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Human immunodeficiency virus, and its later, more severe stage, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a virus that affects people all over the world. HIV/AIDS is especially prominent in Africa, where many people are not educated on how to prevent spreading the illness, and even more do not have access to treatment. Here are 10 facts about HIV/AIDS in Africa:

1. 1,000 children are infected with HIV every day.

2. 23 percent of children infected with HIV/AIDS are being treated.

3. 17 million Africans have died of AIDS since the virus was discovered.

4. There are 25 million Africans living with with the HIV virus.

5. 13 million African children are orphans because of HIV/AIDS.

6. 67 percent of people infected with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa

7. 90 percent of children with HIV (about 2 million) live in sub-Saharan Africa.

8. Only 11 percent of pregnant HIV-positive women in sub-Saharan Africa receive treatment to prevent spreading the virus to their child.

9. HIV/AIDS is the cause of about 1 million deaths in Africa every year.

10. HIV/AIDS has caused the life-expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa to drop to 54.4 years and, in some countries, less than 49 years.

Although these statistics seem disheartening, there has been vast progress in treating and preventing the virus in Africa. More and more people are gaining access to contraceptives and antiviral drugs due to international aid. The end of HIV/AIDS may be a difficult goal to achieve, but every year the number of people dying from the HIV/AIDS decreases, leading the world one step closer to completely eradicating the virus.

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10 Facts about HIV/AIDS in Africa - The Borgen Project

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Human immunodeficiency virus, and its later, more severe stage, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a virus that affects people all over the world. HIV/AIDS is especially prominent in Africa, where many people are not educated on how to prevent spreading the illness, and even more do not have access to treatment.

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Definition: a final section at the end of a book, play, or musical composition that concludes what has happened.

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Name of chapter: Try and try until you make it
Significant quote: "Don't be discourage and give up just because it's hard," Blessings told me. "Look at me. I didn't go to college until I was thirty. Whatever you want to do, if you do it with all your heart, it will happen." (Kamkwamba, 275).
SIAS: In this chapter, William was finally being recognized, attended his first TED conference, got accepted and continued school, money donated allowed him to help his family and friends in many ways, and saw different parts and things around the world he never thought was possible and were only in his dreams.

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Definition: the basic equipment needed for an operation to function properly.

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Definition to ELA Terms: an expression used to describe how someone feels or have in mind without saying directly and explicitly.

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Definition: an investor that supports small companies because they wish to expand later on and doesn't have access to equities markets.

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- Population is 1.8 million people
- Located in California
- Center of developing technologies

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Silicon Valley facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Silicon Valley

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Get information, facts, and pictures about Silicon Valley at Encyclopedia.com. Make research projects and school reports about Silicon Valley easy with credible articles from our FREE, online encyclopedia and dictionary.

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Direct quote that reveals an important theme about African Inventors

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Direct quote that reveals an important theme about African Inventors

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"Africans bend what little they have to their will every day. Using creativity, they overcome Africa's challenges. Where the world sees trash, Africa recycles. Where the world sees junk, Africa sees rebirth" (Kamkwamba, 267)

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- Helpful
- Reliable
- Capable

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What's its stands for: Technology, Entertainment, and Design
What it represent: People across the world with brilliant minds that needs to be recognize.

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Come and See why Windsor Chico Care Center has become the choice for skilled nursing and rehab services in the area. Our team of professionals understand the importance of creating a warm, comfortable environment for all residents. Let us show you how we help people recover from surgery, injury and serious illness.

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Definition: the feeling of recognition that a person feels and opinions being worthwhile.
How William and his creation received it:  At the very beginning nearly no one believed that he could build that windmill he has created and everyone doubted him. However, when he succeeded, everybody congratulated him, was very proud, and talked about him. The word got spread around and that's when other people outside Malawi started hearing about what a boy like William has done. He then got interview, articles getting written about him, offers, and many more.

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Three personality traits of Dr. Mchazime 

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Three personality traits of Dr. Mchazime 

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- Encouraging
- Persistent
- Intelligent

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Name of chapter: The start of something new
Significant Quote: "This boy has special talent. We need to take him in the system. We need people like this in government!" (Kamkwamba, 257).
SIAS: In this chapter, William started to become known in different places outside Malawi. He got interviews done, an article was written about him, photographers taking his picture and his greatest creation, his windmill. Most importantly, William finally had the chance to go back to school all thanks to Dr. Mchazime.

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Name of chapter: Education is key!
Significant Quote: "In science, we invent and create, I said. 'We make new things that can benefit our situation. If we can all invent something and put it to work, we can change Malawi" (Kamkwamba, 249).
SIAS: In this chapter, William tried building a water pump, people blaming him for the terrible weather and saying that he's a witch, William educating himself and others about AIDS and HIV, and teaching his neighbors to build windmills and inspire to build something to change Malawi for the good.

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William's role in using ART to combat ignorance about HIV/AID

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William's role in using ART to combat ignorance about HIV/AID

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William joined the Wimbe Youth Friendly Health Services Club where they educate people about AIDS and HIV and help spread the word. He also directed a play for the Malawians to understand how poorly they were treating the women for just accusing them of having aids just because they were thin and to get tested to make sure if they have it not.

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Aids: a serious disease caused by an infection with a virus in the immune system
HIV: a virus that causes AIDS
Facts on Aids or HIV in Africa: https://borgenproject.org/10-facts-about-hivaids-in-africa/
- Many are not educated about this
- Causes about 1 million of deaths every year
- People doesn't have access to treatment

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- Due to his windmill "blowing away" the clouds and getting rid of the rain and saying that he's a witch and the machine is evil.
- People in Malawi are blaming William for the terrible weather and magic meaning blaming William and because there was a "strange beast of Dowa" that has been reported to be stealing body parts at night.

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DAKAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Two former students from Burkina Faso have designed a mosquito-repellent soap, which they hope could be a simple and affordable solution in the fight to end malaria, but more funds are needed to test the idea, according to the startup behind it.

Moctar Dembélé and Gérard Niyondiko, the brains behind Faso Soap, were awarded a $25,000 prize for their invention in 2013 when they became the first African winners of the Global Social Venture Competition at the University of California Berkeley.

Yet Faso Soap must be tested to ensure it is safe for human use and effective at preventing malaria before it can be mass produced by soap manufacturers in Africa, said Franck Langevin, campaigns director for the Ouagadougou-based startup.

The soap, created from natural oils and plants, could prove successful in preventing malaria as it would be cheap and rely on existing habits of African households, Langevin said.

"People in Africa are very reluctant to change their habits, but soap is present in most homes, and is used for bathing, cleaning the house and washing clothes," he said.

The soap is designed to repel mosquitoes up to six hours after being applied, and once soapy water is thrown away on the street, hinder the insects from breeding in stagnant water.

"It is a simple and affordable weapon in the fight against malaria," Langevin told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Last month, Faso Soap launched a crowd funding appeal for $113,000 to finalize the development of the soap with the aim of distributing it in six African countries hardest-hit by malaria by 2018, working with soap manufacturers and aid agencies.

Last year, there were 214 million cases of malaria worldwide with the mosquito-borne disease killing 438,000 people, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa.

Jo Lines, reader of malaria control and vector biology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, praised the idea behind the soap, but said it would be dangerous to rely on an untested product to protect against malaria.

As a social startup, Langevin said Faso Soap has struggled to attract funding from donors, including the World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations children's agency (UNICEF), prompting the inventors to turn to crowd funding.

World leaders committed to ending malaria by 2030 when they adopted the Sustainable Development Goals last year.

Europe last month became the first region to be declared malaria-free after reporting no indigenous cases in 2015, and a former WHO official said the world can eliminate the disease soon, but only with more investment to end and keep it at bay.

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Mosquito-repellent soap invention seeks to wash away Africa malaria threat

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Two former students from Burkina Faso have designed a mosquito-repellent soap, which they hope could be a simple and affordable solution in the fight to end malaria, but more funds are needed to test the idea, according to the startup behind it.

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Definition: a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide produced by the bacterial decomposition of organic wastes and used as a fuel

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William's failed "What's next?" (pg 227)

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William's failed "What's next?" (pg 227)

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His project of building a water pump

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It means not having a plan in life. It's not having a future for yourself. In Malawi, it's basically just being drunk and high all the time.

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Name of chapter: The change
SIgnificant Quote: "Mister Godsten, the welder no longer made fun of me" (Kamkwamba, 221).
SIAS: In this chapter, William made the necessary adjustments to his windmill, and he started seeing how different others are now treating him. For example, Mister Godsten.

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Reflect on how William's life is different with his functioning windmill. Including how Mister Godsten now view William 

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Reflect on how William's life is different with his functioning windmill. Including how Mister Godsten now view William 

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Now that William has a very successful and working windmill, his life has changed. People respects him and doesn't think he's a madman anymore. His parents were also very proud of what has William has done and become. Mister Godsten also changed the way he looks at William now. He stopped making fun of him and started being nice to William.

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Adjustment/Edits William makes to the windmill 

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Adjustment/Edits William makes to the windmill 

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- Changing his chain into a belt
- The wiring system

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Definition: a switch that automatically stops the flow of electicity when it becomes too strong for a place or device
Facts/uses: http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to/a5571/how-your-circuit-breaker-works/

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Definition: a transformer designed to increase voltage from primary to secondary
About transformer: https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/alternating-current/chpt-9/step-up-and-step-down-transformers/
Facts about Michael Faraday: http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/scientists/michaelfaraday.html

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Electric wind
Significant quote: "It flickered once. Just a flash at first, then a surge of bright, a magnificent light. My heart nearly burst" (Kamkwamba, 203).
SIAS: In this chapter, William successfully built his windmill and a lot of people were impressed and he is now working on making light for more than his room and house.

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Name of the chapter: The start of the windmill
Significant Quote: "I'm lazy, misala, but I know what I'm doing, and soon all of you will see!" (Kamkwamba, 191).
SIAS: In this chapter, William stopped going to school once again because they still can't afford it, he spent most of his time looking for materials he needs to build the windmill in the scrapyard, everyone thought he was smoking marijuana because he is always doing crazy things when building his windmill, and at the end of this chapter, William found the last piece he needed to build the windmill and that is a generator.

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the feeling of appreciation or thanks

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- William is using a bicycle dynamo as the windmill's main generator.
- He used pipes to make the 4 blades for the windmill.

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Two examples that demonstrates William's perseverance in this chapter

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Two examples that demonstrates William's perseverance in this chapter

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- When all of the kids were calling William crazy and that he is smoking. marijuana but just simply ignored them and kept working on his project.
- When he kept going through trash and scrapyard to find the materials he needed despite how hard and long it takes.

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Inventors that faced the same humiliation from society like William 

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Inventors that faced the same humiliation from society like William 

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Every nutjob in the world with some out-there theory thinks he's Galileo, rejected for daring to think different. Virtually all of them are, in fact, simply insane.

Yet, there have been brilliant rebels who put their own world-changing ideas on the line, only to end up like Doc Brown in his alternate timeline: humiliated, ridiculed, ignored and/or straight driven to insanity.

You probably know Mendel as the guy who pioneered the science of genetics, and for keeping eighth-graders busy while science teachers watch porn at their desks. Anybody with a high school diploma has filled out those dominant/recessive trait Punnett squares ...

... though astute readers are probably wondering why that technique is called a Punnett square if it predicts patterns Mendel discovered.

What you probably didn't know was that before making his revolutionary discovery, Gregor Mendel flunked his ass out of school and resigned himself to a quiet life as the abbot of a monastery. It had an extensive experimental garden and there Mendel patiently spent the next seven years of his life breeding and cross-breeding peas.

He carefully documented his work and developed what would eventually be known as Mendel's Laws of Inheritance. Then he wrote it up and got it published in an lesser-known journal, the Journal of the Brno Natural History Society in 1866.

His Genius Was Rewarded By ...

A quiet life of complete anonymity. Mendel's work was read by about zero people, even after he took it upon himself to contact the highest minds of his time by personally sending them copies of his theory. It turns out he would have been better off writing it on a paper bag filled with dog shit and leaving the whole flaming mess on porches.

Why did they ignore him? Because the greatest minds of his time couldn't understand him. It wasn't until 16 years after his death that three independent botanists rediscover Mendel's work and started the genetics ball rolling.

We've brought up poor old Semmelweis once before, but just in case you don't have a running loop of Cracked articles going through your head, here's the recap: Back in 1847, Semmelweis found himself in charge of two maternity clinics. The first clinic was a teaching school, with medical students learning birthing, autopsying and everything in between. The second clinic was intended for women who couldn't afford health care and was serviced by midwives, not actual doctors or students.

Yet it was the second clinic that women of all social statuses begged to get into. Why? Because if they went to the first clinic they'd have a 10 percent chance of dying of puerperal fever, a six percent greater rate of death than in the midwife-run hospital. Women literally had a better chance of surviving a birth on the street than in the first clinic. After an exhaustive study, Semmelweis figured out that medical students were smothered in disease cooties from cadavers, and that maybe, just maybe, they should wash their hands in between the autopsy room and the birthing rooms.

He insisted students perform a simple chlorine wash after handling dead guys and immediately got the death rate down to one to two percent. With numbers like that, you'd think the whole continent of Europe, much less the medical community, would have crowned him "king of live babies" or something.

His Genius Was Rewarded By ...

First dementia, then a beatdown at an insane asylum, then death, by virtually the same disease he had eradicated in his own hospital.

Semmelweis didn't just have the disregard of his contemporaries, he had their flat-out scorn. Maybe it was because he didn't get around to explaining himself on paper right away, so no one understood what hand-washing had to do with keeping people alive. Some doctors were actually insulted that he was accusing Viennese medical students being dirty enough to kill people.

Within 14 years of his groundbreaking discovery, Semmelweis just stopped giving a fuck. He got drunk all the time and called all his detractors "ignoramuses" and "murderers." He started chilling with prostitutes and lashing out at family. That last part proved to be a bad move, because in 1865 they had him committed to an insane asylum, where he was promptly beat up and stuck in a dark cellar.

He died two weeks later. It took another 20 years and Louis Pasteur's germ theory for the rest of the world to come around to the concept of washing your hands to keep from getting sick.

The year 1964 was a watershed year by any measure. The Beatles arrived, the Civil Rights Act was passed, Nicolas Cage was born and in two separate parts of the world, two separate scientists proposed the existence of quarks, the teeny-tiny subatomic particles that combine to form matter. If you've been paying attention, you know one of these guys is about to get screwed. (Hint: It's George Zweig.)

Zweig had three things going against him in 1964. One, he was a young graduate student, unpublished and unproven. Two, he was working at a particle research center in Geneva. You'd think that would be an advantage, but it turns out his institute had a stringent model for publication, and his paper on quarks, which he called "aces," didn't meet its standards (even though he had come up with a much cooler name for the particle). And three, an older scientist from his grad school proposed the exact same theory at the exact same time and because of his stature was able to publish that exact same theory with the exact same publication that rejected Zweig's.

At first, both men were called crazy for their insane notions of invisible particles. They had no model of behavior for the buggers and no methods of ever actually looking at them. But eventually the science world came around, and by 1969, Zweig's rival was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work. As for Zweig ...

His Genius Was Rewarded By ...

Being blackballed by a major university and accusations of being a "charlatan."

It wasn't until the 1970s that anyone could actually prove the existence of quarks, and by that time, the Nobel Prize committee felt it had already given the little particles enough attention, so it was reluctant to revisit the subject. Nevertheless, in 1977, Zweig and his rival were both nominated, but neither won. Zweig ended up changing his field of study to neurobiology, presumably believing that if he made a seminal contribution to every area of science, he'd eventually get credit for something.

Trying to convince you that Albert Einstein was rejected in any way during his lifetime let alone a moron is a hard sell, considering that he was one of the most famous men on the planet at the time. But buried deep in a lifetime of utter brilliance, Einstein was saddled with one big mistake. One that it turned out wasn't a mistake at all.

To understand, you have to know a little bit about Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. Not a whole lot, just the fact that it didn't allow for a static universe. Einstein believed the universe had to be static, or else the forces of gravity would cause the whole universe to contract onto itself, which it apparently wasn't doing. So, to make up for this weird conundrum, he invented something called the cosmological constant, an unknown, unchanging force that allowed him to have his cake (General Theory of Relativity) and eat it, too (stand by a static-universe model).

But not too long after Einstein came up with the cosmological constant, Edwin Hubble burst his little unmoving universe bubble by finding evidence that the whole shebang was expanding. Einstein called the cosmological constant his "biggest blunder" and went to his grave thinking he was an idiot for having proposed it. And so did everyone else. For a while.

"Way to go,
Einstein."

His Genius Was Rewarded By ...

Einstein didn't get heaped with scorn like some of the other geniuses on this list, so he got off with a little self-deprecation with a side of regret. And he also dropped the whole idea of the cosmological constant. But here's the thing -- it turns out he may have been right all along. Not about the universe being static, of course, but that this mysterious, unknown entity existed in the first place.

In the 1990s, scientists discovered that the universe was expanding faster than they had previously thought and that the rate of expansion was being fueled by a mysterious, unknown entity. There are several contenders up for consideration as the cause, but everyone's favorite? You guessed it: Einstein's cosmological constant. His math of the constant magically fit the bill. Also because you never go wrong when you bet on Einstein.

Ludwig Boltzmann had the unfortunate luck of being born with a genius brain at the wrong time. Back in the 19th century, there was a huge debate over the nature of matter. Boltzmann not only had the audacity to presuppose the existence of atoms at a time when the atomic model was still controversial among scientists, but also built every one of his brilliant theories as if there was no debate at all. How brilliant? Hang on to your test tubes, because thing are about to get sciencey.

With a beard like that, how could the man
not be a genius?

For one, he pioneered the study of statistical thermodynamics, which is a field of physics that provides a framework for predicting how a large number of particles will behave in a system. So, let's say you're camping and you start a fire. Boltzmann was the guy who tried to figure out what the crap was going on in those logs on a molecular level that allowed the fire to kindle, and he used fancy math formulas to figure it out. His work ultimately paved the way for the field of quantum mechanics, which eventually paved the way for the greatest time travel show ever.

His Genius Was Rewarded By ...

Death. He got death.

Back then, defending the existence of atoms was akin to defending creationist version of the origins of man today. Boltzmann wasn't just forced to defend something that would be accepted as fact within a few years, he was shamed for his stubborn refusal to yield and for his so-called materialist beliefs.

Nobody ever told scientists that nonmaterial science is already called philosophy. A long series of uneven debates left nearly every other supporter of atoms silent, leaving Boltzmann as their chief defender. Even colleagues who originally agreed with him began to question atoms' existence when his work seemingly undermined previously understood laws of physics.

A Helium atom, seen here being a
total dick to Physics.

The emotional burden of being the only right guy in the world, coupled with what was probably undiagnosed bipolar disorder, proved too much for Boltzmann to handle, and he hung himself in 1906, only three years before another scientist proved the undeniable existence of atoms. Nice job, science.
For more from the world of science, check out 7 Incredible Scientific Innovations Held Back by Petty Feuds and 5 Famous Inventors (Who Stole Their Big Idea). And stop by Linkstorm instead spending time with your family. And don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter to get sexy, sexy jokes sent straight to your news feed. Do you have an idea in mind that would make a great article? Then sign up for our writers workshop! Do you possess expert skills in image creation and manipulation? Mediocre? Even rudimentary? Are you frightened by MS Paint and simply have a funny idea? You can create an infograpic and you could be on the front page of Cracked.com tomorrow!

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5 Famous Scientists Dismissed as Morons in Their Time

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Every nutjob in the world with some out-there theory thinks he's Galileo, rejected for daring to think different. Virtually all of them are, in fact, simply insane. Yet, there have been brilliant rebels who put their own world-changing ideas on the line, only to end up like Doc Brown in his alternate timeline: humiliated, ridiculed, ignored and/or straight driven to insanity.

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In research for AIA, I've been finding some really powerful statistics about Africa, and it seems to mean that it all leads back to primary education. That's why I believe in our cause so much- because I think education is the key to helping poverty and the AIDS epidemic in Africa.

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Name of chapter: The start of electricity in Malawi
Significant quote: ¨You hear that, man?¨ I screamed. ¨We did it! It actually worked!¨
SIAS: In this chapter, William had figured out a way to provide Malawi with the electricity it needs. He decided to build a windmill that will produce kinetic energy that will the power light bulbs and other things that needs electricity to function.

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Kinetic energy: energy associated with motion
Diode: an electronic device that lets an electric current flow only in one way
Electroscope: an instrument used to detect electric shock in the body, weather a charge is positive or negative, and to indicate and measure an intensity of radiation.
Electromagnetic energy: a form of energy that reflects/emitted from objects travelling through magnetic waves that travels through space

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The video and William connects to each other because in the video it talked about bettering the future and that is exactly what William is doing. He is making a windmill to better the future of Malawi. They struggle with not having electricity in an everyday basis and changing that will definitely change and help their community for the good.

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Name of the chapter: The recovery
Significant Quote: "That's right, Mister Geoffrey. We lived, we survived" (Kamkwamba, 158).
SIAS: In this chapter, William decided to kill Khamba and put him out of his misery, cholera arrived Africa, and in mid February and March, tobaccos were starting to prune and mazes were starting to grow, providing William's family with food a lot more than usual and finally starting to have hope for survival.

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What is hopeful about the ending in chapter is that there is a good possibility that people in Malawi might actually survive their famine life. In the end it talked about how William's family's tobacco farm is starting to prune, maizes growing, dowe being ready to eat, and people not starving to death as much anymore.

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Epidemic: excessively affecting a large number of individuals in a population or community at one time.
Cholera: a serious disease that makes a person to vomit and diarrhea that results to death.
Facts about cholera: http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/cholera/en/

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In chapter 8 William decided to end his dog, Khamba's life. He thought that it would be best to just kill him because they can no longer feed him. In my opinion the way he killed Khamba was not the best because Khamba still struggled. If I were him would choose a fast death. However I'm not saying that killing a dog is exceptional. It's not. I would've still tried my best to feed him and not give up no matter what others say.

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Specific literary device: Sarcasm/ Irony
Direct Quote: "After consulting with his officials, he'd finally concluded it was an "emergency." As I said, our president was a funny guy."
Page number: 155

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Specific literary device: Metaphor
Direct quote: "It was like a flattened tube. I hurt so badly."

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Name of chapter: The Take Over of Malaria
Significant quote: "The hunger ravaged the body in two different ways. Some people wasted away until they look like walking skeletons" (Kamkwamba, 134).
SIAS: In this chapter the Malawians continued to struggle with their famined life and William decided to drop out of school since they cannot afford the school fees.

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Is society obligated to take care of the weak/sick?

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Is society obligated to take care of the weak/sick?

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In my opinion I don't think society is obligated to take care of the weak/sick. However, it would be appreciated if there would be some kind of healthcare organization that people can turn to. It would be nice to have something to go to when families just couldn't handle taking care of their sick loved ones or if someone doesn't have anyone to take care of them.

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Definition: a serious disease from a bite of mosquitoes that causes chills and fever and is very contagious.
Facts: http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/malaria/en/

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Name of chapter: The devastating christmas
Significant Quote: "Normally, Christmas was my favorite day of the year but of course, this year was far from normal" (Kamkwamba, 114).
SIAS: In this chapter, series of events happened and they include William's sister getting married and leaving, William going to the ADMARC to get food, and William celebrating Christmas without a proper meat.

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Mob mentality affecting personal moral code

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Mob mentality affecting personal moral code

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Mina Cikara, a sociologist at Carnegie Mellon University, recently attended a New York Yankee game with her husband. They are Red Sox fans and wore a hat to prove it. They were, of course, jeered, and they left the ball field stunned and wondering: Why did they torment us?

In a new research paper led by Cikara, a team of researchers have discovered a new insight into mob mentality - the propensity for groups of people to shed the inhibitions of societal and moral standards. Isolated individuals seldom heckle or riot. But throngs of sports fans torch cars, protesters storm government offices, and gangs go to war over intangible slights. Cikara and her colleagues may have discovered a culprit we can't control: our brains.

"Although humans exhibit strong preferences for equity and moral prohibitions against harm in many contexts, people's priorities change when there is an 'us' and a 'them,'" co-author Rebecca Saxe, an associate professor of cognitive neuroscience at MIT, told The groups's paper appeared recently in the journal Neuroimage. "A group of people will often engage in actions that are contrary to the private moral standards of each individual in that group, sweeping otherwise decent individuals into 'mobs' that commit looting, vandalism, even physical brutality."

Some of the apparent causes of mob mentality are well understood. Anonymity is one: Yankee fans can disappear into a blur of blue pinstripes. "I have never been called names like that in my entire life," says Cikara of her New York visit. (She has completed post-doctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge.) When people feel they will not be recognized or called to answer for their actions, they are more likely to behave wantonly. Another factor is responsibility. Guilt, shared collectively and spread thin, is an easier thing to stomach.

Yet, there may be something else going on: something less subjective and more quantifiable. Cikara and her colleagues wanted to find out whether an individual's sense of self - and therefore the individual's moral compass - is diminished during times of collective endeavor. But how do you measure sense of self? A functional magnetic resonance imaging brain scan, of course.

Hooking test subjects up to these machines, the scientists could monitor activity in different parts of the brain. A brain section called the medial prefrontal cortex lights up when people think about themselves and is more dormant when people act in groups, like playing on a team or rallying for a cause. During the testing, study participants were asked a series of questions about moral judgment as individuals and while competing in groups.

For some people in groups, the medial prefrontal cortex was more inactive than others. Those same people were also the least kind. After the series of questions, subjects were asked to choose pictures of teammates and of members of the opposing team to appear with the published study. The people with less self-reflection chose the most flattering pictures of themselves and their teammates and the ugliest pictures of their opponents. For shame.

"It's been hard to get a direct handle on the extent to which people within a group are tapping into their own understanding of things versus the group's understanding," David Rand, a Yale University psychologist who didn't participate in the study, told MIT News. "This is a nice way of using neuroimaging to try to get insight into something that behaviorally has been really hard to explore."

Incidentally, the people with low self-reflection had trouble remembering the questions that appeared during the study. Cikara says that's because the questions were about their own morality - something they weren't paying much attention to at the time. Which is convenient: You can't feel guilty about something if you can't remember it.

Source: Cikara M, Jenkins A, Dufour N, Sax R. Reduced self-referential neural response during intergroup competition predicts competitor harm. Neuroimage. 2014.

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Why Mobs Behave Badly - It's The Brain's Fault

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Mina Cikara, a sociologist at Carnegie Mellon University, recently attended a New York Yankee game with her husband. They are Red Sox fans and wore a hat to prove it. They were, of course, jeered, and they left the ball field stunned and wondering: Why did they torment us?

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Physiological: being consistent with the normal functioning of one's organism
Added info: related to physiology which means the way that living things/parts function

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Organization: https://www.wfp.org/countries/malawi
Past efforts: http://www.thp.org/our-work/where-we-work/africa/malawi/

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Additional Fact: Famine is a situation in which many people doesn't have enough of food.

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arvest should be the time for celebrations, weddings and full bellies in southern Malawi. But Christopher Witimani, Lilian Matafle and their seven children and four grandchildren had nothing to celebrate last week as they picked their meagre maize crop.

Last year's drought, followed by erratic rains, hit the village of Nkhotakota hard. But this year the rains never came and, for a second year running, the family grain store is empty. If they manage their savings carefully and eat just one small meal a day, they may just have enough food for two more months.

By August, said Irish charity Concern Worldwide, they and tens of thousands of other small farmers in southern Malawi will have completely run out of food, with no prospect of another harvest for at least seven months. With nothing to sell and no chance of earning money, Witimani, Matafle and family will starve.

"I am worried the children will starve to death. I don't know what to do," said Matafle.

"We need food. We are in a desperate situation," her husband added.

Countries are just waking up to the most serious global food crisis of the last 25 years. Caused by the strongest El Niño weather event since 1982, droughts and heatwaves have ravaged much of India, Latin America and parts of south-east Asia. But the worst effects of this natural phenomenon, which begins with waters warming in the equatorial Pacific, are to be found in southern Africa. A second consecutive year without rain now threatens catastrophe for some of the poorest people in the world.

The scale of the crisis unfolding in 10 or more southern African countries has shocked the United Nations. Lulled into thinking that Ethiopia in 1985 was the last of the large-scale famines affecting many millions, donor countries have been slow to pledge funds or support. More than $650m and 7.9m tonnes of food are needed immediately, says the UN. By Christmas, the situation will have become severe.

Malawi, Mozambique, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Madagascar, Angola and Swaziland have already declared national emergencies or disasters, as have seven of South Africa's nine provinces. Other countries, including Botswana and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, have also been badly hit. President Robert Mugabe has appealed for $1.5bn to buy food for Zimbabwe and Malawi is expected to declare that more than 8 million people, or half the country, will need food aid by November.

Serena Gadinala, from the in Neno district of Malawi, has tried different planting techniques but nothing worked and her crops continue to wilt. Photograph: Tamara van Vliet/OCHA

More than 31 million people in the region are said by the UN to need food now, but this number is expected to rise to at least 49 million across almost all of southern Africa by Christmas. With 12 million more hungry people in Ethiopia, 7 million in Yemen, 6 million in Southern Sudan and more in the Central African Republic and Chad, a continent-scale food crisis is unfolding.

"Food security across southern Africa will start deteriorating by July, reaching its peak between December 2016 and April 2017," says the UN's office for humanitarian affairs. The regional cereal deficit already stands at 7.9m tonnes and continues to put upward pressure on market prices, which are already showing unprecedented increases, diminishing purchasing power and thereby reducing food access. As food insecurity tightens and water scarcity increases due to the drought, there are early signs of acute malnutrition in Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabawe.

For Coco Ushiyama, head of the UN's World Food Programme in Lilongwe, Malawi's capital, just working out how to import a million tonnes of food, needed to support between five million and eight million people in Malawi over the next 12 months, is proving nightmarishly difficult. With no guarantees of money from donors, she cannot buy the food on the open market, or book ships and transport.

"We are very concerned. Last year, like many other countries in the region, Malawi had a double disaster with erratic rains and then floods which led into droughts," said Ushiyama. "Last year, 2.8 million people were affected. Then we had a deficit of 220,000 tonnes of food. This year, we are anticipating it will be four times as bad. The maize price is already exceptionally high.

"We are monitoring 50 markets throughout the country and already they are seeing abnormally high prices. We have very worryingly high admission rates for childhood malnutrition in health clinics. In some areas it is very serious already and it is likely to get much more serious. It will be a regional issue," she said.

The government has declared a disaster and will publish a new assessment of its needs in the next few weeks. The vice-president, Saulos Chilima, has said that about 1.3m tonnes of maize will be needed.

Politicians may talk of going on to the world market to buy a million tonnes of maize, but Ushiyama is unsure where it will come from. There is usually enough food in the region, but South Africa, which usually exports a million tonnes of food a year, will need to import 3.5m tonnes this year. Only Zambia may have enough food to export and it has imposed restrictions, she said.

"South Africa is in trouble. Nearby Zambia has had a better harvest than most countries but it has put export restrictions on its food. If we import it [from outside Africa], the food will take four to six months [to arrive]. We have learned from experience that the rains start in November so the roads will be terrible when the food is most needed and some lorry drivers will refuse to come. By November, we will need to have pre-positioned food in key areas. But to get it there by then means ordering the food right now," she said.

People are divide pulses among themselves at a United Nations World Food Programme food distribution centre in Chikwawa district, Malawi. Photograph: Tamara van Vliet/OCHA

Finding the cash to feed possibly 50 million people for eight or more months is the biggest problem of all, says the UN, because Africa's slow-burn crisis must compete with Middle East wars, refugees and natural disasters for attention. According to the UN, which is holding an unprecedented humanitarian summit this week in Istanbul, 125 million people worldwide need long-term assistance and a further 60 million have been forced from their homes by war, violence and disaster.

More than $1.5bn has been requested by southern African governments, says Ocha, the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, but less than a quarter of this has been pledged. Officially, the deficit is $677 million (87%) but this will grow when countries complete their assessments of the harvests in the next few weeks.

"The window for responding in a meaningful manner is closing rapidly," said Shadrack Omol, senior adviser to the UN children's fund, Unicef. "The concern is that slow-onset emergencies, like the one we are dealing with in southern Africa, do not get enough attention because they creep up on us."

John Makina, Oxfam country director in Malawi, said: "The donors just do not have the money; there is donor fatigue. Malawi has been hit by drought, then floods, then drought. The donors are getting tired of it. In 2015, Malawi alone needed $170m. In 2016-17, it will be far more.

"The full impact will be felt from October to March 2017. It's looking really bad. The most affected will be the poorest and jobless. They will end up selling what little they possess. The price of maize flour has already gone to 9,000 kwachas (£8.70) for 50kg. It will double again for sure," he said.

International development minister Nick Hurd, who has visited Mozambique, wants Britain to lead the humanitarian effort. But money cannot be given directly to the country following a corruption scandal, and the government must work through a consortium of NGOs, providing food vouchers, medical aid and food-for-work schemes.

"We cannot and will not stand idly by while millions suffer. Britain is playing a leading role in helping countries across Africa to cope with the impact of El Niño. Support for people affected by El Niño is important to Africa and also firmly in Britain's national interest," says Hurd.

In villages across southern Africa, people are fearful, unsure how they will survive. In Mozambique, where Britain is contributing £11.8m over three years, some food aid has arrived in the village of Mblalava.

A farmer tries to grow crops with the help of a United Nations supported irrigation scheme in the Neno district of Malawi. Photograph: Tamara van Vliet/OCHA

The women are ecstatic: "It's been two and a half years since we had good rain," said Rosita Chauque, a mother of three. "When the drought started we used to be able to find vegetables in the bush, but even these have gone now. We used to make and sell charcoal, but there are so many other people doing that now it's not possible. We have thought of leaving, but where to? We have no crops in the fields, no food for the cattle and nothing for ourselves. There is no water, no grass. People are selling their animals. They have no other resources. There is a lot of suffering."

"The situation is critical," said Abdoulaye Balde, the World Food Programme country director in Mozambique's capital, Maputo. "We are at the point of no return."

Droughts and "hungry seasons" are common throughout southern Africa, but the breadth of this year's crisis is very unusual, says Caoimhe de Barra, Malawi country director of Concern Worldwide. Her frontline workers see rural people already employing traditional coping strategies, including eating wild foods, taking children out of school, selling their animals and assets.

"Early action is key. If we can start supporting people now, we can save lives and prevent an even worse situation later this year. People are not currently dying of hunger but the overall health of the population will be severely affected by hunger-related illnesses. Malnutrition will blight the life chances of countless more Malawian children," she said.

The secretary general of the International Red Cross, Elhadj As Sy, who visited Malawi and Zimbabwe last week, said: "Much more needs to be done to support communities to survive and strive over the coming months. We met families who have received no external support and who are simply desperate. We need to urgently scale up our interventions to prevent this situation from becoming a catastrophe," he said.

Relief from Africa's long drought may finally be coming, says the World Meteorological Organisation, which is monitoring the temperature of waters in the Pacific. These are said to be cooling rapidly and are expected to be "neutral" by mid-June. That, says the UN, signals the coming end of the El Niño, the droughts and the worldwide heatwaves.

The effects, however, will not be felt in southern Africa until April 2017 when the next main harvest should be in. But, says the WMO, there may be a sting in the tale. There is a 50:50 chance that the continent will be hit from September by El Niño's climatic "twin", known as La Niña, which develops as the Pacific Ocean equatorial waters cool after an El Niño.

Instead of droughts, La Niña usually brings heavier monsoon rains in south-east Asia and much cooler and wetter conditions in southern Africa.

"We pray hard for rain and then we must pray harder that it stops. Is there no end of extreme weather?" said Malawian villager Richard Kapenda.

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Across Africa, the worst food crisis since 1985 looms for 50 million

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A second year without rain threatens to bring catastrophe for some of the poorest people in the world. Donor countries, in the grip of wars and refugee crises, have been slow to pledge funds. But by the time they do, it could be too late

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Courtship/Marriage Customs in Malawi (Africa)

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Courtship/Marriage Customs in Malawi (Africa)

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Traditional wedding and engagement ceremonies in Malawi. Customs and traditions explained by Local Malawian Chimwemwe Siyabu.

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Did you know how Malawian do engagements? This article explains the traditional Malawian wedding and engagement ceremony.

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Definition: The process of purposely killing people who belongs in a specific racial, political, or cultural group.
Facts about the genocide in Rwanda:
- Killed more than eight hundred thousand Tutsi
- Spilled into the Democratic Republic of Congo
- Started a war
- Muluzi was one of the leaders and broker peace

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Name of the chapter: Starvation
Significant quote: "As of now, we were going to run out of food in less than a month, and I had no idea how we'd survive after that (Kamkwamba, 90)".
SIAS: The people of Malawi has experienced a war with hunger and the government is not doing anything about it.

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Examples of corrupt politicians/ government from chapter 5

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Examples of corrupt politicians/ government from chapter 5

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- President Muluzi sold all the surplus for profit
- The government was not taking responsibility for the millions of kwacha missing
- President Muluzi wasn't doing anything about the lack of food in Malawi and is using the extra money for building toilets
- When Chief Wimbe confronted the President about how he hasn't been helping the people in Malawi with the hunger problem, he got jumped and was terribly injured.

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- a condition where a person feels very weak due to having fewer red blood cells than normal

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http://www.bradford.ac.uk/research-old/ijas/ijas.htm

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Deforestation definition: the act of cutting down trees or burning all trees in one area
Relevant article: http://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/deforestation
-Deforestation keeps the Malawian poor because people kept cutting down trees without realizing how it affects their environment and causing more damage. Without the trees, there would be more flood washing away crops, garbage clogging up dams, making the turbine to shut down and causing power cuts. This resulting in expensive repairs and increases charge of electricity that the Malawians cannot afford.

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Alternating: an electric current that flows in back and forth many direction and reverses many times at a second interval
Direct: an electric current that flows in only one direction
Facts:
A: provide outlets in our homes, wires in different directions 60 times every seconds, used in circuits
D: electrons in the wire moves 600 miles per second, electrons get pushed away in the same direction in the wire, speeds up the speeds of life

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Five facts/detail about the construction and use of a dynamo:
- necessary to store a good amount of electricity
- a generator that makes direct current power
- deliver power for industry
- includes electric motor, alternating current alternator, and rotary converter
- scales power generators

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Interesting episode of Smarter Everyday 

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Interesting episode of Smarter Everyday 

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Bullet vs Prince Rupert's Drop at 150,000 fps - Smarter Every Day 165

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Name of the chapter: Scientific mind
Significant quote:"I'd become very interested in how things worked, yet never thought of it as science (Kamkwamba, 71)."
SIAS: In this chapter, William and Geoffrey started their own business where they fixed broken radios and then William started to wonder how everything works like how radios play music and how a car moves.

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Simile on page 77: William and his father were comparing the flooding in their area and the rest of the country. They considered themselves lucky because they were not alone and others had tiny farms and were damaged by the flood more.
Personification on page 78: William's father hard work on their farm represented the growth of their crops.

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Context of the Evaluation

A lush climate and rich soil make Malawi well suited for agriculture, which is central to the country's economy and national life. In 2011, the agriculture sector made up 31 percent of Malawi's GDP and employed more than 80 percent of its workforce. The main food crop is maize, grown by smallholder farmers. Over half of all farmers in Malawi operate below subsistence and only 20 percent of maize farmers produce a surplus and sell their product. ¹ Most rural families have too little land to produce sufficient food and too little income to buy extra. According to some reports, a quarter of the population runs out of food only five months after the harvest, well before the next harvest.

The current agricultural extension system in Malawi utilizes government workers called Agricultural Extension Development Officers (AEDOs), employed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. AEDOs work with individual farmers and host village-wide field days. While AEDOs are officially responsible for about 15-25 villages, this number is often larger in reality given the high number of AEDO vacancies. In July 2009, an estimated 56 percent of AEDO positions were unfilled.

Traditionally, farmers use a technique called ridging and some forms of composting to prepare land for farming in Malawi. However, farmers had low levels of knowledge on the two technologies promoted by this study: pit planting and Chinese composting. At baseline, only about 12 percent of farmers in the comparison group had heard of pit planning, and those who were familiar with the technology did not know enough to implement it. About 54 percent of farmers were familiar with composting, though only 7 percent had heard of Chinese composting specifically.

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Promoting Sustainable Farming Practices in Malawi

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Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of leveraging social networks to disseminate information about two technologies, pit planting and "Chinese composting", on farmers' adoption of these methods. Providing performance-based incentives to peer farmers had the biggest effect on technology adoption.

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- They have certain of necessary nutrients your body needs
- Insects are a lot better for the environment since they fewer greenhouse gasses compare to traditional livestock
- They are a lot cheaper
- Healthier for you
- They are easy to find and are everywhere and anywhere

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In the West, insects are pests, a source of torment with whole industries devoted to their destruction. But they might be the key to the looming global food crisis. (The food supply has to double by 2050 to feed a projected population of 9 billion.)

Currently, 2 billion people eat insects around the world, primarily in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, where the practice has a thousand-year precedent, according to a new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization released today. Worldwide, beetles, caterpillars, bees, wasps and ants are the most widely consumed species.

Here are the basics on why so-called "mini livestock" is such an appetizing option for our health and the environment:

1. They provide necessary nutrients

The FAO report finds that adult locusts and grasshoppers have comparable levels of protein to raw beef (though the levels of protein, fat and fiber vary by species and preparation). In most insect-eating societies, mini livestock make up a sizable portion of the needed daily dose of protein, calcium, zinc and iron.

2. Insects release fewer greenhouse gases than traditional livestock

Rearing traditional livestock accounts for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions (pdf, p .63), which trumps emissions by the transportation industry. Both industries emit far more greenhouse gases than mealworm, cricket, and locust producers. Insects also release much less ammonia and methane than pigs and cattle.

Rearing insects uses less land and water than cattle-rearing. It's also a way to make use of organic waste. The Netherlands has invested $1.3 million in finding ways to raise edible insects on food waste.

3. It makes economic sense

As global food prices have risen, the cost of animal feed has weighed down farmers and driven up meat prices. Because they are cold-blooded, insects require less energy to stay warm and are therefore more efficient at converting feed into protein (crickets, for example, need 12 times less feed than cattle, four times less than sheep, and half as much as pigs and broiler chickens to produce the same amount of protein). Also, the cost of gathering insects (as is the practice in developing countries) or producing them at scale is relatively low.

4. They are less likely to make us sick

Insects are taxonomically distant from humans, which makes them less likely to transmit diseases-a good thing in the era of food-borne maladies like H5N1 and mad-cow disease. Even so, mass producing any livestock comes with some risk of unknown diseases. The authors of the FAO report acknowledge the need for more research in determining potential health risks.

5. They're everywhere

There are edible insects living in forests, farmland and water. While habitat destruction and climate change make the population uncertain, there are more than 1,900 edible insect species.

Humans, on average, already unintentionally ingest an estimated 1 pound of insects a year, mixed in with other foods. Insects are even popping up on Western high-end restaurant menus, which could take bug-eating mainstream. Says food writer Michael Pollan, "It would take a lot of work by our best chefs to shift this cultural norm. Any precedent? One I can think of: we've learned in the West to eat, and enjoy, raw fish. This will be even harder, but it's not out of the question." The trick to opening up Western palates? Find some better bug names.
Correction: A previous version of this piece referred to SARS as a foodborne illness. It is a zoonotic illness.

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Five reasons we should all be eating insects

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In the West, insects are pests, a source of torment with whole industries devoted to their destruction. But they might be the key to the looming global food crisis. (The food supply has to double by 2050 to feed a projected population of 9 billion.) Currently, 2 billion people eat insects around the world, primarily...

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Information about food culture (defining words)

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Information about food culture (defining words)

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Sustainable: able to be used without being completely used up or destroyed
Ethical: involving questions for right and wrong behavior; following accepted rules of behavior: morally right and good
Feasible: possible to do

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How To Learn | World's Leading Site for Learning Resources

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"I think, at a child's birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift would be curiosity." ~Eleanor Roosevelt
If you're a parent, you know that babies are born with limitless curiosity. Just think about all of the things your little ones touch, grab, climb on, stare at, put in their mouths, etc. But for many kids, as they grow their curiosity is dulled. And by the time they reach adulthood, they're merely going through the motions necessary to make it through each day instead of actively trying to understand and shape the world around them. Why is that?

"In a nutshell, we've stopped placing an emphasis on the importance of curiosity," says Victoria Ryan O'Toole, creator of the Molly Moccasins story, game, and activity book series for children. "We all live in a culture that depends on TVs, computers, smartphones, books, magazines, and other people to keep us constantly occupied and entertained. Think of all the adults (and even kids!) you know who would have absolutely no idea what to do with themselves if you left them alone and took away their electronics."

Curiosity, says O'Toole, is the antidote to this plugged-in, entertainment-dependent lifestyle because it encourages and allows individuals to be intellectually self-sufficient.

"Stimulating your children's curiosity is a wonderful gift because it enables them to continually learn, grow, and question the world they live in," she comments. "It also helps them to develop a healthy imagination and sense of creativity, and sets them up for a successful future."

O'Toole created her popular Molly Moccasins series, which features a bright, imaginative, and curious girl named Molly, to inspire young readers to find meaning, knowledge, and adventure in everyday life. As they follow Molly on her almost 70 story adventures through backyards, museums, farms, libraries, forests, and (much!) more, kids will learn to ask new questions, observe new things, and develop an increased curiosity about the world around them.

Here, O'Toole shares seven compelling reasons why curiosity is such a valuable skill for kids to develop.

It's a high complement to the hard skill set. In today's hyper-competitive academic environment, parents tend to be zoom-focused on their kids' "hard" skill sets: reading, writing, 'rithmetic, etc. What they often don't realize is that "soft" skills like curiosity and creativity are what give academic knowledge its power and usefulness in the real world. The truth is, curiosity and creativity are some of the most valuable skills young people can have as they prepare to enter the global economy. As professionals, they'll have to innovate on the go, think of better ways to solve old problems, create time- and money-saving solutions, and much more.

"When a child is constantly asking questions and displaying curiosity about the world around her, she's already well on her way to creating solutions," asserts O'Toole. "I recently attended an edu-event where this point was made in an unexpected way. A speaker broke down the process that engineers use to design and build amazing things: Ask, Imagine, Plan, Design, and Create. Most of us don't tend to think of engineering, a very 'technical' job, as being dependent on curiosity and imagination-but it is! So the next time your child wants to build a rocket ship out of a box so that she can explore outer space, don't redirect her to a more 'educational' activity. She's developing a skill set that will serve her well throughout her life."

It cultivates an active mind. While you might sometimes fear that you'll explode if your child asks you "why?" one more time, overall, those questions are a good thing. They're a sign of an active mind that's constantly analyzing the world and trying to figure it out. Admit it: You'd be concerned if your child accepted everything around her with nary a protest or murmur!

"As long as a child is curious, she'll be exposed to new facts and ideas, and the metaphorical wheels in her head will be in continuous motion," points out O'Toole. "This is the kind of mental activity that fosters true learning, not just good grades. (Unfortunately, many parents tend to place too much emphasis on the latter, and not enough on the former.) Curiosity is also the force that drives personal development, because thinking through new concepts and ideas is what allows us to mature and to develop more nuanced, open-minded worldviews."

It counteracts boredom. The fact is, even the most attentive parents can't keep their children entertained 24/7. Sooner or later, that new electronic game will get old, your youngster will become too squirmy to sit still and watch TV, or he'll lose patience with the fact that your attention is elsewhere. And if his natural curiosity isn't able to redirect his interest, the dreaded B-word- boredom -will strike. And that's when trouble often starts.

"A child who is bored might act out in order to bring adults' attention back to him-hello, tears and tantrums!" O'Toole points out. "Over time, this child might be overly attached to Mom and Dad because he depends on them to keep him entertained, he might become a couch potato or PlayStation addict, and it's possible that he'll lack an overall sense of motivation throughout his life, to name just a few things. And as easily bored kids get older, the stakes get higher: How many teenagers engage in dangerous behaviors because 'there was nothing else to do'?"

It encourages self-sufficiency. All parents want to raise children who can take care of themselves in a variety of situations, and who don't constantly rely on others to bail them out. Once again, curiosity is a big part of how parents can make this desire a reality. For many of the same reasons why curiosity sparks creativity, it also encourages kids to be self-sufficient. The progression goes like this: Child has a problem or question. Curiosity prompts child to ask "How can I solve this?" or "Why?" Child acts on the answer she comes up with instead of waiting for an adult to "take care of it."

"For a young child, this sense of curiosity-driven self-sufficiency might manifest itself in putting together her own very unique, somewhat mismatched outfit in the morning," O'Toole explains. "An older child might set up a lemonade stand or arrange to do chores for an elderly neighbor so that she can raise the money to buy the new bike she wants. Essentially, curiosity is an essential tool in enabling children to solve their own problems. You can also think of it as extra insurance against having your adult child take up residence in your basement!"

It inspires persistence. You've heard the term "burning curiosity" before. It refers to a too-strong-to-be-dismissed impulse to know why, how, what, etc. You've probably seen this in action before: When your curious child really wants to know why the dinosaurs died, for example, he won't be satisfied with a one-sentence answer. He'll keep asking you to explain what you know, and he may even take the initiative to read books, to do research online, or perhaps even to build a dinosaur out of papier-mâché.

"Persistence sparked by curiosity is the difference between the child who memorizes facts and methods for the sake of a good report card and the child who voluntarily reads science articles or novels outside of school," O'Toole says. "Curiosity will also foster resilience (which is an important component of persistence): If your children want to know what's over the next hill badly enough, they'll be motivated to get back up and keep climbing whenever they stumble and fall."

It counteracts self-absorption. As a rule, curious people are very aware of how much they don't know. Because they're always asking questions and seeking answers, they have a more fully developed view of the world and how it works, which makes them less likely to think they're the center of it.

"When they achieve one goal, curious people will soon be driven to pursue the next milestone instead of sitting on their laurels, patting themselves on the back, and demanding accolades," adds O'Toole. "For a generation of youngsters who have developed a reputation for being selfish, spoiled, entitled, and materialistic, this is key!"

It sets kids up for long-term success. Throughout history, it's always the people who ask "Why?" or "How can I make this better?" or "What is the solution to this problem?" who make the biggest impacts on our world. (Think about individuals ranging from Leonardo da Vinci to Marie Curie to Steve Jobs.) On a smaller, but no less valuable scale, those who ask questions and refuse to accept the status quo transform companies, lead communities, live adventurous lives, and are most fulfilled personally.

"Of course, the opposite is true as well," O'Toole warns. "Adults who aren't curious may do well enough in the world, but they rarely influence it. They're the people in your office who do what's expected of them, but no more. They're the couch potatoes who don't seem to have any interest in meaningful hobbies. They're not the people you want your children to grow up to be. Instead, you want your children to always wonder what life has to offer next, both personally and professionally, and go after it!"

"The best news of all for parents is that you don't have to create curiosity from scratch," O'Toole concludes. "Remember, it's something your children were born with. Your job is to learn how to foster and encourage your children's natural impulses to ask questions and learn new things. You may be surprised by how much fun you have in the process!"

Victoria Ryan O'Toole is the author of the popular Molly Moccasins books, apps, games, and activity series. The first dictionary that O'Toole ever received was inscribed with a powerful message from her favorite uncle: "A curious mind is never bored." As soon as she read that line, she knew life would never be boring-and it never has been.

O'Toole's first children's book series, Molly Moccasins, is evidence of Victoria's optimistic perspective. Molly Moccasins finds meaning, knowledge, and adventure in everyday life-just as Victoria has since she was young. Now Victoria has written and published nearly 70 Molly Moccasins stories for the series, which have sold in almost one hundred countries in less than a year.

She delights in her life in Southern California with her husband, twin daughters, and twin yellow labs, and is thrilled to be writing adventure stories that encourage children to use their imaginations and natural curiosities, just as she continues to use hers.

About Molly Moccasins:
The Molly Moccasins book series and advertising-free website are for all young adventurers who like to read, play, think, imagine, and investigate. The lead character, Molly, with her spirited imagination, slightly sophisticated vocabulary, and positive perspective, delights in some great adventures with her family, friends, and the people (and creatures) she encounters in her everyday life. The website is launching with nearly 70 stories and even more game options.

Using contemporary media, this unique story, game, and activity book series is for children, parents, and educators and can now be enjoyed in print and on almost all digital platforms: web, apps, ebooks, and audio books.
For more information, please visit MollyMoccasins.com. READ MORE articles about curiosity.

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Why Curiosity Is The Most Important Skill To Teach Your Child - How To Learn | World's Leading Site for Learning Resources

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"I think, at a child's birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift would be curiosity." ~Eleanor Roosevelt If you're a parent, you know that babies are born with limitless curiosity. Just think about all of the things your little ones touch, grab, climb ...

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Chapter name: The death of Uncle John
Significant Quote: "It was the first time I'd ever seen my parents suffer, and the sight of it frightened me more than any magic ever could (Kamkwamba, 50)."
SIAS: In this chapter, William's uncle died and we learned how the Malawians treat each other when someone passes away like every grave has a hidden compartment at the bottom where the coffin slides through. This is to keep the family from seeing dirt fall on their love ones and protect the body from the falling dirt.

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Chapter name: The Battle with magic
Significant Quote: "My first and only experience with magic had left me with a sore eye and hands that throbbed from bad medicine (Kamkwamba, 48)."
SIAS: In this chapter, we discovered how tough and hardworking William's father was and that William's first and last contact with magic was tragic and unsuccessful.
The picture below shows William's grandmother, mother, father, himself, and his grandfather.

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Definition: a form of magic that is delivered by a superhuman power.
William's first personal encounter with magic: One day a boy named Shabani talked William into trying out the mangolomera that he found himself. William was tired of getting bullied all the time so he decided to try it out. He followed everything Shabani had told him to do. He told William that it will take three days for it to actually work so he waited. The three days was over and William decided to test his new powers. He went up to this other boy that was twice his size. He challenged the boy to fight and as he thought he was winning and was finally feeling strong, he found himself beaten up and on the ground. Then he realized that the magolomera that Shabani gave him was fake. He told him that his magic didn't work and as you can probably guess, Shabani made up an excuse and told William that he shouldn't have bathe for those three days.
What William learned from the encounter: William was left with plenty of injuries after his fight so he immediately regretted his decision of trusting Shabani. He thought to himself that it was probably for the best that he didn't get powers.

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Info/article: http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Africa/Malawi-AGRICULTURE.html

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Other Robert Fulumani info: http://www.malawi-music.com/R/75-robert-fumulani

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Nestled between Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique, Malawi has earned it's nickname as 'the warm heart of Africa'. And 'warm' is precisely the adjective I would use to describe Malawian music. There is a sunny optimism in much of the Malawian music I've heard, and after a grim weekend of cold, rain, and snow, here in Washington D.C., I figured I'd warm myself up with a few Malawian recordings from our collection.

One of the most popular styles of music in Malawi, in the late 1960s was South African Kwela; a driving dance music, powered by virtuoso penny whistle players. Migrant workers returning from South Africa and Zimbabwe brought kwela music to Malawi, and it was in Salisbury, the capital of the federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (which is now Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe), that Daniel and Donald Kachamba discovered Kwela music. When the brothers returned, in 1961, to Nyasaland (which became Malawi in 1964), they started to perform Kwela music on the streets, at markets, and in nightclubs. Daniel played the guitar, and his younger brother Donald was a penny whistle virtuoso; he had been playing the instrument since the age of six.

In 1967, the Austrian ethnomusicologist Gerhard Kubik heard the Kachamba brothers playing for a large crowd near the main market in Blantyre, Malawi's largest city. And at some point that same year, he brought the Kachamba brothers band to the United States Cultural Center in Blantyre. In February of 1968, the United States Information Service office in Blantyre, sent a four-song tape to the Voice of America, with the following description: 'enclosed is [a recording, made on December 4, 1967 of] an African combo consisting of four boys aged 7-16. They were recently discovered by a German musicologist who was researching African music in Malawi.'

In fact, at the time of these recordings Daniel was 20 years old (he was born in 1947, and passed away in 1987), and Donald was 14 (he was born in 1953, and passed away in 2001); two younger boys accompanied them, one playing the string bass, and the other the rattle. Donald's penny whistle playing on these two tracks is fantastic.

Let's jump ahead a couple of decades, with one of Malawi's most popular bandleaders of the late 1980s and 1990s, Robert Fumulani (he is the man crouching in the picture above). He was born, in 1948, in the city of Zomba (which is 40 miles northeast of Blantyre), and first started to draw the attention of Malawian audiences in the 1970s. During the 1980s, Fumulani won the Malawian 'Entertainer of the Year' award three times. And by the time he passed away, in 1998, his musical earnings had allowed him to open several businesses, including the Likhubula Entertainment Centre, his nightclub in Chileka (a suburb of Blantyre), and a cargo services company at Chileka airport. His musical legacy is kept alive by three of his seven sons; Anjiri, Musandide, and Chizondi- who are the core of the Black Missionaries, currently one of Malawi's most popular groups.

This track gives you a good idea of Fumulani's relaxed Afroma (a contraction of Afro-Malawian) groove. In this one Fumulani pleads with 'Patricia', he sings, 'don't leave us, stay with us, don't break up your family.'

One of the key ingredients of the Likhubula River Dance Band's sound was the guitar playing of Ernest Mapemba. Near the end of 'Mwana Wanga', or 'My Child', Mapemba breaks things down with some wonderfully relaxed playing.

This last track has got a nice reggae beat. Fumulani asks for guidance and advice.

Let's keep the reggae beat going with Evison Matafale, who before he passed away in 2001, was one of Malawi's most loved artists. In 2000, he surprised music fans with his debut release 'Kuyimba I', which became one of the year's best-selling releases. Matafale recorded the album with Robert Fumulani's three aforementioned sons, who after Evison passed away, renamed themselves the Black Missionaries.

In 2001, after a long battle with tuberculosis, Matafale released 'Kuyimba II'. He passed away several months later, however, dying suddenly while in police custody. He was only 32 years old. According to an article published by the BBC, Matafale's brother Elton believes Evison was killed, because of letters he had written to then-president Bakilu Muluzi, denouncing his government's policies. In 'Yang'ana Nkhope', Evison sings 'Look at my face, look at your face, we are all God's Children.'

Next up is Joseph Tembo, a great guitar player, from southern Malawi. He was born in 1997, in southern Malawi, and is a member of the Sena ethnic group, who are related to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. This relationship helps explain the similarities between Tembo's music and the Shona melodies and rhythms of Zimbabwean Chimurenga music.

This last song is by Coss Chiwalo, who for many years was (and may still be) the bandleader of the 'Alleluya Band', a Malawian musical institution. He was born in 1974 and has released three solo albums. 'Wakwatiwa', one of his biggest hits, is a song that is usually played at weddings. He sings of the joy of the bride and groom.

I hope the music hit the spot. I would like to thank Dr. John Lwanda of Pamtondo records for his help with research and song translations.

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Nestled between Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique, Malawi has earned it's nickname as 'the warm heart of Africa'. And 'warm' is precisely the adjective I would use to describe Malawian music. There is a sunny optimism in much of the Malawian music I've heard, and after a grim weekend of cold, rain, and snow, here in [...]

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Hastings Kamuzu Banda was the leader of the Malawi government. He was their president from 1963 to 1994.
Cult of Personality:  ¨Excessive public admiration for or devotion to a famous person, especially a political leader¨ Banda is a good example of this.
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Hastings_Banda

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Hastings Kamuzu Banda | president of Malawi

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Hastings Kamuzu Banda: Hastings Kamuzu Banda, first president of Malawi (formerly Nyasaland) and the principal leader of the Malawi nationalist movement. He governed Malawi from 1963 to 1994, combining totalitarian political controls with conservative economic policies. Banda's birthday was officially given as May 14,

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The yao are a group of people living in the areas of Hunan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guizhou, and Yunnan provinces.

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Yao Ethnic Minority, the Chinese Yao Ethnic Group

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The Chinese Yao people mainly live in Hunan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guizhou and Yunnan provinces.

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Text Structure | Classroom Strategies | AdLit.org

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AdLit.org offers resources (articles, research, teaching strategies, book recommendations) for parents and educators of struggling adolescent readers and writers.

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Most primary students have used the picture walk technique to preview text (Stahl, 2004). By looking at and talking about the illustrations in a text, students activate prior knowledge, make predictions, and set a purpose for reading (Clay, 1991; Fountas & Pinnell, 1996). Effective primary teachers use this instructional strategy when teaching students how to read (Taylor, 2002), yet this supportive practice is not as common when students read expository text and is often discarded as students move from reading picture books to chapter books.

When students enter the intermediate grades, they are required to read more textbooks and informational texts to learn, but reading textbooks and informational texts can be difficult for students due to the higher level vocabulary and concept-dense content. In addition to these complexities, expository nonfiction also contains numerous text features that supplement and present important content that the student must read in order to fully comprehend. Interestingly though, students often ignore these essential text features (Kelley & Clausen-Grace, 2008; Spencer, 2003), even though they have been taught their importance.

After acknowledging that our intermediate students failed to read or gave little importance to text features when reading, we developed the text feature walk strategy. The text feature walk is a technique that follows a protocol similar to the primary picture walk. This article will describe how to employ a text feature walk in your classroom and report on the benefits we have garnered from using this technique, including results from a pilot study we conducted in the spring of 2007 to determine its effectiveness (Kelley & Clausen-Grace, 2008).

Rationale for the text feature walk

Whether you teach one subject or all subjects, ultimately your goal is the same: student learning and achievement. To assist teaching and facilitate student learning, we often teach students to employ a strategy. Strategies help learners organize information, reflect on a topic, and learn. In addition to having various strategies to assist with content learning, knowing how to navigate the text is extremely important. Teachers must recognize factors within a text that can enhance or impair comprehension. These factors fall into three categories: text features, text organization, and text content.

Text features include all the components of a story or article that are not the main body of text. These include the table of contents, index, glossary, headings, bold words, sidebars, pictures and captions, and labeled diagrams. These features can be helpful if they are concise, related to the content, and clear, or they can be harmful if they are poorly organized, only loosely related to the content, or too wordy. Text organization refers to the patterns and structures used by the author(s) to write the text. A well-organized text assists the reader through predictable placement of information. A poorly organized text can impede the reader by being counterintuitive. The content of a text is what we want students to learn. Content can be accessible if it is reduced to manageable chunks, or it can be intimidating if it includes too much specialized academic vocabulary and too many abstract concepts.

The text feature walk is a structure that addresses each of these facets of expository text. The success of the text feature walk is dependent on knowledge of text features and the ability to self-scaffold through discussion. We teach students to use this structure to help them predict what they will be learning. In a text feature walk, students work in a small group, reading each feature in the order that it appears and discussing what they think they will be learning. As each feature is read, students must think about and discuss how the information relates to the main idea of the text.

As students move through text features in a given section, they become familiar with the text's organization and access important background knowledge related to the content (Honig, Diamond, & Gutlohn, 2000). Sometimes, if the content is unfamiliar and students are unable to make connections, the text features actually frontload vocabulary and concepts that will be important in the main body of the text. These discussions help students create mental models and increase the likelihood that they will read and remember (Recht & Leslie, 1988). As students make their predictions and discuss various features, they anticipate what they will read and set a purpose for their reading (Lubliner, 2001).

In addition to the benefits already discussed, the text feature walk is an engaging structure that builds students' interest in learning and enhances their construction of meaning. This type of active learning is important for both vocabulary acquisition (Kibby, 1995; Nagy & Scott, 2004; Rupley, Logan, & Nichols, 1998) and content learning. Ruddell (2009) recommended that reading strategies do three things: (1) provide students with the opportunity "to interact and transact with the text" (p. 220), (2) purposefully guide the student as they read in the content area, and (3) help students to integrate their reading with content learning. The text feature walk accomplishes all three of these goals.

Introducing students to a text feature walk

Used correctly, the text feature walk is a very powerful tool (see chart below). The key to proper usage is all in the preparation and training of students. You should start by making sure they are familiar with text features. Have students look at pages in a science or social studies book. Instruct them to run their hands over the main body of text. Explain that everything else is considered a text feature.

Ask students why authors and designers include text features. It is helpful to spend a few weeks having students simply identify and read various text features prior to initiating a text feature walk. The text features in the table below are quite common and among those you will want to directly teach to students. Knowledge of text features is not the only prerequisite to a successful text feature walk. In addition, you want to be sure students know the difference between an interactive conversation about a text and just taking turns talking about a text.

Common text features to explicitly teach students

Name of text feature

Purpose of text feature

Title

Quickly tells the reader what information they will learn about

Table of contents

Shows students the different chapter or section titles and where they are located

Index

Directs students where to go in the text to find specific information on a topic, word, or person

Glossary

Identifies important vocabulary words for students and gives their definitions

Headings or subtitles

Help the reader identify the main idea for that section of text

Sidebars

Are set apart from the main text, (usually located on the side or bottom of the page) and elaborate on a detail mentioned in the text

Pictures and captions

Show an important object or idea from the text

Labeled diagrams

Allow readers to see detailed depictions of an object from the text with labels that teach the important components

Charts and graphs

Represent and show data related to, or elaborate on, something in the main body of text

Maps

Help a reader locate a place in the world that is related to text

Cutaways and cross sections

Allow readers to see inside something by dissolving part of a wall or to see all the layers of an object by bisecting it for viewing

Inset photos

Can show either a faraway view of something or a close-up shot of minute detail

Once students are familiar with text features and able to hold a focused discussion about text, you can easily introduce the text feature walk structure and teach them to use it. You will want to begin by explaining that a text feature walk is like the picture walks they did when they were learning to read picture books. As with any structure or strategy, you will need to explicitly model how you as an expert reader use a text feature to make a prediction. This is best done using a think-aloud in a whole-group setting (Kelley & Clausen-Grace, 2007, 2008). Quickly bring students into the fold by having them read a text feature and explain how the information in the text feature may contribute to the main idea of the text. This guided practice under your supervision is important so that you can revert back to modeling and direct instruction if needed. The entire text feature walk should be done before students actually read the main body of text. Then, have students read the main body of the text and debrief with them on what they learned and how the text feature walk assisted with comprehension.

Eventually, the goal is to move the text feature walk structure from whole-group to small-group use. To make this successful, you should cluster students, so each group is heterogeneous with varied strengths and no one group has all the quiet, reserved children. You might also think about which students have background knowledge of the topic. Groups of four work very well. Tell students they will take turns identifying and reading text features in the order they appear in the text. After someone reads their feature, all members should discuss the predictions, questions, or connections they have to the feature and how they think it relates to their predicted main idea. This continues on until all of the features have been discussed or time is called by the teacher.

After explaining and putting students in groups, give each group a copy of the directions to help them remember what to do. Assign a short section of text (2-4 pages), then walk around and listen in as they work. You will need to remind groups of their goal and that they should be discussing how they think the feature relates to the main body of text, not just taking turns reading the text features. Once most groups are finished, have the students come back together as a whole group to discuss what went well and what they learned from discussions. They are now ready to read and more fully comprehend the text.

Our pilot study

After three years of implementing text feature walks with students, we knew the practice engendered more meaningful predictions and deeper comprehension of text. Recognizing that discussion was integral to the success of the text feature walk, we were curious whether discussion alone would be just as helpful as the text feature-centered discussions such as we used in the text feature walk structure. To explore this question, we divided Nicki's (second author) classroom into three groups. Each group completed a before reading sheet, on which they wrote predictions of what they thought they would learn about the human body from reading their science text. Each group also read the text and answered the review questions at the end of the section selected.

The three groups were formed based on the teacher's report for the Scholastic Reading Inventory (1999) which placed students in above, on, or below grade-level groups based on their Lexile scores. From this report, three piles were made based on students' scores, one for above level, one for on level, and one for below level. The researcher used stratified random selection from each pile to create the three groups.

Group 1 served as a control group. After the students in this group made their predictions, they read the text silently then answered the review questions. Groups 2 and 3 were the treatment groups. Group 2 had a discussion about the human body with textbooks closed, then predicted, read, and answered review questions. Group 3 conducted a text feature walk of the selected section prior to writing their predictions, reading the text, and completing review questions.

The researcher (first author) and a graduate assistant read through each student's before reading sheet to determine the total number of predictions included for each group. Irrelevant ideas (i.e., those not related to the text) and repeated ideas were not included in a group's total count. Once a 95% agreement was reached, totals were obtained to determine which group had the most predictions related to the text. As hypothesized, the control group had fewer relevant predictions than the treatment groups, and group 3, the text feature walk group, had the greatest number of pertinent predictions.

To determine the effect on student comprehension and learning, the researcher and graduate assistant evaluated student responses on the checkpoint and review. The text feature walk group had the highest average correct. Surprisingly, group 2, the group that discussed the topic without the text feature walk, performed lower than group 1, the control group. Although there are limitations to our pilot study, such as having a small sample size, these results confirmed our observations that when students do a text feature walk, they are able to make better predictions and learn more from reading the text.

An effort rewarded

Our work with the text feature walk structure proved that Alice had it right: Books are much more valuable with pictures and discussion. Although teaching students to effectively navigate expository text using a text feature walk takes time initially, the rewards reaped once the structure is in place make up for it. Students learn how vital it is to read and think about the features that support text. They also make better quality predictions, anticipate their learning, and comprehend more fully, ensuring better understanding of the content being studied.

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Guiding Students Through Expository Text with Text Feature Walks

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Most primary students have used the picture walk technique to preview text (Stahl, 2004). By looking at and talking about the illustrations in a text, students activate prior knowledge, make predictions, and set a purpose for reading (Clay, 1991; Fountas & Pinnell, 1996).

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One of the biggest complaints I hear about Common Core is the push toward informational texts. This is often accompanied by the complaint that we are no longer allowing students to read for the sake of reading. Just yesterday, a teacher said to me, "I wish we could read novels. With all these informational texts, kids are losing the love of reading."

Minutes later, I went to Facebook and noticed my friends sharing articles. I hopped on Twitter and noticed the same trend. They weren't just sharing the articles, either. They were geeking out on the ideas. We are naturally inclined to find information fascinating -- to the point that we have to share it out to the world. Nobody on Facebook is getting a grade for it. They're sharing an article because they found it relevant.

As a classroom teacher, I want to see that same level of excitement as students engage with informational texts. The following are eight strategies to make informational reading fun again.

1. Student Choice

When I first taught reading, I allowed students to choose novels during silent reading time. I made a huge deal out of the genres that were available. I asked students to develop a personal taste. However, I didn't allow students to select their own informational texts. This was odd, given the fact that every student had at least one interest that he or she was passionate about. If I had simply asked, "What information do you want to find?" rather than "What do you want to read?", I would have been able to help students fall in love with informational texts. Now, as a journalism teacher, I begin with student choice and the natural desire to find information.

2. Think More and Work Less

Often when a student gets frustrated with informational reading, it has less to do with reading and more to do with the work required. When students read one page and answer nine text-dependent questions, they get frustrated by the work. When teachers ask students to practice strategies mentally (such as thinking about clarifying questions rather than actually writing the questions), students spend more time reading. This, in turn, leads to reading endurance.

3. Keep the Strategies Flexible

Close reading isn't a bad thing. However, too often close reading becomes a lockstep procedure rather than a flexible strategy. Students focus on whether they are doing the process correctly instead of thinking about the information in the text. I've seen students stare at a poster worrying about what color they are supposed to use when highlighting a text rather than thinking about the accuracy of information and the bias of the source.

4. Personalized Practice

Informational reading becomes more fun when students feel like they are improving as readers. This is why I ask students to look at the standards to identify which areas they have mastered and which areas still require improvement. Before reading, students select two strategies that are strengths and one that is a weakness. Instead of the hurried, frantic race of a pacing guide, students are given the time to practice a reading strategy until they have mastered it.

5. Solve a Problem

Outside of the classroom, one of the most common motives for seeking out an informational text is the desire to solve a problem. Too often, though, students are simply answering text-dependent questions that do little more than test comprehension. What if we started informational reading with student inquiry? What if we allowed students to see informational texts as an integrated part of research? When this happens, informational texts become challenging and relevant to an actual context. That, in turn, makes the task of reading fun again.

6. Make Something

One of the best parts of teaching photojournalism is that students get a chance to use the information for making something new. This could be research for a podcast, facts for a video, or information for an article and editorial. Similarly, when I taught all subjects in a self-contained class, students often read informational texts as an integrated part of project-based learning. The reading remained fun because it was a vital part of what they were creating.

7. Embrace Technology

Too often, students are asked to read informational texts in a way that doesn't reflect the current context of our world. They highlight photocopied articles or take notes on textbook chapters. When teachers embrace technology, students can find more specific informational texts that fit their interests.

8. Don't Shy Away From the Conflict

Teachers do a disservice to students when they treat information as inherently neutral. Informational reading becomes fun when students see the conflict inherent in any informational text. They should be examining the bias of the language and analyzing the social, political, and economic forces at work in an author's argument. As they think critically about the conflict in a source, students see informational reading as the inherently dangerous act that it is.

There is no guarantee that every student will love every text. However, I have found that these eight strategies have helped students regain the inherent love of informational reading.

How do your students approach informational reading? Please tell us about it below in the comments section.

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8 Strategies to Keep Informational Reading Fun | Edutopia

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One of the biggest complaints I hear about Common Core is the push toward informational texts. This is often accompanied by the complaint that we are no longer allowing students to read for the sake of reading. Just yesterday, a teacher said to me, "I wish we could read novels.

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When considering the characteristics of a memoir, the style of the narrative must be the first consideration. Memoirs are almost exclusively written from a first-person point of view. This means it comes from a singular pronoun perspective. The story comes from the narrative of "I" instead of "you" or "we." Here are some additional characteristics to consider when composing a memoir.
#1. It has a specific focus.
Memoirs can focus on virtually anything. Many tend to focus on specific relationships or events that have happened, but there really is no rule that needs to be followed here. As long as the significance of the event or the relationship being discussed is clearly communicated so that there is one general impression that most readers will receive, then a specific focus will have been achieved.
#2. It makes the subject come alive.
When someone reads a memoir, they should be able to feel like they personally know the writer. It should be personal and compelling in nature, incorporating key details that can only come from the writer's perspective. Instead of awkward small talk between strangers, the narrative should be more like a comfortable story that a spouse would tell their significant other.
#3. There must be an ABC story arc.
Memoirs need to be more than just a collection of random memories. There needs to be a certain story arc to them, with an overall purpose that the reader can understand. The easiest way to do this is to follow the ABC design of storytelling. A is the introduction. It tells the reader what to expect from the story. B is the body of the story, where all of the details that were promised in the introduction come to fruition. C is the conclusion, wrapping up everything offered before into a package that is nice and neat.

[bctt tweet="Memoirs need to be more than just a collection of random memories. #writetip" username=""]
#4. Memoirs are often limited in nature.
A memoir is not a complete chronology of a life - that's what an autobiography is for. Memoirs are about specific snapshots in time which have lessons offered to the reader. They are highly descriptive as well, transporting the reader directly into each memory or story as if they are really there, experiencing the events on a first-hand basis.
#5. The story is more important that 100% accuracy.
The benefit of telling a memoir is that the narrative comes from the personal perspective of the writer. Two people can see an event unfold and remember it in two very different ways. This is why the details of a memoir, though important, do not need to be absolutely accurate to be effective. The goal here is to give the reader a personal perspective instead of a history lesson.
#6. The writing of a memoir is deliberate in nature.
A memoir should contain zero unnecessary information. If you're writing a memoir about how you came to be a writer, then talking about how much you love to walk your dogs and play Pokemon Go isn't going to make a lot of sense. On the other hand, if you walk your dog and play Pokemon Go as a way to develop ideas and outlines as a writer, then it would make sense to include that in your memoirs - as long as the emphasis is on the writing and not what is in your Pokedex.
#7. Dialogue should be natural instead of journalistic.
This might be the most difficult characteristic to get right when creating a memoir. There is a desire to get the details correct for the memory, so the narrative feels more like a newspaper article when reading a conversation. Try to focus more on the thoughts and emotions that happened during the dialogue, staying away from adverbs whenever possible, for best results. The readers aren't going to know the difference between dialogue that is absolutely correct or mostly correct unless they witnessed the conversation being discussed.
#8. Memoirs have a slow pace.
Many stories need action to keep them moving. That isn't necessarily the case with a memoir. The goal here is more about information transference as entertainment than explosions and death-defying circumstances. If the reader can live each memory in the moment as the writer experienced it, then it is a successful memoir.

The characteristics of a memoir involve storytelling instead of chronology, invitations instead of lectures, and momentary glimpses instead of lengthy segments of history. Keep these in mind as you write a memoir and you'll discover that it will be a lot easier to create a story that readers will find to be meaningful.

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When considering the characteristics of a memoir, the style of the narrative must be the first consideration. Memoirs are almost exclusively written from a first-person point of view. This means it comes from a singular pronoun perspective. The story comes from the narrative of "I" instead of "you" or "we."

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Gule Wamkulu: was a secret cult tradition that includes a ritual dance by the Chewa in Malawi, Zambia, and Mozambique. It was done by a secret society of initiated men/members of the Nyau brotherhood. This is performed in July harvest season, weddings, funerals, and the installation of the death of the chief. The dancers wear masks and costumes that are made up of wood and straw, symbolizing wild animals, spirits if the dead, and slave traders. All of these represent something evil and a form of misbehavior, teaching others a lessons and values.
http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/en/RL/gule-wamkulu-00142
Magic/Juju: Casts rituals and black magic spell. There was a good and bad juju. Good juju can be used for healing physically, internally, and spiritually. Bad juju can be used to compel jealousy, bad luck, and to cause bad luck or death.
http://blackmagicworld.com/juju-the-dark-side-of-voodoo.html
Black rhinos: Known to display aggressive behavior.
http://www.whats-your-sign.com/animal-symbolism-rhinoceros.html

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Prologue: an introduction to a story.
Memoir: a written note from someone from their past experience.
Theme: the main idea being discussed in a story.
Universal Theme: a story having multiple themes.