From The Language Nerds The English language never stops to amaze. Its grammar and vocabulary always reveal extraordinary linguistic patterns and quirks that very few other languages have. We have written numerous times about the craziness of the English language, why it has the features it does, and why it can be so confusing sometimes. Other times, English can be tricky,…

Interviews By John Merrow If the state of the world has you down, here’s a reprieve, two interviews with the great Dolly Parton. The first is my extended interview with her, 13 years ago about her Imagination Library; the second piece is my report for the NewsHour, also from 2013. During my 41 years in journalism, I interviewed or spent…

Reading fiction may strengthen the social skills we use to understand and connect with others. By Richard Sima for The Washington Post Curling up with a good book isn’t just enjoyable. It’s also good for your brain. Reading in general — newspapers, magazines, nonfiction books — has been linked to slower rates of cognitive decline in older adults and even…

By Jennifer Vilcarino for Edweek While more than 100 years of research support the importance of recess for students, the fact remains that many schools do not have a restorative break in their daily schedule. Earlier this year, the American Academy of Pediatrics released new guidance on recess titled “The Crucial Role of Recess in School,” the group’s first update…

A new study links genetic regions that predate the divergence of modern humans and Neanderthals to language By Jackie Flynn Mogensen for Scientific American In 2001 scientists studying human language made a breakthrough: by looking at the DNA of a family with a rare speech disability, they found that a mutation in a single gene called FOXP2 were responsible for…

Reading Kingdom is an online K-3 reading program that uses a new “phonics-plus” model to teach students to read and write at a 3rd grade level with comprehension. Sign up for a complimentary Reading Kingdom trial (or any of our other products) here. We also have a program for students on the autism spectrum and others who face unique learning…