Courses

The Blues: Music of Survival Hot

Arts Courses Levels Listen!Music Step 2A Public Step 2 Stories February 15, 2019

Four men were walking across a field. They were carrying a body wrapped up in white cloth. Their strong, black hands and arms supported the body as they walked on. Other men, women, and children walked behind. And the tall green trees listened. They listened to the cries of... Read more

Story Power

Courses Ideas Levels Movies Step 2B Public Step 2 Stories February 15, 2019

Dorothy looked up into the sky. And she started to sing. Her soft voice rose up gently in the air. Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high There’s a land that I’ve heard of once in a lullaby. Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue And the dreams that... Read more

Babe: A Good Mannered Pig

Arts Courses Levels Listen!Movies Step 2A Protected Step 2 Stories February 15, 2019 3

ReadOasis Step 2 Babe is a young pig who wants to become a sheep dog. He is separated from his family, and he finds himself on a strange farm. Babe becomes confused and lonely. But a friendly sheep dog takes care of him. And Babe slowly adjusts to his... Read more

A Force for Good in Music

Arts Courses Levels Listen!Music Step 3A Public Step 3 Stories February 14, 2019 0

ReadOasis Step 3 (Part 1) It was a cool winter night in January 2002 in New York. The city that never sleeps was wide-awake and full of movement. Even in the cold, you could feel the energy of arts, entertainment, culture, and money. That week, top business, political, media,... Read more

Miles Davis, Jazz Legend

Arts Courses Levels Music Step 2B Protected Step 2 Stories Times February 14, 2019 1

ReadOasis Step 2 Miles Davis (May 26, 1926 – September 28, 1991) was one of the most important musicians of the twentieth century. He helped to develop many styles of modern jazz music. These styles include cool jazz and jazz fusion. Cool jazz has a calm, relaxed, and smooth... Read more

Stairway to Heaven

Arts Courses Levels Music Step 3B Protected Step 3 Stories February 13, 2019 0

By Douglas Forster ReadOasis Step 3 (Part 1) “And we’re back. I’m Jim Ladd, and you’re listening to KMET. We’re the south’s number one station for the rock and roll music you need for your soul. Before the break, I announced that I would be accepting requests. And boy,... Read more

Music as Medicine

Courses Invention Step 3A Levels Listen!Music Step 3A Protected Sciences Step 3 Stories Top Picks February 11, 2019 2

ReadOasis Step 3 (Part 1) You are watching TV. On the screen, you see the two strong hands of a man. In his left hand, he holds a book of matches. In his right hand, he holds a single match. With his right hand, he strikes the match on... Read more

Country Music Icon: Hank Williams

Arts Courses Levels Listen!Music Step 3A Protected Step 3 Stories February 11, 2019 0

ReadOasis Step 3 It was the middle of America’s Great Economic Depression. Hank Williams was just seven when his father left. The stress from World War I still burned in his father’s brain, and he committed himself into Veteran’s hospital. Hank’s mother worked. She played organ at church, and... Read more

Johnny Cash: The Man in Black (Step 3)

Arts Courses Levels Listen!Music Step 3B Protected Step 3 Stories February 11, 2019 0

ReadOasis Step 3 Johnny Cash was a man of great presence, as if born from an ancient legend that reveals the contradictions of human life. Cash died in 2003, but he gave us a vast collection of over 50 years of music. He also created his own genre, between... Read more

Jesse James: Robber or Robin Hood?

Courses Levels Listen!Movies Step 2A Protected Step 2 Stories Times February 11, 2019 1

ReadOasis Step 2 It was just past noon on December 7, 1869. Two brothers walked into a bank in Gallatin, Missouri. Their names were Frank and Jesse James. One of them, maybe Jesse, walked up to the bank clerk and asked to exchange a $100 bill. The bank clerk... Read more

Richard Wagner, Musician

Arts Courses Levels Music Step 2B Protected Step 2 Stories February 8, 2019 1

ReadOasis Step 2 Richard Wagner was born on May 22, 1813. He was a famous German musician and writer. He wrote operas, or "music dramas." Unlike many writers of opera, he wrote the words and music for all his works. Wagner's music is known for being intense, complex, and... Read more

The Lord of the Rings

Arts Courses Levels Movies Step 2A Protected Step 2 Stories February 6, 2019 0

ReadOasis Step 2 The One Ring was power, and the Council had it. If a man wore it, he could control the world. But the Ring's power came from Sauron. His power -- in the ring -- would destroy you. And his power would destroy all goodness. The Council... Read more

The Biggest Band (Step 2)

Arts Courses Levels Listen!Music Step 2A Protected Step 2 Stories February 6, 2019 1

By Maria Sonora ReadOasis Step 2 Imagine By Diego Torres Silvestre (Creative Commons) It was a hot August night in New York City, 1965. Two thousand policemen were in charge of security. They watched carefully as 55,000 fans filled Shea Stadium. But this was not for a baseball... Read more

James Watt and the Teapot

Courses Invention Step 2A Levels Protected Step 2 Stories Tech February 4, 2019 0

ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) A little boy was sitting in his grandmother's kitchen. He was watching the red fire in the wide open fireplace. He quietly thought about the causes of things. He was always thinking and always wanting to know how things worked. "Grandma," he asked, "what... Read more

Ichiro and the Kings of Baseball

Courses Levels Protected Sports Step 2A Step 2 Stories Styles February 1, 2019 0

ReadOasis Step 2 It often happens in sport. A player just knows he will bring his team the victory. Is this true for Ichiro, that baseball wonder from Japan? Many people doubted his powers during the 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC). He struggled under the pressure. He failed many... Read more

Slumdog Millionaire

Arts Courses Levels Movies Step 2A Protected Step 2 Stories January 30, 2019 0

ReadOasis Step 2 The film Slumdog Millionaire is about an 18-year-old boy from Mumbai, India. He comes from a poor part of the city. And he wins a large cash prize on a TV game show. But after he wins, he is arrested by the police. The police think... Read more

The Adventures of a Folk Singer

Arts Courses Levels Listen!Music Step 3B Protected Step 3 Stories Times January 29, 2019 0

ReadOasis Step 3 (Part 1) "I think a poet is anybody who wouldn't call himself a poet." - Bob Dylan It was January 1961. In the cold north of Minnesota, a young man of 19 years packed his bags and his guitar. He was crossing 1,900 kilometers to New... Read more

Experience Flow

Courses Levels Listen!Protected Sciences Sports Step 2A Step 2 Stories Top Picks January 28, 2019 0

ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) Shaun White is a world famous snowboarder. Watch him slide down the pipe in slow motion. He goes up one side and flies into the air at an extreme height. Time stands still. Coming down, he gains speed and lands smoothly. Then he rises... Read more

Lean In

Biz Biz Step 2A Courses Levels Protected Step 2 Stories January 28, 2019 0

Book Trailer by Sheryl Sandberg ReadOasis Step 2 I entered the workforce believing that my generation was going to have equal responsibility and equal opportunity. And it didn't work out that way. Women are getting more college degrees, more graduate degrees, entering the workforce at every level. But in... Read more

I See You — Avatar

Arts Courses Levels Listen!Movies Step 2B Protected Step 2 Stories January 27, 2019 1

ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) Your name is Jake. You are a soldier. Since you lost the feeling in your legs, life has been awkward. But you got used to it. And when your brother died, your heart stopped feeling some, too. "Get used to it," you think. But... Read more