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The Motown Sound (Step 3)
ReadOasis Step 3 The Motown Museum (Wikipedia) Soul music combines rhythm and blues and gospel. Like the blues, soul arose out of the black experience in America, and soul musicians took these styles out of the black church and into the world and the streets. They confidently and proudly... Read more
W.C. Handy: Father of the Blues (Step 3)
ReadOasis Step 3 "Then I saw the beauty of primitive music." W.C. Handy, Father of the Blues W.C. Handy at Age 19 W.C. Handy grew up in a small town in Alabama in the southern part of the US. His father was the pastor of a church, and Handy... Read more
This Old Man
A Traditional Children's Song ReadOasis Step 1 This old man, he played one, He played knick knack with his thumb, With a *knick, knack, paddy whack, Give the dog a bone; This old man came rolling home. This old man, he played two, He played knick knack with my... Read more
Winter Time
By Robert Louis StevensonReadOasis Step 5 Berit Watki Winter in Merstham (Creative Commons) Late lies the wintry sun a-bed,A frosty, fiery sleepy-head;Blinks but an hour or two; and then,A blood-red orange, sets again.Before the stars have left the skies,At morning in the dark I rise;And shivering in my nakedness,By... Read more
Great Waves of Art
ReadOasis Step 3 Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) was a Japanese artist, painter, and maker of prints, called UKIYO-E. During his life, he was the leading expert on Chinese painting in Japan. His most famous work is The Great Wave off Kanagawa, created in the 1820s. The Great Wave comes from... Read more
Do You Know How Your Body Talks?
ReadOasis Step 2 Do you know how your body talks? Can it help you share your thoughts and feelings? A famous psychologist, Albert Mehrabian, studied these questions. He looked at how our bodies show others what we think and feel. Let's see what he found with two simple examples.... Read more
Easter Story
ReadOasis Step 2 These were the most difficult days of their lives. Their eyes were red and dry. These women had cried out all their tears. He was their leader and teacher. He was their best friend. He changed their lives and made their world new again. He gave... Read more
The Happiness Class (Step 3)
ReadOasis Step 3 In his last year of high school, Alan didn't sleep much. Instead, he studied. Sometimes he crammed for exams all night. Sometimes he drank 3 or 4 cans of energy drinks so that he could study more. And he felt the agony of overwork. He got... Read more
The Rich Lawyer
ReadOasis Step 1 The United Way is a group that helps people. The United Way might call you. And they might ask you for a donation of money. Your donation might help build a school in the Philippines. It might help train people for work in the United States.... Read more
Born a Businessman (Step 2)
ReadOasis Step 2 In 1966, Richard was 16 years old. He was a student, but he didn't like the way he was taught in school. He wanted to change his world, and he was going to do something about it. He decided to create a magazine that was for... Read more
If by Rudyard Kipling
In 1907, Rudyard Kipling received the Nobel Prize for Literature. He was the first English-language writer to receive the prize. Kipling was a innovator in the art of short stories. His children?s books, like Jungle Book, are classics of children's literature. Kipling also wrote poetry. One of his famous poems... Read more
Playing Global Business on a Level Field
ReadOasis Step 3 A Review of The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century By Thomas L. Friedman. We are entering a new era where the world is one massive marketplace. Old powers had the advantage, but the playing field is leveling now. New powers are... Read more
Master of Words: Bob Dylan (Part 1)
ReadOasis Step 2 It was January 1961. In the cold north of Minnesota, a young man of 19 years packed his bags. He was going to New York City. By car, the trip would take over 18 hours. And he was travelling by his thumb. In other words, he... Read more
The Mystery and Horror of Poe
ReadOasis Step 3 A man sits at night in his room alone. He is deeply saddened by the death of his lover. Her name was Lenore. Deep in despair, he begins to hear a tapping at the window. He looks up and opens it. And there stands a large... Read more
El Greco: Genius of Spanish Art
ReadOasis Step 2(Part 1) El Expolio by El Greco El Greco wanted to be a great artist. (His name means ?the Greek.?) Like many Greek artists of his time, El Greco moved to Venice, Italy. Venice was alive with cultural change, achievement, and art during a period of time... Read more
Escape at Bedtime
By Robert Louis StevensonReadOasis Step 3 Photo by NASA The lights from the parlour and kitchen shone outThrough the blinds and the windows and bars;And high overhead and all moving about,There were thousands of millions of stars.There ne?er were such thousands of leaves on a tree,Nor of people in... Read more
The Meaning of Haiku
ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) An old man is walking along a rocky river bed. He is a traveller, but he is carrying only a few things. He can hear the songs of birds and the breath of the wind. The sound of the River Fuji is clear in... Read more
Wishes
By Sara TeasdaleReadOasis Step 2 I wish for such a lot of thingsThat never will come true--And yet I want them all so muchI think they might, don't you? I want a little kitty-catThat's soft and tame and sweet,And every day I watch and hopeI'll find one in the... Read more
How to Acquire Language (Step 3)
ReadOasis Step 3 How do humans acquire languages? The answer is remarkably simple. All people everywhere acquire languages in the same way. “We acquire languages by understanding messages.” This is called the “comprehension hypothesis,” and it was made famous by the distinguished linguist Dr. Stephen Krashen. I give this... Read more
Freedom of Speech
ReadOasis Step 3 "I shall resign the Presidency effective at noon tomorrow. Vice President Ford will be sworn in as President at that hour in this office." These words were spoken by President Richard Nixon on August 8, 1974 on national television. They came after many months of scandal... Read more