When I first heard the term close reading, I was tempted to correct the speaker by asking, “Don’t you mean cloze reading?” referring to an old method of measuring a student’s ability by asking the student to determine a missing word from the context of a sentence. Such was not the case. Nancy Boyles, graduate reading program coordinator for Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven [...]
Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland remains popular 150 years after its first publication; in addition to the 2010 blockbuster movie starring Mia Wasikowska and Johnny Depp, over twenty other film adaptations exist, as well as numerous children’s shows, collectibles, comic books, musicals, ballets, operas and more. What many don’t know is that Alice Liddell, the inspiration for main character Alice, seasonally vacationed in Llandudno, [...]
When I’m not interning at PSG, I also work at a doggie day care. I have gotten to know about 40 dogs, from miniature dachshunds to German shepherds to English bulldogs to Great Danes. I rub bellies, toss Frisbees, serve lunch, referee scuffles and scoop poop. Even before this illustrious canine career, I was always a dog person. I grew up with a [...]
Math, science, languages—these are the subjects we tend to consider standard required courses for students, both in the United States and in other nations. Well, Spain could soon be adding a new one: chess may become a compulsory subject for students. In 2012, the European Parliament endorsed the Chess in School program, calling on each European Union (EU) member state to encourage the introduction of [...]
When I first came into the PSG office for my interview, I sat reading until Lori was able to see me. She came over, and the first thing she did after shaking my hand was ask me how many books I had with me. She told me that everyone at PSG carries at least two. To work at PSG is to see what [...]
In 2009, Barbie celebrated her fiftieth birthday. She has been a veterinarian, astronaut, dentist, five-time United States presidential candidate, chef, paleontologist and Olympic gymnast. And I’m just naming a few of her careers. Yet Barbie learned to talk only recently. A prototype of Hello Barbie was first shown at Toy Fair 2015 in New York, where Barbie displayed her speech recognition technology, made [...]
Globally, nonnative English speakers now outnumber native English speakers 3 to 1. English has become a global language, leading to more nonnative speakers learning English as a second language (ESL). Teachers are turning to apps, both mobile and on the web, to engage this new generation of English language learners (ELLs). Apps can satisfy all kinds of learning needs, sometimes in ways that a classroom [...]
Full disclosure: While I can call myself a golfer, I am not a good golfer. I know the rules of the game, and I understand the overall objectives. After playing for almost thirty years, I can eventually get the ball to do what I need it to do, and I’ve made some great shots, but like most amateur golfers, I can’t make those great shots [...]
New Englanders can agree: this most recent winter was a tough one, requiring constant vigilance of our properties as well as our physicality. With record snowfall in Massachusetts, we’ve had to deal with the many unpleasant aspects of the season: excessive time spent indoors, constant snow removal and the threat of roof collapses—all of which create mental and physical strain. But at the [...]
Can you recall Wally Cleaver’s high school homeroom number from Leave It to Beaver? Do you know the name of the mountain range between France and Spain? What about the name of the only basketball coach to win both an NCAA and NBA championship? If you know the answers (which, by the way, are 221, the Pyrenees, and Larry Brown with the Kansas [...]