Tag Archives: readings/research

Term of Art: The Big Lie

Posted on March 20, 2020 | Leave a comment

“Big Lie, (The): Untruth on a large, shameless scale, such as a bold falsehood generated and propagated by an unscrupulous government when a less monumental lie might be less believable propaganda; deceit on a grand scale.

‘There has been going about what Editor & Publisher, the frightened handmaiden of the newspaper industry, calls a Big Lie, to the effect that retail sales held up during the blackout better that anybody could have expected; the Big Lie is a product, A&P, things, of a cabal of salesmen of television and radio time.’ A.J. Liebling, The Press“

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

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7 Supreme Works of Shakespeare

Posted on March 20, 2020 | Leave a comment

“Henry IV * Hamlet * Measure for Measure * Othello * King Lear * Macbeth * Antony and Cleopatra

‘Just as there are seven wonders of the world and seven deadly sins, so there are (in my opinion) seven supreme peaks achieved by Shakespeare,’ wrote Giuseppi de Lampedusa, author of The Leopard. He also added that, ‘If I was told all the works of Shakespeare had to perish except one that I could select, I would first try to kill the monster who made the suggestion; if I failed, I would then try and kill myself: and if I could not manage even this, well then I would choose Measure for Measure,’”

Excerpted from: Rogerson, Barnaby. Rogerson’s Book of Numbers: The Culture of Numbers–from 1,001 Nights to the Seven Wonders of the World. New York: Picador, 2013.

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Aesop’s Fables: “The Bats and The Weasel”

Posted on March 20, 2020 | Leave a comment

OK, here is a lesson plan on the Aesop’s fable “The Bats and The Weasel” along with the fable itself with comprehension questions. I prepared this material in haste, so there is plenty of room to expand it. As always, these are Microsoft Word documents, so you can alter them for your needs.

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, Essays/Readings, Independent Practice, Worksheets

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The Algonquin Wits: Beatrice Kaufman Attends a Concert at Carnegie Hall

Posted on March 20, 2020 | Leave a comment

“Beatrice Kaufman, who held little appreciation for music of any sort, once accompanied Oscar Levant to Carnegie Hall to hear Stokowski conduct Bach’s B Minor Mass. While en route to the theater Beatrice realized they were going to be late and urged her escort, ‘In heaven’s name let’s hurry or we’ll miss the intermission.’”

Excerpted from: Drennan, Robert E., ed. The Algonquin Wits. New York: Kensington, 1985.

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Posted in English Language Arts, New York City, Quotes, Reference

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The Weekly Text, March 20, 2020, Women’s History Month 2020 Week III: A Reading and Comprehension Worksheet on the Flappers

Posted on March 20, 2020 | Leave a comment

Alright, I do want to remember that March is Women’s History Month. This week’s Text, in observation of the month, is a reading on flappers along with its accompanying vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet. The reading is short, but it allows for the possibility of asking a critical question about them: were they avatars of female agency, and thus an early paradigm of feminism?

This post on the cartoon character Betty Boop, which I posted almost exactly a year ago, might complement today’s Text, depending on how far you want to go with this. I can tell you that the Betty Boop material has been of relatively high interest to the students I’ve served over the years.

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, Social Sciences, The Weekly Text, Worksheets

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Systemic Painting

Posted on March 19, 2020 | Leave a comment

“Systemic Painting: Described as a branch of Minimal Art and sometimes expanded to incorporate Color-Field Painting, it is a special form of abstract painting based on an organization—or system—of images, e.g., a painting which is a pure, single field of color, or a series of such paintings; or a painting based on the repetition of a single visual motif, such as a circle, chevron, etc. The term describes certain works by Kenneth Noland and Frank Stella. Closely related to, but not identical with, Serial Art.”

Excerpted from: Diamond, David G. The Bulfinch Pocket Dictionary of Art Terms. Boston: Little Brown, 1992.

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Sandy Koufax

Posted on March 19, 2020 | Leave a comment

By now, as most people who care surely–and sadly–know, the opening day of Major League Baseball has been pushed out to mid-May at least. Sniff. Team owners hope for a full schedule, but that seems optimistic at best.

In the meantime, for kids at home as the COVID19 pandemic runs its course, here is a reading on Sandy Koufax and its attendant 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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Posted in English Language Arts, Independent Practice, Social Sciences, Worksheets

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A Lesson Plan on the Crime and Puzzlement Case: “A Comedy of Errors”

Posted on March 19, 2020 | Leave a comment

Here is yet Crime and Puzzlement lesson plan, this one on “A Comedy of Errors.” I open this lesson, in order to get students settled after a class transition, with this Cultural Literacy worksheet on the expression “Touch and Go.” Here is the scan of the illustrations and questions needed to conduct the investigation–and 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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Posted in English Language Arts, Independent Practice, Lesson Plans, Social Sciences, Worksheets

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The American Mercury

Posted on March 19, 2020 | Leave a comment

“The American Mercury: An iconoclastic magazine founded in 1924 and edited by H.L. Mencken and George Jean Nathan. Among its contributors were Lewis Mumford, Sinclair Lewis, Carl Sandburg, and Vachel Lindsay. After Mencken’s retirement in 1933, it was published as a pocket-sized miscellany of conservative tendencies by Lawrence E. Spivak. It eventually became a rightist organ of limited circulation owned by millionaire J. Russell Maguire.”

Excerpted from: Murphy, Bruce, ed. Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia, Fourth Edition. New York: Harper Collins, 1996.

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Term of Art: Cognitive Theory

Posted on March 19, 2020 | Leave a comment

“Cognitive Theory: A major cluster of theories in social psychology, which focus upon the links between mental processes (such as perception, memory, attitudes, or decision making), and social behavior. At a general level such theories are opposed to behaviorism, and suggest that human beings are active in selecting stimuli, constructing meanings, and making sense of their worlds. There are many branches of cognitive theory, including Fritz Heider’s cognitive balance theory, Leon Festinger’s cognitive dissonance theory, George Kelly’s personal construct theory, and attribution theory. (See J.R. Eiser, Cognitive Social Psychology, 1980).”

Excerpted from: Marshall, Gordon, ed. Oxford Dictionary of Sociology. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.

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