ReadOasis Step 2 To inspire us read more, it always helps to have a good role model. When I was a boy, my father read to me before I went to bed. I can still remember the books he read to me! In this way, my father showed me... Read more
ReadOasis Step 1 Be careful of the man who really knows how to be a fool. Alec Fronimites Knowledge is power. Through science, we have learned to fly. We make medicine and build great cities. We use the power of nature. And we fill our cities with energy. Through... Read more
Seven Elements of Story Grammar (Step 2)
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ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) Harry looked at his best friends Ron and Hermione. He was not smiling. He was alone at his uncle’s house for the summer. And Harry's uncle, aunt, and cousin were mean. Ron and Hermione stayed with their group of friends, a group that Harry... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 A man was trying to understand the nature of time. In prayer, he asked God, "How long is a million years to you?" God answered, "A million years is like a minute." Then the man asked this. "God, how much is a million dollars to you?"... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 Max is running late. He hurries out the door of his apartment, holding a cup of coffee. Then he sees his bus. “It’s leaving!” he cries. Max starts to run, but he trips over a rock and falls. His coffee flies out of his hands and... Read more
The Blind Men and the Elephant (Step 3)
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ReadOasis Step 3 (Part 1) Print by Hanabusa Itchō (1652–1724) Once upon a time, a long time ago, there were six blind men who stood by the roadside every day. Day after day, at the same place, they begged for food and money from the travelers and wanderers who... Read more
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
Reading Out Loud to Children is Good
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ReadOasis Step 1 A recent study showed that reading out loud to young children is a good thing. Young children will have better language, reading, and writing skills at school if their parents read to them. These children will more likely develop a love of reading. And this can... Read more
Big Thinkers Win (Step 2)
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ReadOasis Step 2 George turned over in bed and went back to sleep. The alarm kept ringing. It was noisy. The neighbors could hear it through the walls. It kept ringing, so George finally opened his eyes and looked at the clock. The green numbers shined: "9:17 a.m." He... Read more
The Science of Good (Step 3)
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ReadOasis Step 3 (Part 1) President Clinton stood in front of the microphone. He took a breath and swallowed. Then he began his apology. He was not apologizing for being with another woman. Not yet. And he was not apologizing for a personal failure. Not this time. He was... Read more
By Richard Wiseman ReadOasis Step 3 In 1884, the great American Philosopher William James had a radical idea. James argued that if you behave as if you’re a certain type of person, you become that person. Decades of research has shown that James’s idea applies to all aspects of... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) A library is a building full of treasures. We keep these treasures in books. Books give us knowledge, entertainment, laughter, pleasure, new information, and power to change our lives. If reading is so important, how can we help people read more? Libraries and schools... Read more
Dear Skeptical Reader!
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ReadOasis: So this is our our second question with Dr. Richard Day. And this is from a student, and basically it’s this: What would you say to a student who doesn’t want to do ER because, let’s say, he or she wants to spend more time improving their listening... Read more
The bell rang. Jim’s things were already in his red book bag, which looked brown under the white lights of the classroom. Zip! Zip! He closed the bag. He stood up and let out a sigh, “Ahhhh.” It was loud enough that other students and the teacher noticed. Jim... Read more
By Cana Short ReadOasis Step 3 Now, you might be wondering, “How can this be a letter from Socrates, if Socrates never wrote anything?” It is true that I do not write much, at least not for others. But I am having my student Plato write this letter for... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 What is the Golden Rule? Some people say, "If you have the gold, you make the rules!" But seriously, the Golden Rule is a guide for behavior that we find in almost all cultures, religions, and moral systems. This rule has two basic forms. A negative... Read more
By Phillip WiseReadOasis Step 1 Philosophy is a way of thinking about the world, the universe, and people. Philosophy is abstract. It’s about ideas and thoughts, such as love, beauty, or truth. But philosophy also deals with the real world. Ethics is a part of philosophy, dealing with good and... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) Hope filled the air on that famous day in August 1963. Over 200,000 people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Abraham Lincoln's giant statue looked down quietly on the great crowd as Dr. Martin Luther King walked up to the... Read more
By Cielo Vera ReadOasis Step 2 Gillian Lynne could not sit still. She was eight years old now. And her teachers worried about her performance at school. Perhaps she had a learning disorder. Gillian’s mother worried, too. She took her daughter to see a doctor. At the doctor’s office,... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 What is the meaning and purpose of life? Throughout human history, philosophers have answered this question in many ways. Aristotle suggested that humans find meaning in happiness. Zeno thought humans find meaning in freedom from suffering. Nietzsche claimed that life has no meaning. Augustine believed we... Read more