Tag Archives: diction/grammar/style/usage

Capacity (n)

A couple of years ago, while working with a small group on a final exam in global studies, I noticed students stuck on a question about the Maya exceeding the “carrying capacity” of their environment. A couple of questions later, I had determined that students either didn’t understand the noun capacity in that context, or they didn’t know the word at tall. So, I whipped up this context clues worksheet on the noun capacity.

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 Public Be Damned”

There is definitely a theme of some kind emerging in the pattern of my last several posts here. I’m confident this Cultural Literacy worksheet on William Vanderbilt’s remarks–see above–about business and the public good will extend 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.

A Short Exercise on the Greek Word Root Xen/o

Here is another worksheet that deals with timely topics, this one a short exercise on the Greek word root xen/o. It means foreign. It is at the root of the word xenophobia, “fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign.” You know, that affliction to which we in the United States occasionally fall ill.

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.

Caucus (n)

Here is a context clues worksheet on the noun caucus; don’t forget that it  also has use as a verb.

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: Social Darwinism

This Cultural Literacy worksheet on Social Darwinism is meant to complement the one on sociopath three posts below.

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.

Boon (n)

Since it’s a word in relatively common use these days, perhaps this context clues worksheet on the noun boon will be useful in your classroom. This word is also used as an adjective, but it means basically the same thing.

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 Short Exercise on the Greek Word Roots Hect-, Hecto- and Hecat-

You might find this short exercise on the Greek word roots hect, hecto, and hecat useful for getting a class started. It means hundred.

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: Sociopath

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the sociopath. It strikes me as a particularly timely word and 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.

Epitome (n) and Epitomize (vt)

Here is a context clues worksheet on the noun epitome, and, to accompany it, another on the verb epitomize, which is only used transtively. These are words advanced high school students should know. In any case, these two worksheets could work together to help students understand how language operates and words move around between parts of speech.

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.

An Early Summer, Midweek Text: A Lesson Plan on Using Concrete and Abstract Nouns

A couple of days ago I posted a context clues worksheet on the adjective abstract. For high school students, especially the college bound, this is a key concept and word.

To take it further, here is a lesson plan on concrete and abstract nouns.

To begin this lesson, you might want to use (that is, if you don’t incorporate the aforementioned context clues worksheet on abstract, which I should probably do myself), you might find this Everyday Edit worksheet on The Empire State useful. This scaffolded worksheet on using concrete and abstract nouns is the mainstay of the lesson; this teacher’s copy of the worksheet will make the lesson a bit easier to deliver.

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.