Tag Archives: idioms

A Lesson Plan on the Crime and Puzzlement Case “Buck Shot”

Posted on March 27, 2020 | Leave a comment

As I’ve previously mentioned, the Crime and Puzzlement material I post on this site quickly became, and remains, among the most popular and therefore heavily downloaded items here. So, here is a lesson plan on the Crime and Puzzlement case “Buck Shot.”

This Cultural Literacy worksheet on the idiom “Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining” opens the lesson as a do-now exercise to get students settled, engaged, and thinking after a class change. You’ll need the PDF of the illustration and questions in order to conduct the investigation; to solve it, here is the typescript of the answer key.

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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A Lesson Plan on the Crime and Puzzlement Case “Missy Takes a Walk”

Posted on March 23, 2020 | Leave a comment

Let’s start out today with this lesson plan on the Crime and Puzzlement case “Missy Takes a Walk.”

I open this lesson with this Cultural Literacy worksheet on the concept of “The Ugly American” which is common enough locution in English, and worth knowing if students are planning to travel abroad. This PDF of the illustration and questions that drive this investigation. And here, finally, is the typescript of the answers to the investigative questions of this case.

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 Essays/Readings, Independent Practice, Lesson Plans, Social Sciences, Worksheets

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Cultural Literacy: Strike While the Iron Is Hot

Posted on March 18, 2020 | Leave a comment

OK, here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the idiom “strike while iron is hot.” Since blacksmiths aren’t really front-and-center participants in our modern industrial economy, this idiom may well be on its way to extinction. Nonetheless, I still hear it invoked from time to time.

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: The Sword of Damocles

Posted on March 15, 2020 | Leave a comment

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the Sword of Damocles. This expression, which comments on the ever-present danger to those in power from their courtiers. You’ll hear this turn up occasionally as an idiom in educated discourse.

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 Lesson Plan on the Crime and Puzzlement Case “In All That Rain”

Posted on March 14, 2020 | Leave a comment

Here is a lesson plan on the Crime and Puzzlement case “In All That Rain.”

I use this Cultural Literacy worksheet on the noun phrase and idiom “Rank and File” to open this lesson. Here is a scan of the illustration and questions that is the work of this lesson, as well as a typescript of the answer key.

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, Worksheets

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Aesop’s Fables: “The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg”

Posted on March 1, 2020 | Leave a comment

OK, here is a lesson plan on “The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg” along with the fable itself with a couple of comprehension questions. This is some relatively new material I’ve worked up to serve the needs of some younger middle-schoolers I teach.

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 31, 2019: A Lesson Plan on the Crime and Puzzlement Case “Windy Beach”

Posted on January 31, 2020 | Leave a comment

This week’s Text is a complete lesson plan on the Crime and Puzzlement case “Windy Beach.”

I begin this unit with this Cultural Literacy worksheet on the American idiom “High Horse”–as in “Get off your high horse.” This scan of the illustration and questions about the case is really the center of the lesson. Finally, here is the typescript of the answer key to solve the case.

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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A Lesson Plan on the Crime and Puzzlement Case “Stradegy”

Posted on January 15, 2020 | Leave a comment

One way to introduce students to Antonio Stradivari and his prized musical instruments would be by way of this lesson plan on the Crime and Puzzlement case “Stradegy.”

I open this lesson with this Cultural Literacy worksheet on the idiom “Hit Below the Belt.” Here is the PDF of the illustration and questions that drive the investigation. Finally, here is the typescript of the answer key.

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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Cultural Literacy: White Elephant

Posted on January 14, 2020 | Leave a comment

Here’s a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the idiom “white elephant” if you think you’re students need to know the concept. With Tag Sale Season fast approaching in Vermont, this might be a useful piece of vocabulary for kids in this part of the world.

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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Posted in English Language Arts, Independent Practice, Social Sciences, Worksheets

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Cultural Literacy: Ugly American

Posted on January 6, 2020 | Leave a comment

Although I never read the book, my travels abroad gave me an instinctual undersanding of the Ugly American as a type. Our students may have not had such a chance to learn about his first hand: for them, here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the concept of the “Ugly American.”

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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Posted in English Language Arts, Independent Practice, Social Sciences, Worksheets

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