Tag Archives: philosophy/religion

Cultural Literacy: Civil Disobedience

Posted on February 12, 2020 | Leave a comment

As is (I hope) well known, Dr. King found in civil disobedience the key to winning the struggle for dignity and basic civil rights for Americans of African descent. So, I believe I am justified in including this Cultural Literacy worksheet on civil disobedience in Mark’s Text Terminal’s observation of Black History Month 2020.

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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Term of Art: Analysis

Posted on February 12, 2020 | Leave a comment

“Analysis: A detailed splitting up and examination of a work of literature. A close studies of the various elements and the relationship between them. An essential part of criticism. As T.S. Eliot put it, the tools of the critic are comparison analysis. Analytical criticism helps to make clear an author’s meaning and the structure of his work. It is argued that analysis spoils an intuitive and spontaneous response to a work of literature. Those in favor of “deep” analysis content that, on the contrary, it enhances the reader’s enjoyment.”

Excerpted from: Cuddon, J.A. The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. New York: Penguin, 1992.

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Posted in English Language Arts, Essays/Readings, Quotes, Reference, Social Sciences

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Brewer’s Curious Titles: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe

Posted on February 11, 2020 | Leave a comment

“The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: A fantasy (1950) for children by C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), the first of seven books about the mythical land of Narnia. The lion, known as Aslan, is a Christ-like figure. The witch has held Narnia in thrall for a hundred years. The wardrobe is the means through which four children from our world enter Narnia. A televised version was made in 1963, followed by a re-creation in the series Chronicles of Narnia (1988-90).”

Excerpted from: Crofton, Ian, ed. Brewer’s Curious Titles. London: Cassell, 2002.

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Karl Kraus on the Myth of the Enlightenment

Posted on February 11, 2020 | Leave a comment

“Progress celebrates Pyrrhic victories over nature and makes purses out of human skin.”

Karl Kraus

Excerpted from: Winokur, Jon, ed. The Big Curmudgeon. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal, 2007.

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Aesop’s Fables: “The Hare and the Tortoise”

Posted on February 10, 2020 | Leave a comment

Last week I started working on a unit on Aesop’s fables for some of the younger learners I currently serve. So here, hot off the press, is a lesson plan on the fable “The Hare and the Tortoise” along with the reading and worksheet that constitutes the work of the lesson.

I figured it wasn’t a bad idea to start with one of the chestnuts.

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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Langston Hughes Sings America

Posted on February 10, 2020 | Leave a comment

“I too, Sing America.

I am the darker brother.

They send me to eat in the kitchen

When company comes.,

But I laugh,

And eat well,

And grow strong.”

“I, Too” l. 16 (1925)

Excerpted from: Schapiro, Fred, ed. The Yale Book of Quotations. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006.

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Book of Answers: Native Son

Posted on February 10, 2020 | Leave a comment

“Who is the hero of Richard Wright’s Native Son (1940)? Bigger Thomas, a black man from Chicago who murders a white woman and is executed for it.”

Excerpted from: Corey, Melinda, and George Ochoa. Literature: The New York Public Library Book of Answers. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993.

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Term of Art: Causative

Posted on February 10, 2020 | Leave a comment

 “Causative: Indicating causation by the sentence subject, e.g., ‘He sets them down,”’ ‘They felled two trees,’ The suffix ‘-en’ in ‘widen.’”

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

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The Milgram Studies: Lessons in Obedience

Posted on February 10, 2020 | Leave a comment

While I have found Stanley Milgram’s studies on obedience to authority fascinating (and the “lost letter experiment” is also interesting), I do understand that it isn’t exactly high school material. That said, I did, in 17 years of teaching now, have one kid ask about Milgram. Furthermore, I am aware that many of Milgram’s contemporaries and colleagues expressed serious ethical qualms about the methods Milgram used.

Nonetheless, here is a short reading on Dr. Milgram’s study along with its vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet.

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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Historical Term: Black Consciousness

Posted on February 10, 2020 | Leave a comment

“Black Consciousness: Movement in South Africa formed to reestablish black people’s confidence and pride. It was banned by the South African apartheid regime and its leader Steve Biko died under suspicious circumstances while in police detention on 12 September 1977 at the age of 30.”

Excerpted from: Cook, Chris. Dictionary of Historical Terms. New York: Gramercy, 1998.

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