Tag Archives: readings/research

Gabriela Mistral

Posted on September 16, 2023 | Leave a comment

“Gabriela Mistral originally Luclila Godoy Alcayaga: (1889-1957) Chilean poet. Mistral combined writing with a career as a cultural minister and diplomat, and as a professor in the U.S. Her reputation as a poet was established in 1914 when she won a prize for “Sonetos de la Muerte” (“Sonnets of Death”). Her passionate lyrics, with love of children and of the downtrodden as principal themes, are collected in such volumes as Desolacion (1922), Tala (1938), and Lagar (1954. In 1945 she became the first Latin American woman to win the Nobel Prize.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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Bogota

Posted on September 10, 2023 | Leave a comment

“Bogota: city, capital of Colombia. The District Capital area is officially known as Santafe de Bogota. It lies on a plateau east of the Andes, European settlement began in 1538 when Spanish conquistadores overran Bacata, the main seat of the Chibcha Indians; the name was soon corrupted to Bogota, It became the capital of the viceroyalty of New Granada and a center of Spanish colonial power in South America. It was the scene of a revolt against Spanish rule in 1810-11, and Simon Bolivar took the city in 1819. It became the capital of the confederation of Gran Colombia; when that was dissolved in 1830, it remained the capital of New Granada (later, Republic of Colombia). Today Bogota is an industrial, educational, and cultural center.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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Posted in Quotes, Reference, Social Sciences

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Immanuel Kant

Posted on July 30, 2023 | Leave a comment

Here is a reading on Immanuel Kant along with its attendant vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet. Over the years, I’ve published a number of documents posts on various figures in western philosophy; at my first posting in New York City, at a school in the South Bronx, I found myself in the company of a student who had improbably–but certainly not implausibly, as he demonstrated with the skill and enthusiasm with which he dealt with these materials–conceived an interest in the major figures in continental philosophy.

In other words, I used these documents once, with one student. It was worth it. But I am under no illusions about the level of demand for this material, which will be low if it exists at all.

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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Gordian Knot

Posted on July 27, 2023 | Leave a comment

“Gordian Knot: An intricate problem. Gordias, a peasant, was chosen king of Phyrgia, and dedicated his wagon to Zeus. The wagon yoke was fastened to a pole so cleverly that it was said that whoever undid the knot would reign over the empire or Asia. Alexander cut the know with a single stroke of his sword. Cutting the Gordian knot became proverbial for the decisive, bold completion of a complicated action.”

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

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Casablanca

Posted on July 18, 2023 | Leave a comment

Do you have any cinephiles (or cineastes, if you prefer) on your hands this summer? Fans of Turner Classic Movies (which has been in the news lately), perhaps? If so, this reading on the film classic Casablanca and its accompanying vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet might be useful. This is a reading from the Intellectual Devotional series, so a full page of text, along with my standard configuration for the worksheet: eight vocabulary words to define, eight comprehension questions, and the usual one to three “Additional Facts” questions–in this reading, it is three questions under that heading.

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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Metope

Posted on July 14, 2023 | Leave a comment

Metope: Rectangular panel found alternating with triglyphs on the frieze if a Greek Doric entablature.

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

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Book of Answers: Christopher Isherwood and Cabaret

Posted on July 14, 2023 | Leave a comment

What work by Christopher Isherwood was the basis for the musical Cabaret (1968)? Cabaret was based on the play I Am a Camera (1951) by John Van Druten, which was in turn based on Isherwood’s “Sally Bowles,” a story appearing in Goodbye to Berlin. Isherwood lived in Berlin in the early 1930s.

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

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Robert De Niro

Posted on July 10, 2023 | Leave a comment

Here, on an oppressively humid Monday morning in Brooklyn, is a reading on Robert De Niro along with its accompanying vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet. This has tended to be high-interest material, especially among young men, so I have so tagged it.

Nota bene, please, that the reading cites “eight collaborations” between Mr. De Niro and Martin Scorsese. In fact, at least two more collaborations–The Irishman and the forthcoming Killers of the Flower Moon between these towering figures in American cinema have occurred since this reading was published. In other words, as film history continues to unfold where it concerns Scorsese and De Niro, this reading will need revision.

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, New York City, Worksheets

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The Weekly Text, 30 June 2023: Free to Be You and Me

Posted on June 28, 2023 | Leave a comment

It seems to me that there are a lot of politicians in the United States, most if not all of them Republicans, who are belligerently opposed (I’m thinking of you, Ron DeSantis, above all others here) to the changing concepts of gender in our culture. Earlier in my life, these same troglodytes (is it fair to call them troglodytes? It seems to be a guy like DeSantis makes the average troglodyte look like Bertrand Russell) were exercised by Free to Be You and Me.  James Dobson, noted evangelist and right-wing scold, took particular offense and the changing gender roles in our society that this television show discussed–what a surprise!

This week’s Text is this short reading on Free To Be You and Me along with its accompanying vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet. Nota bene, please, that the original sound recording for this television broadcast is available on the streaming music service I subscribe to, so I’ll bet it’s on yours as well.

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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The Weekly Text, Friday 23 June 2023: History of Hip-Hop Lesson 16, Concluding Assessment and Reflection

Posted on June 23, 2023 | Leave a comment

Alright, here, finally, is the sixteenth and final lesson plan of the History of Hip-Hop Unit. I use this Cultural Literacy worksheet on racism as a do-now exercise. The work of this lesson, which I have allowed to play out over two or three days, is this concluding assessment and reflection and this metacognitive assessment worksheet.

And that, gentle reader, is that. There are now sixteen lessons available on the History of Hip-Hop at Mark’s Text Terminal.

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, The Weekly Text, Worksheets

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