Tag Archives: foreign languages/linguistics

Mogul (n)

Posted on November 24, 2020 | Leave a comment

It’s the Word of the Day at Merriam-Webster, and I was surprised to find I hadn’t already prepared work on it. So here, belatedly, I guess, is a context clues worksheet on the noun mogul. I’ve written the sentences in this document to reflect the meaning of this noun as “a person of rank, power, or influence.”

Don’t forget that this word comes to us from the noun Mughal, which means “an Indian Muslim of or descended from one of several conquering groups of Mongol, Turkish, and Persian origin.” In other words, if you’re teaching globals studies, world history, or whatever your school district names this area of study, this is a word students might need to know.

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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Word Root Exercise: Clud, Clus

Posted on November 24, 2020 | Leave a comment

Here is a worksheet on the Latin word roots clud and clus, which mean “to close.” You’ll find these roots at the base of words like include, exclude, and preclude, as well as recluse, among many others. This can be a tough root for students to define, which is why I should probably, eventually, write it into a lesson plan. The definitions of the words on the worksheet, as students find and record them, don’t show a clear pattern that concludes in “to close.” So, some Socratic question is de rigueur to bring this worksheet to conclusion.

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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Cultural Literacy: Hoi Polloi

Posted on November 23, 2020 | Leave a comment

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the noun hoi polloi, from the ancient Greek meaning “the many.” This noun phrase isn’t much used anymore, perhaps because it has negative or even contemptuous connotations. Still, if we want to produce educated citizens who are capable of sustaining a civil society, this might be a word and concept for them to understand.

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 Hoc

Posted on November 12, 2020 | Leave a comment

“Ad Hoc (ad hok) To this matter: for this specific instance or purpose; in this case; immediate; provisional.

‘Polly’s motivating force was love; she wanted a world in which everybody else whether they liked it or not, but she set this overflowing feminine cup in motion with a thoroughly masculine arsenal of charts, graphs, quorums, task forces, ad hocs, tunnel vision, and lists.’ Florence King, When Sisterhood Was in Flower”

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

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A Short Exercise on the Greek Word Root Icon/o

Posted on November 12, 2020 | Leave a comment

Last but not least on a rainy Thursday afternoon, here is a short worksheet on the Greek word root icon/o–it means image. But you already knew that because of the word icon itself is so commonly used in the English language.

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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A Short Exercise on the Greek Word Root Iatr/o

Posted on November 9, 2020 | Leave a comment

Here is a short worksheet on the Greek word root iatr/o. It means healing and medical treatment. You’ll find it at the base of words like psychiatry and pediatrics. This is another word root students interested in careers in healthcare ought to know.

Not bene, please, that this is a short exercise designed to open a class period. While it could be expanded to fill a class period, it won’t do so like the longer word root exercises found on Mark’s Text Terminal.

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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Word Root Exercise: -Ics

Posted on November 6, 2020 | Leave a comment

Alright: here is a worksheet on the Greek root ics, which is enormously productive in English. It means study of, science, skill, practice,  and knowledge. You’ll find it in words like physics, phonics, and analytics among many, many other English words used across the domains of the common branch curriculum.

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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Vivacious (adj)

Posted on November 4, 2020 | Leave a comment

It’s the kind of adjective the late, great Joseph Mitchell called a “tinsel word,” and I am hard pressed to disagree. Nevertheless, here is a context clues worksheet on the adjective vivacious. I wrote this, I think, to help native Spanish speakers make the connection between the Spanish verb vivir, “to live” and the use of the Latin roots at its base–viv, vivi, vit, “life, living, live.”

In that role, this document might work well with this worksheet on the Latin word roots viv, vivi, and vit.

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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Word Root Exercise: Cide

Posted on October 29, 2020 | Leave a comment

OK, last but not least this afternoon, here is a worksheet on the Latin word root –cide. It means, you won’t be surprised to hear, “to kill.” This worksheet has several more words–eleven in all–than I usually include in such an exercise. That said, bear in mind that the words selected for inclusion are there because they often show up in high-stakes college admissions tests. That said, if this worksheet is too long, I would think you could dispense with germicide (any kid who uses hand sanitizer, which I hope is all kids during this pandemic) will quickly figure out what that means, uxoricide, and tyrannicide.

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 Weekly Text, October 23, 2020: A Lesson Plan on the Latin Word Roots Matr, Matri, and Mater

Posted on October 23, 2020 | Leave a comment

Last but not least this morning, this week’s Text is a lesson plan on the Latin word roots matr, matri, and mater. They mean, simply, (as you’ve surely inferred) mother. They are very productive in English.

I open this lesson with this context clues worksheet on the adjective matrifocal, which supplies a hint about the meaning of the roots under study; it is also a good sociological, anthropological, and historical term of art for students to know. Finally, here is the word root worksheet on matr, matri, and mater that is the work of this lesson.

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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