math and science, as I expect this blog shows, are not my strong suits. In any case, this is a half-page worksheet with a reading of two longish sentences 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.

Cultural Literacy: Courtly Love

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on courtly love. This is a half-page worksheet with a three-sentence reading (the latter two of them longish compounds), and three comprehension questions. I guess this isn’t exactly a burning issue in social studies ritht now, but as I recall we were expected to address it in the freshman global studies cycle here in New York City–which is probably why I wrote it.

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: Coup de Grace

It’s a relatively commonly used Gallicism in English, so here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the noun coup de grace. It means “a deathblow or death shot administered to end the suffering of one mortally wounded.” and “a decisive finishing blow, act, or event.” The latter definition obtains in the vernacular, where this noun finds use most frequently to mean “a final blow.”

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, 5 November 2021: A Lesson Plan on the Crime and Puzzlement Case “False Alarm”

This week’s Text is a lesson plan on the Crime and Puzzlement Case “False Alarm.” I open this lesson with this Cultural Literacy worksheet on the Gallicism enfant terrible.

To conduct your investigation of this misdemeanor, you’ll need this PDF of the illustration and questions that serve as evidence and interrogative in the case. And here is the typescript of the answer key. And that’s it for another week.

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.