Answer key: Night Before Christmas Poem

Lesson Plan: Night Before Christmas Poem…Plagiarized?

II. While Reading Tasks

  1. biblical  |ˈbiblikəl| adjective of, relating to, or contained in the Bible : the biblical account of creation | biblical times.
  2. attribution |əˈtriˌbyo͞ot| noun (attribute) verb • ascribe a work or remark to (a particular author, artist, or speaker) : the building was attributed to Frank Lloyd Wright.
  3. fraud  |frôd|noun wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain : he was convicted of fraud | prosecutions for social security frauds.
  4. descendant  |diˈsendənt| noun a person, plant, or animal that is descended from a particular ancestor : Shakespeare’s last direct descendant.
  5. gumshoe |ˈgəmˌSHo͞o| noun informal a detective.
  6. partisan  |ˈpärtəzən| noun a strong supporter of a party, cause, or person.
  7. syntax  |ˈsinˌtaks| noun (the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language : the syntax of English.
  8. archives |ˈärˌkīv| noun (usu. archives) collection of historical documents or records providing information about a place, institution, or group of people : source materials in local archives | [as adj. ] a section of archive film.
  9. icon |ˈīˌkän|noun  a person or thing regarded as a representative symbol of something : this iron-jawed icon of American manhood.
  10. recast  |rēˈkast|verb present or organize in a different form or style : his doctoral thesis has been recast for the general reader.

Reading Comprehension 

Sentence Fill-ins

  1. Clement Clarke Moore  has always been credited with writing the poem, The Night Before Christmas.   b.
  2. His his authorship was challenged by English professor Don Foster. c.
  3. Moore, was a wealthy Manhattan biblical scholar.  b.
  4. Better known as ”The Night Before Christmas,” it became one of the most widely read poems in the world.  c.
  5. Don Foster, an English professor at Vassar College. a.
  6. In a new book, Author Unknown. c.
  7. Mr. Foster argues that ”A Visit From St. Nicholas,” first published anonymously in a Troy, N.Y., newspaper. a.
  8. Henry Livingston Jr., was a gentleman-poet of Dutch descent. b.
  9. Livingston, who lived in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., died before Moore was ever named as the poem’s author. c.
  10. But without physical evidence these claims came to naught. c.

Grammar Focus

Structure and Usage

I-3-an

She was also an amateur genealogist.

II-3-scholars

His case is still untested by other scholars.

III-1-Americans

Before 1820 Americans pictured St. Nicholas (Santa Claus) as  skinny.