Tag Archives: readings/research

A Mathematician’s Lament

This reading, “A Mathematician’s Lament” by Paul Lockhart is something my pal Bob Shepherd at Praxis sent my way. I regret admitting that I haven’t read it in its entirety, but if Bob says it’s worth my time, I am confident it is. This essay, which Mr. Lockhart expanded into a book, is available all over the Internet as a PDF, so, happily, I’m violating no copyright in placing it here on Mark’s Text Terminal.

Libido

I’m not sure where this reading on the Freudian concept of libido and its attendant vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet fit into the curriculum. Health education seems the logical choice, but if you’re an English teacher trying to teach students to speak in a more sophisticated manner of, uh, intimate affairs, this might be the material for that.

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.

Achaeans

Achaeans: In Homer, the name by which the Greeks of heroic times spoke of themselves. Culturally we would call them Mycenaeans. They have been identified both with the Ahhiyawa, mentioned by the Hittites as one of their western neighbors, and the Akawasha, listed by the Egyptians as Peoples of the Sea. In historical times the name was limited to the Greeks of southwest Thessaly and the northern Peloponnese.

Excerpted from: Bray, Warwick, and David Trump. The Penguin Dictionary of Archaeology. New York: Penguin, 1984.

Red Blood Cells

Alright, moving right along on this relatively balmy Monday morning in southwestern Vermont, here is a reading on red blood cells and the vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet that 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.

The Weekly Text, September 20, 2019, Hispanic Heritage Month 2019 Week I: A Reading and Comprehension Worksheet on the Bay of Pigs Affair

Last Monday, September 15, marked the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month 2019. Last year at this time I knew I was running out of materials to properly observe the Month Over the summer I struggled to assemble materials to publish. Unfortunately, finding a new job, moving, and the typical vagaries of life intervened; the section of the warehouse at Mark’s Text Terminal where the appropriate materials are stored is nearly bereft of goods. So I begin the month belatedly and with a regrettable deficit, which embarrasses me.

In any case, to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month for 2109, here is a reading on the Bay of Pigs invasion and the vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet that attends it. These cover both Hispanic history and United States history. These documents have served, along with others, in my classroom, to start students thinking critically about the wages of imperialism.

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.

Annus Mirabilis

“A long poem (1997) by John Dryden (1631-1700). The annus mirabilis (wonderful year) was 1666, the year of the Fire of London and of continuing war with the Dutch. Queen Elizabeth II alluded to the phrase in a speech at the Guildhall, London, when she referred to 1992 and ‘annus horribilis’ (a coinage that had been suggested to her by a ‘sympathetic correspondent’); this was the year when fire caused extensive damage to the royal residence at Windsor Castle, Princess Anne was divorced, and the Duke of York separated from the Duchess of York, topless photos of whom appeared in the tabloids.”

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

Birthmarks

Health teacher, here is a reading on birthmarks and its attendant vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet. These documents have been of surprisingly high interest to most of the kids I’ve had the privilege to teach over all these 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.

G.M. Young on the Oxford University Press

“Being published by the Oxford University Press is rather like being married to a duchess: the honor is almost greater than the pleasure.”

G.M. Young (Quoted in Rupert Hart-Davis, Letter to George Lyttleton, 29 Apr. 1956)

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

Tobacco

Moving right along, here is a reading on tobacco and the vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet that attends it. The reading is only one page, but don’t let that mislead you: it’s a cogent summary of the role this plant played in the colonization of North America and the development of capitalism and international trade.

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.

Cold War

Finally, on this chilly and autumnal Friday morning in Vermont, here is a short reading on the Cold War and the vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet that 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.