Tag Archives: diction/grammar/style/usage

Dialogue (n)

Here is a context clues worksheet on the noun dialogue, which is certainly a word high schoolers should know–and well.

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: The Jacobins

Here is a Cultural literacy worksheet on the Jacobins, which might come in handy with any social studies work related to the French Revolution and its legacy.

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.

A Learning Support on Writers’ Manuals

If you teach writing and want to supply your students with the tools for creating good prose, you might find this short bibliography of writers’ manuals a helpful handout.

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.

Dictate (vi/vt)

Here is a context clues worksheet on the verb dictate. You’ll notice it’s part of a pattern over the last several posts. In any case, it’s used both intransitively and transitively.

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.

Term of Art: Diction

Choice of words with respect to clarity, variety, taste, etc.; aptness of vocabulary and phrasing; correctness of pronunciation; enunciation. Adjective: dictional; adverb: dictionally.

‘It is destructive enough to the novel’s texture to hear this “historical” Arthur speak in the diction of a mod labor candidate or an American president standing for re-election.'”

Alan Cheuse, The New York Times

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

Word Root Exercise: Dic and Dict

I’m sitting around revising word root worksheet, mainly adding cognate lists to them, so it seems as good a time as any to post this worksheet on the Latin roots dic and dict. They mean speech, to speak, and to proclaim (declare officially). This is a very productive root that is at the base of large number of words used in English (see above).

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: Middle English

You might find this Cultural Literacy worksheet on Middle English useful, particularly if you’re teaching The Canterbury Tales or Beowulf.

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.

Parsing Sentences Worksheets: Verbs

Here are four parsing sentences worksheets for verbs that might help students sort out the parts of speech in declarative sentences.

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.

Anatomy (n)

Here is a context clues worksheet on the noun anatomy which is a pretty basic word students should know by high school at the very least.

f 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.

Benito Mussolini

Here is a reading on Benito Mussolini with a comprehension worksheet to accompany it. This material strikes me (at least) as timely, to say the least.

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.