A+ Test Prep & Tutoring Blog

Here is a timely take on the the age-old question of whether to use “I” or “me.”

The I’s Have It

Source: The New York Times, February 23, 2009

Two research studies are currently underway at Yale University’s Center for Dyslexia and Creativity, which is headed by the nation’s leading dyslexia experts, Sally and Bennett Shaywitz.

The studies seek to determine whether atomoxetine (Strattera), a medicine produced by the Lilly Company and approved for the treatment of attention disorders,  has an effect on reading in children and adolescents who have difficulty reading, with or without attention problems.

For more information about the studies, or if you have a child between the ages of 10 and 16 who might benefit from participating in one of these studies, click here.

Cliffs Notes, the company that publishes the study guides that students have relied on for generations, sometimes to the dismay of their teachers, has published a new line of books in the Manga format.

Manga, a Japanese form of comic book, has recently become a very popular form of literature in the U.S.  Manga are similar to graphic novels, but the artwork is rendered in the traditional style popular in Japan.

This line of books contains classic titles including works by Shakespeare, Hawthorne and Twain. The books contain original text of these works, and remain true to the setting. These books represent a good entry point into some of the more difficult works of classic literature that otherwise might be intimidating for students.

For a sample of these manga adaptations click here.

BrainyFlix.com, a website sponsored by the MIT Alumni Association, is conducting an unusual vocabulary contest.  The website is seeking homemade videos designed to teach the meaning of specific vocabulary words which often appear on college board exams such at the SAT and ACT.

Each video should be about one of the words on the vocabulary list created by BrainFlix.com. Videos must explain the meaning of the word correctly and well enough for students who see the video to learn and actually remember the meaning of the word. Of course, fun anc creativity are  encouraged. The deadline for videos to be submitted is March 16, 2009.  The top prize is $600, of which $200 will go directly to the video’s creator and the balance of $400 will go to the student’s school.

To be held at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Glenside, PA. Please call 215.886.9188 to register.

To be held at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Glenside, PA. Please call 215.886.9188 to register.

To be held at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Glenside, PA. Please call A+ at 215.886.9188 to register.

Children who misbehave at school are often punished by being kept inside at recess. But new research shows that recess helps solve behavioral problems in class. Click here to read the full article.

Source: The New York Times, February 2, 2009

To be held at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Glenside, PA

Call 215-886-9188 to register. Space is avaiable on a first-come first-served basis.

Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated in United States and Canada on February 2.

In weather lore, if a groundhog, also known as a woodchuck, marmot, or ground squirrel, emerges from its burrow on this day and fails to see its shadow because the weather is cloudy, winter will soon end. If on the other hand, it is sunny and the groundhog sees its shadow, the groundhog will supposedly retreat into its burrow, and winter will continue for 6 more weeks.^[1]

Candlemas is usually the same day, and has similar beliefs about the coming weather.