Tag Archives: diction/grammar/style/usage

Common Errors in English Usage: Presently (adv), Currently (adv)

Posted on January 12, 2021 | Leave a comment

Here is a worksheet on differentiating the use of the adverbs presently and currently. Like many of the worksheets in this series, this one addresses what some people might find nitpicky and unimportant. That may well be true of this pair of adverbs, but the point of this exercise is to induce students to think about how to use language precisely and meaningfully.

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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Andrew Jackson

Posted on January 11, 2021 | Leave a comment

Here is a reading on President Andrew Jackson along with its accompanying vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet. Your students–or anyone–won’t need to read far in this one-page document to find parallels with current history in the United States.

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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The Weekly Text, January 8, 2021: A Lesson Plan on the Crime and Puzzlement Case “International Crisis”

Posted on January 8, 2021 | Leave a comment

The first Weekly Text for 2021 is this lesson plan on the Crime and Puzzlement case “International Crisis.”

This lesson opens with this Cultural Literacy Cultural Literacy worksheet on the proverb “you can’t have your cake and eat it too. To conduct your investigation of the international crisis, you’ll need this PDF of the illustration and questions that serve as evidence in this case. Finally, here is the typescript of the answer key to assist you in bringing the culprit or culprits to justice.

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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Posted in English Language Arts, Independent Practice, Lesson Plans, Social Sciences, The Weekly Text, Worksheets

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Cultural Literacy: Joseph Stalin

Posted on January 7, 2021 | Leave a comment

After the historic (and historically disgraceful) events at the United States Capitol building yesterday, I can think of no better time to post this Cultural Literacy worksheet on Joseph Stalin. N.B. that unlike the preponderance of Cultural Literacy materials posted on Mark’s Text Terminal, this is a full-page (as opposed to half-page) document with six questions. In other words, it is suitable for use as an independent practice (i.e. homework) assignment, or for an in-class guided inquiry with struggling 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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The Devil’s Dictionary: Abstruseness

Posted on January 6, 2021 | Leave a comment

“Abstruseness, n. The bait of a bare hook.”

Excerpted from: Bierce, Ambrose. David E. Schultz and S.J. Joshi, eds. The Unabridged Devil’s Dictionary. Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 2000. 

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Accede (vi)

Posted on January 6, 2021 | Leave a comment

Here is a context clues worksheet on the verb accede. It’s used only intransitively, and relatively rarely, in my experience, despite its stemming from a solid Latin root at the base of many other commonly used words in English. It means “to become a party (as to an agreement),” “to express approval or give consent, give in to a request or demand.” and “to enter upon an office or position.” A near synonym is assent–another intransitive verb meaning “to agree to something esp. after thoughtful consideration.”

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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Ad Nauseam

Posted on January 5, 2021 | Leave a comment

“Ad Nauseam To the point of vomiting: to a sickening or wearisome degree, unrelievedly.

‘Henry Miller couldn’t feel anything and dug graves for a living. William Burroughs was an exterminator, Carl Sandburg was a janitor, Faulkner had to run rum, and so on, ad nauseam.’ Robert Hendrickson, The Literary Life”

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

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Word Root Exercise: Acro

Posted on January 5, 2021 | Leave a comment

Here’s a worksheet on the Greek word root acro, which means high, extremity, and tip.

As you’ll see if you review or use this document–I’m fairly certain I’ve never used it in the classroom–this root produces some relatively specialized words in English. The most common among the assortment are acronym (presumably because one only uses the tips or extremities of words to form acronyms), acrobat (for obvious reasons), and acrophobia, which means, of course, “abnormal dread of being in a high place”, or more simply, “fear of heights.”

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: Excursus

Posted on January 4, 2021 | Leave a comment

“Excursus: (Latin ‘running out’) A detailed examination and analysis of a point often added as an appendix to a book. An incidental discussion or digression.”

Excerpted from: Cuddon, J.A. The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. New York: Penguin, 1992.

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French and Indian War

Posted on January 4, 2021 | Leave a comment

Here is a reading on the reading on the French and Indian War (known contemporaneously in Europe as the Seven Years’ War) along with its accompanying vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet. The war raged in North America between Britain and France, who had as her allies Native American tribes. This is a turning point in Great Britain’s hegemony in its North American colonies: while Britain won the conflict, it was at enormous cost. In his attempts to extract payment–by way of unpopular legislation like the Stamp Act— from the American Colonies, King George III so antagonized colonists that he provoked a revolution.

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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