A man who self-identified as a hypochondriac wrote in about his need to learn about his "conditions" and I listed www.semanticscholar.org as a site where he can get factual information from a huge database of peer-reviewed journals. Happy reading!
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The National Breast Cancer Foundation has a great many opportunities to contribute to the worthwhile cause of saving women (and men!) from the ravages of breast cancer.
Get the Dense Breast Guide booklet delivered digitally to you at no cost. What you don't know can hurt you.
Other resources are available here.
A Dad wanted to know how to help his son develop a stronger vocabulary. Certainly, reading to your child can help accomplish this. But, it's not just the act of reading to them that builds vocabulary, it is the active engagement of parent and child "consuming" all there is to offer in a story.
Below is the "reading comprehension" question sheet I gave to parents when I was an assessment psychologist and a child needed reading support.
THINKING ABOUT STORIES WHILE READING
Good readers always want to make certain that they understand what they are reading. They often do this by thinking about what they read and by asking themselves questions. Try these questions when you are reading stories.
* Who is the main character and what is his/her problem? What does the character want to happen?
* I wonder what the character will do to solve the problem.
* What situations or other characters might try to keep the main character from solving the problem?
* What is this character like? What does the character do and say that helps me understand what s/he is like?
* What words could I use to describe the way the character looks, acts and feels?
* Where does the story take place? Can I describe it or draw a picture of it?
* The character is/is not doing what I thought s/he would do! I wonder what s/he will do next?
* I wonder how this story is going to end? I can't wait to get to the ending!
THINKING AFTER READING STORIES
Here are questions a reader might think about after reading the story:
* Do I remember most of what happened in the story and why it happened?
* Did this story turn out the way I thought it would? Why? Why not?
* How would I have solved the problem differently?
* What have I learned from this story? What does/did it mean to: Be brave? Be loyal? Be dedicated? Be rich? Be poor? Live long ago in Spain?
* How is this story or character like others I've read?
* I wonder if the library has other books by this author?
* I seem to like stories like this. Why?
* How can I share this story with my classmates and friends? Discussions? Book summary? An illustration? A book talk?
* I wonder if I could write a story like this one?
Another Momma needed help with getting her child evaluated and getting the resources that the child needed. Here are three links that will help her on her way.
Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Inc.
The Special Education Referral
The Special Education Assessment
Did you know that data is collected about which candy the residents of each US state prefer for Halloween? Here's the map that tells you about your state's sweet tooth!
See you next week on the radio!
Claudia
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