Quick and concise reading comprehension practice, with a pretest, lessons & exercises, a posttest, and access to a free, online, practice center.

Discover the essential thinking tools you’ve been missing with The Great Mental Models series by Shane Parrish, New York Times bestselling author and the mind behind the acclaimed Farnam Street blog and “The Knowledge Project” podcast. This first book in the series is your guide to learning the crucial thinking tools nobody ever taught you. Time and time again, great thinkers such as Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett have credited their success to mental models–representations of how something works that can scale onto other fields. Mastering a small number of mental models enables you to rapidly grasp new information, identify patterns others miss, and avoid the common mistakes that hold people back. The Great Mental Models: Volume 1, General Thinking Concepts shows you how making a few tiny changes in the way you think can deliver big results. Drawing on examples from history, business, art, and science, this book details nine of the most versatile, all-purpose mental models you can use right away to improve your decision making and productivity. This book will teach you how to: Avoid blind spots when looking at problems. Find non-obvious solutions. Anticipate and achieve desired outcomes. Play to your strengths, avoid your weaknesses, … and more. The Great Mental Models series demystifies once elusive concepts and illuminates rich knowledge that traditional education overlooks. This series is the most comprehensive and accessible guide on using mental models to better understand our world, solve problems, and gain an advantage.

Whether you're planning a trip to Morocco, Egypt, or any of the 25 exotic countries where Arabic is spoken, you'll want to bring along your language skills and "ARABIC in 10 minutes a day" is just the ticket! With a focus on practical words and phrases which every traveler needs, the book and interactive software provide an easy, step-by-step approach together with useful study tools and fun, computer activities and games. Perfect for students, travelers and international executives worldwide! The "10 minutes a day" Program: The "10 minutes a day" proven methodology guarantees success--all you have to do is set aside 10 minutes and you'll be on your way. Why 10 minutes a day? Because 10 minutes is doable, it fits easily into your life and it's not overwhelming. The program is created so that you can work at your own pace. You set the pace and you decide when you're ready to move to the next Step. The book is purposely designed to look like a child's workbook--it's not intimidating or overwhelming. Instead, it's approachable and engaging for everyone at any age. The book covers material equivalent to more than a year of high school Arabic or the 1st quarter of Arabic at university. The vocabulary hones in on key essential words that you'll actually use when traveling. You'll learn Key Question Words so you can ask for what you need; money and numbers so you can shop and pay bills; directions so you can get to your destination smoothly, and so much more that will make your experience abroad enjoyable. Study aids and fun activities such as word games, puzzles and interactive modules are academically designed and strategically interwoven into the program to help you succeed. Contents include: The 132-page illustrated workbook: Use the book to guide you, step-by-step, through learning and speaking Arabic. Full color throughout: Visually engages you and is conducive to learning quickly. Digital download of "10 minutes a day" language learning software: Use the interactive modules to hear the words, practice and play, track your score and have fun! (PC and Mac friendly) 150 Sticky Labels (both in the book and for your computer): Place the Sticky Labels around the house and office to learn new words without any extra time or effort. Use the interactive Sticky Labels module on your computer to hear the words, review, keep track of your score and improve. Ready-made Flash Cards (both in the book and for your computer): Take the ready-made flash cards with you and review your vocabulary on the go. Use the interactive Flash Card module on your computer to hear the words, practice and test yourself. The Arabic alphabet: Use this lesson to learn the Arabic script. Write each letter and become familiar with its pronunciation. With a little practice, you'll be on your way to reading Arabic in the very next lesson. Cut-out Menu Guide: Practice at your local restaurant and take it on your trip. Pronunciation Guide: With the Guide and simple phonetics above each Arabic word, it's easy for native English speakers to begin speaking Arabic with the correct pronunciation. Glossary of over 2,000 new words, definitions, and pronunciation: So you can quickly look up an Arabic word, its pronunciation and definition. --Kershul

Ramona Quimby, one of the most loved characters in children's fiction, has now reached third grade. At school, she acquires a new teacher, Mrs. Whaley, who addresses the class as "you guys." At home, she helps the family "squeak by" as her father returns to college to become an art teacher. All the Quimbys have their ups and downs, but none feels them more intensely than Ramona. Her low point is undoubtedly reached the day she throws up in class and Mrs. Whaley instructs the children to hold their noses and file into the hall. But three days later Ramona recovers her verve sufficiently to give a book report in the style of a T.V. commercial, bringing down the house with her final ad-lib line of "I can't believe I read the whole thing!" Writing with humor and compassion, Beverly Cleary continues her chronicle of a child's growth and lovingly reaffirms the durability of the memorable Quimby family. They may not be nice all the time, but they stick together through good times and bad.

Stretch & Catch Words is an easy method developed by Amanda McNamara Lowe, M.Ed to help all children learn to read in just 10 minutes a day. Whether your child excels in school or needs additional help, the Stretch & Catch Method will teach your child to read. Stretch & Catch Words is an innovative, developmentally appropriate method designed to enable everyone from the concerned parent/caregiver to the professional educator, help teach a child how to read using this easy guide. This book is meant for children of all levels. All children, including children with learning difficulties or disabilities can benefit from this 10 minute a day approach. In order to teach a child to read, the child must understand how words work. By teaching your child Stretch & Catch Words, they will use many of their senses to see how words are formed. That combined with The Word List Words (high frequency words) can create a reader in any child.

Help transform struggling K-3 students into skillful, enthusiastic readers-in just 20 to 30 minutes a day! It''s all possible with the NEW edition of this bestselling curriculum supplement, your key to helping all students grasp the five Big Ideas of early literacy: phonological awareness, the alphabetic principle, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Updated with new activities and the very latest on today''s hot topics in literacy, this book gives you more than 130 research-based, teacher-tested activities you can use right now, with any core reading program. They''re a perfect fit with r.

This guide shows parents how to combine story reading, phonics, and writing to help their children develop into skilled and motivated readers. The guide discusses how to prepare children for reading success; how to use children's literature to promote learning and enjoyment; why combining book experiences and phonics is better than using either approach alone; ways to use writing to enhance children's reading progress; why reading aloud is important; and which books to use and where to find them. Chapters in the guide are: (1) "The 'Great Debate'"; (2) "Acquiring Language and Learning To Read"; (3) "Early Readers: What Can They Teach Us?"; (4) "What Works? One Successful Program"; (5) "Using 'Real Books' in Your Program"; (6) "Preparing for Formal Lessons"; (7) "Book Reading and Strategy Development"; (8) "Learning about Letters, Sounds, and Words"; (9) "Story Writing in the Reading Lesson"; and (10) "Putting It All Together: A Sample Lesson." Contains 79 references. Appendixes present a 600-item bibliography of children's trade books; a special note for Christian educators; and advice on establishing a tutoring project. (RS)