Thursday, March 25, 2010

Links -- Natural Disaster

Ten Deadliest Natural Disasters

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_natural_disasters

Feature articles on natural disasters: http://www.naturalnews.com/natural_disasters.html

Natural Disasters Up More Than 400 Percent in Two Decades

6/5/2008 - (NaturalNews) The number of natural disasters around the world has increased by more than four times in the last 20 years, according to a report released by the British charity Oxfam. Oxfam analyzed data from the Red Cross, United Nations and researchers...

Earthquake and Cyclone Victims: How Can We Help End Suffering Now and In the Future?

5/16/2008 - (NaturalNews) I've struggled all week with the question of how I can best help the victims of the recent natural disasters that have devastated populations in China and Myanmar. It is not a simple matter to ponder. How can people in North America (or...

How to better prepare yourself and your family against climate change, natural disasters and the post-oil economy (opinion)

7/20/2007 - I've been a proponent of personal preparedness for many years. "Preparedness" simply means having some backup supplies on hand to help you get through unexpected events or hard times, and over the last decade, we've seen numerous examples of why preparedness...

BetterLifeGoods.com introduces a travel safety tool with LED light, radio, cell phone charger, seatbelt cutter, glass break and more

6/22/2007 - Unlike most of our product reviews, this one isn't about your health or nutrition. It's about your personal safety. Better Life Goods (a company I own, see full disclosure below) has just finished a large production run on an new, unique safety and preparedness...

Humanity cannot live without nature, but nature can live without humanity

1/23/2005 - Just after Christmas Day, 2004, the Earth experienced one of the largest earthquakes in recorded history (a 9.0) under the waters of the Indian Ocean. We also witnessed a barrage of unusual hurricanes during the summer of 2004 off the coast of Florida...

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Speed Reading Link

http://www.spreeder.com/

Tutorial

Spreeder is an online speed reading utility to help train you to read faster. It does this by flashing words at a rapid rate, which helps in three ways:

Reduce subvocalization
Increase chunk comprehension
Eliminate backreading

You can read more about it here. To read more about spreeder's specific settings, a good blog post is here.

Training Strategies

There are quite a few settings you can play around with to optimize your reading, but the two most important are the wpm and chunk size.

1. Increase wpm

When training, set the wpm to multiples of what you're comfortable reading at. For example, if you achieve 100% comprehension at 300wpm, try setting the wpm to 900wpm. Run through some text, and see how much you can absorb. Try this a couple times, making sure to really concentrate on the text that is flying by. Now reduce the wpm rate to 600wpm, and 400wpm. Chances are at the end of this activity, 300wpm will start to feel "slow", and you'll start comprehending at higher wpm's.

2. Increase chunk size

Once you start maxing out on how fast you can go in wpm's, another variable you'll want to toggle is the chunk size. Chunk size is the number of words that are flashed at a given time. Doubling the chunk size (i.e going from 1 to 2) will effectively halve the rate at which words are flashed, since you're showing twice as many words at once.
A tip on chunk size - look into setting the window width and font size accordingly. You'll want to be able to process a chunk in one eyeful, which means you won't want to have a 5 word chunk scroll across the entire screen, but rather in a tight little paragraph at the center of the screen.

Weather Vocabulary

Word Part of speech	Meaning	Example Sentence
airconditioner/airconditioning noun	an appliance that cools down the air in a home or building	The airconditioner keeps the office nice and comfortable even when it's very hot outside.
avalanche noun	a dangerous slide of snow down a mountain	The skiers were warned about a possible avalanche.
below freezing preposition/adjective	temperature less than 0 degrees Celsius/(32F)	It's supposed to go below freezing before the weekend.
blizzard noun	a storm with lots of snow and wind	The airplane couldn't take-off because of the blizzard.
boiling hot adjective + noun	common expression for describing a very hot day	It was boiling hot, so we all jumped into the lake.
breeze noun	light wind	Don't bother with a hat. There is always a breeze near the ocean.
Celsius noun	measurement of temperature (0 degrees is freezing/100 is boiling)	In the summer, the average temperature here is 20 degrees Celsius.
chilly adjective	cold	It's a bit chilly today, so I think you should wear a coat.
clear adjective	when the sky is blue because no clouds are blocking the sun	On a clear night you can see a lot of stars.
cloud/cloudy noun/adjective	water in the sky that appears as a white or grey mass	It may look cloudy in the morning, but the sun always comes out by afternoon.
cold spell adjective + noun	a period of colder than average weather	They're calling for a cold spell, so we put off our camping trip.
cool adjective	temperature in between warm and cold	The days were boiling hot, but the nights were cool and comfortable for sleeping.
degrees noun	measurement for temperature	I don't feel the heat until it's about forty degrees Celsius outside.
drizzling continuous verb	raining slightly	I think I'll take the dog for a walk. It's only drizzling now.
drought noun	a long period with no rainfall	Forest fires are a serious danger during a drought.
Fahrenheit noun	measurement of temperature (32 degrees is freezing/212 is boiling)	It was 100 degrees Fahrenheit when we got to San Francisco.
flood noun	overflow of rain water	The flood was so bad, our basement was full of water.
flurries noun	very light snowfall	There are a few flurries but the snow isn't sticking to the roads.
fog/foggy noun/adjective	thick water vapor that blocks one's vision	We couldn't see the bridge because there was too much fog.
forecast noun/verb	the expected weather for the future	According to the 5 day forecast, it's going to rain on our wedding day.
freezing cold adjective + noun	common expression used to describe a very cold day	It was a freezing cold day for the Santa Claus parade.
frost noun	ice crystals on a frozen surface	Some flowers are so strong they can withstand frost.
frostbite noun	a skin condition caused by over exposure to the cold (typically reddish skin with white spots)	I lost my hat while I was skiing, and I ended up with frostbite on my ears.
hail noun	small pieces of ice that fall during a storm	There was so much hail that some of the trailer homes were destroyed.
heat stroke noun	a flu-like condition one can acquire after spending too long in the sun	Bring lots of water and wear a hat to avoid heat stroke in this weather.
heat-wave noun	extremely hot weather that is much higher than average--usually lasts a short time	During the heat-wave we cooled our beds down with ice packs.
humid/humidity adjective/noun	moisture in the air	It feels a lot hotter than it actually is because of the humidity.
hurricane noun	a tropical storm with very strong wind and rain	Half of the buildings on the island were flattened by the hurricane.
icy adjective	slippery because of ice	The roads are icy so please avoid driving down any hills.
lightning noun	electric flash caused by two clouds hitting	The outdoor pool always closes when the lifeguards suspect lightning.
mild adjective	temperature that is warmer than average(in a cold season)	It's quite mild out so I didn't bother with a hat or mittens.
meteorologist noun	a person who studies weather patterns	The meteorologist predicted that the cold spell would be over by now.
minus/negative adjective	indicates that a temperature is below zero	It was minus twenty degrees at the top of the skil hill.
overcast adjective	no sun is visible	The sky is overcast this morning, but the sun is supposed to come out by late afternoon.
partly cloudy adverb + adjective	term often used in a weather forecast to indicate that the skies are sunny and cloudy at the same time	Tomorrow's forecast is partly cloudy with clear skies by nightfall.
precipitation noun	rain or snow that falls on an area	There is very little precipitation in the desert.
puddle noun	collection of rain water	Children love to splash in puddles when they are wearing rubber boots.
rain/raining/rainy noun/continuous verb/adjective	water that falls to earth	My hair is all wet and messy from the rain.
raindrop noun	a single measurement of rain	I love catching raindrops on my tongue.
rainbow noun	a band of colours found in the sky after a rainfall	According to legend you can find a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.
raining cats and dogs idiom	raining heavily	They cancelled the football game because it was raining cats and dogs.
scorching/a scorcher adjective/noun	extremely hot temperature/a very hot day	It was a scorcher, so the whole family slept in the cool basement.
season noun	time of year characterized by certain weather Winter,Spring,Summer,Fall (or Autumn)	My favorite season is Fall, because I love to watch the leaves changing colours.
shower noun	quick/light rainstorm	They've been calling for showers all week, but so far it's been dry.
sleet(similar to hail) noun	rain that freezes as it falls	All-weather-tires are best if you have to drive in sleet.
slush/slushy noun/adjective	snow on the ground that has been rained on	The snow turned to slush as soon as it started to rain.
smog noun	heavy,dark cloud cover caused by pollution	You really notice the smog downtown in this type of humidity.
snow/snowy/snowing noun/adjective/ continuous verb	frozen water that warms slightly as it falls to earth	It is already snowing up in the mountains, so the ski season should be great this year.
snowstorm noun	large amounts of wind and snow	All of the schools were closed because of the snowstorm.
sun/sunshine/sunny noun/noun/adjective	the gassy star that warms the earth	We hope to have sunshine on the day of the beach picnic.
sunburn noun	painful red/pink skin caused by being in the sun too long	The bald man got a sunburn on his head.
sunglasses/shades noun	dark eyewear that protects you from the sun	I forgot my shades and I was driving right into the sun.
suntan/tanned noun(also verb)/adjective(also verb)	brown/golden skin caused by long periods of sun exposure	I got a suntan on the cruise, but it has already faded away.
sunscreen/suntan lotion noun	cream that protects your skin from sun damage	Don't forget to reapply your sunscreen when you get out of the lake.
temperature noun	how warm or cold the air is	Can you check the temperature before we get dressed for our walk?
thermometer noun	instrument for measuring the temperature of the air	When I checked the temperature this morning, the thermometer said it was already thirty degrees Celsius.
thunder/thunderstorm noun	the crashing of clouds (often followed by a strike of lightning and heavy rain)	Let's close all of the windows. It looks like a thunderstorm is coming.
tornado/cyclone noun	violently spinning windstorm	The tornado picked up everything in its path, including animals and cars.
umbrella noun	held over one's head and body for rain protection	I always keep an umbrella in my car in case of rain.
UV (ultra violet) rays noun	the damaging rays from the sun	Ultra violet rays can cause skin cancer if you don't wear sunscreen.
wind/windy noun/adjective	blowing air outside	It's too windy to play golf today.
wind chill factor noun	when the wind makes the air feel colder than the actual temperature	It's minus two, but with the wind chill factor it's minus fifteen.

Reading Comprehension Strategies

from

ABC Brainstorm: [ instructions | print chart ]; brainstorming activity, using letters of the alphabet
Carousel Brainstorming: [ instructions ]; brainstorm similar to graffiti strategy
Clock Buddies: [ instructions | print chart ]; a quick partnering system
Column Notes: [ instructions ]; a learning guide arranged in columns
Comparison-Contrast Charts: [ instructions | print chart ]; often found in graphic organizer form, a chart for comparing two concepts by looking at the ways they are similar and how they are different
Concept of Definition Map: [ instructions | print map ]; a visually organized word chart for expanding the concept of meaning and enriching one's understanding of an unfamiliar term
Graphic Organizers: [ instructions ]; visual organization of information, whether for levels of information, sequence or ordering, or relationships; often called concept maps, webs, clusters, or pictorial organizers
History Frames/Story Maps: [ instructions | print history frame | print story map | print story pyramid | print character/plot chart | print cross-disciplinary applications ]; based on the story maps that many students already use in English and Language Arts, the history frame is a graphic organizer that looks at key actors, time & place of events, problem or goal, key events, outcome, and larger relevance
Inquiry Chart: [ instructions | print chart ]; a variation of column notes and learning guides, inquiry charts are used specifically to generate questions whose answers will come from combing through a variety of sources
K - W - L: [ instructions | print K-W-L chart | print modified K-W-L chart ]; a three-column chart for approaching new content and actively engaging in it; contains components for before, during, and after reading activity
Opinion-Proof: [ instructions | print chart ]; a two-column chart where students seek to provide support or evidence from the content to bolster an opinion they have put forward
Power Thinking: [ instructions ]; an alternative system of outlining, power thinking involves assigning "Power" levels to information according to whether it is a main idea, subtopic, or detail
Problem-Solution Chart: [ instructions | print chart ]; a two-column chart that is especially helpful for looking at cause and effect; its components invite students to consider consequences, causes, and solutions of problems
Question-Answer Relationships: [ instructions | print chart | print QAR concept map ]; an strategy for understanding different levels of questions, from simple recall to more complex, and for recognizing the nature of given questions so that it is better understood what kind of answer is called for
Questioning the Author: [ instructions ]; a protocol of questions for examining how clearly an author has communicated his or her ideas
Pattern Puzzles (a/k/a Mystery Pot): [ instructions ]; a sorting and manipulation activity for looking at the organization of ideas
RAFT Papers: [ instructions | print blank form ]; a framework for approaching writing that can be especially good for encouraging expressions of empathy and understanding of another's perspective
Reciprocal Teaching: [ instructions ]; a constructed activity for students to collaborate in understanding a selection of content (can also be done individually); students take on roles as Summarizer, Questioner, Clarifier, or Predictor
Selective Underlining/Highlighting: [ instructions ]; emphasis on the word "selective"; a means for students to read for key ideas, essential vocabulary, cause and effect, etc.
Semantic Feature Analysis: [ instructions ]; an attribute analysis tool; students can compare different ideas, concepts, people, events, etc. against a cross-referenced set of criteria
Story Maps: same as history frames; see above
Summarizing: [ instructions | print Sum It Up sheet | print Sum It Up directions | lesson closure framed paragraph ]; a strategy for developing coherent but brief expressions of larger ideas by focusing on key words and main ideas; included are suggestions for various ways to teach summarizing, including an activity called Sum It Up
Thesis-Proof: [ instructions | print chart | print pro/con chart ]; a variation of two-column charts where students use key ideas in their content to support a thesis; excellent for pre-writing
Think-Pair-Share: [ instructions ]; a cooperative and structured discussion strategy
Three-Minute Pause: [ instructions | print overhead master ]; a structured pause; a comprehension check
3 - 2 - 1: [ instructions | print 3-2-1 master ]; good quick strategy for summarizing and questioning
Venn Diagrams: [ instructions | Venn Diagram for 2 | Venn Diagram for 3 | Venn Diagram w/Summary | Venn Variations ]; the most common charts for looking at similarities and differences
Word Map: [ instructions | print map v.1 | print map v.2 ]; a vocabulary strategy for visually mapping associations of meaning for a new term

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Monday, February 15, 2010

Workaholic Questions

Twenty Questions: How Do I Know If I'm A Workaholic?

Do you get more excited about your work than about family or anything else?
Are there times when you can charge through your work and other times when you can't?
Do you take work with you to bed? On weekends? On vacation?
Is work the activity you like to do best and talk about most?
Do you work more than 40 hours a week?
Do you turn your hobbies into money-making ventures?
Do you take complete responsibility for the outcome of your work efforts?
Have your family or friends given up expecting you on time?
Do you take on extra work because you are concerned that it won't otherwise get done?
Do you underestimate how long a project will take and then rush to complete it?
Do you believe that it is okay to work long hours if you love what you are doing?
Do you get impatient with people who have other priorities besides work?
Are you afraid that if you don't work hard you will lose your job or be a failure?
Is the future a constant worry for you even when things are going very well?
Do you do things energetically and competitively including play?
Do you get irritated when people ask you to stop doing your work in order to do something else?
Have your long hours hurt your family or other relationships?
Do you think about your work while driving, falling asleep or when others are talking?
Do you work or read during meals?
Do you believe that more money will solve the other problems in your life?

If you answer "yes" to three or more of these questions you may be a workaholic. Relax. You are not alone. Many have found recovery through the tools of this fellowship.

Appears as pages 4-5 in the W.A. Book of Recovery.This literature is also available as a downloadable file (in PDF)

Saturday, February 13, 2010

How to Improve Reading Comprehension

How to Improve Reading Comprehension
Key Point
Good reading means building frameworks for connecting words to thoughts.

The Purpose of Reading.

The purpose of reading is to connect the ideas on the page to what you already know. If you don't know anything about a subject, then pouring words of text into your mind is like pouring water into your hand. You don't retain much. For example, try reading these numbers:

7516324 This is hard to read and remember.
751-6324 This is easier because of chunking.
123-4567 This is easy to read because of prior knowledge and structure.

Similarly, if you like sports, then reading the sports page is easy. You have a framework in your mind for reading, understanding and storing information.

Improving Comprehension.

Reading comprehension requires motivation, mental frameworks for holding ideas, concentration and good study techniques. Here are some suggestions.

Develop a broad background.
Broaden your background knowledge by reading newspapers, magazines and books. Become interested in world events.

Know the structure of paragraphs.
Good writers construct paragraphs that have a beginning, middle and end. Often, the first sentence will give an overview that helps provide a framework for adding details. Also, look for transitional words, phrases or paragraphs that change the topic.

Identify the type of reasoning.
Does the author use cause and effect reasoning, hypothesis, model building, induction or deduction, systems thinking?

Anticipate and predict.
Really smart readers try to anticipate the author and predict future ideas and questions. If you're right, this reinforces your understanding. If you're wrong, you make adjustments quicker.

Look for the method of organization.
Is the material organized chronologically, serially, logically, functionally, spatially or hierarchical? See section 10 for more examples on organization.

Create motivation and interest.
Preview material, ask questions, discuss ideas with classmates. The stronger your interest, the greater your comprehension.

Pay attention to supporting cues.
Study pictures, graphs and headings. Read the first and last paragraph in a chapter, or the first sentence in each section.

Highlight, summarize and review.
Just reading a book once is not enough. To develop a deeper understanding, you have to highlight, summarize and review important ideas.

Build a good vocabulary.
For most educated people, this is a lifetime project. The best way to improve your vocabulary is to use a dictionary regularly. You might carry around a pocket dictionary and use it to look up new words. Or, you can keep a list of words to look up at the end of the day. Concentrate on roots, prefixes and endings.

Use a systematic reading technique like SQR3.
Develop a systematic reading style, like the SQR3 method and make adjustments to it, depending on priorities and purpose. The SQR3 steps include Survey, Question, Read, Recite and Review.

Monitor effectiveness.
Good readers monitor their attention, concentration and effectiveness. They quickly recognize if they've missed an idea and backup to reread it.

Should You Vocalize Words?

Yes, although it is faster to form words in your mind rather than on your lips or throat. Eye motion is also important. Frequent backtracking slows you down considerably.

from http://www.marin.edu/~don/study/7read.html

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