Tag Archives: readings/research

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

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.

Socialist Realism

Socialist Realism: By 1934 this official Soviet style had resulted in staged idealizations of the working class. Derived from figurative and narrative tendencies, these heavy-handed artworks toed the Communist party line and were meant to be accessible to all viewers. In architecture, anti-modernism resulted in a return to heavy classical motifs sometimes known as “Stalinist gothic.” (Not to be confused with Social Realism.) See FASCIST AESTHETIC.”

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

A Lesson Plan on Memory

Here is a lesson plan on memory with its work, to wit this short reading and its accompanying vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet.

If you want them, here are slightly longer versions of these documents.

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.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

In this time of public health crisis, it’s nice to know that at least in its past, this country produced leaders dedicated to public service and the common good–rather than grifters who see the Presidency of the United States as a side hustle.

So here is a short reading on Franklin D. Roosevelt along with 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.

Book of Answers: John Dos Passos

“What are the books in John Dos PassosU.S.A. trilogy? They are: The 42nd Parallel (1930), 1919 (1932), and The Big Money (1936). The three were first published together in 1937).”

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

School

“School: A group of artists working under the same influence—whether a single master, a local style, or a regional style—whose work shows a general stylistic similarity, e.g. Rubens school, Barbizon school, Tuscan school.”

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

Garry Kasparov

OK, homebound chess club members, here is a reading on Garry Kasparov and its accompanying 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.

Term of Art: The Big Lie

“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.

7 Supreme Works of Shakespeare

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.

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

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.