Reading Practice

10 Great Novels About the Immigrant Experience This week saw the release of Karolina Waclawiak’s debut novel How to Get Into the Twin Palms, a wonderful little book that made us fall in love with the idea of the immigrant novel all over again. A Polish émigré herself, Waclawiak’s tale is a twist on the traditional coming-to-America novel, her heroine an immigrant trying to pass as another kind of immigrant, testing the waters, in the LA heat. But off-center as it may be, the book got us thinking about some of our favorite novels about the immigrant experience, a few of which we’ve collected here — read through our list of great fictional immigrant and émigré stories after the jump, and as ever, if we’ve missed your own favorite, please add it to our list in the comments! How to Get Into the Twin Palms, Karolina Waclawiak In Karolina Waclawiak’s excellent, if slight, debut novel, Anya (not her real name) is a Polish immigrant in LA at odds with her heritage but not quite ready to embrace an American self either.

Free Online Sentence Completion Exercises EnglishMaven Free online sentence completion exercises. In these exercises, students must choose the correct answer to fill in the blank. Some sentences contain a single blank, while others may contain two. Each exercise is 10 questions long. By completing these exercises, students will enhance their understanding of English grammar, improve their vocabulary, and learn to interpret conjunctions as syntactical "road signs". Beginning Level Exercises This is the place to start for beginners. Intermediate Level Exercises Our intermediate exercises are meant for students who are looking to step their verbal reasoning skills up to the next level. Advanced Level Exercises These are our most difficult sentence completion exercises.

English Grammar Online - free exercises, explanations, vocabulary, dictionary and teaching materials The Positive Power of Negative Thinking But Mr. Robbins and his acolytes have little time for physics. To them, it’s all a matter of mind-set: cultivate the belief that success is guaranteed, and anything is possible. One singed but undeterred participant told The San Jose Mercury News: “I wasn’t at my peak state.” What if all this positivity is part of the problem? Consider the technique of positive visualization, a staple not only of Robbins-style seminars but also of corporate team-building retreats and business best sellers. Or take affirmations, those cheery slogans intended to lift the user’s mood by repeating them: “I am a lovable person!” Even goal setting, the ubiquitous motivational technique of managers everywhere, isn’t an undisputed boon. Though much of this research is new, the essential insight isn’t. Buddhist meditation, too, is arguably all about learning to resist the urge to think positively — to let emotions and sensations arise and pass, regardless of their content. Mr.

Free Reading GamesLearning Today Our reading games and activities are research-based and designed to help build key reading skills in a fun and engaging way. Included are phonemic awareness, phonics, sight words, vocabulary and reading comprehension. Give them a try and let us know what you think. Go fishing for sight words with Kirima and Kylie the Seal. Make a spoon puppet and practice your sequencing skills. Play a matching game and learn about homophones. Explore syllables with Dr. Solve riddles and learn about multiple meaning words. Creat a rap song and learn about rhyming Help Franklin cross the river by finding the synonyms and antonyms of words. Play the Balloon Game: Create new words by adding prefixes and suffixes to root words. Explore consonant digraphs in outer space with Capt.

The World of Benjamin Franklin Quicktime MovieGlimpses of The Man (1297k) "If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing." ~ B. Franklin America has never forgotten Benjamin Franklin because he did both. This quick glimpse at the long life (1706 - 1790) of a complex man is meant to help you learn about Ben Franklin and also to let you see how Ben's ideas are still alive in our world today. To learn all that you can about the Franklin family, try taking a look at the family tree. Be sure to notice the electricity safety tips that are provided by PECO, Sponsor of "Benjamin Franklin: Glimpses of the Man." Learn more about Ben! Visit Pieces of Science for more information about Ben's Lightning Rod and Glass Armonica.

Does Nature Make Us Happy? Marilyn Price-Mitchell In today’s age of high technology, research shows that our hunger for the natural world still endures. In fact, our connections with nature could just be the best medicine for people of all ages—improving our health, happiness, and well-being. Few would disagree that our natural and cognitive worlds have grown disconnected. We don’t have to look far into history to know that humans evolved in natural settings and were deeply connected to their ecological environments. Several particularly interesting studies were published recently in Environment and Behavior by John Zelenski and Elizabeth Nisbet. The Link between Nature and Happiness Zelenski and Nisbet conducted two studies with one question in mind: Is the link between nature and happiness independent from the other things that make us feel emotionally connected to life, like family, country, culture, music, and friends? Important Findings on Nature Relatedness Ecopsychology and the Future of Planet Earth Author

Language Empires view in App Store Language Learning is an outstanding application to help students in elementary and middle school practice critical language skills in both oral and written forms. Language Empires is a comprehensive language and communication program suitable for students in elementary grades and some in middle school. It will also be useful for remedial students in high school. The application addresses how, which and why questions, predictions, figurative language, sequencing, vocabulary and making inferences. Features include: 8 targeted language arts skillsOver 400 questionsUp to 5 students can play at one timeDetailed performance reports for unlimited studentsOptions to focus on auditory or written comprehensionMultiple levels of difficulty within areasChoose visual or auditory feedback Language Empires is an outstanding tool to help students in a wide range of ages practice language and communication. This application is very engaging. Like this: Like Loading...