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1000 Language Quotes - Inspirational Quotes at BrainyQuote

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"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see." - Mark Twain

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Learning a language can sometimes be a challenging and frustrating experience. At times you might feel that you have reached a dead-end (or hit a brick wall) and motivating yourself can become difficult. Don't forget that speaking a second language, not only opens new doors but also has numerous other advantages.

Here are some some thought-provoking quotes to inspire you, motivate you and remind you that learning a second language is a most rewarding and worthwhile endeavour. And most importantly, to make sure you never give up!

Quotes about language learning
"A different language is a different vision of life."
Federico Fellini
"The limits of my language mean the limits of my world."
Ludwig Wittgenstein

"One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way."
Frank Smith

"Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going."
Rita Mae Brown

"He who knows no foreign languages knows nothing of his own."
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"You can never understand one language until you understand at least two."
Geoffrey Willans

"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart."
Nelson Mandela

"To have another language is to possess a second soul."
Charlemagne

"Change your language and you change your thoughts."
Karl Albrecht

"Learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things, but learning another way to think about things."
Flora Lewis

"Knowledge of languages is the doorway to wisdom."
Roger Bacon

"Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow."
Oliver Wendell Holmes

"Language is not a genetic gift, it is a social gift. Learning a new language is becoming a member of the club - the community of speakers of that language."
Frank Smith

"Learn a new language and get a new soul."
Czech Proverb

"A special kind of beauty exists which is born in language, of language, and for language."
Gaston Bachelard

"Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere."
Chinese Proverb

"One should not aim at being possible to understand but at being impossible to misunderstand."
Marcus Fabius Quintilian

"A mistake is to commit a misunderstanding."
Bob Dylan
Want to boost your language learning? Check out our online language courses and start your journey today.

Beth Watson

Beth is a language enthusiast and former EFL teacher. After studying Modern Languages at university, her love of adventure led her to travel all over the world. Now settled in sunny Brighton, she loves writing blogs about the English language and giving travel advice about the UK.

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Inspirational Quotes about Language Learning

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Learning a language can sometimes be a challenging and frustrating experience. At times you might feel that you have reached a dead-end (or hit a brick wall) and motivating yourself can become difficult. Don't forget that speaking a second language, not only opens new doors but also has numerous other advantages.

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" Which natural gift would you most like to possess? The ability to master other languages (which would have hugely enhanced the scope of these answers).
How would you like to die? Fully conscious, and either fighting or reciting (or fooling around).
What do you most dislike about your appearance? The way in which it makes former admirers search for neutral words."
― Christopher Hitchens, Hitch 22: A Memoir

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" Which natural gift would you most like to possess? The ability to master other languages (which would have hugely enhanced the scope of these answers). How would you like to die? Fully conscious, and either fighting or reciting (or fooling around). What do you most dislike about your appearance?

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Some days learning a language can be a real struggle, but these beautiful inspirational quotes will keep you motivated.

Learning a foreign language is an emotional roller coaster mixed with amazing highs, frustrating plateaus, and the feeling like you're not making any progress at all. It's so easy to become discouraged and want to throw in the towel which is why I've collated a list of inspiring language quotes from history's great linguistics and authors as well as beautiful proverbs that will give you a much-needed boost of morale.

Here are 42 of the best inspirational quotes that will keep us languages learners motivated.

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1. Language comes first. It's not that language grows out of consciousness, if you haven't got language, you can't be conscious. - Alan Moore

2. Do you know what a foreign accent is? It's a sign of bravery. - Amy Chua

3. Learn a language, and you'll avoid a war. - Arab Proverb

4. It is astonishing how much enjoyment one can get out of a language that one understands imperfectly. - Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve

5. Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about. - Benjamin Lee Whorf

6. To have another language is to possess a second soul. ‒ Charlemagne

7. Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere. - Chinese Proverb

8. To learn a language is to have one more window from which to look at the world. - Chinese Proverb

9. You live a new life for every new language you speak. If you know only one language, you live only once. ‒ Czech Proverb

10. Learn a new language and get a new soul. - Czech Proverb

11. With languages, you are at home anywhere. - Edward De Waal

12. I love commuting between languages just like I love commuting between cultures and cities. - Elif Safak

13. A different language is a different vision of life. - Federico Fellini

14. Learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things, but learning another way to think about things. ‒ Flora Lewis

15. Learning a new language is becoming a member of the club - the community of speakers of that language. ‒ Frank Smith

16. One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way. ‒ Frank Smith

17. Language is not a genetic gift, it is a social gift. Learning a new language is becoming a member of the club - the community of speakers of that language. ‒Frank Smith

18. A man who knows two languages is worth two men. ‒ French Proverb

19. A special kind of beauty exists which is born in language, of language, and for language. ‒ Gaston Bachelard

20. You can never understand one language until you understand at least two. ‒ Geoffrey Willans

21. A foreign language is like a frail, delicate muscle. If you do not use it, it weakens. - Jhumpa Lahiri

22. He who knows no foreign languages know nothing of his own. ‒ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

23. The most intimate temper of a people, its deepest soul, is above all in its language. - Jules Michelet

24. Change your language and you change your thoughts. ‒ Karl Albrecht

25. We should learn languages because language is the only thing worth knowing even poorly. - Kató Lomb

26. If we spoke a different language, we would perceive a somewhat different world. ‒ Ludwig Wittgenstein

27. The limits of my language are the limits of my world. ‒ Ludwig Wittgenstein

28. The joy of knowing a foreign language is inexpressible. I find it really difficult to express such joy in my mother tongue. ― Munia Khan

29. If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart. ‒ Nelson Mandela

30. Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow. ‒ Oliver Wendell Holmes

31. A new language is a new life. - Persian Proverb

32. Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going. ‒ Rita Mae Brown

33. Knowledge of languages is the doorway to wisdom. ‒ Roger Bacon

34. The conquest of learning is achieved through the knowledge of languages. - Roger Bacon

36. I am always sorry when any language is lost, because languages are the pedigrees of nations. - Samuel Johnson

37. Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can; there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did. ‒ Sarah Caldwell

38. One who speaks only one language is one person, but one who speaks two languages is two people. ‒ Turkish proverb

39. The man who does not know other languages, unless he is a man of genius, necessarily has deficiencies in his ideas. - Victor Hugo

40. Language is wine upon the lips. - Virginia Woolf

41. Language is to the mind more than light is to the eye. - William Gibson

42. As a hawk flieth not high with one wing, even so a man reacheth not to excellence with one tongue. - Roger Ascham

If you enjoyed these words, then let wordsmiths Stephen King, Mark Twain and the Dalai Lama transport you around the world with these Inspirational Travel Quotes. Want more? Add these beautiful foreign words into your repertoire.

Want to know more about learning languages? Start here!

Over to you!

Which one of these language quotes did you love the most? Do you know any others?
Let me know using the comments section below or join me on social media to start a conversation.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this post.
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42 Awesome Inspirational Quotes for Language Learners | The Intrepid Guide

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Learning a foreign language is an emotional roller coaster mixed with amazing highs, frustrating plateaus, and the feeling like you're not making any progress at all. It's so easy to become discouraged and want to throw in the towel which is why I've collated a list of inspiring language quotes from history's great linguistics and authors as well as beautiful proverbs that will give you a much-needed boost of morale.

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You probably guessed it already: We <3 languages like crazy here at EF. And while we write all the time about what makes us go loco for lingo, we thought we'd hand it over to pro philosophers and writers to provide you with a super inspiring list of language learning quotes. So, if you're thinking of learning a new language or already studying one, these 17 quotes will accelerate you along the pathway to fluency.
1. 2. "Learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things, but learning another way to think about things." - Flora Lewis 3. "Learning another language is like becoming another person." - Haruki Murakami 4. "You live a new life for every language you speak. If you know only one language, you live only once." - Czech proverb 6. "A language is an exact reflection of the character and growth of its speakers." - Cesar Chavez 7. "One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way." - Frank Smith 8. "You can never understand one language until you understand at least two." - Geoffrey Willans 9. 10. "Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going." - Rita Mae Brown 11. "Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 12. "If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart." - Nelson Mandela 13. 14. "The more languages you know, the more you are human." - Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk 15. "Any time you think some other language is strange, remember that yours is just as strange, you're just used to it." 16. "Language exerts hidden power, like a moon on the tides." - Rita Mae Brown 17.
5.

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17 language quotes to turbocharge your learning - EF Blog

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You probably guessed it already: We <3 languages like crazy here at EF. And while we write all the time about what makes us go loco for lingo, we thought we'd hand it over to pro philosophers and writers to provide you with a super inspiring list of language learning quotes.

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Are you having a hard time staying motivated, even if your desire to learn a new language is earnest and sincere? When your ultimate goal, language fluency, seems months or years away, motivation becomes the most important factor during the long haul, so here are five inspiring language quotes to remind you that learning a foreign language is totally worth the effort.

Being bilingual expands your opportunities in life, keeps your brain fit and broadens your perspective. It even gives you a special insight into your own mother tongue and the culture you take for granted. So don't give up! Every new word is a milestone on your journey to mastering another language.

The 5 Most Inspiring Language Quotes

- Ludwig Wittgenstein

- Federico Fellini

- Geoffrey Willans

- Frank Smith

Inspired to learn a language?
Illustrations by Claudia Egholm Castrone

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The 5 Best Inspirational Language Quotes

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Language learning can be an uphill trek, but you don't have to go it alone. Take these language quotes with you to stay motivated.

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Whether you're staying put or going away, it's a great time to relax and try new things. So we asked TED speakers to recommend podcasts, books, TV shows, movies and more that have nourished their minds, spirits and bodies (yes, you'll find a link to a recipe for olive-cheese loaf below) in recent times.

Enjoy, and we hope these recommendations are as nourishing for you as they have been to TED's speakers.

Things to listen to (primarily podcasts)

A Bob Dylan Primer podcast
Hosted by Michael Hacker, this podcast is a personal guide to the strange and wonderful life and music of a transformer, a musician who's transformed himself and the culture around him. As I grow older, his songs take on new meanings - "Goodbye's too good a word ... "
- Uri Alon, TED Conversation: A COVID-19 "exit" strategy to end lockdown and reopen the economy

The Happiness Lab podcast
This podcast, hosted by Dr. Laurie Santos (TED Talk: A monkey economy as irrational as ours), takes you through the latest happiness research and offers insightful anecdotes. It will make you feel differently about your day to day, especially during these up-and-down times.
- Catie Cuan, TED Talk: Teaching robots how to dance

Librivox audiobooks
I'm hugely grateful for the sustenance I've derived over the years from Librivox, a vast library of free, public-domain audiobooks read by generous volunteers. I often choose my books not by the author but by the reader, and one of my favorites is the late Nicholas Clifford (1930-2019), who seems to have been born to read Henry James aloud. I could graze all day on the wholegrain of Clifford's genial tones, and I would never have thought that James's infamously challenging "late style" could be so lucid, natural and human as it is in these recordings. Elizabeth Klett reading Nella Larsen is also outstanding.
- Sascha Morrell, TED-Ed Lesson: Why should you read Moby Dick?

Storytelling is such a powerful way to build empathy. I would go on walks, listen to The Moth and often cry while listening to these stories because of the humanity that is expressed. I love the wide breadth of lived experiences that are shared - from small experiences to large experiences and people from all walks of life.
- Sara Jones, TED Talk: Reclaiming my voice as a transracial adoptee

The Slowdown quite literally does what its name suggests - it helps you pause and take a moment to breathe. Each episode is short (just 5 minutes!) and simple. Poet Tracy K. Smith begins with reflecting upon recent happenings in her life, then reads out a poem in her calm, meditative voice. I find it a great way to take a break, feel the range of emotions and vivid imagination that poetry evokes, and discover new writers.
- Ananya Grover, TED Talk: A campaign for period positivity

The Writer's Voice podcast and Fiction Podcast
Literary podcasts are a staple source of mental nutrition when I'm rushing around or mired in mindless tasks, and two best enjoyed together are The Writer's Voice and the Fiction Podcast, both from The New Yorker magazine. The former features fiction from recent issues, read by the authors themselves, while the latter features writers choosing stories from back issues to read aloud and discuss with The New Yorker's fiction editor, Deborah Treisman. I like to listen to an author's new work in The Writer's Voice in conjunction with that author's reading of another's work in The Fiction Podcast. For an appetizer, try Anne Enright reading her story "Night Swim" for The Writer's Voice, then wash it down with her reading and discussion of John Cheever's "The Swimmer" for the Fiction Podcast.
- Sascha Morrell, TED-Ed Lesson: Why should you read Moby Dick?

Touré Show podcast episode where Zadie Smith was interviewed
Zadie Smith, as journalist Touré notes, is the best at making being smart seem really cool. I got hooked on Zadie when I read her essay about the important differences between pleasure and joy. This interview with her makes me feel OK about interrogating my own thoughts, and she makes me want to read more to write more. She is brilliant and Touré is brilliant, and they talk about Jay-Z, writing, family, Nina Simone and the courage it takes to write with urgent integrity. The two of them share excitement over aesthetic risk in Touré's Brooklyn apartment in a conversation that feels suspended in time.
- Sara Sanford, TED Talk: How to design gender bias out of your workplace

The Vedic Worldview podcast
Thom Knoles is my guru and the pre-eminent master teacher of Vedic Meditation, who has taught over 40,000 people around the world to meditate. His podcast is filled with knowledge about how to live life without suffering while pursuing your life's path. Whether you meditate or not, his wise words and calming voice will put your mind at ease.
- Angel Chang, TED Talk: How ancient textiles can help the future

"
This timely classic album is rich with Marvin Gaye's once-in-a-lifetime voice, sweeping sonic melodies, socially conscious lyrics, and spiritually hopeful musings. Released in 1971 (one year before I was born), it surprisingly sounds as if it was written for this very moment.

- Shaka Senghor, TED Talk: Why your worst deeds don't define you

Things to read (basically books)
Fiction and poetry
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Almost 5,000 years old, the story of the Mesopotamian king Gilgamesh and his search for the secret of eternal life is the earliest human tale that we have. For anyone who thinks that only modern people can wrestle with difficult issues, this epic is a lesson in humility. Read the story of Gilgamesh with its timeless portrayal of the central issues of humanity - justice, violence, sex, love, friendship, power, death - and you'll never look at the ancient world the same way again.
- Phillip Freeman, TED-Ed Lesson: A day in the life of an ancient Celtic Druid

"A Library of Babel", a short story by Jorge Luis Borges (which can be found here)
It's almost impossible to understand how vast our universe truly is but Argentine fabulist Jorge Luis Borges gave it a try. He dreamed up a library the size of the universe in one of his most extraordinary stories "The Library of Babel". While employed as an assistant librarian, Borges imagined a Library "composed of an indefinite and perhaps infinite number of hexagonal galleries, with vast air shafts between, surrounded by very low railings." Like the universe, this fantastic Escher-like structure is both vividly described yet impossible to imagine - a vast universe-as-library, thought to contain every possible 410-page permutation of a basic book structure, enough to express some version of every work ever written, and everything that ever could be. In a finite world, a cosmic perspective isn't a luxury; it is a necessity. Conveying the vastness of our universe to the public is the real challenge faced by astronomers and writers alike.
- Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz, TED Talk: Your body was forged in the spectacular death of stars

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
Octavia Butler was so ahead of her time.Recommended to me by my good friend Dr. Shamell Bell, the world Octavia creates for the reader feels eerily like some serious foreshadowing of the 2020 world that we're currently faced with.
- Joel Leon, TED Talk: The beautiful, hard work of co-parenting

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
This is one of my absolute favorite fables to read at any time because of the relevance it has no matter where you are in life. It's timeless. It is a book, to me, that has the power to leave anyone inspired and to those who aren't, reflective and hopefully that will lead to inspiration. It continuously helps me reshape my perception of the tests and trials of life as necessary lessons that lead to self-discovery. A fantastic book on resiliency, reflection and growth.
- Rob Cooke, TED Talk: The cost of work stress - and how to reduce it

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
Especially because I live in the city, I love finding books that transport me back to nature. I just began this one, and I'm loving it. It tells the story of Sophia, a six-year-old girl awakening to existence, and Sophia's grandmother, nearing the end of hers, as they spend the summer on a tiny, unspoiled island in the gulf of Finland.
- Shantell Martin, TED Talk: How drawing can set you free

The Overstory by Richard Powers
Richard Powers won the Pulitzer Prize for this massive novel about a group of initially unwitting activists fighting to save ancient redwoods in the Pacific Northwest. I teach environmental literature, and much of what I read and teach can be very depressing and apocalyptic. The Overstory, by contrast, is oddly hopeful, a novel about environmental destruction that nonetheless leaves the reader feeling some sense of comfort.
- Laura Wright, TED-Ed Lesson: Why should you read The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy?

the Lithia Trilogy (Out of Breath, The Ghost Runner, The Last Mile) by Blair Richmond
I recommend this YA series about a 19-year-old long distance runner named Kat Jones and vampires. Oh, and they're vegan vampires.
- Laura Wright, TED-Ed Lesson: Why should you read The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy?

The Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi wa Thiong'o
Kenyan writer Ngugi wa Thiong'o's political comic satire is about a fictional African nation, its megalomaniacal ruler and the toadies that cater to his every idiotic whim. Translated from Kikuyu, which is an oral and highly performative language, the narrative is expansive, magical and sprawling - more than 700 pages total. I haven't taught it in about five years, but I keep thinking about it now because so much about it resonates with the current political situation in the US (watch, for example, Trevor Noah's bit about Donald Trump being the perfect African president).
- Laura Wright, TED-Ed Lesson: Why should you read The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy?

Fools Crow and The Heartsong of Charging Elk by James Welch
These are emotionally fulfilling adventures about individuals from Indigenous cultures dealing with colonial pressure. Welch, a Blackfeet novelist-poet and founder of the Native-American renaissance, was knighted by the French government. Fools Crow is set in Montana during the Indian Wars in the 1870s, while Charging Elk's story, based on a real incident, follows an "escapee" from Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show to a new life in Marseilles at the turn of the 19th century.
- Adrienne Mayor, TED-Ed Lesson: Did the Amazons really exist?
Nonfiction
"From the Pantry," a New York Times column
Melissa Clark, cookbook author and chef, has been writing this excellent column. She shares adaptable and semi-improvised recipes that you can make with the ingredients at the front and back of your shelves. The olive and cheese loaf is divine!
- Catie Cuan, TED Talk: Teaching robots how to dance

People Not Property: Stories of Slavery in the Colonial North
This award-winning website is the perfect starting point to understand the history of slavery in the United States. It is rich with resources and interactive lessons for consumers of all ages. In addition to reenactments, short videos, historical documents and testimonies from enslaved people in the North, the site shows the ways in which slavery was not solely a Southern institution. The idea of looking at enslaved people as "people not property" is a simple reminder of the humanity of the enslaved.
- Daina Berry, TED-Ed Lesson: The electrifying speeches of Sojourner Truth

It's Never Too Late to Begin Again: Discovering Creativity and Meaning at Midlife and Beyond by Julia Cameron
In her latest book, Julia Cameron - the bestselling author ofThe Artist's Way - takes you on a journey to reclaim the life you want to live. Although this book was originally written for those embarking on a second act (new career, retirement, empty nest or starting over in some way), during this pandemic time it can help those who are interested in using a creative process to reflect and reset. This book has given me a fresh perspective on pursuing my next act, while sparking my creativity and helping me move forward in a positive and powerful way.
- Estelle Gibson, TED Talk: The true cost of financial independence

The Souls of Black Folk by W.E. B. Dubois
Dr. W.E.B. Dubois's seminal work is essential reading for all that choose to understand the racial unrest in America and our path forward. It's a collection of essays that were written through his life experiences. He coined the phrase "double consciousness" - the concept that African Americans must look at the world through the eyes of racist white America but they must also measure our progress through that same lens. He also utilized and made widely known the term the "color line," which was probably coined by Frederick Douglass to describe racial segregation as a descriptor of the divide between African Americans and white Americans. In this time of racial awakenings, this seems like a great book for a second and third re-reading to remind me of why I need to continue to fight for justice and equality.
- Georges C. Benjamin, TED Conversation: The secret weapon against pandemics

Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results by Stephen Guise
I found this book so nourishing in a season when energy and morale have been low. It inspired me to pick myself up by taking small steps towards the things that I know still matter in my life.
- Noeline Kirabo, TED Talk: 2 questions to uncover your passion - and turn it into a career

Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination by Dr Robin D. G. Kelley
Another recommendation from Dr. Shamell Bell, who was a former student of Dr. Kelley's, Freedom Dreams implores the reader to see the intellectuals and revolutionaries leading the charge of Black liberation as way to examine the potential and ways the Black imagination can open the doors for liberation of all peoples. This read has helped me to lean further into the possibilities of real change in 2020.
- Joel Leon, TED Talk: The beautiful, hard work of co-parenting

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
One of the unexpected silver linings of lockdown and quarantine has been the ability to rediscover the joys of nature in our own backyards, as lighter traffic and air pollution have brought some formerly shy native species back into visibility. There's no better book to read for renewing our connection with the natural world than Braiding Sweetgrass. The author is a botanist and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, so this set of loosely connected essays on plants and the rest of the natural world is a beautiful blend of science and spirituality. One entire essay is about the lichen commonly known as rock tripe, which I'd never once thought about or cared to notice, but whose very existence is imbued with a metaphorical beauty about partnership and reliance. A few days after I read it, I went on a hike and saw an entire boulder covered in rock tripe on one side. According to Kimmerer, it's edible, "tasting vaguely of rock and mushroom," but I'm not quite that ambitious yet.
- Caroline McCarthy, TED Talk: How advertising is dividing us

Dark Emu: Aboriginal Australia and The Birth of Agriculture by Bruce Pascoe
I received this as a gift while I was in Australia. Bruce Pascoe is an Indigenous writer and anthologist and draws on firsthand accounts from colonial journals to dispel the myth that Aboriginal people were hunters and gatherers and "did nothing with the land that resembled agriculture". He also has an incredible TEDx Talk that covers some of what he discusses in the book.
- Shantell Martin, TED Talk: How drawing can set you free

The Centre Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness by Elyn Saks
This book is inspiring to me in so many ways. The author is a successful lawyer who has not only survived, but thrived, with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Her perspectives on mental health are really refreshing to me as a psychiatrist because I so often hear tales of despair or bleak prognoses. But Dr. Saks is not for this narrative at all, and I am grateful for it. For example, she states that having a mental illness, especially one as severe as schizophrenia, needn't define one's life, and she advocates that we are all more similar than we are different. She has also given a TED Talk, where she discusses her life and this book.
- Anees Bahji, TED-Ed Lesson: Is marijuana bad for your brain?

Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered by E.F. Shumacher
Long before Marie Kondo asked us to throw out all things that do not bring us joy, renowned economist E.F. Shumacher was asking, "Where is the rich society that says: 'Halt! We have enough!'" I've returned to Small is Beautiful recently, to be nourished by his argument for economics as if people mattered - economics of permanence, rather than economics of short-term gain. A former Rhodes Scholar and economic advisor to the British Control Commission in postwar Germany, Shumacher has solid credentials. This makes Small is Beautiful intriguing. He challenges the assumptions that economics should be studied and interpreted purely as "mathematical specification and statistical quantification." Without focusing on the needs, motivations and purpose of the humans that economies should serve, he argues, this quantitative analysis will always point towards bigness that will ultimately destroy us. Smallness, Schumacher argues, is "free, efficient, creative, enjoyable, enduring." One might even say "nourishing."
- Sara Sanford, TED Talk: How to design gender bias out of your workplace

Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos: With Applications to Physics, Biology, Chemistry, and Engineering by Steven H. Strogatz (TED Talk: The science of sync)
Warning: This one's for math lovers. When I find myself in times of trouble, I re-read Steven Strogatz's Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos, and coronavirus gave me my fifth re-reading. Strogatz takes such good care of me, leading me by the hand with humor through the simplicity he finds in the complex dynamics of nature. This book refreshes the mind and soul; it's also an aesthetic experience.
- Uri Alon, TED Conversation: A COVID-19 "exit" strategy to end lockdown and reopen the economy

The Cultural Lives of Whales and Dolphins by Hal Whitehead and Luke Rendell
As the authors of this relatively dense book put it, "we are born with the genetic template of Homo sapiens, but we cannot become fully human without what we learn from each other." This book is a fascinating dive - pun intended - into the extraordinary intelligence and social structures of cetaceans, looking at them not as pseudo-mythical creatures to be fetishized but rather as complex, flawed and often unpredictable social beings just like humans are. I've spent a fair number of nights in these high-anxiety times attempting to fall asleep by listening to the songs of humpback whales over Spotify, but until I read this book hadn't realized that maybe what was lulling me into slumber was the fact that I was effectively listening to social chatter and communication - the things that so many of have missed so much lately.

- Caroline McCarthy, TED Talk: How advertising is dividing us

Things to watch (mainly TV and movies)
TV shows and videos
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's videos
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has taken the quarantine challenge and risen to it, streaming full recordings of performances, online dance classes with virtuoso dancers and new performances composed of dancers "at home" (either in their New York apartments or in parks). Plus, supporting Alvin Ailey is a wonderful way to support Black creative arts and have your breath taken away by human talent.
- Heather C. McGhee, TED Talk: Racism has a cost for everyone

If you've never watched it before, this NBC competition show features performers from a variety of talents and highlights dreams coming true for many of the contestants. Some of them have overcome a tragedy, heartbreak or obstacle in their lives, but no matter what they've gone through, they've never given up on their big dream to be on stage. Some of the performers are wacky and way-out, but many are really, really talented. In a time when we are surrounded by negative messages, I always feel uplifted and inspired when I watch this show.
- Estelle Gibson, TED Talk: The true cost of financial independence

This ABC sitcom tackles tough situations that happen in life in such an entertaining way that I not only learn something but sometimes it changes my opinion a subject.The biggest nourishment I get from this show is that it always ends with everything coming together, with the family hugging, realizing how they were wrong or appreciating what they have. It leaves a smile on my face and is my go-to when I need a pick-me-up from real life.
- Anastasia Penright, TED Talk: 5 steps to remove yourself from drama at work

Descendants of the Sun
I feel there is something beautiful and musical about the Korean language. I like to believe that speaking Korean for my first three years of life trained my brain to love its sound even though I struggle learning and speaking Korean now. Auditory memory is powerful, and when I watch Korean shows like this one, I find the language incredibly soothing to my ears. Asian filmmakers are so skillful, and I also love seeing Koreans become worldwide media stars.
- Sara Jones, TED Talk: Reclaiming my voice as a transracial adoptee

I was fortunate enough to work with a group of influencers on the campaign launch for this new HBO series, which stars and is written by Michaela Coel. It's a strong departure from Michaela'sChewing Gum fame but in the best way possible. Dealing with issues surrounding mental health and sexual assault, the producers and Michaela were careful to roll out the show with content to help further the discussion around the serious issues that it touches on.
- Joel Leon, TED Talk: The beautiful, hard work of co-parenting

I'm a huge fan of Samin Nosrat, a brilliant chef and talented Iranian woman making her mark on the world. In this TV show, Samin brings her unique perspective to explore local cuisines around the world, focusing on voices typically uncelebrated in the culinary arts, highlighting women and home cooks.
- Dorsa Amir, TED Talk: How the Industrial Revolution changed childhood

I spent much of my isolation time thinking about things I'd like to be eating. It all began when my wife was feeling under the weather (turns out it was not COVID, but it seemed it could be). She had light symptoms but self-isolated in our house, so I was assigned the couch. The one benefit to couch-surfing meant that I could watch whatever I liked before falling asleep and what caught my eye was this David Chang Netflix show. I started watching because I'd heard there was an episode on pizza in which a pilgrimage was made to my hometown, New Haven, Connecticut, which is pizza central for those in the know. But I was hooked by Chang's menschiness and his very funny sidekick, Peter Meehan. I binged the whole series and found it funny, insightful and moving. So I quickly ordered all cookbooks with Chang and/or Meehan's name attached. My favorite cookbook to read wasLucky Peach Presents 101 Easy Asian Recipes, written by Meehan. It's a cookbook that made me laugh out loud. That is very hard to do, especially for a cookbook. There's a paragraph about making a Thai noodle dish that made me laugh so hard that I could not get the words out when trying to read it aloud to my confused wife.
- Noah Charney, TED-Ed Lesson: The art forger who tricked the Nazis
Movies
13th
As an African American journalist, entertainment reporter and movie critic living through a changing time in our country, I'm often asked about what films can educate and entertain. The number-one movie I recommend is 13th on Netflix. In vivid images and sound, this documentary clearly explains the systems that have placed our country in the situation it is in right now.
- Lee Thomas, TED Talk: How I help people understand vitiligo

Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution
This documentary is simply beautiful. It's about a generation of disability advocates and how they came together in their youth through a summer camp; later on, they banded together to fight for their rights in the oft-forgotten-but-very-important 504 Sit In, which paved the way for the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act. The movie has a wonderful tone - the storyline is infused with humor, and while it teaches you about the disability community, it doesn't beat you over the head with lessons or make you feel guilty. Instead, you come away learning about a group of people who are vibrant, passionate and resilient, and you have a new sense of appreciation for their hard fight.
- Amy Padnani, TED Talk: How we're honoring people overlooked by history

Like my TED Talk, this documentary is all about the power of boyband fangirls and how easily they are misunderstood. But what I especially love about this movie is how funny it is and how often it surprises you. It's about three generations of fangirls, and I don't know anyone who hasn't found it utterly fascinating. So I recommend this movie to anyone who loves fangirls, hates fangirls, is a fangirl, is scared of fangirls, is raising a fangirl, or has never heard of the word. Hit me up on Twitter when you've seen it, and let's discuss the moment with the cruise. I can't stop thinking about the cruise!
- Yve Blake, TED Talk: For the love of fangirls

(In)Visible Portraits
(In)Visible Portraits marks the directorial debut of Oge Egbuonu, who has created a masterpiece with this documentary that explores the history of Black women in America. While it both educates and dismantles the many harmful labels and archetypes that have been assigned to Black women, it's also an extremely beautiful and nourishing love letter by and for Black women. It's a must watch.
Shantell Martin, TED Talk: How drawing can set you free

There are two particular moments in this movie I come back to again and again: when Will Smith talks to his son on the basketball court and tells him not to let anyone - not even him - tell him he can't do something. And then, of course, the ending.
- Robert Reffkin, TED Original Video: 5 ways to create stronger connections

The
The first Toy Story, released in 1995, was the first entirely computer-animated Hollywood film. Throughout the four Toy Story films, the messages that have stayed with me the most are about the importance of courage, empathy, imagination and the willingness to embrace change. This series also demonstrated the amazing advances of computer graphics technology. The fine detail of the images, such as the backdrop of dust blowing, appear flawless. I'm inspired to see how the innovation which produced such powerful graphic processing chips has made such an enormous impact on the animation industry and the entertainment world as a whole.
- Andrew Ho, TED Talk: How tech is creating new hope for epilepsy patients

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TED's culture list: 114 podcasts, books, TV shows, movies and more to nourish you

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Summer can be a great time to relax and try new things, so we asked TED speakers to recommend podcasts, books, TV shows, movies and more that have nourished their minds, spirits and bodies in recen...

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Most of my conversations and meetings these days are about COVID-19 and how we can stem the tide. But I'm also often asked about what I am reading and watching-either because people want to learn more about pandemics, or because they are looking for a distraction. I'm always happy to talk about great books and TV shows (and to hear what other people are doing, since I'm usually in the market for recommendations).

So, in addition to the five new book reviews I always write for my summer book list, I included a number of other recommendations. I hope you find something that catches your interest.

. We're living through an unprecedented time right now. But if you're looking for a historical comparison, the 1918 influenza pandemic is as close as you're going to get. Barry will teach you almost everything you need to know about one of the deadliest outbreaks in human history. Even though 1918 was a very different time from today, The Great Influenza is a good reminder that we're still dealing with many of the same challenges.

Other books worth reading

The Martian, by Andy Weir. You may remember the movie from a few years ago, when Matt Damon-playing a botanist who's been stranded on Mars-sets aside his fear and says, "I'm going to science the s*** out of this." We're doing the same thing with the novel coronavirus.

The Rosie Trilogy, by Graeme Simsion. All three of the Rosie novels made me laugh out loud. They're about a genetics professor with Asperger's Syndrome who (in the first book) goes looking for a wife and then (in the second and third books) starts a family. Ultimately the story is about getting inside the mind and heart of someone a lot of people see as odd, and discovering that he isn't really that different from anybody else. Melinda got me started on these books, and I'm glad she did.

I don't read a lot of comics or graphic novels, but I've really enjoyed the few that I have picked up. The best ones combine amazing storytelling with striking visuals. In her memoir The Best We Could Do, for example, Thi Bui gains a new appreciation for what her parents-who survived the Vietnam War-went through. It's a deeply personal book that explores what it means to be a parent and a refugee.

On the lighter side is Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things that Happened, by Allie Brosh. You will rip through it in three hours, tops. But you'll wish it went on longer, because it's funny and smart as hell. I must have read Melinda a dozen hilarious passages out loud.

Finally, I love the way that former NASA engineer Randall Munroe turns offbeat science lessons into super-engaging comics. The two books of his that I've read and highly recommend are What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions, and XKCD Volume 0. I also have Randall's latest book, How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems, on my bookshelf and hope to read it soon. If you've read it, let me know what you think in the comments.

TV shows and movies you might enjoy

Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak. This documentary series on Netflix introduces you to four people who are working super-hard in different parts of the world to prevent epidemics. Since the series was filmed some time ago, the episodes are focused not on the coronavirus but on influenza-which was widely regarded as the most likely culprit for a big outbreak. But Pandemic still gives you a sense of the inspiring work that heroic doctors, researchers, and aid workers are doing to prevent the very thing we're all going through right now.

A few of the series that Melinda and I are keeping up with include A Million Little Things, This Is Us, and Ozark. And I'm planning to finally watch I, Claudius-a 1970s BBC series set during the Roman empire-after reading a rave review in The Economist. I've read a lot about the Roman times, but this series sounds like an interesting look at the era.

On the much more escapist front, a few weeks ago I re-watched one of my favorite movies, Spy Game, starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. It has lots of good surprises, so I don't want to spoil the plot for you. Not a lot of people have heard of Spy Game, but I've probably seen it 12 times.

The wild card: online bridge

I've been playing bridge for years-Warren Buffett is my favorite partner. We don't get together in person now that we're sheltering in place, but we still play online. There are lots of great options out there, including this guide to learning the game, and the online platform that Warren and I play on, which is called Bridge Base. (I'll keep our screen names between us.) I got worried a few weeks ago when their service briefly went down, but it was back up in no time. I was surprised at how relieved I was to see it running again.

This originally appeared on gatesnotes.com.

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Most of my conversations and meetings these days are about COVID-19 and how we can stem the tide. But I'm also often asked about what I am reading and watching-either because people want to learn more about pandemics, or because they are looking for a distraction.

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Join Harry Potter and journey into the wizarding world with our new site! Discover puzzles, quizzes, crafts and more to guide you through the very first book.

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Nat Geo Earth Day Neighborhood Safari | How to Draw Animals - Disney News

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Tes provides a range of primary and secondary school teaching resources including lesson plans, worksheets and student activities for all curriculum subjects.

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Teachers, get your first year FREE!

Thank you to all of the incredible teachers who are educating and inspiring children everywhere!

We are offering a FREE FIRST YEAR of Vooks exclusively to all school teachers and homeschool educators! Simply fill out the form below.

A world of animated storybooks in your classroom!

Vooks brings children's books to life with animated illustrations, read-a-long text and narrated story. The ad-free platform features a variety of titles that have been engaging students all across the world. Whether being used as part of the lesson or to wind class down, Vooks is a fun and versatile tool for the classroom.

Check out some of the most popular titles on Vooks

They All Saw A Cat

The cat walked through the world, with its whiskers, ears, and paws... In this glorious celebration of observation, curiosity, and imagination, we see the many lives of one cat, and how perspective shapes what we see. Narrated by John Lithgow, this best selling and Caldecott Medal winning book will delight all ages.

Where Are You?

Meet Iz and Norb. They're cute, they're fun, and they're best buds! These silly friends love to play and go on adventures. But, sometimes play is more than just fun and games. Where Are You? helps children understand concepts like overcomming fear, and chasing your dreams.

Colors On The Farm

This Vook is perfect for the little ones. The appealing illustrations and playful use of color engages little minds to promote learning and development. Young children will love to visit Farmer John's farm and look for colors in this adorable story. And, playful rhymes make recognizing colors tons of fun.

1. Terms and Conditions: This worldwide offer is exclusive to teachers and homeschool educators. For homeschool educators, the first year free offer is for those who are actively following a long term curriculum plan, and are following any necessary government guidelines. Each account is limited to 3 personal devices and up to 30 devices used for classroom and in-school purposes. No purchase necessary. Pre-existing accounts are ineligible. Only new accounts are valid. You will receive an email confirmation once the form is submitted. No credit card required. Must be at least 18 years of age to be eligible for this offer. You will receive 365 days of free access to Vooks from date of registration. After your free access ends you may continue by purchasing a subscription. Vooks, Inc. | support@vooks.com | 25 NW 23rd Place, Suite 6 PMB #122, Portland, OR 97210

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Thank you to all of the incredible teachers who are educating and inspiring children everywhere! We are offering a FREE FIRST YEAR of Vooks exclusively to all school teachers and homeschool educators! Simply fill out the form below. Vooks brings children's books to life with animated illustrations, read-a-long text and narrated story.

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ASCD empowers educators to achieve excellence in learning, teaching, and leading so that every child is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.

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JCS offers a wide and excellent range of resources to choose from. All resources are ideal for individual research and extended essays, and support the development of essential digital literacy and research skills.

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There's no denying the value of a good book. From informational to entertaining, eye-opening to jaw-dropping, and everything in between, books have the power to change our perspective.

If you're looking for the perfect read, here are some suggestions from ONE's Global Policy Team. These suggestions cover a wide range of reading needs, from non-fiction that addresses tough global development challenges, to fiction that transports you through exceptional stories.
Africa Uprising: Popular Protest and Political Change by Adam Branch and Zachariah Cherian Mampilly
Africa Uprising offers an interesting and clearly written historical account of protest in Africa. The book situates current African protests within their broader historical context and argues that African protests are distinct from protests elsewhere.
Recommended by Joe Kraus, Policy Director, Transparency & Accountability Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World - and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, and Anna Rosling Rönnlund
It may seem difficult at times to see things in a positive light. Luckily, Factfulness is here to help! This book addresses 10 human "instincts" that push us to have a pessimistic view of the world, which may distort our reality.The authors challenge readers to try and see the world through a different lens.
Recommended by Serah Makka-Ugbabe, Nigeria Director Fighting Corruption Is Dangerous by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
NOI (as she's often referred to), Nigeria's first female finance minister, knows the dangers of fighting corruption. In 2012, her 83-year-old mother was kidnapped by people who objected to some of her policies. Her book draws on her experiences to provide lessons learned on transparency, accountability and good governance.
Recommended by Blessing Omakwu, Policy & Advocacy Manager, Nigeria Natives - Exploring Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire by Akala
Natives speaks directly to British denial and squeamishness when it comes to confronting issues of race and class that are at the heart of the history of Britain's racialised empire. The book covers the police, education, identity, politics, the far right, and much more from Britain's history.
Recommended by Lorriann Robinson, Policy & Advocacy Manager, UK Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
This book details everything you never knew about the origin and evolution of our species, in clear and relatively brief (considering it covers over 2 million years worth of history) terms. It gives a newfound appreciation and understanding of basic human behaviors.
Recommended by Sara Harcourt, Senior Director, Poilcy Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Homegoing offers an unflinching view of the transatlantic slave trade, through interconnected stories of descendents of two West African women. Well-researched and complex, this book is a must-read.
Recommended by Fiona Robertson, Policy Officer, Development Finance Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
What would you say if your friend asked you how to raise a feminist? Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was asked that very question, and wrote this letter - which is now published as a short book. Some of these suggestions may be easier to implement than others, but this quick read is thought-provoking and important nonetheless.
Recommended by Allison Wong, Project Manager, Global Policy A Strangeness in My Mind by Orhan Pamuk
A Strangeness tells the story of a street cart vendor in Istanbul, his family, and his community. Their experiences shine light on the broader history of modernizing Turkey and the social and political upheavals that accompany the process. This book is beautifully written and approaches development from a unique perspective.
Recommended by Megan O'Donnell, Senior Policy Manager Manuscripts found in Accra by Paulo Coehlo
Written by the author of The Alchemist, Manuscripts found in Accra is a book that teaches a series of life lessons. The book, set in Jerusalem during the Crusades, provides philosophies that all people can learn from. It's exactly the type of book you might want to read during a low-key weekend.
Recommended by Jenny Ottenhoff, Policy Director, Global Health & Education & Anita Okemini, Policy Director, Agriculture and Inclusive Growth Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
Before fleeing the Islamic Republic of Iran, Nafisi formed a secret book club with seven of her female students. They analyzed western classics that were forbidden and controversial in Iran, while also discussing their daily lives. The books opens up deep philosophical questions about freedom, imagination, and the role of fiction, while also focusing on women's empowerment and Iran's history.
Recommended by Suzanne Seiller, Policy & Advocacy Assistant, France

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10 books you need to read that will change your world view

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There's no denying the value of a good book. From informational to entertaining, eye-opening to jaw-dropping, and everything in between, books have the power to change our perspective. If you're looking for the perfect read, here are some suggestions from ONE's Global Policy Team.

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These 28 carefully selected words of wisdom truly are some of the most powerful and wisest quotes ever written. Here they are...

1. "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." - Albert Einstein

2. "Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, first make sure that you are not, in fact, just surrounded by assholes." - Sigmund Freud

3. "In seeking happiness for others, you will find it in yourself." - Unknown

4. "Love is a verb. Love - the feeling - is a fruit of love, the verb." - Stephen Covey

5. "Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms-to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." - Viktor Frankl

6. "He who fears he will suffer, already suffers because he fears." - Michel De Montaigne

7. "Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

8. "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." - Gandhi

9. "When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us." - Helen Keller

10. "Challenges is what makes life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful." - Joshua J. Marine

11. "If you want happiness for an hour - take a nap. If you want happiness for a day - go fishing. If you want happiness for a year - inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a life time - help someone else." - Chinese proverb

12. "Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose." - Viktor Frankl

13. "A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

14. "Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated." - Confucius

15. "Many people are passionate, but because of their limiting beliefs about who they are and what they can do, they never take actions that could make their dream a reality" - Anthony Robins

16. "True success is overcoming the fear of being unsuccessful." - Paul Sweeney

17. "The only way that we can live is if we grow. The only way we can grow is if we change. The only way we can change is if we learn. The only way we can learn is if we are exposed. And the only way that we are exposed is if we throw ourselves into the open." - C. Joybell

18. "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it." - Mary Engelbreit

19. "A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing." - George Bernhard Shaw

20. "Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity." - Henry van Dyke

21. "I would rather die a meaningful death than to live a meaningless life." - Corazon Aquino

22. "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." - Reinhold Niebuhr

23. "Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply." - Stephen Covey

24. "We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty." - Mother Theresa

25. "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present." - Bil Keane

26. "Falling in love is not a choice. To stay in love is." - Unknown

27. "The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen." - Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

28. "The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking." - Albert Einstein

Motivate Yourself To Inspire Others

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28 Of The Most Powerful Quotes Of All Time

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These 28 carefully selected words of wisdom truly are some of the most powerful and wisest quotes ever written. Here they are... 1. "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."

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As avid lovers of literature, teachers often find themselves wanting to impart every bit of knowledge about a well-loved text to their students. And this is not just an ELA issue-other disciplines also often focus on the content of a text. However, teaching reading skills in English classes and across the disciplines is an almost guaranteed way to help students retain content. Unfortunately, the tendency to focus on the content is a real enemy to the ultimate goal of building reading skills.

Without a repertoire of reading strategies that can be applied to any text, students are being shortchanged in their education. In order to teach students to read effectively, teachers must be sure that they are not simply suppliers of information on a particular text but also instructors of techniques to build reading skills. Here are some ideas on how to incorporate reading skills lessons into a curriculum.

Teach Close Reading Skills

Guide students in annotation by directing them to do more than highlight or underline. Encourage students to have a conversation with the text by jotting notes on the text while reading-this keeps students engaged and often increases comprehension. Annotations can include:

Defining new words

Asking questions

Coding recurring words and themes

Making personal connections to the text

Citing current events

Highlighting heading and subheadings

Summarizing paragraphs

Chunking

Categorizing information

Numbering and ordering

Drawing pictures

The list of possibilities is endless-the point is to have students form their own process when approaching a text. But don't be afraid to give students specific annotation guidelines such as "annotate the writer's characterization techniques" or "find examples of . . ." to help them focus. Annotations also help students identify which strategies work best for them as they try to process and understand information. The clip " Girls Read Comic" from The Big Bang Theory is a great way to introduce the concept of reading closely and its importance.

Appeal to the Senses

While reading is the work of the mind, incorporating the senses provides extra reinforcement for students who are still growing their skills. Reading passages aloud and verbalizing questions you would mentally ask while reading can be a great benefit to students. Students often have no idea how to ask questions, what type of questions to ask, or the frequency of questions, so modeling this skill is invaluable. This can be further reinforced especially for visual learners by using a document camera or overhead projector to write questions, mark key words and phrases, and interact with a text. And as always, encourage students to read with a pen or pencil in hand.

Guide Students in Setting Reading Goals

While writing goals are used regularly in the classroom, students do not assess personal reading skills on a regular basis. Begin the year by having students write a reader's biography to gain insight into their reading habits, struggles, and successes; this serves as a foundation for discussions on setting reading goals. After reading a novel, nonfiction text, short story, or poetry unit, help students evaluate their reading skills: Did you feel confident reading the text? Why or why not? What parts of the text gave you trouble? Could you have used a different strategy to make reading the text easier? Students should evaluate goals on a regular basis and create new goals based on their needs and growth.

Vary Text Length

When approaching a particularly difficult text, break it up and offer it in shorter segments. Students often become discouraged with lengthy texts that require intense concentration. Giving smaller segments allows the students to digest chunks in pieces, acquire academic vocabulary, and build confidence.

Offer Opportunities for Choice Reading

Simply put, the best way to improve reading is to read, and students are more likely to read when they have a choice in the reading. Newsela and CommonLit offer a variety of nonfiction articles for choice (and CommonLit includes fiction as well); both sites include articles with various grade levels and across multiple disciplines. Classroom libraries built from donations, garage sales, and thrift shops encourage students to take books for personal reading. Ask students about their interests and make recommendations. Reading for pleasure builds transferable skills for content reading and should be encouraged, including in class.

Assess Content and Skill

Students should be able to demonstrate their skills in assessment, whether it's formal or informal, formative or summative. Recall and comprehension questions are a good way to check for basic understanding, but teachers should then move to the harder how and why questions. Choose activities that require students to dig deep into a text, such as:

Facilitate a socratic discussion.

Create a playlist for a character.

Write a formal essay.

Make a meme for a character.

Present a mini-TED talk on research inspired by a text.

Create a mind map, literary 3x3, or infographic.

Most teachers already incorporate skill building in their classes to some degree; however, taking time to discuss and actively engage students in the process will keep skill development at the forefront of learning. The result will be students who not only make gains in reading but also have an understanding of how to become better readers.

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6 Techniques for Building Reading Skills-in Any Subject | Edutopia

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As avid lovers of literature, teachers often find themselves wanting to impart every bit of knowledge about a well-loved text to their students. And this is not just an ELA issue-other disciplines also often focus on the content of a text.

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This compilation of reading assigned to students everywhere will expand your horizons - and your bookshelves.

In the US, most students are required to read To Kill a Mockingbird during their school years. This classic novel combines a moving coming-of-age story with big issues like racism and criminal injustice. Reading Mockingbird is such an integral part of the American educational experience that we wondered: What classic books are assigned to students elsewhere?

We posed this question to our TED-Ed Innovative Educators and members of the TED-Ed Community. People all over the globe responded, and we curated our list to focus on local authors. Many respondents made it clear in their countries, as in the US, few books are absolutely mandatory. Below, take a look at what students in countries from Ireland to Iran, Ghana to Germany, are asked to read and why. [Note: To find free, downloadable versions of many of the books listed below, search Project Gutenberg.]

Afghanistan

What it's about: The revelations of God as told to the prophet Muhammad, this is the central religious text of Islam and remains one of the major works of Arabic literature.
Why it's taught: "Overall, there is no culture of reading novels in my country, which is sad," says Farokh Attah. "The only book that must be read in school is the holy Quran, and everyone is encouraged to read it starting from childhood."

Albania

Australia

Tomorrow, When the War Began (1993) by John Marsden
What it's about: A teenage girl and her friends return from a camping trip to find that an unidentified foreign military force has invaded Australia.
Why it's taught: This book "speaks to our fear of invasion and our fighting spirit," says Beth James Waters. It also "beautifully portrays the vastness of and abundant natural dangers in our land."

Austria

(1787) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
What it's about: In this play, a scholar named Faust makes a pact with Mephistopheles - the devil - because Faust is dissatisfied with life. The devil says he will grant Faust a transcendent moment, but in return, Faust must act as his servant for eternity in hell. Through the devil's intervention, Faust falls in love with a beautiful young girl named Gretchen. Tragedy ensues.
Why it's taught: It raises many vast philosophical debates, including science versus spirituality, reason versus passion, and salvation versus damnation, and "it can be interpreted in many ways," says Barbara Paulmayer. " Faust is not as easy to understand as newer pieces of literature, so it stimulates students to think in a different way." In addition, its plot and themes have gone on to influence many other works.

Bosnia; Serbia

Brazil

Bulgaria

(1894) by Ivan Vazov
What it's about: This novel looks at a Bulgarian village under Ottoman rule and depicts a failed insurrection in the 1870s that helped trigger the country's eventual breakaway. The large cast of characters includes villagers on both sides of the rebellion.
Why it's taught: For one thing, Vazov is seen as the father of Bulgarian literature. But, adds Kristine O'Malley, "Being enslaved by the Ottoman Empire and the struggle for independence have shaped the national identity of Bulgarians," making this book a perennially popular read.

Canada

(1977) by Timothy Findley
What it's about: Robert Ross, a 19-year-old Canadian, tries to cope with the death of his sister by enlisting to fight in World War I. Beset by his own demons, he travels to France where he fights in the trenches and sees the worst of warfare - and of humanity.
Why it's taught: "It's an iconic Canadian novel. It's so brutally honest in its depiction of war, sorrow, and coming to terms with an uncaring world in one's own way," says Karen Goepen-Wee. "This text does not tread lightly around the angst and horror of World War 1 for Canadian soldiers," says Will Gourley.

Chile

(1904) by Baldomero Lillo
What it's about: This short-story collection is about the backbreaking, impoverished, dangerous existence of coal miners in southern Chile in the late 19th century.
Why it's taught: " Sub Terra represents an important part of Chile's history," says Natalia Salamanca Moreno. "These stories show students a lifestyle that is completely different from theirs today, which can help them appreciate what they have now. The stories also emphasize important, timeless family values, like being thankful for your parents and their efforts."

China

by Confucius
What it's about: This book is a compilation of the teachings of the ancient philosopher Confucius; it's believed to have been written sometime between 475 BC and 221 BC.
Why it's taught: "Teachers want students to learn good morals from the Analects, like showing respect to your parents, learning merit from others no matter their status, and using critical thinking," says Aylee Lu. "This book remains a cornerstone of Chinese culture."

Colombia

Cyprus

Egypt

Finland

Seitsemän veljestä (1870) by Aleksis Kivi
What it's about: Known in English as Seven Brothers, this book is about a quarrelsome family of seven brothers and their struggles in rural Finland. They eventually grow and mature into decent members of society.
Why it's taught: It is believed to be the first truly Finnish novel by a Finnish author in the Finnish language about ordinary people. "It's considered the national novel of Finland," says Jaani Länsiö. "It's about Finnish stubbornness."

Germany

Tagebuch der Anne Frank (1947)
What it's about: Known in English as The Diary of Anne Frank, this journal was kept by a Jewish girl named Anne Frank as she lived with her family in hiding in Amsterdam under Nazi occupation.
Why it's taught: "We should never forget what horrors were unleashed by narrow-thinking people," says Charlotte Böhm.

Ghana; Nigeria

India

Indonesia

(2005) by Andrea Hirata
What it's about: Known in English as Rainbow Troops, this novel is based on a true story about ten students from a remote village in Indonesia who, with the help of a pair of inspiring teachers, learn to stand up for themselves and their community.
Why it's taught: It teaches "sacrifice, dedication, hard work, passion, brotherhood, friendship, optimism and perseverance in the face of challenges," says Mahrukh Bashir.

Iran

Poems by writers such as Hafiz, Sa'Addi, Ferdowsi, Rumi and Khayyam
What they're about: Love, beauty, joy and other themes.
Why they're taught: "In Iran, the novel is a relatively newer form of literature," says Ne Da. "But among our literary classics are abundant poets and poetry. Each poem speaks to a different value."

Ireland

Ice Man: the Adventures of an Irish Antarctic Hero (2003) by Michael Smith
What it's about: It's a biography of Tom Crean, an Irish boy who ran away from home at the age of 15 to join Captain Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic voyage. He was also a member of Ernest Shackleton's Endurance expedition.
Why it's taught: "It shows that the Irish are ambitious explorers who can triumph over adversity and that through hard work, focus and dedication, everything is possible," says Naoimh Riordan.

Italy

(1827) by Alessandro Manzoni
What it's about: Known in English as The Betrothed, this novel takes place in northern Italy in the first half of the 17th century. Italy was not yet a nation, and this book shows the lives of villagers living under repressive Spanish rule as well as the impact of a deadly plague that killed many people.
Why it's taught: " I Promessi Sposi is one of the two pillars of Italian literature," says Sofia Ramundo. "It is considered the blueprint for historical novels," says Michela Sacchi O'Brien.

Pakistan

Philippines

(1887) by Jose Rizal
What it's about: Rizal went on to be a hero of the Philippine revolution, and his novel - the English-language title is Touch Me Not - shows life in the Philippines society under cruel, repressive, arbitrary Spanish Catholic rule.
Why it's taught: By combining a dramatic story with an activist message, this novel has been compared to Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It is taught to help students "appreciate the efforts of our forefathers in shaping our independence," says John Eric Uy.

Russia

(1869) by Leo Tolstoy
What it's about: Following the lives and loves of five families, this epic novel begins in 1805 and continues through Napoleon's 1812 invasion of Russia.
Why it's taught: War and Peace "is basically speaking about every aspect of our life: how to be valuable in society, how to be forgiving, and how to be respectful," says Valentina Ishmanova. "I believe everyone goes through the same situations as Tolstoy's characters Natasha, Pierre, and Prince Andrei."

US

(1960) by Harper Lee
What it's about: A classic novel about the American South in the 1930s that illustrates how racism, sexism and injustice have shaped US history (and still cause harm today).
Why it's taught: "We're still dealing with racism and systematic prejudice, especially in the legal system in the US," says Shaun McGovern. [Extra Resources: Teaching Mockingbird.]

Vietnam

(1820) by Nguyễn Du
What it's about: It's an epic narrative poem about a young woman named Thuý Kiều who is driven to sacrifice herself to save her family.
Why it's taught: Known in English as The Tale of Kiều, the poem shows "the humanity and the beauty of my country," says Joy Truong, who adds that she likes its positive qualities, a stark contrast to most other stories and poems which "focus on the difficulties of the Vietnamese."

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The world's required reading list: The books that students read in 28 countries

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In the US, most students are required to read To Kill a Mockingbird during their school years. This classic novel combines a moving coming-of-age story with big issues like racism and criminal injustice. Reading Mockingbird is such an integral part of the American educational experience that we wondered: What classic books are assigned to students elsewhere?

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Our contributors choose their summer books for 2017 DIANA DARKE Shashi Tharoor's Inglorious Empire: What the British did to India (Hurst) and Stefan Winter's The History of the 'Alawis: From medieval Aleppo to the Turkish Republic (Princeton University Press) are my poolside reading here in Turkey.

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Yeah, I've read most of them. Matilda, Charlotte's web, and the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe were good. I haven't read the Curious Incident of a Dog yet, but I think Famous Five was way better than Secret seven. Books have always been my hobby. I love books.

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BrightSide - Inspiration. Creativity. Wonder.

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We all have few books we especially love and cherish. We keep coming back to them for comfort and wisdom. But every once in a while, it's nice to branch out and try adding some new tomes to your collection.

Look no further. Bright Side has brought you a list of 200 of the most extraordinary books, put together by the BBC. Ready, set, read!

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200 Superb Books Everyone Should Read At Least Once

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We all have few books we especially love and cherish. We keep coming back to them for comfort and wisdom. But every once in a while, it's nice to branch out and try adding some new tomes to your collection.

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Olá leitores do Canal do Ensino,

Dicas de cursos de inglês online grátis, para que você possa se aperfeiçoar no idioma e aumentar o vocabulário. Para atendê-los, pesquisei diversos sites e montei, no final, uma seleção com apenas 8 cursos.

Os cursos têm pontos em comuns, claro, mas também apresentam conteúdos diferentes e complementares. Se você estudar todos eles, não só vai economizar seu dinheiro, mas também irá aumentar seu conhecimento de gramática, vocabulário inglês e compreensão auditiva.
Cursos de Inglês Online Grátis (textos em inglês) Cursos de Inglês Online Grátis (textos em português)
Um abraço e até a próxima!

Deixe um comentário

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8 cursos de inglês online grátis que você deveria conhecer

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Olá leitores do Canal do Ensino, Dicas de cursos de inglês online grátis, para que você possa se aperfeiçoar no idioma e aumentar o vocabulário. Para atendê-los, pesquisei diversos sites e montei, no final, uma seleção com apenas 8 cursos. Os cursos têm pontos em comuns, claro, mas também apresent

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18 Digital Tools and Strategies That Support Students' Reading and Writing | KQED

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Marissa Broyles taught English and social studies to a class or sixth graders who needed extra support last year. She experimented with many of the tools Levesque has compiled and saw how her willingness to be flexible as a teacher made her students feel supported.

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Schools should teach a language to pupils from age five to 18 to reverse a "disastrous" decline in language skills, say MPs and peers.

It follows a BBC investigation showing falls of between 30 and 50% since 2013 in the numbers taking language GCSEs in some areas of England.

Head teachers warned the aim might not be realistic because of teacher shortages and funding pressures.

Ministers said the picture in England had improved slightly since 2010.

This improvement in the overall proportion taking a language GCSE, thanks largely to Spanish and Mandarin, hides a collapse in numbers studying German and French.

Between 2010 and 2018 in England, the numbers of German GCSEs fell from 57,806 to 39,941 and at A-level from 5,055 to 2,785, according to the Department for Education.

The all-party parliamentary group on modern languages called for cross-government action in a recovery plan published on Monday.

Jean Coussins, a crossbench peer and joint chair of the group, said: "We are complacent. In the 21st Century speaking only English, is as much of a disadvantage as speaking no English at all."

The report pointed towards a declining proportion of online content in English, and said that according to the British Council, 75% of the world's population does not speak English.

The group is calling for a range of new qualifications, amid concerns that it is seen as harder to get a good grade in GCSEs than other subjects.

"One of myths we need to bust is [that] languages are just for the top set," said Baroness Coussins, pointing out that in a number of other countries the expectation is that everyone can learn another language.

But Geoff Barton, from the Association of School and College Leaders, said that while head teachers supported the ambition to encourage language learning, it was important to be realistic.

He said given funding constraints and the difficulty in recruiting specialist teachers, "it is hard to see how schools could fulfil an objective to ensure all young people learn a language from ages five to 18".

The plan also suggests tax breaks for smaller businesses as part of promoting life-long learning of languages.

Baroness Coussins said: "We're at a crunch point. When we're faced with the practical challenge of negotiating dozens of new free trade agreements, we'll discover speaking English is not enough."

That call was backed by Dr Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce.

He said: "Language skills lead to a better understanding of how people and cultures operate, and that understanding is often the key to closing a business deal."

'Currency of 21st Century'

The German Ambassador to the UK, Peter Wittig, expressed his dismay in a tweet following the BBC's report last week.

In response to the parliamentary recovery plan Mr Wittig told the BBC that the decline in Britons learning German was "deeply worrying".

He added: "Speaking languages and engaging with other cultures are the currency of the 21st century.

"In today's inter-connected world, communicators and bridge-builders are needed as never before."

The German ambassador said not only did learning a language open doors in fields from finance to engineering, but it "encourages friendship, trust and understanding across borders".

Last week, the Minister for Schools Standards in England, Nick Gibb, said that since 2010, the proportion of children taking a language at GCSE had risen from 40% to 46% in 2018.

He said the government was "determined to see this rise further", and was taking a range of measures to tackle this - such as creating a new network of schools that excel in the teaching of languages to share their expertise and best practice with others.

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Save UK language skills, say MPs and peers

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Schools should teach a language to pupils from age five to 18 to reverse a "disastrous" decline in language skills, say MPs and peers. It follows a BBC investigation showing falls of between 30 and 50% since 2013 in the numbers taking language GCSEs in some areas of England.

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In his new book, Raising Kids Who Read, Daniel Willingham wants to be clear: There's a big difference between teaching kids to read and teaching them to love reading.

And Willingham, a parent himself, doesn't champion reading for the obvious reasons - not because research suggests that kids who read for pleasure do better in school and in life.

"The standard things you'll hear about why kids should read I actually don't think are very strong arguments," he says. "Because if the goal is to become a good citizen or the goal is to make a lot of money, I can think of more direct ways to reach those goals than to read during your leisure time."

Willingham wants his kids to love reading because, he says, "for me it's a family value. It's something that I love, something that I find important. I think I gain experiences I wouldn't gain any other way by virtue of being a reader. And so naturally I want my children to experience that."

The professor of psychology at the University of Virginia uses his new book to map out strategies for parents and teachers hoping to kindle that same passion for reading.
What are a few things we can do when kids are young to set them on a path to being passionate readers?
Before preschool, probably the most important thing you can do is to play games that help your child hear speech sounds: rhyming games, reading aloud books that have a lot of rhyme in them and other types of wordplay, like alliteration. That's helpful.

Once they get that basic idea, you can get a little fancier. And these are the games that kids really love - where you play around with speech sounds.

If you had a child named Billy. You could say, 'Daddy's name is Cory. What if we took the first sound in Billy's name, and my name is now Bory.' That kind of stuff is comic gold for kids. I talk with a lot of kindergarten teachers who say it's hard to get kids to stop doing stuff like that.
Banana-fana-fo-fana...
Exactly. You know, Dr. Seuss is full of that. Nursery rhymes are full of that. And it's been known for a while that kids who grow up in homes where they are exposed to nursery rhymes learn to read more readily than other kids.
But how do you foster a love of reading in young children?
The most obvious is to be a model of someone who loves reading. One of the things I hit hard in this book is the idea of creating a sense in the child that this is what we value in our family. I think a lot of parents don't appreciate what a powerful message that can be for kids - like the things that are on your wall, the rules you set in your household, who parents talk about as the people they respect.

You should model reading, make reading pleasurable, read aloud to your kid in situations that are warm and create positive associations. But also setting a tone where our family is one where we like to learn new things. We like to learn about the world, and a big part of that is reading. Developing a sense in the child that I am in a family of readers before the child can even read.

The second big piece I would recommend is you have to make reading the most appealing thing a child can do. It's not enough that the child like reading. If they like reading but there's something else available that they like more, they're going to choose that. The easy way to start is to put books in places that your child would otherwise be bored. The most obvious one is in the car. Part of that is also making sure you're not providing other types of ready entertainment at every moment.
My wife put a basket in our bathroom, full of kids magazines. My 6-year-old reads them voraciously, and now his 3-year-old brother copies him.
My 9-year-old is a very passionate reader, and I think her younger sister is too. But I think it's in no small part that she grew up watching her older sister do this.
Do you think digital devices are a) keeping us from reading and b) keeping us from being able to focus?
There's no evidence they're keeping us from being able to focus. If you look at the way psychologists typically measure span of attention, there's no evidence that it's really declined in the last 50 years or so. The brain is plastic, but I think attention is so central to so much of what we do that it seems pretty improbable to me that attention span could shrink significantly. If it did, either we would all get really stupid or lots of other cognitive processes would have to adjust in some way.

I think there is something to what parents and teachers think they're seeing. They feel like kids are more distractible than they were 10 years ago, and they blame digital devices. What all these digital devices have in common is they provide instant entertainment. And the entertainment they provide requires very little effort from me. It's always available. There's pretty much endless variety. So the consequence may be that span of attention hasn't shrunk but rather what's changed is our attitudes and beliefs. And our attitudes and beliefs are, 'Bored is not a normal state of affairs. I really should never be bored.'
What's your point of view when it comes to rewarding kids for reading?
Rewards have the real potential to backfire. You communicate to your child, 'This is not something I expect you to do on your own.' You pay people to do things that you think are unpleasant and that they wouldn't do if you weren't paying them. So, by paying your child for reading, you're very clearly communicating to your child, 'This is not something that I expect to be pleasurable for you.'

There is good empirical evidence that, when you pay people to do something, if you find the right reward they will do more of it. But once the reward stops, they will quite possibly do less of it. The reason being, they have a different attribution for why they were doing it in the first place. So the child who wasn't paid looks back and says, 'I've been reading this book because I'm the kind of kid who likes books.' But if, instead, the attribution is, 'I was reading this book because Dad paid me,' now, if Dad is no longer paying him, he has no reason to read this book. That said, my recommendation is that a reward not be the first thing you try. But, if it is the only way to get a kid to read, then I would certainly consider it.

Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

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Steps for Cultivating a Love of Reading in Young Children

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In his new book, Raising Kids Who Read, Daniel Willingham wants to be clear: There's a big difference between teaching kids to read and teaching them to love reading. And Willingham, a parent himself, doesn't champion reading for the obvious reasons - not because research suggests that kids who read for pleasure do better in school and in life.

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I'm obsessed with a lot of things as a teacher. My otter tape dispenser. Outperforming my students on any and every school-wide dress-up day. My carefully-curated Spotify playlist of wordless songs designed to elicit minimal student commentary (things like, "Miss, this song sounds haunted.").

But these hardly hold a candle to my obsession with getting my students to love reading and writing poetry.

I teach poetry the way you might teach a child to swim: in stages. You certainly don't throw them in, stand back, and hope they love swimming. First, there's the dipping of toes. Then floating. Then the doggy paddle, etc., until they can face water with excitement and confidence instead of knee-knocking and cries of "I CAN'T DO THIS I WILL DROWN."

It's very similar with poetry. We start by reading and talking about some of my favorite poems from across all different genres. Then I have them write just one line a day, which goes into a journal that only I read. Gradually we build up to writing a few whole poems a week until we reach the end of the unit, which is a class-long poetry gallery. Each student chooses the poem they're most proud of and hangs it up around them room, we do a walk around the classroom and leave kind notes to each other, and I let them bring fancy snacks* so we can pretend it's a real gallery opening (do they even have hors d'oeuvres at gallery openings? I wouldn't know). Obviously it's a blast, and obviously I participate in bringing and eating fancy snacks for myself that day.

The trickiest part of designing this unit is, in my opinion, finding poetry prompts that will get students writing. They have to be something that will challenge students at every ability level, but won't be too tough for anyone to at least get started. I've compiled 11 of my favorite poetry prompts and put them in the order I would use in the classroom.

A few things about these prompts you may find helpful:

Allow your students to work on their poems at home before turning them in or sharing. Very few kids can produce a poem they're proud of or would be willing to eventually read out loud when there's a ticking clock in front of them.

Give exclusively positive feedback on the first couple of poems. I totally get that you will have reluctant writers, but it's worth mentioning that if you give super-positive feedback on even the smallest part of the first 2-3 poems they turn in (things like "Holy cow! I LOVE this line!" or "WHY DID YOU NOT SECRETLY TELL ME YOU ARE A POET SUPERSTAR"), you will find that you can wrangle in even some of your biggest poetry-haters.

It can be helpful for some students to see an example for the prompt you choose or to write one first as a class. For other students, they may want to work it out themselves after a brief class discussion. Figure out what works best for you and your poets, but be aware that these might not work as "throw 'em up on the board and set a timer" type prompts the first couple of times.

If you don't have time for poetry with the whole class, this list works really well as an extension activity for students who need a challenge.

Here are the poetry prompts I use with my students:

1. Write a poem with at least 8 lines in which every line starts with the same three words: "You told me..." Notice how the repetition can create rhythm and reinforce meaning.

3. The shortest "book" ever written is said to be a six-word sentence: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." Write a six-word poem that carries the most meaning you can fit in it.

4. Write an ode to an object you love. An ode is a poem that is typically short and lyrical. Your ode can be about something meaningful and symbolic, like a piece of jewelry or a book you cherish, or it can be about something less traditional like socks or French fries. (Check out Pablo Neruda's work-he wrote odes to both!)

5. Write an etheree poem. An etheree poem has 10 lines. The first has one syllable, the second has two, and so on, all the way up to ten.

6. Finish the sentence, "At that moment, the whole world seemed to fit in a ___." Finish the sentence, and use that sentence somewhere in a poem.

7. Read e.e. cummings's poem "l(a" or "a leaf falls on loneliness." Write a similar poem in which you take a sentence or a phrase and make the visual elements of that poem (line spacing, capitalization, punctuation, etc.) complement or match the content of the poem itself. (These are called concrete poems, FYI.)

8. Write a poem about a sound you grew up hearing. (ex: the whirr of a fishing reel, the snap of a newspaper opening, a cuckoo clock, etc.)

9. Write a ballad about something that made you sad, either recently or as a child. (Typically ballads are narrative poems and have the rhyme scheme ABAB.)

10. Write a poem that uses math to explain a feeling or emotion. Maybe it's a love poem with a line like "2 - 1 = 0," or maybe it's a poem called "How to Find the Area of ___." Could triangles be used to explain a feeling? What about slopes or square roots?

11. Write a poem about something that is "broken" but not in the normal sense of the word. Maybe it's a dead moth you found on the ground, a bud that didn't bloom like the rest of the flowers around it, a store in your neighborhood that closed down, or a person who is considered an outcast. Explore what makes this object broken and whether or not it is reparable.

Do you have a favorite poetry prompt you like to use with your students? Share it in the comment section! Also, if you want more prompts, check out an additional list of 20 prompts I have available here on Teachers Pay Teachers! There are probably typos on it. Sorry in advance.

*My school allows kids to bring their own snacks as long as they don't share with others or bring peanuts, but check with your campus to make sure you're not violating HHKA.
Love, Teach teaches secondary English and blogs about the teaching life at www.loveteachblog.com. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, but not on Snapchat because it confounds her.

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Love, Teach Shares 11 Poetry Prompts For Your Secondary ELA Class - WeAreTeachers

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I'm obsessed with a lot of things as a teacher. My otter tape dispenser. Outperforming my students on any and every school-wide dress-up day. My carefully-curated Spotify playlist of wordless songs designed to elicit minimal student commentary (things like, "Miss, this song sounds haunted.").

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Joyce Carol Oates put it well when she described the "bibliomemoir", in a review of Rebecca Mead's My Life in Middlemarch, as "a subspecies of literature combining criticism and biography with the intimate, confessional tone of autobiography". It is perhaps an inevitable genre.

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We have published a companion piece: " 8 Compelling Mini-Documentaries to Teach Close Reading and Critical Thinking Skills."

Ever want your students to slow down and notice details when they read - whether they're perusing a book, a poem, a map or a political cartoon? Young people often want to hurry up and make meaning via a quick skim or a cursory glance when a text can demand patience and focus.

Closely reading any text, whether written or visual, requires that students proceed more slowly and methodically, noticing details, making connections and asking questions. This takes practice. But it certainly helps when students want to read the text.

We've selected 10 photos from The Times that we've used previously in our weekly "What's Going On in This Picture?" and that have already successfully caught students' and teachers' attention. These are some of our most popular images - ones that may make viewers say "huh?" on first glance, but that spark enough curiosity to make them want to dig deeper. (Please Note: You can quickly learn the backstory about any of these photos by clicking the link in each caption that takes you to the original post, then scrolling down to find the "reveal.")

Below, we offer ideas from students and teachers who have engaged with these images for ways to use them, or images like them, to teach close reading and visual thinking skills.

1. Be Detectives: Looking closely can almost be like a game, Shirley Jackson, a teacher in Sydney, Australia, said:

I stumbled across your site while looking for alternate ideas. My class of 10-12-year-olds absolutely love the photos and the back story became a competition as to who could "see" the most, justify it and how close they were to the truth. Please don't stop this amazing resource as it keeps our students informed as well as visually aware.

Indeed, practicing visual thinking skills with these images can be fun and a quick activity, but it can also hone important skills that transfer to other texts. Making sense of intriguing images like these can be more like detective work than anything else: Careful attention to detail rewards the viewer with a "big picture" understanding.

2. Practice Regularly: Every Monday during the school year we post a photograph stripped of its caption and context, and ask students what they see going on in this picture. Hundreds of students participate every week from classrooms across the country and around the world - from elementary through high school, and even adult education E.S.L. classes - sharing their observations. Our partners at Visual Thinking Strategies moderate the discussion and encourage students to look even more closely for more details.

You can use our "What's Going On?" photos, or ones you select that relate to the content you are teaching, to help your students practice close reading.

3. Ask Open-Ended Questions: At the heart of the activity are the three deceptively simple open-ended questions that make up V.T.S.'s facilitation method. The goal? To help students notice details and make observations without leading them toward any conclusion or "right answer."

What's going on in this picture?

What do you see that makes you say that?

What more can you find?

Students then share what they see and comment on what other students notice.

4. Notice Details: For example, here is what Josh W. observed in the image above:

It appears in this picture that a man is trying not to drown in some kind of sewer, and he seems quite in danger because of the frightened look on his face. However, maybe it's some sort of public punishment because the police are just looking at him while driving by and then walking by, while random people to the left don't seem to care either. It also looks like the area he is in has been barred off, so maybe nobody is allowed to help him. The place seems to not be the richest place on earth, this area is quite worn down, and it seems Latin because of the writing on the police's shirt. It is also possible that he is seeking refuge from the police, but he has failed as they have found him.

5. Build on Others' Observations: Encourage students to comment on other students' observations to help them evaluate and link to other ideas. We try to do that in our Monday discussions by asking students to use the @ symbol. Here is what Summer wrote to Connor about the above photo:

@Connor: That flip is not effortless, there is pain in his facial expression, which leads me to believe the chaos in the background is not a natural disaster but the aftermath of warfare. My suppositions are supported by the young boy in a uniform nearby in the pic.

6. Adapt These Questions for All Subjects: Jennifer Bradley, a science teacher at Bentonville High School in Arkansas, told us how the practice of finding details to defend their interpretations of each photo improved students' academic skills in general, and their science skills in particular:

After practicing with "What's Going On in This Picture?" weekly, I started to see my students get much better at using evidence in their writing. For example, in their lab reports, they started to be much more detailed and to explain the context clues that led them to a conclusion.

In fact, the three simple questions at the heart of V.T.S.'s facilitation method can be adapted for close reading any text, whether in an English or a science classroom:

What do you notice going on in this chapter? In this diagram? Or in this political cartoon?

What details do you see that make you say that? What evidence supports your observations?

What more can you find in the text?

7. Expand Knowledge of the World: Teachers tell us that students enjoy the activity, and that it actually helps expand their knowledge of and curiosity about the world in addition to making them more visually literate. And students make connections between our "What's Going On?" photographs and what they're hearing in the news and learning about in school. After finding out the caption of the photo above, Cashel IMS wrote:

This picture and caption makes me think how tough it must be to be sent away to this facility alone, taken away from his parents, and be treated poorly in these conditions. Just because this little boy crossed the border, he should not be held captive. He is only seven years old and it was not his fault. If I were seven years old and I was held in this detention center, I would be very confused.

8. Start Conversations: Julia told us that she uses these photographs to help foster conversation in her adult E.S.L. education classes:

They are great conversation starters to get my class speaking in English. It also brings up new vocabulary words. Students often use their personal knowledge of the world to figure out what is happening in the photos. Some students may have an advantage when the photo is from their region of the world. Thanks!

9. Introduce New Ideas: On Tuesday mornings, we reveal the original caption of the photo and any relevant back story as well. Sometimes, we're fortunate to hear from the photographers themselves about what they were thinking when they took the shot. The activity, therefore, can transform from practicing visual thinking strategies to gaining a window into another place, time or perspective.

Additionally, many students return to comment on the image with new ideas and questions after reading the caption. Here is Evan K. IMS7 's follow-up response to this week's photo (above):

So my prediction was actually right... (Thank you Animal Planet.) But I find it interesting that something that I learned I could actually apply to my academics. I wonder if the ant can resist the fungus taking over its brain. I also wonder if this fungus could infect another insect or if it can mutate.

10. Experiment With Other Ways to Look Closely: V.T.S.'s three-question facilitation method isn't the only approach to getting students to practice visual thinking. The National Archives has developed a photograph analysis protocol for noticing people, objects and activities before making inferences.

The International Society for Technology in Education (PDF) and Edutopia both suggest multiple strategies for teaching visual literacy. And the University of Maryland has developed a visual literacy toolbox for helping students learn how to read images.

Many of the recommended approaches are very similar, and build on the principle that students should be encouraged to look closely at images without being told what to see. That concept is at the heart of why every Monday we ask students: What's going on in this picture? Join us next week!

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10 Intriguing Photographs to Teach Close Reading and Visual Thinking Skills

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We pair 10 photos from The Times that we've used in our weekly "What's Going On in This Picture?" with ideas from students and teachers for how you can use them, or images like them, to teach close reading and visual thinking skills.

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1. Connecting to Prior Knowledge: A common strategy we teach our students is to make connections to their own prior knowledge because such connections facilitate reading comprehension (Anderson, 1984; Anderson & Pearson, 1984). In fact, struggling comprehenders benefit from explicit instruction in this strategy, resulting in significant increases in their reading comprehension (Hansen, 1981; Hansen & Pearson, 1983).

2. Self‑Questioning: Not only do skilled comprehenders draw on prior knowledge when approaching a new text, they also ask themselves questions about the text, which aids them in their search for meaning as they read (Pressley & Afflerbach, 1995; Brown, 2008; Pressley, 2002). Like making connections to prior knowledge, self-questioning is an essential component of planning to understand a text.

3. Predicting: Making predictions involves using one's prior knowledge along with clues from a text to make hypotheses about text content (Brown, 2008; Pressley, 2002). Students can make predictions by asking questions about a text before reading it, and then trying to answer those questions. Predicting also continues to occur throughout the reading process as readers construct and update their understanding of the text.

4. Using Text Structure: While reading, skilled comprehenders use text structure (such as the beginning, middle, and end of a story) to help organize text information and meaning (Pressley & Afflerbach, 1995; Pressley & Gaskins, 2006; Pressley & Lundeberg, 2008). Additionally, teaching text structures improves students' comprehension of narrative and expository texts (Williams, 2003, 2005). Readers who are able to recognize and extract information about text structure have significantly better reading comprehension than readers who aren't able to.

5. Visualizing: We have long known that visualizing, otherwise known as mental imagery, is a tremendously effective strategy for helping readers remember information from texts (e.g., Levin, 1973; Pressley, 1976). And it is no surprise that skilled comprehenders also visualize text content to help themselves make sense of what they read (Pressley & Afflerbach, 1995). By encoding text information in multiple ways, readers' memory and understanding of text is strengthened.

6. Making Inferences: Readers make inferences in at least two ways: They can make inferences that require integrating multiple bits of information from text, and they can make gap-filling inferences that require them to supply information from their own prior knowledge (Baker & Stein, 1981; Cain & Oakhill, 1999; Elbro & Buch-Iversen, 2013; Graesser et al., 1994). Inferences are often more difficult for younger and struggling readers, who make inferences about actions rather than inferences about characters' internal responses (McConaughy, 1985; McConaughy et al., 1983). Fortunately, we can teach students to make inferences based on characters' internal states, resulting in improvements in reading comprehension (Carnine et al., 1982; Lysaker et al., 2011; Stahl, 2014).

7. Summarizing: Finally, we also know that skilled comprehenders are able to produce good summaries of texts that they read (Brown, 2008; Pressley, 2002; Pressley & Afflerbach, 1995). Their ability to prioritize important information draws on their organizational skills as well as their ability to inhibit irrelevant details. While summarizing, students also hold multiple pieces of information in working memory, and cognitive flexibility can be necessary to switch back and forth between one's more detailed representation of a text's meaning and the summary under construction.

Bringing These Processes Together in Your Classroom
Before reading:

Students should preview the text, making connections to their own prior knowledge about the topic, which requires flexible switching between text and knowledge.

Students should ask themselves questions about what they might encounter in the text, and make predictions about what they expect to discover as they read, holding those predictions in working memory to revise as needed while reading.

Students should preview the text's structure (e.g., identifying a story's beginning, middle, and end) to help them organize incoming information as they read. You can find sample templates on the Reading Rockets website.

During reading:

As they begin to read, students should draw on their prior knowledge to understand the ideas and words they encounter and to make gap-filling inferences when necessary.

Students should flexibly juggle multiple kinds of information as they read, such as information about the overall plot, meanings of individual words and their links to prior knowledge, and information and inferences about characters' thoughts and motivations.

Students should draw on their inhibition processes while reading to suppress irrelevant information in the text, ignore distractions in the environment, and refrain from distracting habits such as looking at their phones.

Students should manage all of these processes while they identify the most important features of the text and construct summaries of the text in working memory.

Students should summarize relevant information and hold it in working memory while ignoring (or inhibiting) irrelevant information. Students should also have the cognitive flexibility necessary to switch back and forth between details and summaries.

After reading:

After students finish reading a text, they should continue to reflect on the text, connecting the new information they have learned to their existing knowledge structures and flexibly adapting those structures as needed to incorporate new information.

Students should draw conclusions about the questions and predictions they had for the text, and they should evaluate how successful they were in understanding the text.

Skilled reading comprehension is like an intricate piece of music in which readers masterfully weave together complex mental processes. Practicing these reading comprehension strategies with your students can help them develop into active, purposeful, thinking readers.

Notes

Anderson, R. C. (1984). Role of the reader's schema in comprehension, learning, and memory. In R. C. Anderson, J. Osborn, & R. J. Tierney (Eds.), Learning to read in American schools: Basal readers and content texts (pp. 243-257). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Anderson, R. C., & Pearson, P. D. (1984). A schema-theoretic view of basic processes in reading comprehension. In P. D. Pearson, R. Barr, M. L. Kamil, & P. Mosenthal (Eds.), Handbook of reading research (pp. 255-291). New York: Longman.

Baker, L., & Stein, N. (1981). The development of prose comprehension skills. In C. M. Santa & B. L. Hayes (Eds.), Children's prose comprehension: Research and practice (pp. 7-43). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Brown, R. (2008). The road not yet taken: A transactional strategies approach to comprehension instruction. The Reading Teacher, 61, 538-547.

Brown, R., Pressley, M., Van Meter, P., & Schuder, T. (1996). A quasi-experimental validation of transactional strategies instruction with low-achieving second-grade readers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 88(1), 18.

Cain, K., & Oakhill, J. V. (1999). Inference making ability and its relation to comprehension failure. Reading and Writing, 11, 489-503.

Carnine, D. W., Stevens, C., Clements, J., & Kame'enui, E. J. (1982). Effects of facilitative questions and practice on intermediate students' understanding of character motives. Journal of Literacy Research, 14(2), 179-190.

Duffy, G. G., Roehler, L. R., & Herrmann, B. A. (1988). Modeling mental processes helps poor readers become strategic readers. The Reading Teacher, 41, 762-767.

Elbro, C., & Buch-Iversen, I. (2013). Activation of background knowledge for inference making: Effects on reading comprehension. Scientific Studies of Reading, 17(6), 435-452.

Gnaedinger, E. K., Hund, A. M., &amp; Hesson‐McInnis, M. S. (2016). Reading‐specific flexibility moderates the relation between reading strategy use and reading comprehension during the elementary years. Mind, Brain, and Education, 10(4), 233-246.

Graesser, A. C., Singer, M., & Trabasso, T. (1994). Constructing inferences during narrative text comprehension. Psychological Review, 101, 371-395.

Hansen, J. (1981). The effects of inference training and practice on young children's reading comprehension. Reading Research Quarterly, 16, 391-417.

Hansen, J., & Pearson, P. D. (1983). An instructional study: Improving the inferential comprehension of good and poor fourth-grade readers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 75, 821-829.

Levin, J. R. (1973). Inducing comprehension in poor readers: A test of a recent model. Journal of Educational Psychology, 65, 19-24.

Lysaker, J. T., Tonge, C., Gauson, D., & Miller, A. (2011). Reading and social imagination: What relationally oriented reading instruction can do for children. Reading Psychology, 32, 520-566.

McConaughy, S. H. (1985). Good and poor readers' comprehension of story structure across different input and output modalities. Reading Research Quarterly, 22, 219-232.

McConaughy, S. H., Fitzhenry-Coor, I., & Howell, D. C. (1983). Developmental differences in schemata for story comprehension. In K. E. Nelson (Ed.), Children's language (Vol. 4, pp. 385-421). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Pressley, G. M. (1976). Mental imagery helps eight-year-olds remember what they read. Journal of Educational Psychology, 68, 355-359.

Pressley, M. (2002). Metacognition and self-regulated comprehension. In A. E. Farstrup & S. J. Samuels (Eds.), What research has to say about reading instruction (pp. 291-309). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Pressley, M., & Afflerbach, P. (1995). Verbal protocols of reading: The nature of constructively responsive reading. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Pressley, M., & Gaskins, I. W. (2006). Metacognitively competent reading comprehension is constructively responsive reading: How can such reading be developed in students? Metacognition and Learning, 1(1), 99-113.

Pressley, M., Johnson, C. J., Symons, S., McGoldrick, J. A., & Kurita, J. A. (1989). Strategies that improve children's memory and comprehension of text. Elementary School Journal, 90, 3-32.

Pressley, M., & Lundeberg, M. (2008). An invitation to study professionals reading professional-level texts: A window on exceptionally complex, flexible reading. In K. B. Cartwright (Ed.), Literacy processes: Cognitive flexibility in learning and teaching (pp. 165-187). New York: Guilford Press.

Stahl, K. A. D. (2014). Fostering inference generation with emergent and novice readers. The Reading Teacher, 67(5), 384-388.

Williams, J. P. (2003). Teaching text structure to improve reading comprehension. In H. L. Swanson, K. R. Harris, & S. Graham (Eds.), Handbook of learning disabilities (pp. 293- 305). New York: Guilford Press.

Williams, J. P. (2005). Instruction in reading comprehension for primary-grade students: A focus on text structure. Journal of Special Education, 39, 6-18.

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Teaching Your Students to Read Like Pros

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1. Connecting to Prior Knowledge: A common strategy we teach our students is to make connections to their own prior knowledge because such connections facilitate reading comprehension (Anderson, 1984; Anderson & Pearson, 1984). In fact, struggling comprehenders benefit from explicit instruction in this strategy, resulting in significant increases in their reading comprehension (Hansen, 1981; Hansen & Pearson, 1983).

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18 Digital Tools and Strategies That Support Students' Reading and Writing | KQED

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Marissa Broyles taught English and social studies to a class or sixth graders who needed extra support last year. She experimented with many of the tools Levesque has compiled and saw how her willingness to be flexible as a teacher made her students feel supported.

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A Year of Shakespeare Quotes and Translations

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In the end, however, it is not the sheer magnitude of his work or characters or his virtuoso use of technique or language that defines his true genius. The truly miraculous core of Shakespeare's work is his stunning expression of the full range of the human mind and heart.

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All the English You Want When and Where You Want It.

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Most people recognize Ancient Greek and Latin as the primary donors to the English language. However, some of the most ancient words in English actually trace back to Ancient Egypt.

Distinct from the contemporary Egyptian Arabic spoken today, Ancient Egyptian is a unique Afro-Asiatic language that doesn't really share similarities with other languages in the family (like Arabic, Hebrew, or Berber). Its 5,000 year-old history generally comprises five stages, and the words that have trickled into English derive from these different time periods.

How Ancient Egyptian words made their way into English also boggles the mind. While we don't know specifics, we can surmise that, given the region's history of rule by conquering civilizations, like Greece (Alexander the Great), Rome (Ptolemy and Marc Antony), and-much later-France (Napoleon Bonaparte), Ancient Egyptian words entered English as a result of contact between Egyptians and native speakers from those regions.

It probably isn't surprising that So, pharaoh is an Ancient Egyptian word. After all, it makes sense that this term would be used to describe the king living in that particular culture at that time. Originally, pharaoh is unabashedly Ancient Egyptian. But, to up the shock factor, we're focusing this listicle on some of the everyday English words people wouldn't guess in a thousand-and-one Arabian-nights come from Ancient Egypt. pharaoh(par-'o) meant "Great House," and was a term for the palace of the king before it came to represent the king himself.

The Bangles might want to think about a reunion because you're about to talk like an (Ancient) Egyptian!

The next time you grab your favorite stick of spearmint, take time to connect with your Ancient Egyptian ancestors, who chewed qmyor qemi. You can still see the phonological resemblance after thousands of years! The g in English is simply q 's voiced counterpart.

Translated as "gum" or "resin," qmy came from tree sap, a meaning that actually relates to gum's earliest appearance in English, when gum originally referred to "a viscous secretion of some trees and shrubs..."

Ancient Egyptians chewed qmy on its own and also used the sap as a flavoring agent in food. King Tut's great-grandparents were buried in a tomb filled with, among other gifts for the afterlife, beef ribs covered in pistachio "gum"-or qmy resin from a pistachio-like tree. The stuff was expensive and had to be imported so very likely, qmy was only available to powerful pharaohs and the wealthy who could afford it. Now, gum is one of the cheapest ways to masticate!

Think of the gorgeous ebony keys on a piano, or the title of a popular magazine, or evensomeone you may know named Ebony. Deriving from the Ancient Egyptian , ebony originally described wood from the beautiful ebony tree, as it still does today. The Ancient Egyptian word might even trace further back to another African language.

is a hardwood tree originally from Ethiopia and was probably one of the earliest trade-commodities in the world. Like the Ebony gum of the pistachio tree, ebony was imported by the wealthiest classes in Ancient Egypt, who used it for furnishings and decorative carvings. Because it's so rare, ebony is still considered an elite wood today.

And, don't think Ebony wasn't a name in Ancient Egypt-King Thutmose III named his pet puppy Hbny and had him painted beside him in his tomb. Aw, little doggo.

Perfect harmony?

Incredible visionaries that they were, the Egyptian gods must have known thousands of years ago what everyone learned for certain in 1982: "Ebony and ivory live together in perfect harmony." Of course, this is a quote from the song "Ebony and Ivory" by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder. Perfect harmony on a keyboard, and in real life, ebony and ivory even share word origins-and with the pharaohs, no less.

comes from the Ancient Egyptian words Ivory ab, "elephant," and abu, "elephant's tooth." Ivory was another important and expensive import-commodity in Ancient Egypt, brought in on the Nile from Nubia. The material appeared everywhere, in carvings, artworks, furniture, cosmetic containers, game pieces, and arrow tips.

now signifies one of the biggest brand names in computer software, a total contrast to the word's semantic origins in humble earthen-clay. And, surprise-surprise, the name for the humble brick doesn't originate from a Pueblo Native-American language, as many might think, but from the Ancient Egyptian word Adobe djebe or djobe, meaning "mud brick." The word morphed into Arabic as at-tub ("the brick") and was adopted into Spanish as adobe in the 8th century, when Arabs from northern Africa crossed over into Spain. Spanish settlers introduced adobe bricks to Pueblo Indians in America in the 1500s. ( Pueblo, by the way, is also a Spanish word, meaning "village.")

Moors, Arabs, and Spaniards carried on a building tradition established by the Ancient Egyptians, who built vaulted djobe constructions, remains of which still survive in some cases. The djobe vaults were built above ground in homes and stores, and in underground tombs. Many of them were used as storerooms for goods, grains, and offerings.

When you think of the names Susanor Susanna, what comes to mind? Susan B. Anthony? Susan Lucci (for soap fans)? "Oh, Susannah?" The 4th-most popular name in 1950s America?

Instead of little Suz on a Frosted Flakes commercial, think of an exotic flower floating along the Nile next to, oh, King Tut in his pleasure boat. Yes, the name Susan derives from the Ancient Egyptian word sSn ( seshen) meaning "lotus" or "water lily." The name was adopted into Hebrew as Shoshan ("lily-like," also "joy of life") and originally written as Shoshanna. In Old Testament apocrypha Shoshanna, or Susanna, was a beautiful and devout woman who proved her faith in Christ.

Other biblical names with Ancient Egyptian origins include Phineas (from pa-nehesi, "the Nubian"), and Moses (from either ms, "child," or msi, "to give birth to; to create").

You may not be able to see ammonia, but you can definitely smell its pungent odor. Used in everything from cleaning solutions (ironically) to plastics and refrigeration, the colorless gas gets its name from the Ancient Egyptian god Amun(changed to Ammon by the Greeks). Worshipers of Amun performed spiritual rites with ammonia in the god's honor.

Why ancient peoples thought a god would appreciate a substance naturally derived from human and animal waste ... and organic decaying matter is beyond us. But, how fitting that the stinky gas goes by a name inspired by a god who appreciated all creatures, great and small, living or dead, from head to tail.

In Ancient Egyptian, the name Amun(or imn) means "the Hidden (One)"-much like the SBD gas.

The word oasis has always inspired calm and replenishment. Today, it can refer to any mental or physical space in which to relax and recharge. In its original sense, oasis also refers to a fertile location in the arid desert. Few and far between, these watering holes are like sparkling jewels to desert travelers. Or, to use the original Ancient Egyptian word, like wehe, "cauldrons" in the sand.

The wehes or oases formed natural cavities in the earth that Ancient Egyptians perceptively likened to deep vessels used to prepare life-giving sustenance and magical elixirs. The blend of nourishment and enchantment underlying oasis ' origins makes the word and what it stands for all the more rejuvenating!

Remember Susanna, the water-lily floating down the Nile with King Tut in his pleasure boat? Who knows, maybe the pharaoh named his boat "Susanna" (like Thutmose called his pup "Ebony").

What's less farfetched is that Tut probably would have called his boat a barge (though, technically,in Ancient Egyptian, the word was baror bari). Bars, or barges, were key modes of transport on the ancient highway of the Nile. They transported royalty, peasants, food and commodities, and thousands of pounds of rock to build temples, obelisks, palaces, and pyramids.

On its etymological voyage, bar became barca in Latin, and then barque ("small boat") in French-the French formation, by the way, is the ancestor of the English verb embark.
Some of our other most used words come from other languages you wouldn't have expected: Check out these everyday English words we adopted from the Yiddish language.

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Most people recognize Ancient Greek and Latin as the primary donors to the English language. However, some of the most ancient words in English actually trace back to Ancient Egypt. Distinct from the contemporary Egyptian Arabic spoken today, Ancient Egyptian is a unique Afro-Asiatic language that doesn't really share similarities with other languages in the family (like Arabic, Hebrew, or Berber).

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The Yawhg is an enchanting story telling game on PC. It makes a perfect end of term treat for older teen, and adult, classes that appreciate something a little different. It involves reading, discussion and decision making in small groups. Small classes could play on a laptop, but otherwise you'll need access to a projector or large screen.

In the game, four characters decide how they should spend their last six weeks in town, before an unknowable disaster arrives: The Yawhg. As they choose where to go, they are confronted with choices that will shape the story and change their characteristics. Once the six weeks are up, and the Yawhg has arrived, each character must make a final decision that will either save or doom the town.

Playing the game in class, students are put into four groups, with each group taking the role of one of the characters. They'll make their choices together, and as they play the story unfolds. As each choice impacts the town, and the situations that will occur later in the game, students will see that their decisions have directly influenced the story.

Each situation is beautifully illustrated and imaginatively described. The game uses quite advanced vocabulary, and includes some adult themes, So I would only play it with students at least 16 years old, and at upper-intermediate level or above. I have yet to introduce this to a class who didn't enjoy it wholeheartedly, but those with a particular fondness for fantasy and horror will get the most from the experience.

I love the game, and have introduced it to friends and family, as well as students. I've used it to support a Halloween lesson, inspiring students to create their own fantasy and horror stories. You could also use the game to introduce the concept of 'choose your own adventure' stories, and get students to work in groups to make stories with different endings depending on the reader's choices.
The game was made by Damian Sommer and Emily Carroll and you can purchase it from the website here: http://www.theyawhg.com/
Thanks for reading!

I hope you didn't mind this departure from my usual lesson plans and language focused games (some of which you can find by clicking here).

For regular updates, follow the blog by clicking the link below the comments.

You can also find me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.

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The Yawhg is an enchanting story telling game on PC. It makes a perfect end of term treat for older teen, and adult, classes that appreciate something a little different. It involves reading, discussion and decision making in small groups. Small classes could play on a laptop, but otherwise you'll need access to a projector...

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In the Italian city of Verona, two families hate each other. Romeo is from the Montague family and Juliet is a Capulet, but they fall in love at first sight. This is their tragic love story.

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collaborative project providing online access to performances of Shakespeare from many parts of the world as well as essays and metadata by scholars and educators in the field. by Peter S. Donaldson, Directorread more...

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Read, Read, Read! Most vocabulary words are learned from context. The more words you're exposed to, the better vocabulary you will have. While you read, pay close attention to words you don't know. First, try to figure out their meanings from context. Then look the words up. Read and listen to challenging material so that you'll be exposed to many new words.

Improve your context skills. Research shows that the vast majority of words are learned from context. To improve your context skills pay close attention to how words are used. Doing a search on a word using dejanews.com (for searching newsgroups) will give you many examples of how that word is used in context. Play our Daily Context Vocabulary Quiz.

Practice, practice, practice. Learning a word won't help very much if you promptly forget it. Research shows that it takes from 10 to 20 repetitions to really make a word part of your vocabulary. It helps to write the word - both the definition and a sentence you make up using the word - perhaps on an index card that can later be reviewed. As soon as you learn a new word, start using it. Review your index cards periodically to see if you have forgotten any of your new words. Also, do a search on a word using dejanews.com (for searching newsgroups) to get many examples of how the word is actually used.

Make up as many associations and connections as possible. Say the word aloud to activate your auditory memory. Relate the word to words you already know. For example, the word GARGANTUAN (very large) has a similar meaning to the words gigantic, huge, large, etc. You could make a sequence: small, medium, large, very large, GARGANTUAN. List as many things as you can that could be considered GARGANTUAN: Godzilla, the circus fat lady, the zit on your nose, etc. Create pictures of the word's meaning that involve strong emotions. Think "the GARGANTUAN creature was going to rip me apart and then eat me!"

Use mnemonics ( memory tricks). For example, consider the word EGREGIOUS (extremely bad). Think EGG REACH US - imagine we've made a mistake so bad that they are throwing eggs at us and a rotten EGG REACHes US. Such funny little word pictures will help you remember what words mean, AND they are fun to make up. Also, find out which learning style suits you best. Everyone learns differently!

Get in the habit of looking up words you don't know. If you have a dictionary program on your computer, keep it open and handy. America Online and other internet services have dictionaries and thesauruses on their tool bars. Find them and look up any word you are not absolutely sure of. Use a thesaurus when you write to find the word that fits best.

Play with words. Play Scrabble, Boggle, and do crossword puzzles. These and other word games are available for the computer, so you are not dependent on a partner to play. Also, try out the Franklin Electronic Dictionary that features built-in word games.

Use vocabulary lists. For the serious vocabulary student, there are many books that focus on the words most commonly found in standardized tests, such as the SAT and GRE. There are also many interesting word sites on the Internet, many of which will send you a word a day by email.

Take vocabulary tests. Playing games, such as the ones on this site, that test your knowledge will help you learn new words and also let you know how much progress you're making. Offline sources for vocabulary tests include SAT prep books (we recommend "10 Real SATs" by ETS), and the Reader's Digest Wordpower section. For more, check out Amazon.com or your local bookseller

Get excited about words! Come to appreciate the sometimes-subtle differences between them. Do you know the difference between something that denotes something else and something that connotes something else? If not, go look it up. Learn to say what you really mean and discover the joys of being able to express yourself in writing. Your future can depend on how rich your vocabulary is. A good vocabulary will make a difference on the standardized tests, like the SAT and GRE, that could determine whether or where you go to college. It will also determine the quality of your communication. So be in it for the long pull. Let building your vocabulary be a lifelong proposition. Remember: "In the beginning was the word." Until you have a word for something, it does not exist for you. Name it, and you have made your reality richer.

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Read, Read, Read! Most vocabulary words are learned from context. The more words you're exposed to, the better vocabulary you will have. While you read, pay close attention to words you don't know. First, try to figure out their meanings from context. Then look the words up.

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The list below includes rich picture books that could be read aloud to teens as well as graphic novels, short biographies and collections of biographical sketches that teachers could draw on for excerpts. Brennan, Maggie Knapp (head middle and upper school librarian at Trinity Valley School) and Brooke Williams (a former children's librarian at New Haven Free Public Library) contributed titles to this list.

Ada Byron Lovelace was the world's first computer programmer, creating a coding algorithm years before the modern computer was invented. This picture book biography describes how measles left her temporarily blind and paralyzed and how she overcame society's negative attitudes towards women in the sciences.

Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World, by Laurie Lawler and Laura Beingessner

Rachel Carson's writing and research helped launch the modern environmental movement. This picture book shares her struggles growing up in poverty during the Great Depression, the sacrifices her family made to send her to college, and the challenges she faced entering a male-dominated field.

On a Beam of Light, by Jennifer Berne and Vladimir Radunsky

Through simple text and stunning illustrations, this book explores Albert Einstein's early struggles with learning and school - and how they propelled his later accomplishments. The New York Times described this book as ""something of an It Gets Better Project for mathematically precocious children."

Snowflake Bentley, by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and Mary Azarian

Wilson Bentley was a nature photographer who showed the world that "no two snowflakes are alike." This picture book describes his unstoppable grit in pursuit of his dream and includes sidebars with more information about the methods and science behind his work.

The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever by H. Joseph Hopkins and Jill McElmurry

Botanist Kate Sessions, the first woman to graduate from the University of California with a science degree, is best known for transforming San Diego from a desert town to a green paradise. The picture book describes obstacles and social taboos that she faced and overcame, utilizing the refrain: "but she did."

Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian by Margarita Engle and Julie Paschkis

In the seventeenth century Europe -- when many thought butterflies were evil creatures that generated spontaneously from mud --entomolygist Maria Merian made her mission to study them. After years of study, she wrote and illustrated a groundbreaking book about the life-cycle of a butterfly. This picture book describes how she conducted much of her work in secret because of the negative perceptions around this insect.
Life in the Ocean: The Story of Oceanographer Sylvia Earle by Claire A. Nivola
As her biography at National Geographic notes, " called 'Her Deepness' by the and the New York Times , 'Living Legend' by the Library of Congress, and first 'Hero for the Planet' by magazine, [Sylvia Earle] is an oceanographer, explorer, author, and lecturer." This beautifully illustrated picture book describes how a difficult move to a new state during her childhood awakened a life-long passion. The author's note would also make a good read-aloud for teens, describing her scientific work in more depth and how she "defied conventional expectations at every stage of her life."

At 144 pages, this brief memoir is broken into several small chapters in which theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking writes about his childhood, his research and - of course - his life with ALS, which gradually paralyzed him over the course of decades and required him to develop compensatory methods for engaging in his research. Teachers could use or read aloud excerpts of this compelling autobiography.

Written for teens, this graphic novel vividly portrays the life of the vivacious physicist Richard Feynman. It captures his tenacity in the face of trying circumstances -- from working on the Manhattan project to uncovering the cause of the Challenger explosion to caring for his ailing wife.

This is another graphic novel for teens, tracing the lives of three primatologists who were students of Richard Leakey and who lived among the primates. As the Booklist review notes, "For all the playful mugging and gratifying discoveries, though, Ottaviani doesn't shy away from the struggles of living and working in the bush."

Breakthrough! How Three People Saved "Blue Babies" and Changed Medicine Forever, by Jim Murphy

Knapp describes this short nonfiction narrative as a "wonderfully written story of a black man, a white man and a woman, who all struggled in different ways (personally and professionally) to pioneer a surgery that saved the lives of 'blue babies.'"

This collection features several short life-sketches of African-American inventors - from Henry Sampson (who created the gamma-electric cell) to Percy Julian (who synthesized cortisone from soy). The stories emphasize the perseverance of these inventors in the face of racism and other life challenges.

These short biographical sketches average four pages in length - an easy read aloud - and highlight female scientists in the following fields: medicine, biology and the environment, genetics and development, physics, earth and stars, math and technology, and invention. Several stories note obstacles they faced, including gender bias, illness, and family disapproval.

Brilliant Blunders: From Darwin to Einstein - Colossal Mistakes by Great Scientists That Changed Our Understanding of Life and the Universe, by Mario Livio

In this 300+ page book, astrophysicist Mario Livio draws on the lives of five scientists (Charles Darwin, Lord Kelvin, Linus Pauling, Fred Hoyle, and Albert Einstein) to show how great progress often comes in the wake of "colossal mistakes." This is a great resource book for high school science teachers who want to infuse their classes with stories about how can setbacks set the stage for progress -- if we let them.

Bonus Resource: The PBS/NOVA web-series, The Secret Life of Scientist "provides a humanizing snapshot of scientists who are shaping our world." Each episode profiles a contemporary scientists in three or four discrete, one-to-three minute video clips. The site is searchable by topic and includes blog posts and a teacher's guide.

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14 Books That Connect Students With Valuable Scientists' Struggles

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The list below includes rich picture books that could be read aloud to teens as well as graphic novels, short biographies and collections of biographical sketches that teachers could draw on for excerpts. Brennan, Maggie Knapp (head middle and upper school librarian at Trinity Valley School) and Brooke Williams (a former children's librarian at New Haven Free Public Library) contributed titles to this list.

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Our discussion of Shakespeare's identity draws from a few sources. A great reference is Slate's episode, How Mathematicians Determine Authorship. Most claims in the video are based on a study by Craig and Kinney, Shakespeare, Computers, and the Mystery of Authorship.

What makes Shakespeare's prose so easy to memorize? Could it be the patterns found in Shakespeare's text? Check out David Freeman and Gregory Taylor's TED-Ed Original to learn more about "Why Shakespeare Loved Iambic Pentameter." These kinds of patterns made it easy for actors to memorize Shakespeare's verse. More about rhythm and mathematics can be viewed at A-rhythm-etic by Clayton Cameron. You can't help but count along with him! Try it.

Because of the transition from print media to digital media, stylometry has recently grown as a topic of interest for researchers. Some examples of tools used for visualizing words include Wordle and Poll Everywhere. Take some time and try them out, and create your own Wordle.

Learn more about stylometry by reading: " What's In a Word-list?" Do you think your writing could be identified by a word-list? How might stylometry be used in forensics? Can authors hide their identity anymore? Read this article from the Smithsonian and see what you think: How Did Computers Uncover J.K. Rowling's Pseudonym? Then listen to Science Friday to learn more about how this mystery was uncovered.

Interested in linguistics? Noam Chomsky challenged linguists with this phrase, " colorless green ideas sleep furiously." What about this phrase is so interesting and perplexing? Read about it and see what you think.

Natalya and Aaron would like to thank those who contributed to feedback for this piece, including Wendy Cho, Richard Lederer, Katerina Popova, and Rusanda Soltan.

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Did Shakespeare write his plays? - Natalya St. Clair and Aaron Williams

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Some people question whether Shakespeare really wrote the works that bear his name - or whether he even existed at all. Could it be true that the greatest writer in the English language was as fictional as his plays? Natalya St. Clair and Aaron Williams show how a linguistic tool called stylometry might shed light on the answer.

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1. The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan (1678)

A story of a man in search of truth told with the simple clarity and beauty of Bunyan's prose make this the ultimate English classic.
2. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (1719)

By the end of the 19th century, no book in English literary history had enjoyed more editions, spin-offs and translations. Crusoe's world-famous novel is a complex literary confection, and it's irresistible.
3. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift (1726)
A satirical masterpiece that's never been out of print, Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels comes third in our list of the best novels written in English
4. Clarissa by Samuel Richardson (1748)
Clarissa is a tragic heroine, pressured by her unscrupulous nouveau-riche family to marry a wealthy man she detests, in the book that Samuel Johnson described as "the first book in the world for the knowledge it displays of the human heart."
5. Tom Jones by Henry Fielding (1749)

Tom Jones is a classic English novel that captures the spirit of its age and whose famous characters have come to represent Augustan society in all its loquacious, turbulent, comic variety.
6. The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne (1759)

Laurence Sterne's vivid novel caused delight and consternation when it first appeared and has lost little of its original bite.
7. Emma by Jane Austen (1816)

Jane Austen's Emma is her masterpiece, mixing the sparkle of her early books with a deep sensibility.
8. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818)
Mary Shelley's first novel has been hailed as a masterpiece of horror and the macabre.
9. Nightmare Abbey by Thomas Love Peacock (1818)
The great pleasure of Nightmare Abbey, which was inspired by Thomas Love Peacock's friendship with Shelley, lies in the delight the author takes in poking fun at the romantic movement.
10. The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allan Poe (1838)

Edgar Allan Poe's only novel - a classic adventure story with supernatural elements - has fascinated and influenced generations of writers.
11. Sybil by Benjamin Disraeli (1845)
The future prime minister displayed flashes of brilliance that equalled the greatest Victorian novelists.

12. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (1847)
Charlotte Brontë's erotic, gothic masterpiece became the sensation of Victorian England. Its great breakthrough was its intimate dialogue with the reader.
13. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (1847)
Emily Brontë's windswept masterpiece is notable not just for its wild beauty but for its daring reinvention of the novel form itself.
14. Vanity Fair by William Thackeray (1848)
William Thackeray's masterpiece, set in Regency England, is a bravura performance by a writer at the top of his game.
15. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (1850)
David Copperfield marked the point at which Dickens became the great entertainer and also laid the foundations for his later, darker masterpieces.
16. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1850)
Nathaniel Hawthorne's astounding book is full of intense symbolism and as haunting as anything by Edgar Allan Poe.

17. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville (1851)
Wise, funny and gripping, Melville's epic work continues to cast a long shadow over American literature.
18. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865)
Lewis Carroll's brilliant nonsense tale is one of the most influential and best loved in the English canon.
19. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins (1868)
Wilkie Collins's masterpiece, hailed by many as the greatest English detective novel, is a brilliant marriage of the sensational and the realistic.
20. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (1868-9)
Louisa May Alcott's highly original tale aimed at a young female market has iconic status in America and never been out of print.

21. Middlemarch by George Eliot (1871-2)
This cathedral of words stands today as perhaps the greatest of the great Victorian fictions.
22. The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope (1875)
Inspired by the author's fury at the corrupt state of England, and dismissed by critics at the time, The Way We Live Now is recognised as Trollope's masterpiece.
23. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (1884/5)
Mark Twain's tale of a rebel boy and a runaway slave seeking liberation upon the waters of the Mississippi remains a defining classic of American literature.
24. Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886)
A thrilling adventure story, gripping history and fascinating study of the Scottish character, Kidnapped has lost none of its power.
25. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome (1889)
Jerome K Jerome's accidental classic about messing about on the Thames remains a comic gem.
26. The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle (1890)
Sherlock Holmes's second outing sees Conan Doyle's brilliant sleuth - and his bluff sidekick Watson - come into their own.

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Helmut Berger and Richard Todd in the 1970 adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray.

27. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (1891)
Wilde's brilliantly allusive moral tale of youth, beauty and corruption was greeted with howls of protest on publication.
28. New Grub Street by George Gissing (1891)
George Gissing's portrayal of the hard facts of a literary life remains as relevant today as it was in the late 19th century.
29. Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy (1895)
Hardy exposed his deepest feelings in this bleak, angry novel and, stung by the hostile response, he never wrote another.
30. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane (1895)
Stephen Crane's account of a young man's passage to manhood through soldiery is a blueprint for the great American war novel.
31. Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897)
Bram Stoker's classic vampire story was very much of its time but still resonates more than a century later.
32. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (1899)
Joseph Conrad's masterpiece about a life-changing journey in search of Mr Kurtz has the simplicity of great myth.
33. Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser (1900)
Theodore Dreiser was no stylist, but there's a terrific momentum to his unflinching novel about a country girl's American dream.
34. Kim by Rudyard Kipling (1901)
In Kipling's classic boy's own spy story, an orphan in British India must make a choice between east and west.
35. The Call of the Wild by Jack London (1903)
Jack London's vivid adventures of a pet dog that goes back to nature reveal an extraordinary style and consummate storytelling.
36. The Golden Bowl by Henry James (1904)
American literature contains nothing else quite like Henry James's amazing, labyrinthine and claustrophobic novel.
37. Hadrian the Seventh by Frederick Rolfe (1904)
This entertaining if contrived story of a hack writer and priest who becomes pope sheds vivid light on its eccentric author - described by DH Lawrence as a "man-demon".
38. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (1908)
The evergreen tale from the riverbank and a powerful contribution to the mythology of Edwardian England.
39. The History of Mr Polly by HG Wells (1910)
The choice is great, but Wells's ironic portrait of a man very like himself is the novel that stands out.
40. Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm (1911)
The passage of time has conferred a dark power upon Beerbohm's ostensibly light and witty Edwardian satire.
41. The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford (1915)
Ford's masterpiece is a searing study of moral dissolution behind the facade of an English gentleman - and its stylistic influence lingers to this day.
42. The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan (1915)
John Buchan's espionage thriller, with its sparse, contemporary prose, is hard to put down.
43. The Rainbow by DH Lawrence (1915)
The Rainbow is perhaps DH Lawrence's finest work, showing him for the radical, protean, thoroughly modern writer he was.
44. Of Human Bondage by W Somerset Maugham (1915)
Somerset Maugham's semi-autobiographical novel shows the author's savage honesty and gift for storytelling at their best.
45. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (1920)
The story of a blighted New York marriage stands as a fierce indictment of a society estranged from culture.
46. Ulysses by James Joyce (1922)
This portrait of a day in the lives of three Dubliners remains a towering work, in its word play surpassing even Shakespeare.
47. Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis (1922)
What it lacks in structure and guile, this enthralling take on 20s America makes up for in vivid satire and characterisation.
48. A Passage to India by EM Forster (1924)
EM Forster's most successful work is eerily prescient on the subject of empire.
49. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos (1925)
A guilty pleasure it may be, but it is impossible to overlook the enduring influence of a tale that helped to define the jazz age.
50. Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (1925)
Woolf's great novel makes a day of party preparations the canvas for themes of lost love, life choices and mental illness.

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Carey Mulligan and Leonardo DiCaprio in The Great Gatsby's film adaptation by Baz Luhrmann.

51. The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (1925)
Fitzgerald's jazz age masterpiece has become a tantalising metaphor for the eternal mystery of art.
52. Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner (1926)
A young woman escapes convention by becoming a witch in this original satire about England after the first world war.
53. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway (1926)
Hemingway's first and best novel makes an escape to 1920s Spain to explore courage, cowardice and manly authenticity.
54. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett (1929)
Dashiell Hammett's crime thriller and its hard-boiled hero Sam Spade influenced everyone from Chandler to Le Carré.
55. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (1930)
The influence of William Faulkner's immersive tale of raw Mississippi rural life can be felt to this day.
56. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932)
Aldous Huxley's vision of a future human race controlled by global capitalism is every bit as prescient as Orwell's more famous dystopia.
57. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons (1932)
The book for which Gibbons is best remembered was a satire of late-Victorian pastoral fiction but went on to influence many subsequent generations.
58. Nineteen Nineteen by John Dos Passos (1932)
The middle volume of John Dos Passos's USA trilogy is revolutionary in its intent, techniques and lasting impact.
59. Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller (1934)
The US novelist's debut revelled in a Paris underworld of seedy sex and changed the course of the novel - though not without a fight with the censors.
60. Scoop by Evelyn Waugh (1938)
Evelyn Waugh's Fleet Street satire remains sharp, pertinent and memorable.
61. Murphy by Samuel Beckett (1938)
Samuel Beckett's first published novel is an absurdist masterpiece, a showcase for his uniquely comic voice.

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The 100 best novels written in English: the full list

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1. The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan (1678) A story of a man in search of truth told with the simple clarity and beauty of Bunyan's prose make this the ultimate English classic. 2. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (1719) By the end of the 19th century, no book in English literary history had enjoyed more editions, spin-offs and translations.

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What defines who we are? Our habits? Our aesthetic tastes? Our memories? If pressed, I would answer that if there is any part of me that sits at my core, that is an essential part of who I am, then surely it must be my moral center, my deep-seated sense of right and wrong.

And yet, like many other people who speak more than one language, I often have the sense that I'm a slightly different person in each of my languages-more assertive in English, more relaxed in French, more sentimental in Czech. Is it possible that, along with these differences, my moral compass also points in somewhat different directions depending on the language I'm using at the time?

Psychologists who study moral judgments have become very interested in this question. Several recent studies have focused on how people think about ethics in a non-native language-as might take place, for example, among a group of delegates at the United Nations using a lingua franca to hash out a resolution. The findings suggest that when people are confronted with moral dilemmas, they do indeed respond differently when considering them in a foreign language than when using their native tongue.

In a 2014 paper led by Albert Costa, volunteers were presented with a moral dilemma known as the "trolley problem": imagine that a runaway trolley is careening toward a group of five people standing on the tracks, unable to move. You are next to a switch that can shift the trolley to a different set of tracks, thereby sparing the five people, but resulting in the death of one who is standing on the side tracks. Do you pull the switch?

Most people agree that they would. But what if the only way to stop the trolley is by pushing a large stranger off a footbridge into its path? People tend to be very reluctant to say they would do this, even though in both scenarios, one person is sacrificed to save five. But Costa and his colleagues found that posing the dilemma in a language that volunteers had learned as a foreign tongue dramatically increased their stated willingness to shove the sacrificial person off the footbridge, from fewer than 20% of respondents working in their native language to about 50% of those using the foreign one. (Both native Spanish- and English-speakers were included, with English and Spanish as their respective foreign languages; the results were the same for both groups, showing that the effect was about using a foreign language, and not about which particular language-English or Spanish-was used.)

Using a very different experimental setup, Janet Geipel and her colleagues also found that using a foreign language shifted their participants' moral verdicts. In their study, volunteers read descriptions of acts that appeared to harm no one, but that many people find morally reprehensible-for example, stories in which siblings enjoyed entirely consensual and safe sex, or someone cooked and ate his dog after it had been killed by a car. Those who read the stories in a foreign language (either English or Italian) judged these actions to be less wrong than those who read them in their native tongue.

Why does it matter whether we judge morality in our native language or a foreign one? According to one explanation, such judgments involve two separate and competing modes of thinking-one of these, a quick, gut-level "feeling," and the other, careful deliberation about the greatest good for the greatest number. When we use a foreign language, we unconsciously sink into the more deliberate mode simply because the effort of operating in our non-native language cues our cognitive system to prepare for strenuous activity. This may seem paradoxical, but is in line with findings that reading math problems in a hard-to-read font makes people less likely to make careless mistakes (although these results have proven difficult to replicate).

An alternative explanation is that differences arise between native and foreign tongues because our childhood languages vibrate with greater emotional intensity than do those learned in more academic settings. As a result, moral judgments made in a foreign language are less laden with the emotional reactions that surface when we use a language learned in childhood.

There's strong evidence that memory intertwines a language with the experiences and interactions through which that language was learned. For example, people who are bilingual are more likely to recall an experience if prompted in the language in which that event occurred. Our childhood languages, learned in the throes of passionate emotion-whose childhood, after all, is not streaked through with an abundance of love, rage, wonder, and punishment?-become infused with deep feeling. By comparison, languages acquired late in life, especially if they are learned through restrained interactions in the classroom or blandly delivered over computer screens and headphones, enter our minds bleached of the emotionality that is present for their native speakers.

Catherine Harris and her colleagues offer compelling evidence for the visceral responses that a native language can provoke. Using the skin's electrical conductivity to measure emotional arousal (conductivity increases as adrenaline surges), they had native Turkish speakers who had learned English late in life listen to words and phrases in both languages; some of these were neutral ( table) whereas others were taboo ( shit) or conveyed reprimands ( Shame on you!). Their participants' skin responses revealed heightened arousal for taboo words compared to neutral ones, especially when these were spoken in their native Turkish. But the strongest difference between languages was evident with reprimands: the volunteers responded very mildly to the English phrases, but had powerful reactions to the Turkish ones, with some reporting that they "heard" these reprimands in the voices of close relatives. If language can serve as a container for potent memories of our earliest transgressions and punishments, then it is not surprising that such emotional associations might color moral judgments made in our native language.

The balance is tipped even further toward this explanation by a recent study published in the journal Cognition. This new research involved scenarios in which good intentions led to bad outcomes (someone gives a homeless person a new jacket, only to have the poor man beat up by others who believe he has stolen it) or good outcomes occurred despite dubious motives (a couple adopts a disabled child to receive money from the state). Reading these in a foreign language rather than a native language led participants to place greater weight on outcomes and less weight on intentions in making moral judgments. These results clash with the notion that using a foreign language makes people think more deeply, because other research has shown that careful reflection makes people think more about the intentions that underlie people's actions rather than less.

But the results do mesh with the idea that when using a foreign language, muted emotional responses-less sympathy for those with noble intentions, less outrage for those with nefarious motives-diminished the impact of intentions. This explanation is bolstered by findings that patients with brain damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, an area that is involved in emotional responding, showed a similar pattern of responses, with outcomes privileged over intentions.

What then, is a multilingual person's "true" moral self? Is it my moral memories, the reverberations of emotionally charged interactions that taught me what it means to be "good"? Or is it the reasoning I'm able to apply when free of such unconscious constraints? Or perhaps, this line of research simply illuminates what is true for all of us, regardless of how many languages we speak: that our moral compass is a combination of the earliest forces that have shaped us and the ways in which we escape them.

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How Morality Changes in a Foreign Language

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Fascinating ethical shifts come with thinking in a different language

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Do you know how to download a video from youtube or convert a PDF or a website into an editable Word document? Do you know where to find free images and videos to use in your projects or how to record audio and create a QR code to share with your students and colleagues? Did you know that long URLs can be easily shortened so that they can be shared more easily?

If you don't, then this post might be for you!

I'm not a digital native. Far from it. Everything I know I had to learn by trial and error. However, right now, you can probably say I'm the typical technophile always on the lookout for new tools to create activities to spark up my classes.

The tools I want to share with you today are nothing fancy. You cannot create activities where your students will ooh and ahh, but trust me, they are going to save you a lot of time and a lot of searching. They have been tested and tried and I have been using them for a long, long time.

This is a great tool to work with audio and video. It's free, easy to use and you don't even need to register.

What can you do on this page?

Cut video or audio ( you need to upload it from your computer)

Join two audio tracks

Convert video and audio from one format into another

Easily record video and audio ( and then download it)

Downside: you need to have the video/audio on your computer. Don't worry, I'll show you how to download a video. Keep on reading.

Vocaroo has been around for a long time. They are even working on a new and improved version. It lets you record your voice in a very easy way or upload a file from your computer. Then, you are offered different possibilities:

Download it

Share it on social media sites.

Share or email the link

Embed it on a blog or website

Get a QR code

Downside: Vocaroo does not provide permanent storage. There is not a definite age at which messages are deleted, however, it is likely messages will expire after a few months. If a message is important you should download and save it to your own computer as soon as possible to avoid losing it.

This amazing tool lets you download videos from any platform, even from youtube. To download a video, just get the link, copy/paste it into the box and download it. You can choose to download the video or just the audio.

Watch the video to see how it is done.

Cut it, get the URL and then download it using videocyborg (link above)

This is a great tool to work with PDF. It's free, easy to use and you don't even need to register.

What can you do on this page? Pretty much everything.

Convert a PDF into a Word document and Word into PDF.

Split a PDF or merge them.

Sign or add page numbers to the PDF.

Remove or extract PDF pages.

Problem: I need to convert a website into a PDF file or an editable WORD documentdocumentcyborg.com/

You only need to copy and paste the URL into the box, choose the format and download it and save it on your computer. You don't even need to register.

Problem:  I have a scanned PDF or an image with some text and I want to extract the text

Solution: www.onlineocr.net/

Onlineocr is free, simple and no registration is required. Copy/àste the URL ad then download the text as a Word document among other possibilities.
SHARING A LONG URL
Problem: I need to share with a long URL  with my studentsSolution:  bitly.com/

Sometimes we have to give our students a long URL which seems almost impossible to type without making a mistake. Instead of writing this long URL, use bit.ly to shorten it. To do it, paste the long link in the search box and that's it.
PRINTING A WEBSITE
Just enter the URL, edit the page getting rid of anything you don't want to print, and then print it.
CREATING A QR
:Problem: I need to create a simple A QR Code with the answer to an exercise and download itSolutionthe-qrcode-generator.com/

Easy to use and doesn't require registration. Just paste your text and then save it to download it.
FREE TEMPLATES FOR POWERPOINT OR GOOGLE SLIDES FREE IMAGES AND VIDEO
Problem: my students are doing a project and they need to find free images and/or videosSolution: for free images: pixabay.com/ ;for free videospixabay.com/videos/

I hope these websites are helpful and save you a lot of time.

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Tips and Tricks: Some Essential Basic Tools any 21st Century Teacher should Know About.

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Do you know how to download a video from youtube or convert a PDF or a website into an editable Word document? Do you know where to find free images and videos to use in your projects or how to record audio and create a QR code to share with your students and colleagues?

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How to begin? Try these five fun and simple ideas, which are customizable across grade levels. And if you're looking for a way to provide an added sense of authentic experience, consider having students submit their poems to contests or journals.

5 Fun Poetry Exercises

Potluck Poems (grades K-12): My daughter recently remarked, when we were lightly teasing her about how quickly she'll drop anything for the chance to eat: "Isn't that the one thing human beings are always on the lookout for? Their next meal?"

For most people, food is top of mind. And some teachers are quick to remind us that when food is included in teaching materials (even if it's just pictures of food), kids are more likely to be interested in and remember lessons. Enter Potluck Poems.

With younger students, you can read a food poem each day and then use the same foods (real or representational) to tackle the day's math, science, or history lesson.

You can send older students in search of food poems. They can read their chosen poems aloud and add them to a poetry wall or class "recipe book," where you can intersperse science, history, or math facts about cooking and eating.

Celebrate "Take Your Poet to School Week" (grades K-12): As a way to engage students in learning about specific poets and poems, you can participate in Take Your Poet to School Week, which happens the first week of National Poetry Month. The celebration uses illustrated collections of cut-out-and-color poets and offers ideas for many easy activities. Besides being informative, it's a fun way to connect with a wider community across the nation.

Library Treasure Hunts (grades K-12): Using the cut-out poet pictures discussed above, children can create a treasure book of their favorite poets by pasting the images onto pages and binding the pages together. You can create a library treasure hunt using their chosen poets and make a game of guiding them to find works by these writers. There are many picture books that include famous poets' poems-these are a great introduction to the world of poetry.

Older students can create treasure books, too, by searching for treasure lines-ones they love best-in poetry books they find in the stacks. Their treasure books can be filled with collages that combine the cut-out poet pictures and their chosen lines. Many of the best poets and writers begin this way-by collecting lines and phrases over time.

Poem Stacks (grades 3-12): Once, when I was feeling blocked in my poetry writing, I spent time just reading other poets.

As I read, I collected words that sounded amazing and images that inspired, and stacked them up. They made a kind of sense when I read them aloud. They made even better sense when I sifted and sorted them. Then I used them to answer questions like: "How will I make my way?" or "Who were you in my dreams?"

Next I taught a writing workshop using this technique, bringing books like Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals: North America, Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region, and Field Guide to North American Flowers for participants to peruse.

Participants collected words and phrases, stacking the ones that seemed to answer their chosen question. Here's a sample by Maureen Doallas:

Who were you in my dreams?
star lily

immortal

bright yellow

tiger lily

the golden color of ripe wheat

ghost flower

lemony

golden ear drops

devil's claw

fragile prickly pear

In the classroom, you can use history or math books for poem stacks. The key is to use titles that are filled with unique and specific language, so students have access to surprising, interesting words. This quickly becomes not just a writing exercise but also an exercise in curiosity about the details of science, history, math, or literature.

Give the News in Poems (grades 6-12): The poet William Carlos Williams once wrote, "It is difficult / to get the news from poems / yet men die miserably every day /for lack / of what is found there."

While it may be difficult to get the news from poems, one can certainly give the news in poems. Doing so provides a sense of volition and creativity in what can feel like an uncontrollable world.

Using a newspaper clipping, students can write a poem in one of two simple ways:

Explore the poem stacks technique above (either the teacher or the student can supply the question for the poem title).

Create blackout poetry by blacking out most of the words, saving only the ones that feel like a poetic expression of the news on the clipping. Sometimes these poems get quite artistic.

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How to begin? Try these five fun and simple ideas, which are customizable across grade levels. And if you're looking for a way to provide an added sense of authentic experience, consider having students submit their poems to contests or journals.

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The wide world of poetry has something to offer to everyone. The word poem can refer to everything from the epic poetry of Homer to the imagist brilliance of William Carlos Williams. There are innumerable types of poems out there, ranging from traditional forms, such as villanelles and rondeaus, to the more playful, experimental variety, such as concrete and visual poetry.

Let's find out what type of poem you are!

The opinions and other information contained in OxfordWords blog posts and comments do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Oxford University Press.

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What kind of poem are you? - OxfordWords blog

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The wide world of poetry has something to offer to everyone. The word poem can refer to everything from the epic poetry of Homer to the imagist brilliance of William Carlos Williams. There are innumerable types of poems out there, ranging from traditional forms, such as villanelles and rondeaus, to the more playful, experimental variety, ...

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Do you want to get more out of your reading of poetry? This free course, Approaching poetry, is designed to develop the analytical skills you need for a more in-depth study of literary texts. You...

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Let's Begin...

Crash Course explores the poetry of Emily Dickinson. From the biographical details of her life, to why her poems have remained relevant; from punctuation to cake recipes, here's a closer look.

Create and share a new lesson based on this one.

About TED-Ed Best of Web

TED-Ed Best of Web are exceptional, user-created lessons that are carefully selected by volunteer teachers and TED-Ed staff.

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Crash Course explores the poetry of Emily Dickinson. From the biographical details of her life, to why her poems have remained relevant; from punctuation to cake recipes, here's a closer look.

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Meaning: To be difficult to know or understand.

Example: I'm a scientist, so art will always be a closed book to me.
2. An open book
Meaning: Someone that is easy to know about because nothing is kept secret.

Example: Ask me anything, I'm an open book.
3. Read someone like a book
Meaning: To understand easily what someone or thinking or feeling

Example: There are a number of books on the market which suggest that it is possible to learn to read a person like a book.
4. The oldest trick in the book
Meaning: A dishonest action that has been used many times before

Example: Look, you can fix it by threading a paper clip through the hole. Oldest trick in the book!
5. In someone's good books
Meaning: Used for saying that someone is pleased with you

Example: I cleaned the bathroom yesterday so I'm in Mum's good books.
6. By the book
Meaning: Following all the rules for doing something in a strict way

Example: The lawyers want to make sure we've done everything strictly by the book.
7. Bring someone to book
Meaning: To punish someone when they have done wrong

Example: Police should be asked to investigate so that the guilty can be brought to book soon.
8. Take a leaf out of someone's book
Meaning: To copy what someone else does because they are successful at doing it

Example: I think I'm going to take a leaf out of your book and start going for a run first thing in the morning.
9. Don't judge a book by its cover
Meaning: Not to form an opinion about someone only from their appearance

Example: The candidate did not look very intelligent, but you can't judge a book by its cover.
10. Cook the books
Meaning: To change accounts and figures dishonestly, usually to get money

Example: My partner had been cooking the books for years, but because I was the CEO, I got the blame for our company's collapse.

11. Bookworm
Meaning: A keen reader

Example: My sister is a bookworm. She is always reading.
12. Book smart
Meaning: Possessing knowledge acquired from reading or study but lacking common sense

Example: Sure, she's book smart, but she can't cook a potato!
13. In my book
Meaning: In my opinion

Example: She's never lied to me, and in my book that counts for a lot.
14. On/off the books
Meaning: Officially on record/ unofficially and usually in secret

Example:

I worked off the books in my uncle's restaurant for a few months during the summer.

Today is officially the hottest day on the books.

Meaning: To put something aside and stop spending time and effort on it

Example: I think it's time for me to close the books on this situation because I'm clearly never getting my money back.
16. To hit the books
Meaning: To study

Example: I can't go out tonight. I need to hit the books.
17. To have your nose in a book
Meaning: To be reading intensely

Example: She always has her nose in a book.
18. To throw a book at
Meaning: to punish severely

Example: The judge was not lenient - he threw the book at him.
19. Every trick in the book
Meaning: All available methods of achieving what's desired, every possible way.

Example: I've tried every trick in the book to get him to notice me, and still no luck!

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15+ Interesting Idioms about Books in English - ESL Buzz

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Meaning: To be difficult to know or understand. Example: I'm a scientist, so art will always be a closed book to me. 2. An open book Meaning: Someone that is easy to know about because nothing is kept secret. Example: Ask me anything, I'm an open book. 3.

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If someone asks you where a quotation comes from, you'd usually fare pretty well if you answered either 'Shakespeare' or 'the Bible'. On occasions, both. Indeed, OxfordWords concocted a quiz along those very lines - but some everyday phrases hide their biblical origins, while there are others you probably have a hunch come from the Bible, but they don't mean quite what you think...

Turn the other cheek

Turn the other cheek has been closely associated with Christianity in popular culture for some time, and no lesser biblical scholars than the Black Eyed Peas made reference to it in their breakthrough hit 'Where is the love?' in the verse:

People killin', people dyin'
Children hurt and you hear them cryin'
Can you practise what you preach?
Or would you turn the other cheek?

Far be it from me to criticise lyricists who kick off a song by rhyming 'mama' with 'mamas', but in this case they've slightly missed the point. While seeming to use turn the other cheek to indicate looking the other way, ignoring the problem, the more accurate use is that defined by Oxford Dictionaries: 'refrain from retaliating when one has been attacked or insulted'. The biblical context makes it even clearer: 'If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.' The idea isn't to look away, but to meet attacks with vulnerability - basically Jesus (who speaks these words in his famous Sermon on the Mount) is advocating the very opposite of revenge.

Incidentally, while practise what you preach sounds like it might come from the Bible, the earliest reference to it in the current Oxford English Dictionary entry comes at one remove - in a 1615 exposition of Colossians (a book of the New Testament).

Scapegoat

You've probably used the word before, meaning 'a person who is blame for the wrongdoings, mistakes, or faults of others, especially for reasons of expediency'. This use developed in the 19th century, and the first use in the current comes from a very popular 1820s novel by Mary Mitford called Our Village.

Rather earlier than this in English - and much earlier, naturally, in Hebrew - the scapegoat was a real animal. It was a goat upon which the Jewish chief priest symbolically laid the sins of the people:

the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat (Leviticus 16)

The goat then died of starvation in the wilderness, as a form of atonement - replaced in the New Testament by the sacrifice of Jesus, to the relief of goats everywhere. It might not be fun being the scapegoat in modern-day English, but it's preferable to what the original went through.

Land of Nod

Anybody with children - or who has been child, to widen the net a little - has probably referred to , as a fanciful way of describing sleep. The first recorded person to do so, at least written down, is the author of Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Swift. It doesn't appear as one of the travel destinations in that 1726 novel, but in the snappily-titled 1738 work: A Complete Collection of Genteel and Ingenious Conversation, According to the Most Polite Mode and Method Now Used at Court, and in the Best Companies in England.

Possibly associated with in the sense 'to fall asleep', which dates back to the late 17th century, you might be surprised to learn that the Land of Nod makes an appearance in the Bible and has nothing whatsoever to do with catching forty winks. Rather, you'll find it in Genesis 4:16, when Cain is sent away after killing his brother Abel: 'So Cain went from the LORD's presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden'. In its Biblical context, then, it is simply the name of a place - and, as a bonus, this is also the verse from which John Steinbeck took the title for his 1952 novel East of Eden, which was inspired by the account of Cain and Abel.

A fly in the ointment

is a 'minor irritation that spoils the success or enjoyment of something', as you would imagine a fly in the ointment would be. The biblical original, from Ecclesiastes 10:1, is also using the image as a metaphor, albeit a slightly different one. The most recent translations of the Bible don't use the word - the popular New International Version chooses - but the King James Version notes: 'Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour'.

So, while we might use fly in the ointment to refer to, say, a holiday that was brilliant except for an overcrowded train, the author of Ecclesiastes is talking about human traits instead. And while a fly in ointment is an irritating thing to remove, perhaps your first thought hadn't been about the smell that they'd cause - it does lead one to question how long the flies had been there.

The opinions and other information contained in OxfordWords blog posts and comments do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Oxford University Press.

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4 sayings you didn't know had Biblical origins - OxfordWords blog

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If someone asks you where a quotation comes from, you'd usually fare pretty well if you answered either 'Shakespeare' or 'the Bible'. On occasions, both. Indeed, OxfordWords concocted a quiz along those very lines - but some everyday phrases hide their biblical origins, while there are others you probably have a hunch come from the Bible, but they don't mean quite what you think...

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Read some of these short inspirational quotes to bring comfort and peace to your day.

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Figurative language creates an image or suggests an idea and isn't meant to be taken literally ... January's icy fingers freeze everything they touch.

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As a teacher, I was obsessed with cultivating a love of reading in my students. I love to read, loved it as a kid too. I'm equally compelled to ensure that my own child loves reading -- and he does. I well aware that I'm on a mission -- but I also know it's a worthy one!

Here are ten suggestions for how any teacher, teaching any subject can participate in this mission, and how parents and administrators can help.

1. Read. Simple first step! If we're going to encourage kids to read we need to do it too. Read for pleasure, information, instructions, connecting with others, and so on. Read. Read a little more than you've been reading lately.

2. Share your reading experiences. Share with colleagues, friends and students. Tell them what you've been reading, what you've gained or learned from these texts, what you recommend. As a teacher, I very intentionally and regularly told my students what I was reading, where I read, ("in the bath!"); I brought in the books I read, I read passages to them, I read during silent reading, I told them about how I couldn't wait for the weekend so that I could read, about my book club arguments, the stories my husband I read aloud to each other...and so on. Help them see what a reader does. Also -- I recently discovered Goodreads where you can share, get recommendations, and read reviews that friend have written -- I had so much fun on this site and was reminded of how socializing and reading are a perfect match. If you are on Goodreads, or join, find me there! I'd love to hear about what you're reading. I also wonder if there's an equivalent for kids to use -- anyone know?

3. Invite students to socialize around reading. Set up book clubs, reading groups, literature circles. Many students (especially boys) need to interact with each other around texts. It greatly enhances their comprehension and makes it so much more enjoyable. Adults know that (we join book clubs and spend hours on Goodreads) so let's help kids have this experience too.

4. Organize a Read-a-Thon. A beautiful event that parents and administrators can take a lead on setting up. My son's school recently did a Read-a-Thon and it was the highlight of the year for my boy. Kids wore PJs, took their pillows and stuffed animals to school, were invited to re-read their favorite books or select a "challenge book." Parents supplied snacks, teachers and administrators read. It was fun and community building and they raised a lot of money.

5. Take a field trip. This is another way to make reading social and exciting. Visit your local library, a university library or a bookstore. It's not about checking out or buying books -- it's about being surrounded by thousands of books, touching their gorgeous pages, seeing the world of possibility in print, salivating over what there is to know and explore. In my family, we often take weekend trips to explore different bookstores in the area. We make it an adventure and talk about what constitutes a "good bookstore;" it's just fun. This is another event that parents can organize and administrators can support or encourage.

6. Listen to audio books. Invite students to listen to them; play short passages. To me, audio books "count" as reading. While you're not developing decoding or fluency skills, you are acquiring vocabulary, applying comprehension strategies, and enjoying stories or accruing information. Some of the audio books I've listened to have stuck with me in ways that reading text hasn't. My mind was free to visualize the scenes in a way that creating lasting images. (One such book like this was by Richard Wright. A phenomenal listen).

7. Invite authors to speak. Another activity that can be supported by admin and parents. Kids can be greatly impacted from hearing an author (if possible, especially one from a similar background to theirs) speak about reading and writing.

8. Make connections between reading and other issues. I just read this this fascinating article in Harper's about how people in Mali hid their ancient sacred texts as Islamic militants took over Timbuktu. Books and reading have always been political (think banned books, prohibitions on slaves becoming literate, etc.). Help students see the wider, historical and political context of the importance of reading to enhance their appreciation.

9. Learn about specific needs for specific populations. Those responsible for teaching literacy also need professional development in how to serve specific vulnerable populations. One book that dramatically changed how I taught reading in middle school is Reading Don't Fix No Chevys, by Wilhelm and Smith. If you teach boys, you must read this book! Another equally impactful book for me was Teaching Reading to Black Adolescent Males, by A. Tatum. We need to meet the needs of all learners.

10. Teach reading strategies. Finally, I believe that all teachers, in every content area, should be responsible for teaching reading. Text genres are different in every content area -- teachers should receive PD in how to teach reading strategies so that they can do so with students. Kids won't enjoy reading if they can't do it -- no one loves doing something that's really hard. We must give them the skills to read at the same time that we cultivate an attitude.

There's so much more we can all do -- from the superintendent to the classroom teacher, the custodian to the parent's association. I'm tempted to turn this list into "20 things..." but I'll stop here and invite your participation!

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Ten Ways to Cultivate a Love of Reading in Students | Edutopia

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As a teacher, I was obsessed with cultivating a love of reading in my students. I love to read, loved it as a kid too. I'm equally compelled to ensure that my own child loves reading -- and he does. I well aware that I'm on a mission -- but I also know it's a worthy one!

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As Taylor Swift's music video for her single "Shake It Off" goes viral, one question coming up on the Internet over and over again is whether or not it succeeds as a satire. Having previously received criticism about her dancing skills, the video follows Swift as she attempts ballet, break-dance, contemporary dance, rhythmic gymnastics, cheerleading, Lady Gaga-inspired weirdness, and (of course!) twerking, to varying degrees of humorous ineptitude. Satirizing the bland predictability of most pop music videos, Swift ends the video by dancing with a group of fans instead of with her range of dance troupes.

Given the question of satire, we thought that it might be fun to compare Taylor to her eminent satirical forbear - Jonathan Swift - probably the most famous satirist in the history of English prose. Take the quiz below to see if you can tell the two Swifts apart!

Several of the Jonathan Swift quotations are taken from the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, which is available on Oxford Reference. You can explore more quotations in Oxford Essential Quotations, which is freely available on Oxford Reference.

The opinions and other information contained in OxfordWords blog posts and comments do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Oxford University Press.

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Quiz: Taylor Swift or Jonathan Swift? - OxfordWords blog

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As Taylor Swift's music video for her single "Shake It Off" goes viral, one question coming up on the Internet over and over again is whether or not it succeeds as a satire. Having previously received criticism about her dancing skills, the video follows Swift as she attempts ballet, break-dance, contemporary dance, rhythmic gymnastics, cheerleading, ...

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Every day is Book Lovers' Day, we'd argue, and to celebrate, we've taken a broad look across lots of authors and genres to come up with an 'odd one out' quiz. In each question, three of the titles were written by one author, while the fourth was written by somebody else. Can you identify which book is the odd one out?

Let us know how you did!

The opinions and other information contained in OxfordWords blog posts and comments do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Oxford University Press.

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Book quiz: odd one out - OxfordWords blog

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Every day is Book Lovers' Day, we'd argue, and to celebrate, we've taken a broad look across lots of authors and genres to come up with an 'odd one out' quiz. In each question, three of the titles were written by one author, while the fourth was written by somebody else.

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What Doesn’t Work: Literacy Practices We Should Abandon

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The number one concern that I hear from educators is lack of time, particularly lack of instructional time with students. Although we can’t entirely solve the time problem, we can mitigate it by carefully analyzing our use of class time.

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The Library of Congress hosted a very special guest at story time this week:

Dolly Parton.

The country music legend is also a champion of early childhood literacy, through her Imagination Library. Every month, the nonprofit program mails a free book to more than a million children - from infants to preschoolers.

Parton visited the Library of Congress on Tuesday to celebrate a major milestone in the Imagination Library's history: delivery of its 100 millionth book. Not bad for a program Parton founded more than two decades ago as a small, local effort to help kids in her native Sevier County, Tennessee.

"We never thought it would be this big," she told NPR in a quiet, wood-paneled room off the library's Great Hall. "I just wanted to do something great for my dad and for my home county and, at the most, maybe a couple of counties over. But then it just took wings of its own, and I guess it was meant to be."

Parton's inspiration for the Imagination Library was deeply personal: her father, Robert Lee Parton. Like many people of his generation, he began working at a young age to help support his family.

"My dad didn't get the chance to go to school. And Daddy couldn't read and write, and that was kind of crippling to him," Parton said. "He was such a smart man, though. He just had such good common sense. They call it horse sense in the country."

"But Daddy thought it was just something he couldn't learn after he was grown, so he never tried to learn to read and write. And that was just kind of embarrassing to him," she continued. "But I didn't want Daddy to feel embarrassed."

Parton was determined to give the children of Sevier County something her father never had: early access to books. She started the Imagination Library in 1995, and involved her father, too. He was able to see the program take off before he died in 2000.

"He got to hear the kids call me 'The Book Lady.' He got a big kick out of that," she said. "But he took great pride and felt like he'd helped do something special."

From its modest roots in eastern Tennessee, the Imagination Library has grown to reach children in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.

The program is available in communities where a local partner has teamed up with the Imagination Library. Those partners could be nonprofits, state agencies or a public library system, for instance. Any child from birth to 5 - before they head off to kindergarten - is eligible. Local partners pay about $25 per child per year, an amount that covers the cost of the book and shipping.

A panel of educators and reading specialists picks books that are developmentally appropriate for each year of a child's life.

In Washington, D.C., on a recent evening, Uretta Todd and her 4-year-old son, August, read Old Bear and His Cub, one of the books they've received from the D.C. Public Library's partnership with the Imagination Library, Books from Birth.

Todd says her son loves getting his book in the mail every month: It's personal, it has his name on it, and it comes straight to their home.

She also loves the range of books.

"It exposes us to books we wouldn't have necessarily picked out," she says. Some examples include a bilingual English-Spanish version of Just One More or Dolly Parton's children's book, I Am A Rainbow, which uses colors to help kids talk about their feelings.

Across the country, in Anchorage, Alaska, 5-year-old Jack Price just graduated from the Imagination Library program.

"I have read to my son almost every day of his life," says his mother, Natasha Price, who signed up for the Imagination Library in the hospital when her son was born.

Price says she appreciates how the books come with suggestions for parents on how to engage with the words beyond the page, with questions and activities.

"Maybe it's been a long day and I can't really think of the right questions to ask, and they have these really great prompts at the back of every book," she says.

Getting the books each month became "a really wonderful custom in our family," she says. "It was sad when we got our last book, which was about being ready for kindergarten, because we wouldn't get any more books in the mail."

Now that Jack has started kindergarten, Price says she sees "a direct correlation between reading to him every day and his reading comprehension skills."

And the science backs her up. The human brain develops rapidly during the first few years of life. And studies have found that reading out loud to a child not only promotes literacy and a love of reading, but also has lasting cognitive and educational benefits.

It also helps children build knowledge and expand their horizons, Dolly Parton said.

"If you can read, even if you can't afford education, you can go on and learn about anything you want to know. There's a book on everything," she said. "So I just think that it's important for kids to be encouraged to read, to dream and to plan for a better life and better future."

And Parton's ambitions for the Imagination Library don't stop with 100 million books.

"We're going for a billion, maybe, in my lifetime," she said, with a delightful Dolly laugh. "I'm a big dreamer, you know."

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Dolly Parton Gives The Gift Of Literacy: A Library Of 100 Million Books

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The Library of Congress hosted a very special guest at story time this week: Dolly Parton. The country music legend is also a champion of early childhood literacy, through her Imagination Library. Every month, the nonprofit program mails a free book to more than a million children - from infants to preschoolers.

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We rather suspect that you're fond of reading - correct us if we're being too hasty, but you have that look about you. Whether you're reading at the gloaming (i.e. the best time of the day to read) or dawn, or in your bed or near the inglenook - the undisputed best place to read in the winter - this post is for you. Here are ten unusual words that all book lovers should know.

1. tsundoku

Tsundoku is a Japanese word that has no direct synonym in English. It means, 'the act of leaving a book unread after buying it, typically piling it up together with other such unread books.' This may be similar to being buried under a pile of unread books, which is every book lover's reality.

A colophon is the easiest way to recognize a publisher because it is a publisher's emblem or imprint that can often be found on the title page or on the spine of a book. When a reader starts noticing the same colophon on all their favorite books they may realize this publisher appeals to their reading preferences and may follow future publications.

3. libricide

Although rarely used today, libricide-the 'killing' of a book-is the last thing any book lover wants to hear about. In the same vein, biblioclasm can make any book lover's heart stop because it is the intentional destruction of books, or specifically of the Bible.

4. bibliotaph

Many readers identify as bibliotaphs, or people who bury their books by keeping them under lock and key. Bibliotaphs are often readers who hoard their books and protect them from others. Such habits may come from bibliolatry, or the extravagant admiration of a book, making readers want to protect their stories.

In all seriousness, books have to be protected from biblioklepts, even those who steal books unintentionally by forgetting to return them, because we just can't have that.

The first edition or printing of a book is known as the princeps. Some princeps are worth a great deal both financially and emotionally; a recent example is the Harry Potter series. Serious book collectors may seek out incunabula, or early printed books (those prior to the year 1501), instead of concerning themselves with modern princeps.

6. bibliognost

This term refers to someone who knows books and bibliography. Taken from the root word biblio- combined with the Greek γνώστης,'one who knows', a bibliognost knows the minutiae of every page. This is one serious book lover!

Perhaps one of the most gut-wrenching moments in a reading experience is a beloved character's downfall. Hamartia refers specifically to a fatal flaw that leads to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine. Hamartia is dominantly used in Aristotle's Poetics to describe the destruction of heroes due to ignorance.

Some instances of hamartia are so serious that readers may engage in finifugal, which is shunning the end (of anything). Conveniently forgetting the ending of a book that dissatisfied you is a reader's main coping mechanism when disappointed.

8. librocubicultarist

Librocubicultarist hasn't made its way into Oxford Dictionaries just yet, but it's a common piece of slang in literary circles used to describe people who read in bed. This word is a product of the Latin liber 'book' and cubiculum 'sleeping chamber'.

A fascicle is a part or a number in a work published in installments. Notably, the OED was published in fascicles over the course of several decades. Today, this word is synonymous with describing a volume, or one of a number of books forming a related set or series.

10. scripturient

Although this word is rarely used today, it describes something any book lover is familiar with: an author. A scripturient is simply someone who has a passion for writing. In other words, this is a book lover's favorite kind of person. And even more interestingly, scripturients tend to get their work done in scriptoriums, also known as a room set apart for writing (often found in monasteries where manuscripts were copied). Way cooler than a personal office!

The opinions and other information contained in OxfordWords blog posts and comments do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Oxford University Press.

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10 words for book lovers - OxfordWords blog

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We rather suspect that you're fond of reading - correct us if we're being too hasty, but you have that look about you. Whether you're reading at the gloaming (i.e. the best time of the day to read) or dawn, or in your bed or near the inglenook - the undisputed best place to read in the winter - this post is for you.

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What the epic can teach about encounters with strangers abroad and at home

Hanna Barczyk

Who could have guessed that the time would be so ripe for an Odyssey that shrinks the vast distance between the ancient text and contemporary sensibilities? During the age when The Odyssey took form, near the end of the eighth century b.c., the Greeks were voyaging into the world once again after a period of dark decline. They were setting up colonies and resuming the trade that had been interrupted by whatever cataclysmic forces-invasions, rebellions, pestilence, natural disasters-brought down the Bronze Age civilizations of Minoa and Mycenae. Yet the spirit of the second Homeric epic is wary. Unlike The Iliad, which sings of the glorious feats of godlike warriors in a legendary heroic age, The Odyssey tells of a weary man's fight for survival in the face of threatening Others who can never share his view of the world or take his interests to heart. This besieged sense of a realm seething with social hostilities and deep divisions, in which the very possibility of dialogue seems out of reach, may well strike a chord.

In her powerful new translation, Emily Wilson, a classicist at the University of Pennsylvania, has chosen immediacy and naturalism over majestic formality. She preserves the musicality of Homer's poetry, opting for an iambic pentameter whose approachable storytelling tone invites us in, only to startle us with eruptions of beauty. "Then felt I like some watcher of the skies / When a new planet swims into his ken," John Keats wrote upon reading George Chapman's "rhyming fourteeners" (his solution to the challenge of rendering The Odyssey 's archaic Greek meter of dactylic hexameter). Wilson's transformation of such a familiar and foundational work is similarly astonishing. I was struck with wonder at how eerily of our time it is, this tale that emerged nearly 3,000 years ago.

Andra-"man"-is The Odyssey 's first word. Instead of referring to the epic's hero by name, it evokes a stark nakedness, the state to which he will so often be reduced in the tale that unfolds. Odysseus's legendary craftiness-he devised the Trojan horse, delivering victory to the invading Greeks-is now devoted to the effort of fathoming what lurks within all those he meets: men and women, gods and goddesses, sorcerers and monsters. Is there a core of shared humanity he might arouse if he says exactly the right words-as he manages to do with the xenophobic Phaeacians, quelling their suspicions so that they invite him to tell his story and then offer him aid? Or are there Others with whom stories cannot be shared-whose sympathies cannot be engaged, whose very being poses an existential threat?

The sea itself, on which Odysseus and his men are forced to travel, is a treacherously alien element, even under the best of circumstances. And Odysseus is faced with the worst of circumstances: He has made an implacable enemy of Poseidon, because of yet another inimical Other, Polyphemus, the cyclops who happens to be Poseidon's son. At first Polyphemus seems, in his pastoral way of life, sufficiently human-unlike, say, the ravenous six-headed monster Scylla or her man-slurping next-door neighbor, Charybdis-that Odysseus dares to approach the one-eyed giant as a fellow being.

He and his men, Odysseus explains to Polyphemus, are not piratical outlaws but Greeks who fought victoriously under the glorious Agamemnon. He ends on a note of supplication. He appeals to the code the Greeks called xenia, from their word for "stranger," which regulated how guests and hosts, especially when unknown to each other, ought to behave-an exaggerated etiquette meant to preempt the violence coiled within Other-anxiety:

Now we beg you,
here at your knees, to grant a gift, as is
the norm for hosts and guests. Please sir, my lord:
respect the gods. We are your suppliants,
and Zeus is on our side, since he takes care
of visitors, guest-friends, and those in need.

Polyphemus explodes in contempt at Odysseus's well-crafted words, declaring himself outside all norms that guide men and gods: "I do the bidding of my own heart." And then he snatches up two of Odysseus's men and makes a quick and gory meal of them. Such wantonness untouched by pity could not be a starker expression of an unbridgeable gulf.

From Our December 2017 Issue

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Many of Odysseus's encounters are more subtly seductive, mingling exquisite pleasure with duplicity-on both sides. He's the lover of both the sorceress Circe and the nymph Calypso, who forces him to stay even after he's grown tired of her. But his erotic entanglement with these rare beauties never melts the frost of strangeness between them. Neither female has-neither can have-Odysseus's welfare in mind, because of an essential Otherness that prevents them from understanding, much less caring about, the man they use for their own ends.

Dread of the alien thrums through The Odyssey, yet for its hero, canniness is not the only gift that is crucial to his happy homecoming. A deeper dimension of his much-praised intelligence-his gift for responding to like-mindedness-proves essential. And it ensures his full stature as a hero, earning him an altogether different order of honor than the city-sacking warrior can claim.

Daniel Mendelsohn's poignant new memoir, An Odyssey: A Father, a Son, and an Epic, turns out to be about a happy homecoming of another kind. For Mendelsohn, the metaphysics of the Other recedes and the ancient tale becomes an occasion not only to explore his relationship with his own father but to transform it. The familial Other is, in Mendelsohn's case, someone with whom, despite the best will in the world-and lots of shared genes-true communion has always seemed out of reach: The casts of mind are too different. Mendelsohn is a consummate student of the humanities, known to readers for two other memoirs as well as for his literary and cultural criticism and his translations of C. P. Cavafy's poetry. His father is a retired research scientist whose own fine mind cants toward mathematics. Each feels chagrin that he isn't in a position to fully appreciate the other, though the chagrin cuts more deeply for the son:

Years later-long after I had failed, in high school, to master the math courses that would have allowed me to go on to study calculus-my father would occasionally remark that it was too bad, because it's impossible to see the world clearly if you don't know calculus ... Years after all this, whenever my father made this comment ... I'd invariably reply by saying that you couldn't really see the world clearly without having read the Aeneid in Latin, either. And then he'd make that little grimace that we all knew, half a smile, half a frown, twisting his face, and we'd laugh a sour little laugh, and retreat to our corners.

Resigned to the absence of "minds in harmony," in Odysseus's words, Daniel is surprised when his father, at 81, asks to audit the freshman seminar on The Odyssey that his son is teaching at Bard College. We learn within the first pages that this will be the last year of Jay Mendelsohn's life.

In good Odyssean style-plenty of meandering and backstory looping-Daniel recounts the progress of the seminar, in which his father is a lively (often obstreperous) presence. Mendelsohn senior keeps a running account of Odysseus's flaws: losing all the men under his command on the journey back from Troy, cheating on his wife, constantly lying, and, most damning, getting help at every turn from the gods. "You call that a hero?" the incensed father demands. " This is going to be a nightmare," his son concludes after the first class.

For the rest of us, it is anything but. The students are invigorated by the ferocity of the octogenarian's opinions, and by the prickly interplay between him and their professor. "I knew all this stuff before he did," the elder Mendelsohn grinningly tells them. He continues to catch his son off guard when the two of them, fresh from their reading of the epic, depart on a themed cruise-10 days retracing Odysseus's journey, a day for each year of his long voyage home. When the old man voices his disappointment at viewing the sites, starting with the remains of Troy, he isn't just kvetching:

He looked at me and then, to my surprise, threw an arm around my shoulders and patted me, smiling crookedly. But the poem feels more real than the ruins, Dan! Over the next week this became a refrain of his. The poem feels more real! he'd say each evening as people discussed the day's activities. When he did so, he'd cast a quick sidelong glance at me, knowing how much the thought pleased me.

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Of course it did. In acknowledging the power of the poem to bring depth and life and complexity to human relations, his father is acknowledging the value of his son's world and expertise. The recognition leaves Daniel free to see through his father's hardness-his "exacting standards for virtually everything"-to the vulnerable fighter within, a scrappy, strategizing Odysseus from the Bronx.

For us non-Mendelsohns, what solace-or despair-resides in the unexpected relevance of this ancient poem, its encounters with Otherness thrown into high relief by the xenophobia of our time? Is it an enduring human trait to doubt one another's humanity? Three millennia later, we have yet to habitually turn to the bedraggled stranger and take note of his tears, as Alcinous, king of Phaeacia, remarked on the tears shed by Odysseus as he listened to a court poet's song. Knowing then that this visitor was neither monster nor god, the king invited the man, andra, to tell his story. The words come alive in Wilson's version:

But come now, tell me
about your wanderings: describe the places,
the people, and the cities you have seen.
Which ones were wild and cruel, unwelcoming,
and which were kind to visitors, respecting
the gods? And please explain why you were crying,
sobbing your heart out when you heard him sing
what happened to the Greeks at Troy. The gods
devised and measured out this devastation,
to make a song for those in times to come.

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What the epic can teach about encounters with strangers abroad and at home Who could have guessed that the time would be so ripe for an Odyssey that shrinks the vast distance between the ancient text and contemporary sensibilities?

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Did you successfully decipher all five transcriptions in our first Famous First Words blog post? How about five more... Can you tell which famous novel openings are transcribed in British English below?

You should bear in mind that transcriptions will include connected speech processes and weak forms, while stress marks reflect the most strongly stressed syllables in each phrase ('phrasal stress') rather than every stressed syllable of a word as we usually show ('word stress'). And remember that each transcript shows one possible way of reading these passages aloud - you may stress different syllables or pronounce the words slightly differently!

One final clue: asterisks indicate names and other proper nouns, while (.) is a brief pause and (..) is a longer one. Let us know how you get on!

The opinions and other information contained in OxfordWords blog posts and comments do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Oxford University Press.

Author

Matthew Moreland is a Freelance Pronunciation Editor for the OED and a Lecturer in Phonetics at the University of East Anglia. His website is House of Speech.

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Famous First Words: five more famous novel transcriptions to decipher - OxfordWords blog

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Did you successfully decipher all five transcriptions in our first Famous First Words blog post? How about five more... Can you tell which famous novel openings are transcribed in British English below?

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Oxford's dictionaries give pronunciations for all non-obsolete words, but what about whole strings of speech? Could you recognise famous novels by their transcriptions?

You should bear in mind that transcriptions will include connected speech processes and weak forms, while stress marks reflect the most strongly stressed syllables in each phrase ('phrasal stress') rather than every stressed syllable of a word as we usually show ('word stress'). And remember that each transcript shows one possible way of reading these passages aloud - you may stress different syllables or pronounce the words slightly differently!

One final clue: asterisks indicate names and other proper nouns, while (.) is a brief pause and (..) is a longer one. There are five British English transcriptions to work out - let us know how you get on!

The opinions and other information contained in OxfordWords blog posts and comments do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Oxford University Press.

Author

Matthew Moreland is a Freelance Pronunciation Editor for the OED and a Lecturer in Phonetics at the University of East Anglia. His website is House of Speech.

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Famous First Words: can you decipher these five famous novel openings? - OxfordWords blog

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Oxford's dictionaries give pronunciations for all non-obsolete words, but what about whole strings of speech? Could you recognise famous novels by their transcriptions? You should bear in mind that transcriptions will include connected speech processes and weak forms, while stress marks reflect the most strongly stressed syllables in each phrase ('phrasal stress') rather than every stressed syllable of a word as we usually show ('word stress').

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iStock

Educators and parents are obsessed with reading; and the emphasis has only grown in recent decades as reading became a defining indicator of academic success on standardized tests. Yet despite the obsession with teaching reading in the early grades, many educators don't fully understand how the brain reads, writes Daniel Willingham, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, in a New York Times op-ed.

Willingham has long studied the best ways to teach reading and has noticed that factual knowledge often gets left out of the reading comprehension equation. Well-intentioned teachers help kids learn to decode words, but can't understand why so many kids have trouble comprehending what they read. Willingham contends that lack of knowledge about the subject of the reading is a big culprit.

Kids are generally tested on reading comprehension as a separate skill, divorced from any subject they've learned about, and that favors kids who come to school with more prior knowledge - often wealthier kids. Willingham has some concrete ideas about how districts and schools can rethink reading curriculum to solve this problem:

Current education practices show that reading comprehension is misunderstood. It's treated like a general skill that can be applied with equal success to all texts. Rather, comprehension is intimately intertwined with knowledge. That suggests three significant changes in schooling.

First, it points to decreasing the time spent on literacy instruction in early grades. Third-graders spend 56 percent of their time on literacy activities but 6 percent each on science and social studies. This disproportionate emphasis on literacy backfires in later grades, when children's lack of subject matter knowledge impedes comprehension. Another positive step would be to use high-information texts in early elementary grades. Historically, they have been light in content.

Second, understanding the importance of knowledge to reading ought to make us think differently about year-end standardized tests. If a child has studied New Zealand, she ought to be good at reading and thinking about passages on New Zealand. Why test her reading with a passage about spiders, or the Titanic? If topics are random, the test weights knowledge learned outside the classroom - knowledge that wealthy children have greater opportunity to pick up.

Read the full New York Times op-ed below for that third suggestion.

Knowledge also provides context. For example, the literal meaning of last year's celebrated fake-news headline, "Pope Francis Shocks World, Endorses Donald Trump for President," is unambiguous - no gap-filling is needed. But the sentence carries a different implication if you know anything about the public (and private) positions of the men involved, or you're aware that no pope has ever endorsed a presidential candidate.

Are We Thinking About Reading Comprehension All Wrong?

Author

Katrina Schwartz

Katrina Schwartz is a journalist based in San Francisco. She's worked at KPCC public radio in LA and has reported on air and online for KQED since 2010. She's a staff writer for KQED's education blog MindShift.

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Are We Thinking About Reading Comprehension All Wrong?

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Educators and parents are obsessed with reading; and the emphasis has only grown in recent decades as reading became a defining indicator of academic success on standardized tests. Yet despite the obsession with teaching reading in the early grades, many educators don't fully understand how the brain reads, writes Daniel Willingham, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, in a New York Times op-ed.

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As our list of top 10 Shakespeare love quotes reveals, Shakespeare remains the world's most romantic poet and dramatist. He is responsible for Romeo and Juliet and Sonnet 18, the greatest love story and poetry ever written. Discover the top 10 Shakespeare love quotes here.

1. "Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind."
A Midsummer Night's Dream

2. "Is love a tender thing? it is too rough,
Too rude, too boisterous, and it pricks like thorn."
Romeo and Juliet

1. "If music be the food of love, play on."
Twelfth Night

2. "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate."

3. "Love sought is good, but given unsought is better."
Twelfth Night

4. "Hear my soul speak:
The very instant that I saw you, did
My heart fly to your service."
The Tempest

5. "I love you with so much of my heart that none is left to protest."
Much Ado About Nothing

6. "One half of me is yours, the other half yours,
Mine own, I would say; but if mine, then yours,
And so all yours."
​The Merchant of Venice

7. "Love is a smoke and is made with the fume of sighs."
Romeo and Juliet

8. "Who ever loved that loved not at first sight?"
As You Like It

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As our list of top 10 Shakespeare love quotes reveals, Shakespeare remains the world's most romantic poet and dramatist. He is responsible for Romeo and Juliet and Sonnet 18, the greatest love story and poetry ever written. Discover the top 10 Shakespeare love quotes here.

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Improve your English through Reading. Best books to help improve your English. ESL Intermediate.

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Mark Seidenberg is not the first researcher to reach the stunning conclusion that only a third of the nation's schoolchildren read at grade level. The reasons are numerous, but one that Seidenberg cites over and over again is this: The way kids are taught to read in school is disconnected from the latest research, namely how language and speech actually develop in a child's brain.

Seidenberg is a cognitive scientist and professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. In his latest book, Language at the Speed of Sight, he points out that the "science of reading" can be a difficult concept for educatorsto grasp. He says it requires some basic understanding of brain research and the "mechanics" of reading, or what is often referred to as phonics.

I talked with Seidenberg about what it will take to improve reading instruction. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
So how do you explain this to teachers?
Success in reading depends on linking print to speech. There's a massive amount of behavioral research, neuroimaging research, on brain organization and brain development, which conclusively shows that skilled reading is associated with children's spoken language, grammar and the vocabulary they already know. It's about teaching kids the correspondence between the letters on a page and the sounds of words.
And you're saying that teachers don't know this?
This basic science does not go into the preparation of teachers. More often they're told it's not really relevant, that the science is sterile and has no connection with what teachers do in the classroom.

What I point out in the book is that in order to grasp the research, [teachers] need basic scientific literacy to be able to understand it. They can dismiss [what I'm saying] or they can share my outrage.
Is that the reason you wrote Language at the Speed of Sight? Outrage? In your book, you wade into the reading wars and argue that the debate over phonics vs. whole language You say the conflict has been political. is largely to blame for the poor reading skills of American students. But you say it's not a question of "either/or." Kids need to be exposed to great books and rich literature and they need to know the symbols and sounds of letters. Where are we on that front? One interesting recommendation you offer is that college graduates who sign up for Teach for America be hired not as classroom teachers but as an army of reading tutors.
I was motivated by accumulating frustration. I've reviewed the science of reading and documented how little impact it has had on educational practice, and I think this is bad. It has put kids at risk for failure.

Reading scientists have been talking about this for a long time and tried to communicate with educators and failed. We have not been able to get the science past the schoolhouse door.
What about legislation like what Michigan passed You insist that the training and credentialing of teachers is also inadequate, and you single out colleges of education. recently that prohibits schools from promoting third-graders to the fourth grade unless they can read at grade level? Educators have been supportive of the new law but say the funding for it is sorely lacking. Do you think such a mandate is a good idea? At the end of your book you recommend that schools of education overhaul the curriculum to make sure newly minted teachers leave with a basic understanding of linguistics and child development. You say states must change their teacher-licensure requirements. And, finally, you want school districts to vastly expand tutoring for children who are struggling to read.
The reading wars are over and science lost. Phonics is just one specific component of learning to read that's important at a particular point in a child's development. The reading wars did not focus on this, so the conflict was set up in a bogus way.

The political solution was called "balanced literacy," which called on teachers to use the best of both approaches. But it left it up to teachers who had been trained to dismiss phonics and brush off the science.

Yes. They could be trained to provide supplemental reading instruction, one-on-one or in small groups. That's what wealthy people do. They pay for tutors. Poor people can't.

So I would say yeah, put more people in the classroom or after-school programs who focus on reading and language. This would be helpful.

I don't think its a good idea if they merely passed a law that says, "You better read." That's punishing the kid. There have to be programs and investments to support teachers, students and parents.

It's clear that ed schools are setting teachers up to fail. [The teachers are] plopped in the classroom to learn on the job because the ideology in ed schools is a "learning by doing" philosophy. I think it's really a mess.

Yes. It's necessary to get all these folks on board. And indeed, one could see how parents and community leaders would also get on board. I don't pretend to know how to approach them. What I can do is explain how reading works, how children develop and how we can teach children to read better.

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The Gap Between The Science On Kids And Reading, And How It Is Taught

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Mark Seidenberg is not the first researcher to reach the stunning conclusion that only a third of the nation's schoolchildren read at grade level. The reasons are numerous, but one that Seidenberg cites over and over again is this: The way kids are taught to read in school is disconnected from the latest research, namely how language and speech actually develop in a child's brain.

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The athleticism, grit, and spirit of Olympic athletes are certainly worth reading about with your class. There are tons of curriculum connections to this global celebration of strength and skill. Here are some of the best Olympic books for kids to help elementary and middle school students get ready for this year's games.
Just a heads up, WeAreTeachers may collect a share of sales from the lnks on this page. We only recommend items our team loves!
Gold Medal Stories

From Olympic penguins and pigs to high-interest middle grade and YA titles, these stories will get students into the Olympic spirit.

The actual Olympic Games definitely won't include events like fly catching. But this cute, rhyming story is a great opener for discussion with younger students.

2. Max and Marla by Alexandra Boiger (PreK-1)

Endearing duo Max and his pet owl Marla show the qualities of true Olympians in this sweet, DIY Winter Olympics tale.

Oh, Tacky, you'll always have our hearts. The loveable "odd bird" bumbles through Olympic training his own way, much to the chagrin of Goodly, Lovely, Angel, Neatly, and Perfect.

4. Olympig by Victoria Jamieson (K-3)

The odds are against Boomer the Pig as he sets out to compete in his first animal Olympics. He doesn't let that stop him from entering every event, though!

This title is the first in a mystery series about five sports-loving friends. Can they figure out who is trying to sabotage their school's Olympics field day in time to save the fun?

We love this clever series even when the Olympic torch isn't lit, but the upcoming games are a great excuse to highlight it. In this second title, Dewey Decimal decoders trade athletic events for literary ones.

7. Ghost by Jason Reynolds (5-8)

In the first book in the critically acclaimed Track series, four kids compete on a top middle school track team that could head to the Junior Olympics. Also check out the second book, Patina, and the forthcoming third title, Sunny.

The attention that comes with being an Olympic-hopeful figure skater is a lot for Esperanza Flores to handle. She's also dealing with a tough training schedule, mean-girl drama, and a high-profile love triangle.

9. Tumbling by Caela Carter (6-10)

The alternating perspectives of five young gymnasts, each chasing Olympic dreams, give readers a glimpse into the intense world of elite gymnastics.

10. Goldfish by Nat Luurtsema (7-10)

What happens to all those Olympic hopefuls who don't make the cut? When Louise Brown doesn't make the British swim team, she takes her talent in a different direction.

Books for Learning About Olympic History and Events

These nonfiction titles will help your students appreciate the legacy and scope of the Olympic Games.

Read the rhyming couplets in this nonfiction alphabet book to younger students or dive into the lengthier information to learn about the history, events, and athletes of the Olympics.

Skinny but strong Lucile "Ludy" Godbold didn't look like a shot-putter, but she managed to shatter records to earn a spot on the first US Women's Olympic team. Her story demonstrates the power of community, too. It took help from her entire college for her be able to go.

Meghan McCarthy's hallmark illustrations and talent for wacky-but-true storytelling shine in this title about the first Olympic marathon ever held in the United States.

Let your students choose which sport they want to find out more about with titles from this nonfiction series featuring clear-cut informational text and engaging photographs. Topics include: bobsled and luge, ice hockey and curling, snowboarding, and more.

15. Summer Olympic Sports series by Allen Morey and Matt Doedan (2-4)

Just like the series listed above, but this one covers summer sports, like basketball, track and field, volleyball, and several others.

Full disclosure: According to the Olympic installment of this cartoonish series, the first Olympians competed in the nude. Share with kids who appreciate a frank perspective on history.

Don't miss the chance to talk about the Paralympic Games with your class, which take place shortly after the traditional Olympics. This guidebook summarizes the winter Paralympic events, with plenty of amazing photos of athletes using adapted equipment and techniques.

This standards-based nonfiction series tackles Winter Olympic sports from multiple perspectives. It features chapters on history, geography, civics, and economics. Speed skating and nordic skiing are a couple of the topics covered.

Bring the story of the famous University of Washington crew team that took the gold in Berlin to your middle school students.

Destination: South Korea

Tap into your students' excitement and tie reading to current events with books about the 2018 Winter Olympics and its host country, South Korea.

With its kid-friendly details about life in South Korea, this book is a great classroom read-aloud option.

Korean kiddo Min-Jun tells young readers what his life is like in South Korea.

This thorough handbook for serious fans has background information, statistics, a summary of each event, and notes on American athletes to watch.
What are your favorite Olympic books? We'd love to hear about them in our WeAreTeachers Chat group on Facebook. WeAreTeachers Chat is a place to post questions, share a laugh or an idea, and connect with new teacher friends.

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22 Books to Get Students Excited About the Olympics

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The athleticism, grit, and spirit of Olympic athletes are certainly worth reading about with your class. There are tons of curriculum connections to this global celebration of strength and skill. Here are some of the best Olympic books for kids to help elementary and middle school students get ready for this year's games.

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Representation matters: Girls do better on science tests when their textbooks include images of female scientists. And a 2017 survey by Microsoft found that girls in Europe begin to show interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields at 11 years old but lose it at around 15-and a lack of female role models is one reason for the drop in interest.

That's why we've created this list of books showing girls and women who are passionate about STEM fields. After asking librarians for recommendations, pulling still more from School Library Journal, and checking best-seller and award lists, we selected picture books, biographies, novels, and memoirs appropriate for kids from kindergarten to 12th grade. These books-most of which were published in 2016-represent a wide range of STEM fields, from marine biology to volcanology to math.

You'll find recommendations for lower elementary, upper elementary, middle school, and high school. For each book, we list the appropriate grade levels, and the Lexile measure when possible.

Kindergarten to Grade 3

Rosie Revere, Engineer
Andrea Beaty's New York Times best-selling picture book explores growth mindset, perseverance, and failure. Rosie Revere wants to create a contraption that flies, but it only hovers. Her great-great-aunt, Rosie the Riveter, describes her failure as a success and tells her, "You can only truly fail if you quit." (Grades K and up; Lexile measure: AD860L)

Ada Twist, Scientist
Ada Twist, Scientist, also by Andrea Beaty, follows Ada Twist, a young black girl who uses science to explore her world. Ada's curiosity takes her on a journey to uncover the source of a horrible smell in her house. Through asking questions, experimenting, and gathering facts, Ada realizes that some questions lead to more questions rather than answers. (Grades K-2; Lexile measure: 550)

Swimming With Sharks: The Daring Discoveries of Eugenie Clark
Heather Lang's illustrated biography chronicles Japanese-American Eugenie Clark's lifelong fascination with sharks and her journey to becoming a marine biologist in the 1940s. Through her curiosity and research, Clark disproved the popular opinion that sharks were dangerous killers. (Grades K-3; Lexile measure: 770)

Grades 4 to 6

The Fourteenth Goldfish
Three-time Newbery Honor winner Jennifer L. Holm introduces young readers to the world of science through fifth grader Ellie. When she meets Melvin, a teen who looks like her scientist grandfather, she wonders whether Grandpa really did discover how to reverse the aging process. The book explores themes of family, friendship, life, death, and what's possible through science. It includes a gallery of scientists and other STEM resources. (Grades 4-7; Lexile measure: 0550)

Finding Wonders: Three Girls Who Changed Science
In this novel written in verse, Jeannine Atkins shares the lives of three real-life scientists: entomologist Maria Merian (1647-1717), paleontologist Mary Anning (1799-1847), and astronomer Maria Mitchell (1818-89)-all of whom were interested in science from childhood on. (Grades 4-8)

Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World
In this beautifully illustrated book, Rachel Ignotofsky highlights 50 women from around the world who impacted STEM fields from A.D. 400 to the present. Readers will find geneticists, volcanologists, and primatologists, as well as mathematicians and chemists. A historical timeline notes pivotal moments for women in STEM. The book includes statistics showing the gender gap in the STEM workforce, an illustrated glossary, and other resources. (Grades 6 and up)

Grades 7 to 8

Radioactive! How Irène Curie and Lise Meitner Revolutionized Science and Changed the World
Winifred Conkling's nonfiction narrative profiles two female physicists whose discoveries paved the way for nuclear energy-and the atomic bomb. Set in the 1930s, this book is a combination of history and suspense, and details the glass ceiling of a male-dominated field. Educational sidebars throughout the book explain the science. (Grades 7 and up; Lexile measure: 1160L)

Wonder Women: 25 Innovators, Inventors, and Trailblazers Who Changed History
Sam Maggs, a writer who frequently explores what it means to be a woman in geek culture, uses illustrated biographies to examine the lives of scientists, engineers, inventors, and more. With a dash of humor, references to pop culture, and a conversational tone, Maggs captures the amazing achievements of women throughout history. (Grades 7 and up)

3:59
Josie Byrne and her doppelgänger, Jo, live in different universes that open to each other every 12 hours, at 3:59. In this science fiction/horror story by Gretchen McNeil, Josie believes she's just dreaming this alternate world until she switches places with Jo. Josie and Jo realize that their worlds are in danger, and use physics to save them both. (Grades 8-11)

Grades 9 to 12

Lab Girl
Winner of the 2016 National Book Critics Circle Award for autobiography and noted by Time, Entertainment Weekly, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Amazon as a best memoir or best book of 2016. Hope Jahren chronicles her lifelong passion for nature and science. Her memoir explores her relationship with her parents and the impact it had in cultivating her love of science as a child, and how her passion for plants and science gave her a deeper insight into herself. (Grades 9-12; Lexile measure: 1240L)

In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor's Journey in the Saudi Kingdom
This memoir by Qanta A. Ahmed, a British Muslim doctor, begins in the late 1990s when her application to renew her U.S. visa is denied and she accepts a job in Saudi Arabia. Though excited about the prospect of forming a deeper connection to her faith, she struggles with being a feminist, a doctor, and a Western woman living and working in a country that's deeply oppressive to women.(Grades 9-12)

Hidden Figures
Recently adapted to film-with Oscar nominations for best picture and best adapted screenplay-Margot Lee Shetterly's nonfiction book depicts the lives of four black women who, as mathematicians and engineers, helped send the first American astronaut into space. Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Christine Darden fought to progress up the ranks at NASA in the 1950s. (Grades 9-12)

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Representation matters: Girls do better on science tests when their textbooks include images of female scientists. And a 2017 survey by Microsoft found that girls in Europe begin to show interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields at 11 years old but lose it at around 15-and a lack of female role models is one reason for the drop in interest.

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Are you a witty Beatrice or a wicked Lady Macbeth? More like Viola or Desdemona? Take our quiz to find out which of Shakespeare's heroine you are - though we don't advise that you necessarily live your life accordingly.
William Shakespeare was an English dramatist, poet, and actor who is often considered the greatest writer in the English language. His vast collection of work includes sonnets, comedies, historical plays, great tragedies, and tragicomedies, all of which have been translated into every major modern language. His most renowned plays include Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, King Lear, Antony and Cleopatra, The Tempest, and Cymbeline.

The opinions and other information contained in OxfordWords blog posts and comments do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Oxford University Press.

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Which of Shakespeare's heroines are you? - OxfordWords blog

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Are you a witty Beatrice or a wicked Lady Macbeth? More like Viola or Desdemona? Take our quiz to find out which of Shakespeare's heroine you are - though we don't advise that you necessarily live your life accordingly. William Shakespeare was an English dramatist, poet, and actor who is often considered the greatest writer in the English language.

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The Little Boy Or Girl Who Lost Their Name

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Discover an amazing, magical personalised book about a child who has lost their name. Each book is completely unique to the child; you can also include a personalised message at no extra cost, making it a very special keepsake. Buy yours today!

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"There is that danger of silencing that discourse, to the degree that teachers were using it anyway," Hess said. He acknowledges that too few teachers know how to effectively facilitate academic discussions in classrooms, and that often "turn and talk to a partner" devolves into "turn and gossip." But those issues have always existed in classrooms and aren't the fault of technology. In fact, Hess maintains that to be a good teacher who uses technology, a person must first be a good teacher. Technology won't repair those gaps.
READING ON PAPER VS. READING DIGITALLY
Reading print media is undeniably different from reading digital content. Researchers have been trying to understand how and why people interact differently with the two media and have shown that when students read online they comprehend less. But there isn't enough longitudinal data to know if those deficits can be remediated by learning strategies specific to digital content.

Those who prefer reading in print talk about the ability to flip pages, write in the margins and that they remember a scene based on where it was located on the page. It's more of a linear experience and readers interact with it in specific ways.

In contrast, digital reading takes place on a flat screen and the ability to hyperlink to related content makes the experience feel more like stream of consciousness than like a linear reading experience. It takes more self-control to stay focused when reading digitally, a challenge for many students used to quickly navigating around the Web. "It's an amazing thing, but it also causes a lot of fragmentation," Hess said.

The key to getting kids to read deeply in any format is to have them engage with the text in meaningful ways. In the digital space, that means disrupting a pattern of skipping around, writing short chats and getting lost down the rabbit hole of the internet. It means teaching kids ways to break down a complex text, find key ideas, organize them and defend them. Practicing those skills in class can be time-consuming, but it also builds good digital reading habits that hopefully become second nature.

"The goal in almost all the strategies is to slow the kids down so they are focusing on this text," Hess said. "Number two is to engage them in an active way with the text, and number three you want to encourage oral discourse. And number four you want them to do some reflection." Those steps should sound familiar to teachers because they are important for any kind of reading for comprehension and analysis. The trick for teachers is to learn how to transfer these processes into the digital space and push them even further.
"HEADINGS AND HIGHLIGHT" STRATEGY
Most of Hess' tricks are easy to do in Google Docs, a free tool many schools are adopting because it's easy for students to access their work anywhere. In this strategy, students have an excerpt of a difficult article open in Google Docs. First, the teacher asks students to read through on their own and highlight words they don't know. This is basic decoding work.

After everyone is on the same page with the vocabulary, teachers can ask pairs of students to read a paragraph together and highlight key ideas. As they do this, they'll have to discuss why they believe those parts are important. After they have a few minutes to do this activity, the teacher can ask them to individually devise a four-word heading for that portion of the text based on the main ideas they've highlighted. They can type their heading into the Google Doc and then compare the headings each created.

"If you came up with something different, you have to now justify why yours is better," Hess said. Once again, students have to defend their thinking using text. "Making that heading has forced us to dig into the text," Hess said.

The teacher can then ask for all the agreed-upon headings and pair different groups together so that four students have to discuss their headings and come to consensus on the single best representation of the main ideas. "When you walk around and listen, what the kids are talking about is the text," Hess said. At the end, the teacher might have groups present or even have the whole class vote on their favorite heading. And individually students can reflect on the process they went through, how the heading helps them understand the reading, and how it helps them answer the driving question of the unit.

Hess is the first to admit that this strategy could easily be done with paper and pencil. The only real affordance of the technology is the ability to change the heading multiple times in a clean way. But it does help teachers see how to bring dialogue and discussion into the classroom, even when students are reading on the computer, and it has achieved the goal of slowing down reading. When students practice this method they may internalize it as well and start looking for the main idea in each paragraph as they read.

"Part of it is getting kids to be thinking about why they are reading something," Hess said. Often kids will read an entire paragraph, understand all the words in it, but never slow down to make meaning or look for main ideas. This basic reading strategy forces them to do so. Once students can identify the main idea of a reading, the next task is to understand the flow of the ideas and to connect concepts.

The "Document outline" tool in Google Docs can be an easy and effective way to ask students to pick out evidence that supports the main ideas they've found. When this tool is turned on, students can write a heading for the paragraph or group of paragraphs and select "Heading 1" from the drop-down menu. When they come across a sentence or phrase that represents evidence supporting that main idea, they summarize it and label it "Heading 2."

Meanwhile, along the side of the Google Doc an outline will automatically populate with main ideas in Heading 1 and supporting evidence nested below in Heading 2. At the end, the whole essay is outlined and can be "exported to table of contents," which will put it at the top of the document, where it can be used as a jumping-off point for writing.

The technology didn't do any of the thinking for students, but in this case the software helped build an outline as students discuss and winnow down their evidence, and their work has been conveniently saved in an easy-to-review manner. That makes initiating writing -- often hard for students -- much easier. And the headings in the outline are links that automatically skip to the part of the text where students inserted that heading. "You've created an active document," Hess said.

Even better in Hess' mind, when a teacher sees an outline like this he or she can easily tell if the student understood the reading. To create the outline students have to comprehend the text; decoding isn't enough. Hess says he uses this strategy all the time when reading documents for his own work because it's useful, not just a tedious exercise to force kids to slow down.

If a school or teacher isn't using Google Docs, a similar type of "talking to the text" can be achieved using Diigo, which also allows users to share marked-up documents with one another that include comments or highlights.
HIGHLIGHTING STRATEGY
Students have been highlighting print texts for a long time, but anyone who has picked up an old copy of a high school text knows that sometimes the various highlights can get confusing. Teachers sometimes try to organize students by having them highlight different concepts in different colors, but the text can end up quite messy and hard to read after all that highlighting.

Hess worked with a student to improve on a "highlighter tool," Google Doc add-on that the student created in his computer science class. The tool lets users create individualized highlighters in different colors. So, for example, all the text that supports "Argument #1" might be in red, while the evidence in "Argument #2" might be in green, and so on. The highlights can be exported by color, which creates a table with all the ideas. Hess often suggests that students then add another column to the highlighter table, where they can write summaries of everything in that highlighted category.

"It helps them discern between different things, and secondly, you've asked them to summarize what they've done," Hess said. That provides good reflection and consolidation of the information they just picked out. Since some kids have difficulty prioritizing what to highlight, a teacher could limit the number of items for each color.

In this case, the highlighting strategy is made much easier and more effective because it is digital. The various colors are labeled so the student doesn't need a key to decipher highlights and all the information can be exported in one table, rather than having to sift back through the entire article.

Hess warns that many of these strategies should first be taught using a text that isn't a difficult cognitive lift for students so they can learn the reading strategy and the digital tools without also having to puzzle their way through a difficult text. A new tech tool and a new learning challenge at the same time are a recipe for frustration.

While these strategies take time, they also get students deeply engaged with texts that may be difficult for them. Digital tools that modify articles for different reading levels, like Newsela, have a time and a place -- like getting students on the same page about a topic so they can debate -- but there are drawbacks to offering students only texts at their level.

"If you are constantly bringing it down, you lose some of the richness," Hess said. And challenging texts that force students to struggle also help them grow. "You can have someone reading a very complex text if you can scaffold it," Hess said.
TEACHER REACTIONS
Evelyn Cervantes is an eighth-grade social studies teacher at Bret Harte Middle School in San Jose, California. Although located in the heart of Silicon Valley, the school only has a few laptop carts that all the teachers share. Cervantes knows many of her students are online at home a lot and she wants to make sure the lower-income students the school also serves are learning good digital skills when at school. In the past she experimented with showing videos in class and using a polling app, but wasn't very impressed with how those tools impacted learning for her students.

"I felt like it was very much about giving information to the kids, so more delivery of information, and not much beyond that," Cervantes said. She has been pushing herself to use some of the strategies Hess taught her and likes the way they require students to engage deeply with text. She's tired of students copying and pasting text without doing any analysis.

"The strategies make it so that students have to slow down and analyze what they're reading," Cervantes said. She also noticed that when kids had their own computers they often didn't really engage in dialogue when they were asked to share with a partner. Instead, they would merely share their screens. In response she halved the number of computers in the room, so pairs of students would have to share. After that modification she started to see much more robust dialogue.

Cervantes says although many of the strategies Hess taught her could be done on paper, she likes using Google Docs because the outlines and annotations students create during class can easily become their notes. She can review them and return them quickly, touching on common themes or helping to point out holes in the thinking of the class.

Hess emphasizes that all these digital reading tools must be used within the context of bigger, interesting questions, or else the strategies just become a list of steps. While Socratic seminars can take a lot of preparation, students are identifying main ideas, categorizing evidence and highlighting important passages in the service of an argument that they care about, which makes the whole process more meaningful.

A New Yorker article dedicated to the question of whether students read as deeply on digital devices as in print focuses on the work of Maryanne Wolf, as well as others studying the space. Several studies found the decrease in comprehension on digital devices was more due to distractions on the internet than to the medium itself. Perhaps self-control is among the key skills to teach students expected to read more online.

In the article, Maria Konnikova ends on a hopeful note:

"Wolf is optimistic that we can learn to navigate online reading just as deeply as we once did print-if we go about it with the necessary thoughtfulness. In a new study, the introduction of an interactive annotation component helped improve comprehension and reading strategy use in a group of fifth graders. It turns out that they could read deeply. They just had to be taught how."

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Strategies to Help Students 'Go Deep' When Reading Digitally | KQED

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Teachers are finding that when they explicitly teach deep reading strategies geared to digital media, students can access and comprehend complex texts.

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Facts About Round Robin Reading

In RRR, students read orally from a common text, one child after another, while the rest of the class follows along in their copies of the text. Several spinoffs of the technique offer negligible advantages over RRR, if any. They simply differ in how the reading transition occurs:

Popcorn Reading: A student reads orally for a time, and then calls out "popcorn" before selecting another student in class to read.

Combat Reading: A kid nominates a classmate to read in the attempt to catch a peer off task, explains Gwynne Ash and Melanie Kuhn in their chapter of Fluency Instruction: Research-Based Best Practices.

Popsicle Stick Reading: Student names are written on Popsicle sticks and placed in a can. The learner whose name is drawn reads next.

Touch Go Reading: As described by Professor Cecile Somme, the instructor taps a child when it's his or her turn to read.

Of the thirty-odd studies and articles I've consumed on the subject, only one graduate research paper claimed a benefit to RRR or its variations, stating tepidly that perhaps RRR isn't as awful as everyone says. Katherine Hilden and Jennifer Jones' criticism is unmitigated: "We know of no research evidence that supports the claim that RRR actually contributes to students becoming better readers, either in terms of their fluency or comprehension." (PDF)

Why all the harshitude? Because Round Robin Reading . . .

Stigmatizes poor readers. Imagine the terror that English-language learners and struggling readers face when made to read in front of an entire class.

Weakens comprehension. Listening to a peer orally read too slowly, too fast, or too haltingly weakens learners' comprehension -- a problem exacerbated by turn-taking interruptions.

Sabotages fluency and pronunciation. Struggling readers model poor fluency skills and pronunciation. When instructors correct errors, fluency is further compromised.

To be clear, oral reading does improve fluency, comprehension and word recognition (though silent/independent reading should occur far more frequently as students advance into the later grades). Fortunately, other oral reading activities offer significant advantages over RRR and its cousins. As you'll see in the list below, many of them share similar features.

11 Better Approaches
1. Choral Reading
The teacher and class read a passage aloud together, minimizing struggling readers' public exposure. In a 2011 study of over a hundred sixth graders (PDF, 232KB), David Paige found that 16 minutes of whole-class choral reading per week enhanced decoding and fluency. In another version, every time the instructor omits a word during her oral reading, students say the word all together.
2. Partner Reading
Two-person student teams alternate reading aloud, switching each time there is a new paragraph. Or they can read each section at the same time.
3. PALS
The Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) exercises pair strong and weak readers who take turns reading, re-reading, and retelling.
4. Silent Reading
For added scaffolding, frontload silent individual reading with vocabulary instruction, a plot overview, an anticipation guide, or KWL+ activity.
5. Teacher Read Aloud
This activity, says Julie Adams of Adams Educational Consulting, is "perhaps one of the most effective methods for improving student fluency and comprehension, as the teacher is the expert in reading the text and models how a skilled reader reads using appropriate pacing and prosody (inflection)." Playing an audiobook achieves similar results.
6. Echo Reading
Students "echo" back what the teacher reads, mimicking her pacing and inflections.
7. Shared Reading/Modeling
By reading aloud while students follow along in their own books, the instructor models fluency, pausing occasionally to demonstrate comprehension strategies. (PDF, 551KB)
8. The Crazy Professor Reading Game
Chris Biffle's Crazy Professor Reading Game video (start watching at 1:49) is more entertaining than home movies of Blue Ivy. To bring the text to life, students . . .

Read orally with hysterical enthusiasm

Reread with dramatic hand gestures

Partner up with a super-stoked question asker and answerer

Play "crazy professor" and "eager student" in a hyped-up overview of the text.

9. Buddy Reading
Kids practice orally reading a text in preparation for reading to an assigned buddy in an earlier grade.
10. Timed Repeat Readings
This activity can aid fluency, according to literacy professors Katherine Hilden and Jennifer Jones (PDF, 271KB). After an instructor reads (with expression) a short text selection appropriate to students' reading level (90-95 percent accuracy), learners read the passage silently, then again loudly, quickly, and dynamically. Another kid graphs the times and errors so that children can track their growth.

With Fluency-Oriented Reading Instruction (FORI), primary students read the same section of a text many times over the course of a week (PDF, 54KB). Here are the steps:

1. The teacher reads aloud while students follow along in their books.

2. Students echo read.

3. Students choral read.

4. Students partner read.

5. The text is taken home if more practice is required, and extension activities can be integrated during the week.

I hope that the activities described above -- in addition to other well-regarded strategies, like reciprocal teaching, reader's theater, and radio reading -- can serve as simple replacements to Round Robin Reading in your classroom.

Tell us your favorite fluency or comprehension activity.

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11 Alternatives to "Round Robin" (and "Popcorn") Reading | Edutopia

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Round Robin Reading (RRR) has been a classroom staple for over 200 years and an activity that over half of K-8 teachers report using in one of its many forms, despite overwhelming criticism that the practice is ineffective for its stated purpose: enhancing fluency, word decoding, and comprehension.

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Use kids' expertise with emojis to help them analyze texts more effectively.

Emojis are more mainstream than ever. The Oxford English Dictionary named the Face With Tears of Joy emoji the word of the year for 2015, presidential candidates are asking for feedback in emojis, and the appearance of new emojis is considered news by major media outlets.

Although looking up emoji definitions is relatively simple, I often turn to my students for more nuanced explanations. After a bit of laughter, my students patiently demonstrate the multiple uses for a single emoji, help me decode emoji-laden Instagram comments, and advise me on murky racial or gender implications.

Internet-inspired trends may not seem important next to English 101's selected texts, but the way students seamlessly navigate emoji usage is similar to critical reading skills we practice in class. I'm not about to throw out traditional texts, but emojis offer an engaging opportunity to transfer digital skills to a written context.

A few simple classroom activities can help students leverage the context clues and inference skills they're already using in social media:

First, ask students to analyze examples of the same emoji being used in different ways. Like words, one emoji can carry multiple meanings depending on the context. Most students naturally use context clues to determine which emoji meaning is intended by the writer. Students must consider photo, text, and emoji together to determine if the silent face emoji means the writer is communicating speechlessness at the news of a horrible event or a lack of power in the face of authority. As with decoding vocabulary, understanding emojis requires context.

I like to start with a few popular emoji choices like the monkey with hands over eyes, the skull, or the flexed muscle, but it's also fun to use newer emojis. Students can bring screenshots from their own social media feeds, but celebrity posts work great as well.

Next, have students create social media guides for new emoji users. For each emoji, have students list the various meanings, offer examples, and explain how to determine which meaning is intended. A student might analyze how the two eyes emoji can indicate confusion about the message ("Wait, what are you saying?"), an impatience with a slow response ("Hurry up and reply!"), or a signal that the information is something they haven't heard before.

Finally, challenge students to write generic directions for emoji comprehension. The goal is that a novice should be able to pick up these directions and apply them to a new set of emojis. The task is surprisingly difficult. When students apply their directions to a new set of emoji examples in order to check their work, they often retool their approach. It may take a bit of struggle to define the thinking behind their approach, but ultimately, emoji-decoding directions mirror some of the best lesson plans for teaching context clues in the language arts classroom.

Teachers don't need to be emoji experts to use them in the classroom. After all, emoji use is constantly evolving, so it's almost impossible to know every emoji. My students almost always know more about emoji use than I do, but that knowledge gap offers real opportunities. My questions are genuine. I can press at the edges of explanations and spot inconsistencies. When students explain how an emoji's context impacts the meaning, I'm listening to learn.

Emojis also add a refreshing bit of fun to the classroom mix. Students relish their momentary expertise in the classroom, and teachers can embrace what may seem a bit foreign. Plus, who doesn't love to see their teacher clunking out a few emojis every now and again? I have even overheard hallway conversations that attempted to decode the difficulty of homework based on the Face With Heart Eyes emoji that I added to the assignment.

Welcoming emojis into the classroom is one way to use student experience to develop school skills. Rather than detract from learning goals, our students' rich social media lives can contribute to deeper learning. By connecting to skills our students already use online, perhaps we can make school seem even more relevant.

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Using Emojis to Teach Critical Reading Skills

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Use kids' expertise with emojis to help them analyze texts more effectively.

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World of Better Learning | Cambridge University Press

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Published 16 January 2018

Once again, for this #TDWednesday, we are taking a privileged peek at the forthcoming Teaching and Developing Reading Skills by Dr. Peter Watkins. This week, Peter has selected a digital reading activity from the chapter Exploiting Digital Resources.

Nowadays, it's very common for us to engage with a huge variety of texts in a digital format as well as in print and using a variety of different devices such as tablets, smartphones, e-readers, etc. But is 'digital reading' really the same as reading a print text? Do we use the same kinds of skills? Do we comprehend the texts in the same way?

In the introduction to the chapter, Peter considers research findings on the comprehension of print and digital texts, the different types of digital reading which we might do and also the additional skills which might be required for digital reading. In the activity below, he offers a very simple but effective way to help learners reflect on how print reading differs from digital reading - something which many of us may not have really considered before. Why don't you try it out yourself before trying it with your students? Do you notice any differences between reading from a print page and a digital screen? We suspect you might notice more differences than you first thought!

Same or different?

Outline
Learners compare print and digital reading.

Focus
Previewing a text through images and vocabulary

Preparation
Select two short texts, one print and one digital, that are appropriate for the learners (see Notes).

Procedure

Lead in to the first text in the usual way.

If appropriate set a standard comprehension exercise, or select an appropriate activity from elsewhere in this book.

Repeat the process above with the second text.

Put the learners into small groups and give them the following sentence stems:

I like reading hard copies because ...

I like reading from a screen because ...

The main differences between print and reading from a screen are ...

Learners complete the sentences in as many different ways as possible, drawing on their experience of reading the texts used in the lesson and also their wider experience.

Each group reports back its ideas.

Encourage discussion of the points raised and add to the ideas of the learners as appropriate.

Notes

For the purposes of the activity, it is useful to select texts that the learners can read comfortably. This allows for more reflection on the process of reading. The activity also works well if the digital text is an online one, allowing for hyperlinks, multimedia integration and so on. This gives the learners more to comment on.

If appropriate, add to the discussion by asking learners to consider different reading scenarios such as:

reading for social purposes, such as staying in touch with friends

reading for pleasure, such as a novel

reading to learn, such as researching an essay

reading for information, such as reading a newspaper.

Rationale

Learners will benefit from thinking about the pros and cons of online reading (links can give support and explanation, or be a distraction, for example). Learners may share strategies to overcome difficulties (such as sharing information about highlighting and annotating digital text).
Peter's book, Teaching and Developing Reading Skills, is part of our Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers series. You can also see last week's article on Approaches to reading in the classroom.

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Digital reading versus print texts with Dr. Peter Watkins | World of Better Learning

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Published 16 January 2018 Once again, for this #TDWednesday, we are taking a privileged peek at the forthcoming Teaching and Developing Reading Skills by Dr. Peter Watkins. This week, Peter has selected a digital reading activity from the chapter Exploiting Digital Resources.

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Perez and her colleagues shared their top 20 children's books published in t he last couple of years.

This picture book for young children shows lots of different types of families hanging out in a park. Young children of different religions and ethnicities are enjoying a day in the park and while they may look different, each child eats, plays, and falls down. "It's a very simple representation of diversity," Perez said.

In a riff on the traditional counting book, One Family adds a different family member on each page, showing that families come in many forms and often include far more people than a mother and father. This books is a great way to start talking numbers with young kids, while also reflecting the increasing diversity in family structure kids experience. Perez especially enjoys the illustrations, which she calls "retro" and less cartoony than many books for young kids.

Juna's Jar is as story of friendship and fantasy. When Juna's best friend Hector moves away without saying goodbye she is very sad. Her older brother helps her add items to the family's empty kimchi jar every night and when Juna falls asleep, the items she added come to life in her dreams, helping her search for Hector. Perez says the illustrations are endearing and the kimchi jar is a central image. "It would be normal in a Korean family and it just sort of throws that in there," Perez said. "It's about dreams and hope and friendship."

One Word From Sophia, by Jim Averbeck, illustrated by Yasmeen Ismail
Grades: Preschool-3
Ages: 4-8 years

In this silly picture book about a young girl who wants nothing more than a pet giraffe, the author subtly demonstrates people of color in positive roles. The story is ostensibly about Sophia and the "magic word" she needs to use to get her way, but as she travels from one family member to another begging for a giraffe the reader sees an educated family. "It shows positive roles for families," Perez said. "It represents that families can be different and diverse, but cultured and educated, which is lacking in other books." She often recommends this book to library patrons with good results.

This sweet picture book about a boy traveling across a city with his grandmother on a public bus holds many lessons of compassion. As they ride the bus, the grandmother points out different sites to her grandson and demonstrates kindness to everyone. The reader is lulled into making certain assumptions about the pair that are upset by a twist at the end.

This biography about a Ghanaian boy born with one leg less developed than the other is a testament to determination. Emmanuel works very hard to overcome people's judgments about him and ends up taking care of his family when his father disappears. He even goes on to become a professional athlete. "It's very picture story style, but it's biographical," Perez said.

This is the story of three newcomer students starting school at the same time. One is from Guatemala, another from Somalia and the third from Korea. In the first weeks at their new school they feel very isolated and confused. They knew the language and how everything worked in their home countries, but at the new school everything is different. Slowly, they begin to connect with classmates in nonverbal ways and make their classroom a new home. "This one could be a perfect window for a child seeing a new student coming in," Perez said. It could help children empathize with some of their classmates and understand what they might be feeling.

This picture book features a Latina girl whose grandmother has just come to live with the family in the United States. The little girl does not speak Spanish and her grandmother doesn't speak English, so they struggle to communicate. The girl wants to help cheer up her grandma, who is having a hard time adjusting, so the family gets a parrot to remind the old woman of her island home. The parrot ends up being the go-between for the little girl and her grandmother.

This children's book by well-known novelist Edwidge Danticat raises some sad and serious issues through story. A little girl is writing letters to her mother who is being held in a detention center. "She uses those letters and notes that she wrote to her mom to convince the judge to let her come home," Perez said. And, while the subject matter is serious, Perez says often children are much more capable of understanding and empathizing than adults think. Stories can be a great way to give kids a glimpse at a sad topic, but Perez always recommends parents or guardians read the book themselves first before deciding whether it's right for their child.

"I love this book because the author has a very particular illustrating style," Perez said. "His images look like ancient Mexican art." This non-fiction book for slightly older readers focuses on the life story of José Guadalupe Posada, whose drawings of skeletons have become identified with the Mexican Day of the Dead iconography. The book incorporates both illustration styles for a beautiful result.

This spooky fantasy book rooted in Caribbean folktales features a young girl trying to save her island from ghost-like entities called "Jumbies." Perez says children this age love fantasy and this book is a slightly different take on a familiar genre. "I love that she's a great protagonist; a very awesome example of a strong female," Perez said.

This is the third and last book in Rita Williams-Garcia's series about three sisters living in Brooklyn. In the first book the sisters go visit their mother in the summer during the Civil Rights Movement. They learn why their mother left them, meet some famous Black Panthers and generally get a taste of Oakland in the 1960s. The second book focuses on how the sisters deal with the new woman their father marries. And the third book, Gone Crazy in Alabama, features the three girls visiting their grandmother in Alabama during the Civil Rights era. They learn about feuds in the family and just how strong family bonds can be.

"I have two sisters so I could relate to it," Perez said. "It's about how sisters fight and get along in the end." She loves the way Williams-Garcia captures characters' voices and layers family dynamics throughout the story.

This book about the famous Lakota warrior seems like a perfect book report choice, but Perez says it goes far beyond educational content. The pages inside look like a notebook, as though someone is documenting Sitting Bull's story in real time. Perez says it reminds her of Native ledger art. "It's a mixture of sketching, photographs and text that appeals to lots of different ages," Perez said.

George is a timely book dealing with a different kind of diversity -- the experience of a transgender student in school. "It's the perspective of soemone going through something we may not understand," Perez said. George identifies as a girl and refers to herself in the story with feminine pronouns, while everyone else refers to her as a boy. The written word is uniquely suited to spotlight the differences in pronouns and George's fight to be recognized for who she is.

"It's just an introduction to compassion and empathy for people who are struggling with internal issues that we may not understand," Perez said.

Peter Lee's family used to be obsessed by baseball before tragedy struck. Now, his mother is depressed and no one seems to pay attention to baseball anymore. In an attempt to heal his family, Peter joins a team and his dad becomes the coach. This Chinese-American family has to navigate dynamics with mostly white players, including a girl disguised as a boy (the story takes place in 1972). While baseball doesn't solve all Peter's family's problems, it does help them see that there's hope after at tragedy. "Baseball lovers will love it, but it's not the only thing going on in there," Perez said.

A typical, spoiled American girl is forced to visit Vietnam with her father and grandmother over the summer. While she dreams of being on the beach with her friends, her father and grandmother are trying to figure out what happened to her grandfather during the Vietnam War. As she delves into the story of her grandfather she learns to accept the Vietnamese part of her identity alongside her American one. Perez loves this book because it demonstrates the insights teens can come to on their own. While it sounds serious, she says it's actually funny and lighthearted in many ways.

Set in Vermont in 1969, 12-year-old Mimi is obsessed with the Apollo 11 mission getting ready to launch. As a half black, half Japanese girl, Mimi identifies with space, often feeling like an alien in her mostly white town. She's also really into science at a time when girls aren't supposed to like science. "What's really interesting is it's written in lyrical verse," Perez said.

"Echo is one of the craziest books I read this past year," Perez said. "It's an amazing story that just blows you away." Part fairytale, part historical fiction, Echo weaves together four or five different story lines, each connected by a harmonica. The stories are diverse, featuring a family in Nazi Germany during World War II, a Mexican-American family caring for the orchard of a Japanese-American family that has been sent to internment camps and adopted brothers whose fortunes change. The audiobook has also gotten rave reviews for featuring harmonica music throughout.

In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse, by Joseph Marshall III, illustrations by Jim Yellowhawk
Grades: 5-9
Ages: 10-14 years

This is a coming-of-age story about a boy who is half-Lakota, but doesn't look it. He learns about his heritage through his grandfather's tales. This story is written by a member of the Lakota tribe.

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20 Books Featuring Diverse Characters to Inspire Connection and Empathy

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Perez and her colleagues shared their top 20 children's books published in t he last couple of years. This picture book for young children shows lots of different types of families hanging out in a park. Young children of different religions and ethnicities are enjoying a day in the park and while they may look different, each child eats, plays, and falls down.

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Test your knowledge of some of the children's books published as Oxford World's Classics with our quiz.

The opinions and other information contained in OxfordWords blog posts and comments do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Oxford University Press.

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Quiz: how well do you know classic children's literature? - OxfordWords blog

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Test your knowledge of some of the children's books published as Oxford World's Classics with our quiz. The opinions and other information contained in OxfordWords blog posts and comments do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Oxford University Press.

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English Vocabulary - A Group to Learn English Vocabulary

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Free eBook library | Oxford Owl from Oxford University Press

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Browse our library of free children's eBooks to read with your child including Oxford Reading Tree adventures with Biff, Chip and Kipper.

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During the school year, most of the books that students read have been assigned to them by their teachers and parents. We wanted to know: what are the books kids love to dig into on their own? We asked several fourth and fifth grade TED-Ed Club Members to share the books that they've recently read and want to recommend to other kids their age.

Beast Quest: Sepron, The Sea Serpent by Adam Blade
Do you love adventure and a book that makes you wonder? Then this is the book for you!
-Adam Tippett, Grade 5, Forest Hill Public School

Do you want to make your teacher act funny and crazy in front of the WHOLE class? Then get them to read this. (Hint: Don't let the adult peek inside first, they need to see it for the first time as they read it to you).
-Lauren Wolfe, Grade 5, Forest Hill Public School

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
This is a really funny series and almost all of his books are New York Times Best Sellers.
-Adam Tippett, Grade 5, Forest Hill Public School

Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly HuntThis book is worth reading because it leaves you wanting more.This book also holds valuable lessons. It is also funny.
-Erin Moses, Grade 5, Coolidge School

The Humphrey Series by Betty G. Burney
-Torie Price, Grade 4, Elyria Christian School

The Maze Runner by James Dashner
This book must be read because it is the perfect book for you if you like Hunger Games and Divergent. It has lots of action and will keep you reading more. Hope you enjoy!
-Colin Yu, Grade 5, Coolidge School

I think The Maze Runner series is worth reading because the books are action packed and very interesting.
-Jayden Mamola, Grade 5, Coolidge School

Pokemon Adventures by Hidenori Kusaka
I think people should read this 'cause it is an awesome book and the show is really popular. If you want a book with adventures and action, well there, you've got it.-Bryan Chang, Grade 5, Forest Hill Public School

Pokemon Adventures is exciting and fun to read. It feels like a real adventure.
-Aidan Evans, Grade 5, Forest Hill Public School

Pokemon Black and White by Hidenori Kusaka
I think these books are worth reading because:
These books will make you start loving Pokemon.
These books are super amazing.
I absolutely love Pokemon.
-Darius Harris-Jackson, Grade 5, Forest Hill Public School

Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
-Torie Price, Grade 4, Elyria Christian School

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
I'm in the middle of The Secret Garden, and I love it. I can't wait every night to see what happens next. I was one of my mom's favorite books, so we like to talk about what I just read.
-Reagan Brake, Grade 5, Elyria Christian School

Wonder is really interesting. It is a story about a boy named August who has a disfigured face. It describes his experiences in a new school.
-James Wong, Grade 4, Coolidge School
What books would you add to this list? >>

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31 great books for students, chosen by students

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During the school year, most of the books that students read have been assigned to them by their teachers and parents. We wanted to know: what are the books kids love to dig into on their own?

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Mayra Linares/NPR

Part of our series, 5 Million Voices.

I grew up speaking Spanish, and I didn't start learning English until I was in preschool. When it came to books, I struggled - like many ELL students - to connect with characters that didn't look like me or speak my language.

To this day I have yet to pick up a copy of Anne of Green Gables.

It wasn't until Ms. Rueckert handed me a biography of Diego Rivera in the fourth grade that my relationship with books changed forever. I started to read for fun and not for a grade.

Research shows that reading comprehension in ELL students gets a boost when kids are exposed to culturally relevant books.

"Story is both individual and collective," says Candis Grover, director of literacy and Spanish development at ReadyRosie, an educational web site.

She says students need more than just a few scattered stories: "We need to give them a large literary room of characters to connect with."

So, in that spirit, we've reached out to experts and scoured the blogs and asked authors what books they'd put in that big room. Here are five great examples:

The Name Jar
by Yangsook Choi and Yangsook Choi

Names are an important part of our identity. Unhei's classmates show their support as she decides whether to keep her Korean name or choose a completely new American one.

Body language helps overcome language barriers. Gabe's classmates learn how to communicate with him through sports, food, and play.

Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match/Marisol McDonald No Combina
by Monica Brown and Sara Palacios
No one would dare stop Pippi Longstocking from being her own unique self. Marisol, like Pippi, owns her identity. She redefines what it means to be Peruvian-Scottish-American.

Jalapeño Bagels
by Natasha Wing and Robert Casilla

Pablo spends quality time with his Mexican mom and Jewish father learning about their respective cultures through food. Instead of favoring one culture, Pablo chooses to celebrate both.

Maximilian & The Mystery Of The Guardian Angel: A Bilingual Lucha Libre Thriller
by Xavier Garza

Whether it's read in Spanish or English, Mexican traditions and pop culture shine in this book for older students.

Copyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Five Culturally Relevant Books To Inspire English Language Learners

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Five Culturally Relevant Books To Inspire English Language Learners

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Part of our series, 5 Million Voices. I grew up speaking Spanish, and I didn't start learning English until I was in preschool. When it came to books, I struggled - like many ELL students - to connect with characters that didn't look like me or speak my language.

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Flickr/David Robert Bliwas

The excerpt below is from the book "Lifelong Kindergarten: Cultivating Creativity through Projects, Passion, Peers, and Play" by Mitchel Resnick, published by MIT Press. TEN TIPS FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS
There's a common misconception that the best way to encourage children's creativity is simply to get out of the way and let them be creative. Although it's certainly true that children are naturally curious and inquisitive, they need support to develop their creative capacities and reach their full creative potential.

Supporting children's development is always a balancing act: how much structure, how much freedom; when to step in, when to step back; when to show, when to tell, when to ask, when to listen.

In putting together this section, I decided to combine tips for parents and teachers, because I think the core issues for cultivating creativity are the same, whether you're in the home or in the classroom. The key challenge is not how to "teach creativity" to children, but rather how to create a fertile environment in which their creativity will take root, grow, and flourish.

I'm organizing this section around the five components of the Creative Learning Spiral: imagine, create, play, share, and reflect. I propose strategies for helping children imagine what they want to do, create projects through playing with tools and materials, share ideas and creations with others, and reflect on their experiences.

For each of the five components, I'll suggest two tips. That's a total of 10 tips. Of course, these 10 tips are just a very small subset of all of the things you might ask and do to cultivate children's creativity. View them as a representative sample, and come up with more of your own.
1. IMAGINE : SHOW EXAMPLES TO SPARK IDEAS
A blank page, a blank canvas, and a blank screen can be intimidating. A collection of examples can help spark the imagination. When we run Scratch workshops, we always start by showing sample projects-to give a sense of what's possible (inspirational projects) and to provide ideas on how to get started (starter projects). We show a diverse range of projects, in hopes of connecting with the interests and passions of workshop participants. Of course, there's a risk that children will simply mimic or copy the examples that they see. That's OK as a start, but only as a start. Encourage them to change or modify the examples. Suggest that they insert their own voice or add their own personal touch. What might they do differently? How can they add their own style, connect to their own interests? How can they make it their own?
2. IMAGINE : ENCOURAGE MESSING AROUND
Most people assume that imagination takes place in the head, but the hands are just as important. To help children generate ideas for projects, we often encourage them to start messing around with materials. As children play with LEGO bricks or tinker with craft materials, new ideas emerge. What started as an aimless activity becomes the beginning of an extended project. We'll sometimes organize mini hands-on activities to get children started. For example, we'll ask children to put a few LEGO bricks together, then pass the structure to a friend to add a few more, then continue back and forth. After a few iterations, children often have new ideas for things they want to build.
3. CREATE : PROVIDE A WIDE VARIETY OF MATERIALS
Children are deeply influenced by the toys, tools, and materials in the world around them. To engage children in creative activities, make sure they have access to a broad diversity of materials for drawing, building, and crafting. New technologies, like robotics kits and 3-D printers, can expand the range of what children create, but don't overlook traditional materials. A Computer Clubhouse coordinator was embarrassed to admit to me that her members were making their own dolls with "nylons, newspapers, and bird seed," without any advanced technology, but I thought their projects were great. Different materials are good for different things. LEGO bricks and popsicle sticks are good for making skeletons, felt and fabric are good for making skins, and Scratch is good for making things that move and interact. Pens and markers are good for drawing, and glue guns and duct tape are good for holding things together. The greater the diversity of materials, the greater the opportunity for creative projects.
4. CREATE : EMBRACE ALL TYPES OF MAKING
Different children are interested in different types of making. Some enjoy making houses and castles with LEGO bricks. Some enjoy making games and animations with Scratch. Others enjoy making jewelry or soapbox race cars or desserts-or miniature golf courses. Writing a poem or a short story is a type of making, too. Children can learn about the creative design process through all of these activities. Help children find the type of making that resonates for them. Even better: Encourage children to engage in multiple types of making. That way, they'll get an even deeper understanding of the creative design process.
5. PLAY : EMPHASIZE PROCESS, NOT PRODUCT
Throughout this book, I've emphasized the importance of making things. Indeed, many of the best learning experiences happen when people are actively engaged in making things. But that doesn't mean we should put all our attention on the things that are made. Even more important is the process through which things are made. As children work on projects, highlight the process, not just the final product. Ask children about their strategies and their sources of inspiration. Encourage experimentation by honoring failed experiments as much as successful ones. Allocate times for children to share the intermediate stages of their projects and discuss what they plan to do next and why.
6. PLAY : EXTEND TIME FOR PROJECTS
It takes time for children to work on creative projects, especially if they're constantly tinkering, experimenting, and exploring new ideas (as we hope they will). Trying to squeeze projects into the constraints of a standard 50-minute school period-or even a few 50-minute periods over the course of a week-undermines the whole idea of working on projects. It discourages risk taking and experimentation, and it puts a priority on efficiently getting to the "right" answer within the allotted time. For an incremental change, schedule double periods for projects. For a more dramatic change, set aside particular days or weeks (or even months) when students work on nothing but projects in school. In the meantime, support after-school programs and community centers where children have larger blocks of time to work on projects.
7. SHARE : PLAY THE ROLE OF MATCHMAKER
Many children want to share ideas and collaborate on projects, but they're not sure how. You can play the role of matchmaker, helping children find others to work with, whether in the physical world or the online world. At Computer Clubhouses, the staff and mentors spend a lot of their time connecting Clubhouse members with one another. Sometimes, they bring together members with similar interests-for example, a shared interest in Japanese manga or a shared interest in 3-D modeling. Other times, they bring together members with complementary interests-for example, connecting members with interests in art and robotics so that they can work together on interactive sculptures. In the Scratch online community, we have organized month-long Collab Camps to help Scratchers find others to work with-and also to learn strategies for collaborating effectively.
8. SHARE : GET INVOLVED AS A COLLABORATOR
Parents and mentors sometimes get too involved in children's creative projects, telling children what to do or grabbing the keyboard to show them how to fix a problem. Other parents and mentors don't get involved at all. There is a sweet spot in between, where adults and children form true collaborations on projects. When both sides are committed to working together, everyone has a lot to gain. A great example is Ricarose Roque's Family Creative Learning initiative, in which parents and children work together on projects at local community centers over five sessions. By the end of the experience, parents and children have new respect for one another's abilities, and relationships are strengthened.
9. REFLECT : ASK (AUTHENTIC) QUESTIONS
It's great for children to immerse themselves in projects, but it's also important for them to step back to reflect on what's happening. You can encourage children to reflect by asking them questions about their projects. I often start by asking: "How did you come up with the idea for this project?" It's an authentic question: I really want to know! The question prompts them to reflect on what motivated and inspired them. Another of my favorite questions: "What's been most surprising to you?" This question pushes them away from just describing the project and toward reflecting on their experience. If something goes wrong with a project, I'll often ask: "What did you want it to do?" In describing what they were trying to do, they often recognize where they went wrong, without any further input from me.
10. REFLECT : SHARE YOUR OWN REFLECTIONS
Most parents and teachers are reluctant to talk with children about their own thinking processes. Perhaps they don't want to expose that they're sometimes confused or unsure in their thinking. But talking with children about your own thinking process is the best gift you could give them. It's important for children to know that thinking is hard work for everyone-for adults as well as children. And it's useful for children to hear your strategies for working on projects and thinking through problems. By hearing your reflections, children will be more open to reflecting on their own thinking, and they'll have a better model of how to do it. Imagine the children in your life as creative thinking apprentices; you're helping them learn to become creative thinkers by demonstrating and discussing how you do it.
CONTINUING THE SPIRAL
Of course, the Creative Learning Spiral doesn't end with a single cycle of imagining, creating, playing, sharing, and reflecting. As children move through the process, they get new ideas and continue to the next iteration of the spiral, with another cycle of imagining, creating, playing, sharing, and reflecting. With each iteration of the spiral, there are new opportunities for you to support children in their creative learning.
Mitchel Resnick, an expert in educational technologies, is Professor of Learning Research at the MIT Media Lab. He has worked closely with the LEGO toy company for thirty years, collaborating with them on such innovative projects as the LEGO Mindstorms robotics kits, and he holds the LEGO endowed chair at MIT. He leads the team developing the Scratch programming software and online community, and he is cofounder of the Computer Clubhouse project, a network of after-school learning centers for youth from low-income communities.
10 Tips for Creating a Fertile Environment for Kids' Creativity and Growth

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10 Tips for Creating a Fertile Environment for Kids' Creativity and Growth

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The excerpt below is from the book "Lifelong Kindergarten: Cultivating Creativity through Projects, Passion, Peers, and Play" by Mitchel Resnick, published by MIT Press. TEN TIPS FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS There's a common misconception that the best way to encourage children's creativity is simply to get out of the way and let them be creative.

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Farm or Domestic Animals are animals that is not wild and is kept as a pet or to produce food...
In this lesson, you will learn:

1. Names of some farm animals/ domestic animals

2. Farm Animal body Parts

Farm animals may live on a working farm or they may be pets in someone's backyard. Although farm animals are not your typical pet, they can be very affectionate and bond with their humans.

Farm animals includes:

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Learn English Vocabulary through Pictures : Farm/ Domestic Animals - ESL Buzz

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Farm or Domestic Animals are animals that is not wild and is kept as a pet or to produce food... In this lesson, you will learn: Names of some farm animals/ domestic animals Farm Animal body Parts Farm animals may live on a working farm or they may be pets in someone's backyard.

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This story appears in the December 2017 issue ofNational Geographic magazine.

How does the same story come to be known as "Beauty and the Beast" in the U.S. and "The Fairy Serpent" in China?

As Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm collected Germanic folktales in the 19th century, they realized that many were similar to stories told in distant parts of the world. The brothers Grimm wondered whether plot similarities indicated a shared ancestry thousands of years old.

Folktales are passed down orally, obscuring their age and origin. "There's no fossil record [of them] before the invention of writing," says Jamie Tehrani, an anthropologist at Durham University.

To test the Grimms' theory, Tehrani and literary scholar Sara Graça da Silva traced 76 basic plots back to their oldest linguistic ancestor using an international folktale database. If a similar tale was told in German and Hindi, the researchers concluded its roots lay in the languages' last common ancestor. "The Smith and the Devil," a story about a man who trades his soul for blacksmith skills, was first told some 6,000 years ago in Proto-Indo-European. Now we tell a similar tale about the blues guitarist Robert Johnson.

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Fairy Tales Are Much Older Than You Think

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This story appears in the December 2017 issue ofNational Geographic magazine. How does the same story come to be known as "Beauty and the Beast" in the U.S. and "The Fairy Serpent" in China? As Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm collected Germanic folktales in the 19th century, they realized that many were similar to stories told in distant parts of the world.

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"OK," I say to my students, "this is a book written 57 years ago about events that would have happened 84 years ago. Are the things being discussed here still relevant today? Why or why not?"

My students pause. We've just finished reading To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel their parents probably read as well at some point. In many ways, the book feels far removed from my students when they first pick it up.

However, as we've read and researched, my students have come to realize that the story of Tom Robinson and his unfair persecution in Maycomb, Alabama, is still very relevant.

There are problems with teaching only classics-the stories are overwhelmingly told from a white and/or male perspective, and more needs to be done to diversify that. In addition, there's merit in introducing our students to more recent literature.

But some of us must teach the classic middle and high school texts, and some of us really enjoy teaching them. There are opportunities in books in the canon to dig into some timely, deep racial and social justice concepts that are important for our students to consider today. I outline some topics and suggested approaches to three novels here, but teachers can apply these ideas to many different novels.

To Kill A Mockingbird

Harper Lee's book has been discussed quite a bit lately, and it's no surprise that it's still as controversial and important a read as it was when it came out. Beyond the obvious lessons around race and the justice system, there are a number of other ways to approach issues of race using the novel.

Consider the perspectives of a variety of characters. To Kill a Mockingbird explores themes of societal oppression based on race, gender, and socioeconomic status. However, since the story is seen through Scout, it's filtered through the gaze of a privileged white woman.

By having students consider the perspectives of oppressed characters-like Tom or Calpurnia Zeebo-we can help them build empathy and question what happens to the voices that are are unexplored in the novel. My students tied our discussion back to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's TED talk " The Danger of a Single Story," and it led to a discussion about how power affects storytelling.

Discuss the white savior trope. Atticus Finch is often perceived as the novel's ideal male role model. But he also exemplifies the problematic white savior trope-the idea that people of color need to be rescued and that the rescuer is a white person. Because he values certain members of Maycomb's black community, Atticus somehow shows the reader that they are worth valuing-his approval of the novel's "clean-living" black people makes their lives worthwhile, when they weren't before.

I had my students journal about the concept of the white savior trope after reading this brief article, and then we discussed it as a class.

The House On Mango Street

Often used to teach poetry or memoir, Sandra Cisneros's The House on Mango Street has some rich themes of race and identity.

Discuss housing segregation. Many of our students may understand that racism exists but don't fully grasp the large, societal structures in place that have historically disadvantaged people of color. The House on Mango Street can open students up to the concept of housing segregation and how it has affected generations of people of color.

I pull from either the opening chapter, "The House on Mango Street," or "Those Who Don't" to begin the discussion of perceptions of neighborhoods. Then I play a segment of a This American Life episode on housing segregation. Then we come together and discuss as a class.

Discuss "leaving the neighborhood" narratives. A common narrative about communities of color and rural communities is that education can help people "escape." It's important to consider why we don't place value on these communities. Why do people in them have to leave in order to be a "success"?

Discuss ideas about "getting out of the 'hood" that are presented in the text. Compare the opening chapter to the final one and to this article by Clint Smith. Is the concept of escape helpful or hurtful to communities of color and rural communities?

The Joy Luck Club

The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan, hit particularly hard when I first read it. I'm half Filipina and had so rarely seen aspects of my culture portrayed in literature and the media that reading a text that understood my and my friends' cultures so well was a revelation.

Beyond traditional discussions of Asian-American culture and the immigrant experience, I think it's especially important to teach the deeper race issues and context embedded in the story.

Teach about the model minority myth. The model minority myth is the common belief that AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) immigrants and their descendants are better off than other communities of color because of the presumed virtues of the AAPI community. This myth is harmful to self-perceptions of AAPI people and to attempts to advocate for for academic or financial support for this community.

Discuss how the myth is debunked in the novel and how it affects characters' perceptions of themselves. What are the perceptions of AAPI families presented by the media? How are those juxtaposed with the things characters face in the novel?

Explore code switching. Code switching, the process of adjusting our speech or behavior based on particular situations, features prominently in the novel. Have students use code switching to consider characterization and character action throughout the novel.

I had students read this piece on code switching and do a think-pair-share on why they think people code switch. They also looked for examples of it in their own lives.

It's important to take the texts we consider classic and look at them with fresh eyes. When we do so, we can sometimes find new ways to question these books-and ourselves as well.

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"OK," I say to my students, "this is a book written 57 years ago about events that would have happened 84 years ago. Are the things being discussed here still relevant today? Why or why not?" My students pause. We've just finished reading To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel their parents probably read as well at some point.

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20 Creative Ways to Say "Happy Birthday" - ESL Buzz

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Here are some unique and clever ways to touch someone's heart with these creative and funny ways to say Happy Birthday...

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6. Put the cart before the horse
Meaning: To do things out of the proper order.

E.g. If you put the cart before the horse and pick out your dream car before you have any money saved up for a down payment, you'll just end up disappointed.
7. Drive a hard bargain
Meaning: To arrange a transaction so that it benefits oneself.

E.g. Sal is known to drive a hard bargain, so I doubt you'll get that car for the price you want.
8. Backseat driver
Meaning: A passenger in a car who gives unwanted advice to the driver is called a backseat driver.

E.g. John quickly became annoyed at Mary's tendency to become a backseat driver whenever he drove her somewhere, so he just began to let her drive.
9. Highways and byways
Meaning: You take large and small roads to visit every part of the country.

E.g. The city council voted to plant new trees along all the highways and byways of the town.
10. My way or the highway
Meaning: If you do not do things the way I want or require, then you can just leave or not participate.

E.g. I'm here to create the best musicians in the world, so in this room, it's my way or the highway!
11. Hit the road
Meaning: To leave

E.g. We better hit the road before traffic get seven worse.
12. On the home stretch
Meaning: You are approaching the end of a task, a project, a race or a journey.

E.g. Ten exams done and two more to do - you're on the home straight now.
13. Itchy feet
Meaning: A person who has itchy feet is someone who finds it difficult to stay in one place and likes to travel and discover new places.

E.g. I hated living in London, and I started getting itchy feet.

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Common Idioms about Transport and Travel - ESL Buzz

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6. Put the cart before the horse Meaning: To do things out of the proper order. E.g. If you put the cart before the horse and pick out your dream car before you have any money saved up for a down payment, you'll just end up disappointed. 7.