“Comma Splice: Improper use of a comma, above all between clauses requiring either a conjunction or a full stop (semicolon, colon, or period). Also COMMA BLUNDER, COMMA FAULT.
‘Mr. Mudrick is rude, contentious, incorrigible comma spliced, headlong, raunchy, scornful and know-it-all.’ John Leonard, The New York Times.”
Excerpted from: Grambs, David. The Random House Dictionary for Writers and Readers. New York: Random House, 1990.
“Deliver. ‘He delivered an oration,’ or ‘delivered a lecture.’ Say, He made an oration or gave a lecture.”
Excerpted from: Bierce, Ambrose. Write it Right: A Little Blacklist of Literary Faults. Mineola, NY: Dover, 2010.
This week’s Text is a series of four documents on DNA. You’ll find all four of them–they’ll download to your computer–if you click on that hyperlink. I’ve also posted each individually below. These require a brief explanation.
I’d long understood that I needed something like a basic introduction to DNA. The entry in The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy seemed like the place to start, but then things got complicated. The head worksheet, so to speak, is on DNA. However, like many of the entries in The Dictionary I’ve encountered as I’ve begun producing more worksheets from it, the DNA article contained a number of “see this or that” elements inside parentheses. I understood that without accompanying articles on these scientific concepts, to wit genetic code, nucleotides, and mitosis, the original article on DNA would only be so useful.
So here, in the order in which they appear in the aggregated document in the first paragraph, are the four worksheets, each based on a reading from The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy. I think I should point out here that I am not a science teacher, and my brief experiences co-teaching science classes did little to improve my ability to teach science. Because of my own education, I understand science more philosophically as a mode of inquiry, and tend to understand the epistemology of the domain rather than actual scientific practice. I have tended to use science teaching as means of building literacy–hence reading comprehension exercises like these. Anyway, let’s get these document up and out.
First, of course, is this worksheet on DNA, which began this whole procedure. This is a two-page document with a reading of eight sentences (three of which contain parenthetical elements in their respective terminations, and which the following documents seek to address) and ten comprehension questions.
Second is this worksheet on the genetic code. At the end of the first sentence in the DNA reading above, the reader receives instructions, in parentheses, to “see genetic code.” This document deals with that exhortation. This is a full-page worksheet with a reading of four sentences–and these are all longish compounds which may require modification for some readers–and four comprehension questions.
The third document in the series is this worksheet on nucleotides. This document deals with the imperative, in parentheses at the end of the second sentence in the DNA document, to “see nucleotides.” This is a full-page document with a five-sentence reading and five comprehension questions.
Fourth, and finally, is this worksheet on mitosis, which answers the call, in parentheses at the end of the sixth sentence, to “see mitosis.” This document is a full page, with a reading of four sentences and five comprehension questions. I should probably mention here that the reading for this worksheet contains two parenthetical references: at the end of the third sentence, the reader is encouraged to “see genetics“; and at the end of the fourth sentence, there is another encouragement to “see meiosis.” I have assumed that if a teacher is using these documents, students already have a relatively firm grasp of the concept of genetics. As of meiosis, if a science teacher will step forth and ask me to produce a worksheet on that concept, I’ll do so and amend this post.
Addendum: After reviewing the four documents posted above, I decided to develop two more Cultural Literacy worksheets–one on meiosis and another on sex chromosomes in order to deal with all the cross references on the preceding four. In the final analysis, I haven’t much of an idea about the usefulness of all of this. What I can tell you is that these are six documents formatted in Microsoft Word (like most things on Mark’s Text Terminal, and if you are a regular visitor here, I’ll bet you’re tired of hearing me say that), so you can combine, copy, paste, revise, edit, and adapt as you see fit.
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.
“Miniature Painting: In general, painting of a small scale. Specifically, portraits on parchment or ivory and also illustrations in manuscripts—which are called illuminations. Miniature portraits were painted from the Renaissance onward.”
Excerpted from: Diamond, David G. The Bulfinch Pocket Dictionary of Art Terms. Boston: Little Brown, 1992.
Here is a worksheet on the use of the verbs lay and lie. These are two commonly misused words, and Paul Brians, in his excellent book Common Errors in English Usage (which he generously makes available at no charge on his page at the Washington State University website) sorts them out in the seven-sentence reading that drives this worksheet. There are also ten modified cloze exercises for students to try their hands at using these two verbs properly.
Simply put, lay is transitive and requires a direct object: One lays one’s keys on the counter when one returns home from work. Lie is intransitive and does not require a direct object: One lies down to take a nap.
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.
“simultaneous retrieval memory: Recalling multiple items or procedures at the same time. This form of recall is particularly involved in writing tasks. For example, in writing a sentence one must simultaneously recall information about correct spelling, word order and syntactic patterns, and appropriate punctuation. For many individuals with learning disabilities, difficulties in this area may result in performance that does not reflect their actual knowledge of such elements as spelling or punctuation rules. The presence of errors can refect difficulty in accessing knowledge in long-term memory on demand and simultaneously, rather than in isolation and with time for thought and reflection.”
Excerpted from: Turkington, Carol, and Joseph R. Harris, PhD. The Encyclopedia of Learning Disabilities. New York: Facts on File, 2006.
This week’s Text is a quartet of context clues worksheets on words that represent important concepts to me–the idea of doing something conscientiously and well. For starters, here is the worksheet on the noun competence. It means “the quality or state of being competent.” And herein lies the challenge of teaching these words, I think: one must understand the meaning of the adjective competent (see below) to understand the noun competence.
Next up is the antonym to competence with this worksheet on the noun incompetence. This one means “the state or fact of being incompetent.” Once more, we’re stuck with the problem limned above: one must know the adjective incompetent to understand the noun incompetence (which is the problem that drives this relatively prolix and arguably nonsensical blog post). In any case, this worksheet, especially when used with the document above on competence, offers a solid opportunity to teach or reinforce the meaning of the prefix in.
Now let’s move on to the adjective that correspond to these nouns with this worksheet on competent. This worksheet points students toward the most common definitions of this word, to wit, “having requisite or adequate ability or qualities” and “having the capacity to function or develop in a particular way.”
And once again, you’ll find the antonym to competent in this worksheet on the adjective incompetent. It means “inadequate to or unsuitable for a particular purpose,” “lacking the qualities needed for effective action,” and “unable to function properly.” These definitions may require more concrete examples–of which, both fortunately and unfortunately, there are plenty in our public life.
Finally, to aid you in the work on interpreting the words in these documents, here is a lexicon for all four of these words.
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.
“Araucanians: South American Indians who are now concentrated in the valleys and basins between the Bio Bio and Tolten rivers in south central Chile. When the Spanish conquistadors arrived in Chile, they encountered three Araucanian populations: the Picunche, who were accustomed to Inca control; the Huilliche, who were to few and scattered to resist the conquistadors; and the Mapuche, successful farmers and artisans. The first two were soon assimilated, but the Mapuche managed to resist Spanish and Chilean control for 350 years. Finally subdued in the late 19th century, they were settled on reservations, but now live independently.”
Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.
“ladino: Central American whose primary language is Spanish and who wears modern dress, Genetically ladinos may be Indians, mestizos, or persons of African descent. An Indian may become a ladino by abandoning the Indian dress and customs. Many rural ladinos practice subsistence agriculture much like that of their Indian neighbors, but they tend to put more stress on cash crops and to use modern farming techniques, which the Indians shun. In small towns ladinos commonly engage in commerce as well as farming. In the cities they engage in all occupations, from day laborer to university professor.”
Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.
“Apache: American Indians of the southwest U.S. Culturally, the Apache are divided into Eastern Apache, which include the Mescalero, Jicarilla, Chiricahua, and Lipan, and Western Apache, which include the Cibecue. The Eastern Apaches were predominantly hunting and gathering societies, while their Western counterparts relied more on farming. Their ancestors had come down from the north to settle the Plains, but with the introduction of the horse they were pressed south and west by the Comanche and the Ute. They attempted to be friends with the Spanish, the Mexicans, and later the Americans. In 1861, however, there began a quarter-century confrontation between U.S. military forces and the Apache and Navajo. The Apache wars were among the fiercest fought on the frontier. The last ended in 1886 with the surrender of Geronimo. The Chiricahua Apache were evacuated from the West and held successively in Florida, Alabama, and Oklahoma. The Apache today total about 11,000 and live largely on or near reservations in Arizona and New Mexico.”
Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.
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