Tag Archives: science literacy

A Short Exercise on the Greek Word Root Rhod/o

Here is a word root worksheet on the Greek root rhod/o. It means red. Now you know why, even though they are often purple, those beautiful plants are called rhododendrons.

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 Short Exercise on the Greek Word Root Oste/o

This worksheet on the Greek word root oste/o–it means bone–is another of those Greek roots that produces a lot of words used in the health professions, e.g. osteopathy.

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.

Jacob Bronowski on the Essence of Science

“That is the essence of science: ask an impertinent question, and you are on the way to a pertinent answer.”

Jacob Bronowski The Ascent of Man (1973)

Excerpted from: Howe, Randy, ed. The Quotable Teacher. Guilford, CT: The Lyons Press, 2003.

Ptolemy

Maybe you can use this short reading on Ptolemy as well as the vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet to accompany it. He’s someone students need to know about for the Regents Examination in Global History here in New York.

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.

A Short Exercise on the Greek Word Root Nephr/o

Here is a word root worksheet on the Greek root nephr/o. It means kidney. Hence, the medical specialist who deals with kidneys is a nephrologist.

This is, in other words, another vocabulary-building worksheet for students interested in the health professions.

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 Short Exercise on the Greek Word Root My/o

Ok, it’s just before the final period on a Friday afternoon, and as I work to clear off my computer desktop before shutting down and leaving, I find that I left this worksheet on the Greek word root my/o (it means muscle) lying around, so I’ll throw it up for your use.

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 Short Exercise on the Greek Word Roots Leuk/o and Leuc/o

Here is a word root worksheet on the Greek word roots leuk/o and leuc/o. They mean white and colorless. As you can see, the first of these roots can be found in the noun leukemia. This is another one of those Greek roots that produces a lot of words related to medicine and the health professions.

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.

Marie Curie (1867-1934)

“Originally Maria Sklodowska. Polish-born French physical chemist. Born in Warsaw, she studied at the Sorbonne (from 1891). Seeking for radioactivity, recently discovered by Henri Becquerel in uranium, in other matter, she found it in thorium. In 1895 she married fellow physicist Pierre Curie (1859-1906). Together they discovered the elements polonium and radium, and they distinguished alpha, beta, and gamma radiation. For their work on radioactivity (a term she coined), the Curies shared a 1903 Nobel Prize with Becquerel. After Pierre’s death, Marie was appointed to his professorship and became the first woman to teach at the Sorbonne. In 1911 she won a Nobel Prize for discovering polonium and isolating pure radium, becoming the first person to win two Nobel Prizes. She died of leukemia caused by her long exposure to radioactivity. In 1995 she became the first woman whose own achievements earned her the honor of having her ashes enshrined in the Pantheon in Paris.”

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

The Weekly Text, March 16, 2018, Women’s History Month 2018 Week III: A Reading and Comprehension Worksheet on Geneticist Barbara McClintock

Another Friday has rolled around, so it’s time for another Weekly Text in observation of Women’s History Month. This week’s Text is a reading on geneticist and botanist Barbara McClintock accompanied by this comprehension worksheet on the reading. Finally, here is a complementary Everyday Edit worksheet on Marie Curie (and you can get a full-year supply of Everyday Edit worksheets from the generous proprietors of the Education World website.

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.

Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806)

“American astronomer, compiler of almanacs, and inventor. He was born a free black in Ellicott’s Mills, Maryland, and owned a farm near Baltimore. He taught himself astronomy and mathematics and began astronomical calculations in 1773. He accurately predicted a solar eclipse in 1789. In 1790 he was appointed to the commission that surveyed the site for Washington, D.C. From 1791 to 1802 he published annual almanacs; he sent an early copy to Thomas Jefferson to counter a contention that blacks were intellectually inferior. He also wrote essays denouncing slavery and war.”

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