Tag Archives: questioning/inquiry

Independent Practice: Copernicus

While I understand that an essential element of adolescence is thinking one is the center of the universe, I hold that this independent practice worksheet on Copernicus possesses utility in both the middle and high school classroom–if only to remind teenagers that the sun, not they, stands at the center of our universe. Also, Copernicus is a key figure in the history of science.

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.

Smoking

If you’re looking for a short text on smoking that doesn’t in any way equivocate, than this short reading on that deadly habit should be more than adequate; here is the vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet than accompanies it.

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.

Cultural Literacy: Burn the Candle at Both Ends

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the idiom “to burn the candle at both ends.” It remains in sufficiently common usage in English, I think, that it might be worth taking the five or so minutes required to complete this short exercise to familiarize students with it.

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.

A Lesson Plan on the Crime and Puzzlement Case “Merrill’s Alibi”

OK, on a rainy morning, here is a lesson plan on “Merrill’s Alibi,” the fourth “case” in the first volume of the Crime and Puzzlement series of books.

I begin this lesson with this Cultural Literacy worksheet on “Parting is such sweet sorrow,” the famous line, of course, from Romeo and Juliet. You’ll need this PDF of the illustration and questions from the book itself so students may can investigate whether or not Merrill’s alibi is credible. Finally, here is a typescript of the answer key to close the case of Merrill’s Alibi.

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.

Cultural Literacy: You Can’t Have Your Cake and Eat it Too

On a very chilly morning, here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the idiom “You can’t have your cake and eat it too.” This expression remains in sufficiently common usage that students probably ought to learn it somewhere along the way–if they don’t hear it in social contexts, didactic teaching may be called for. This document might help.

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.

Cultural Literacy: Allusion

There are several places along the continuum of English Language Arts instruction, I would think, where this Cultural Literacy worksheet on allusion could come in handy.

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.

Independent Practice: Christianity

Here is an independent practice worksheet on Christianity that I wrote at some point for a freshman global studies class in New York City.

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.

Louis XIV

Let’s begin this morning with this reading on Louis XIV, the Sun King, and add the vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet that attends it. Remember that this is a key figure in European history, if only as an exemplar of the absurdity and excess of absolute monarchy, particularly as this self-serving, greedy, vain, and arrogant sovereign practiced it.

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.

Cultural Literacy: Aesop’s Fables

Given the stunning decline in introspection and the pursuit of virtue in American culture, I wonder if anyone anywhere needs or wants this Cultural Literacy worksheet on Aesop’s Fables . If so, there it is.

Also, if you want to teach Aesop’s Fables, there are several lesson plans posted on this blog: just use Aesop’s Fables as a search term on the home page and you’ll find them.

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.

Jack the Ripper

A student just asked for it yesterday, so here today, hot off the press (or at least mildly warm off the inkjet printer) is a reading on Jack the Ripper and the vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet that attends it. Creepy stuff, which of course makes it very interesting for students.

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.