Tag Archives: diction/grammar/style/usage

Cultural Literacy: Regular Verb

Posted on July 8, 2026 | Leave a comment

Although I am fairly confident that this this half-page Cultural Literacy worksheet on the regular verb (with a two-sentence reading and three comprehension questions), can stand by itself, placing it as a post adjacent to lessons on writing sentences strikes me, this morning, as a good idea.

So there you are.

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.

Leave a comment

Posted in English Language Arts, Independent Practice, Worksheets

Tagged , ,

The Weekly Text, 10 July 2026: Introduction to Writing Sentences Lesson 5, Writing the Compound Sentence

Posted on July 8, 2026 | Leave a comment

This week’s Text is the fifth lesson plan (of 17 lessons) of the Introduction to Writing Sentences Unit, this one on writing compound sentences. This lesson begins with a do-now, if you’re so inclined, this one a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the compound sentence; this is a half-page worksheet with a reading of one longish sentence and two comprehension questions.

This scaffolded worksheet is the primary work of this lesson. Here is a learning support on coordinating conjunctions to help students understand their use in compound 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.

Leave a comment

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

Tagged , , ,

Common Errors in English Usage: Me Either/Me Neither

Posted on June 23, 2026 | Leave a comment

Alright, last but not least this morning here is a worksheet on the proper use of the locutions me either and me neither. There are rules for this, but I doubt they are as vital to our students’ ability to write well as other things you’ll find on this blog under the Common Errors in English Usage header.

This is full-page worksheet with reading of reading of two sentences and two short reading prompts. Perhaps I misspoke above: this may be the least of the six posts published today.

And please don’t forget that Professor Paul Brians, the author of Common Errors in English Usage, allows access to the book at his web page at Washington State University.

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.

Leave a comment

Posted in English Language Arts, Independent Practice, Worksheets

Tagged ,

Cultural Literacy: Slang

Posted on June 23, 2026 | Leave a comment

Alright, moving right along this morning, here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on slang. This is a half-page worksheet with a reading of three sentences and three comprehension questions. A basic but thorough introduction to this concept in linguistics.

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.

Leave a comment

Posted in English Language Arts, Independent Practice, Worksheets

Tagged , ,

Diminutive

Posted on June 23, 2026 | Leave a comment

“Diminutive (noun): A word or word element indicating (often by addition of a suffix) small size or familiarly lovable, pitiable, or dismissible qualities, sometimes condescendingly. Adverb: diminutively.

‘My grandmother, too, used to put other people’s ailments into the diminutive; strokelets were what her friends had. Aldo said he was bored to tearsies by my grandmother’s diminutives.’ Renata Adler, Speedboat“

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

Leave a comment

Posted in English Language Arts, Quotes, Reference

Tagged , ,

The Weekly Text, 3 July 2026: Introduction to Writing Sentences Lesson 4, Writing the Simple Sentence

Posted on June 23, 2026 | Leave a comment

How’s your summer starting out? I’m retiring on 1 August. Enough said.

In the meantime, here is fourth lesson plan of the Introduction to Writing Sentences Unit, this one on writing the simple sentence. This lesson opens, in a rare feat of alignment at Mark’s Text Terminal, with this Cultural Literacy worksheet on the simple sentence; this is half-page worksheet with a one-sentence reading and three comprehension questions. A solid introduction to this sentence structure, with students called upon to write a simple sentence of their own using a mentor text as a model.

And here is the scaffolded worksheet that is the centerpiece of this lesson; it asks students to try their own hands at composing simple sentences as a process for developing their own understanding of this form.

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.

Leave a comment

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

Tagged , , ,

Write It Right: Directly for Immediately

Posted on June 22, 2026 | Leave a comment

“Directly for Immediately. ‘I will come directly’ means that I will come by the most direct route.”

Ambrose Bierce

Excerpted from: Bierce, Ambrose. Write it Right: A Little Blacklist of Literary Faults. Mineola, NY: Dover, 2010.

Leave a comment

Posted in English Language Arts, Quotes

Tagged , , ,

Common Errors in English Usage: May/Might

Posted on June 22, 2026 | Leave a comment

Adapted from Paul Brians’ book Common Errors in English Usage (to which he allows no-cost access at his Washington State University web page), here is a worksheet on the proper use of the auxiliary verbs may and might. This is full-page worksheet with a reading of four short paragraphs, five modified cloze exercises, and an imperative for students to compose their own sentences, from subject to period, using one of these auxiliary verbs.

Incidentally, I have struggled over time to figure out a way to teach the use of auxiliary and modal verbs. They present a tricky area of usage. I’d like to think this worksheet, informed by Professor Brians’ crystal clear style, goes some distance to clearing up the use of these two words.

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.

Leave a comment

Posted in English Language Arts, Independent Practice, Worksheets

Tagged , ,

Cultural Literacy: Internationalism

Posted on June 22, 2026 | Leave a comment

Now seems like a good time to publish this Cultural Literacy worksheet on the political doctrine of internationalism. This is a half-page worksheet with a one-sentence reading and two comprehension questions. A bare-bones but effective introduction to a concept that, were it ever to catch on with any permanence, might just make the world a better place.

Really.

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.

Leave a comment

Posted in English Language Arts, Independent Practice, Social Sciences

Tagged , , ,

Word Origins: Adamant

Posted on June 22, 2026 | Leave a comment

“adamant: [OE] The Greek word adamas, originally meaning “invincible or untameable,” came to be applied to the hardest metal of stone and to diamond, the hardest naturally occurring substance. Via Latin it was the source not only of adamant but also of DIAMOND. In Old English adamant was the name given to a legendary rock so hard that is was believed to be impenetrable. Early medieval Latin writers mistakenly explained the word as coming from adamare ‘take a liking to’ and associated adamant with the lodestone or magnet which ‘takes a liking’ to iron, and the word passed into modern languages with this confusion of meaning. The modern use, with its notion of unyielding conviction, is much more recent, probably dating from the 1930s.”

Excerpted from: Creswell, Julia. Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Leave a comment

Posted in English Language Arts, Quotes, Reference

Tagged , , ,