Author Archives: Mollie Player

Some of the rules of grammar and punctuation don’t need to be taught; instead, they’re inbued, like social skills. However, as with social skills, a little direct coaching goes a very long way. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you how much more educated you’ll seem when you don’t make simple writing mistakes.

ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE: PUNCTUATION

Comma (,): The symbol used to separate ideas within a sentence to improve readability. It sets off parenthetic expressions, separates items in a list and separates independent clauses. In some cases, its use is a matter of stylistic preference, with no clearly correct or incorrect choice.

Serial comma: The symbol that is sometimes used at the end of a list, right before the or or and, such as in the sentence “The cat likes to play with yarn, cat toys, and clothing.”

Colon (:): The symbol sometimes used to introduce a quotation, explanation, example, or series. It is also sometimes used between sentences instead of a period to show that the second explains or adds directly to the first. Finally, colons can be used for emphasis. An example is: “I have four pairs of boots: one for rain, one for snow and two for fashion.” Another example is: “My sister is beautiful: she has dark hair and a great smile.” A third example is: “Yes, I have a best friend: my sister.”

Semicolon (;): A symbol that is sometimes used between two independent clauses in place of a period, especially when the second clause is closely related to the first, and to separate words and phrases in long lists that already have commas or other internal punctuation in them. An example of the first use is “I was sad; she hurt me on purpose.” An example of the second use is “I own: three black and yellow hats; one long, dark skirt; and one pair of shoes.”

Apostrophe (‘): The symbol used to form contractions or show possession. It is also used as a single quotation mark around a quote that lies within another quote. Some examples are I’ve and Sara’s.

Quotation marks (“): The symbols used around quotations

Slash (/): The symbol used to separate numbers in dates, in website addresses, in fractional numbers, to separate lines in a poem, in the phrase and/or and more

Hyphen (-): The symbol used to join words together to create a compound word, such as “self-esteem”

En dash (–): The symbol used to indicate a range of numbers or dates

Em dash (—): The symbol that is longer than an en dash and used to indicate a break in thought or to emphasize a phrase. An example is: “My dog—who I love—is sweet as heck.”

Parentheses (()): The symbols used to contain additional information that isn’t otherwise grammatically connected to the sentence. An example is “My dog (who I love) is sweet as heck.”

Brackets ([]): The symbols used to add needed information into a quote that does not include it, to enclose editorial comments or corrections, to indicate an ellipsis in a quote, and for other reasons. An example is “He said, ‘She [Ms. Smith] is the new director.'”

Braces ({}): The symbols used to contain two or more lines of text or listed items to show that they are considered as a unit. Used mostly in mathematics and computer programming. An example is: 2{1+[23-3]}=x.

Ellipsis (…): The symbol used to indicate omitted words or a trailing off of thought

ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE: GRAMMAR

Noun: A person, place, thing or idea

Proper noun: The given name of someone or something in particular, which are always capitalized

Pronoun: A small word used in place of a noun, including she, her, he, him, they, them, we, it, I and you

Verb: An action or state of being word, like have or walk

Helping verb: A verb that helps some main verbs express the action. There are 23 in all: be, am, is, are, was, were, been, being, have, has, had, could, should, must, may, might, must, can, will, would, do, did, and does.

Adjective: A word that describes a noun or pronoun, like pretty or smart

Adverb: A word that describes a verb, an adjective or another adverb, like slowly or carefully

Article: The words a, an, and the

Preposition: A word placed before a noun to form a phrase that, taken as a whole, modifies another word in the sentence. The most common are in, with, by, for, at, in, on, out, to, under, within and without. An example is: “With my dog as company, I can do anything.” Contrary to popular understanding, it’s okay to end a sentence in a preposition; however, choose the wording that is the most clear.

Prepositional phrase: A phrase that is made up of at least one preposition and one noun (the phrase’s object) and that modifies another word in a sentence. An example is the phrase “on the shelf” in the sentence “The book on the shelf is mine.”

Conjunction: A word that joins words, phrases or clauses but are not part of a clause or prepositional phrase. The most common are and, but, therefore, however, so, for, or, nor, yet, since, while, and because. There are several types of these, such as coordinating conjunctions, which connect grammatically equal elements, and subordinating conjunctions, which connect clauses that are not equal (because, although, while, since, etc.).

Interjection: A word used to express emotion, such as oh, wow, and ah

Sentence: A unit of writing consisting of a single main subject and a single main action. An exception is when a semicolon joins two sentences that both convey a similar idea.

Run-on sentence: A grammatically incorrect sentence that contains two or more independent clauses without proper punctuation (such as a period or semicolon) to separate them

Loose sentence: A sentence that starts with an independent clause and also includes one or more dependent clauses. These can give a paragraph breathability and flow, but too many in a row are tiresome. An example is: “My friend Bill is a farmer and often reminds me of the importance of nature, and I often remind him that I am a city kid, to which he replies that no one is truly a city kid.”

Sentence fragment: A group of words that is missing some element needed to make a complete sentences, such as the subject or the verb. Two examples are “Because I need it” and “Good question.”

Topic sentence: The sentence at the beginning of a paragraph that includes the main idea of the paragraph

Verb tense: The form of the verb that denotes the time of the action. There are twelve of these: four main types (simple, progressive, perfect and perfect progressive) with three subcategories for each type (past, present and future). When writing, it is important to be consistent in this choice.

Present tense: The verb tense used in the phrases “I eat”

Past tense: The verb tense used in the phrase “I ate”

Future tense: The verb tense used in the phrase “I will eat”

Simple tense: The verb tense used in the phrases “I eat,” “I ate,” and “I will eat”

Progressive tense: The verb tense used in the phrases “I am eating”, “I was eating” and “I will be eating”, where action is ongoing

Perfect tense: The verb tense used in the phrases “I have eaten”, “I had eaten” and “I will have eaten”, where action was or will be completed before a specific time

Perfect progressive tense: The verb tense used in the phrases “I have been eating”, “I had been eating” and “I will have been eating”, where action started in the past, continued up to a specific point in time, and may continue in the future

Clause: A group of words that contains both a subject and a verb

Independent clause: A clause that can stand alone (and might or might not do so). An example is “I baked some bread” in the sentence “Because I like bread, I baked some bread.”

Dependent clause: A clause that cannot stand alone. An example is “because I like bread” in the sentence “Because I like bread, I baked some bread.” It should be placed directly after the independent clause to which it refers.

Suffix: A word ending that changes the word’s tense or meaning. An example is -able in the word “readable.”

Prefix: A word beginning that changes the word’s meaning. An example is -un in the word “unhappy.”

Synonyms: Words with the same or approximately the same meaning. Examples are “happy” and “joyful.”

Antonyms: Words with opposite meanings. Examples are “happy” and “sad.”

Homonyms: Words that are spelled and pronounced alike but have different meanings. Examples include “bear” and “bare.”

Homophones: Words that are pronounced alike but different in meaning, origin, or spelling. Examples are “flour” and “flower.”

Dipthong: A combination of two vowels to make a single blended sound. Examples are au and ou.

Digraph: A combination of two letters to make a single sound. Examples are th and ph.

Palindrome: A word or phrase that is spelled the same when read in either direction. An example is “eve.”

Acronym: An abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word. An example is ASAP, which stands for “as soon as possible.”

When I was in school, nonfiction was textbooks. And the encyclopedia and the dictionary, too. What nobody told me is that there’s another kind of nonfiction out there. There’s the kind that’s actually fun to read.

Modern nonfiction is some of the most entertaining, well-written stuff you can find. (After all, if you want to make money writing about neuroscience, for example, you’d better make it relevant, understandable, and full of fascinating anecdotes, right?) It’s stimulating and informative, but that’s not all it is: it’s a road map for becoming a better person. Nonfiction can widen your perspective, give you wisdom, make you stronger . . . maybe even make you a happier person. Nonfiction helps us come up with new goals and ideas about what our lives can encompass–then takes our hands and helps us draw the circles.

It’s such a great time to be a reader, isn’t it?

Of course, the lists below also feature numerous difficult-to-read works, particularly the advanced compilation. Confession: I haven’t read all of these. Instead, somewhere along the way (mostly in philosophy and history classes) I learned about the significance of the texts–the historical context, the main takeaways and the way the text changed people’s thinking. Feel free to do the same.

ESSENTIAL RESOURCES: CLASSIC NONFICTION

Introductory Classic Nonfiction and Mythology

• The story of Paul Bunyan (American myth)
• The story of John Henry (American myth)
• The story of Daniel Boone (American myth)
• The story of George Washington and the cherry tree (American myth)
• The story of the Trojan horse (Homer)
• The story of the Sirens of Titan (Homer)
• The story of Horatius at the Bridge (Homer)
• The story of Androcles and the Lion (Greek myth)
• The story of Jason and the Golden Fleece (Homer)
• The story of Perseus and Medusa (Homer)
• The story of Medusa and Athena (Greek myth)
• The story of Cupid and Psyche (Greek myth)
• The story of The Sword of Damocles (Greek myth)
• The story of Pandora’s Box (Greek myth)
• The story of Oedipus and the Sphinx (Greek myth)
• The story of Demeter and Persephone (Greek myth)
• The story of Daedalus and Icarus (Greek myth)
• The story of Theseus and the Minotaur (Greek myth)
• The story of Arachne the Weaver (Greek myth)
• The story of Swift-footed Atlanta (Greek myth)
• The story of Atlas (Greek myth)
• The story of Odysseus and the Cyclops (Greek myth)
• The story of Romulus and Remus (Roman myth)
• The story of The Twelve Labors of Hercules (Roman myth)
• The story of creation (The Old Testament)
• The story of Adam and Eve (The Old Testament)
• The story of Noah’s ark (The Old Testament)
• The story of the tower of Babel (The Old Testament)
• The story of Abraham’s call (The Old Testament)
• The story of the test of Abraham’s faith (The Old Testament)
• The story of Isaac and Rebecca (The Old Testament)
• The story of Jacob and Esau (The Old Testament)
• The story of Joseph’s coat of many colors (The Old Testament)
• The story of Moses’ birth (The Old Testament)
• The story of Moses and the burning bush (The Old Testament)
• The story of the Israelites’ flight from Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea (The Old Testament)
• The story of the manna from heaven (The Old Testament)
• The story of the Ten Commandments (The Old Testament)
• The story of the walls of Jericho (The Old Testament)
• The story of Gideon’s fleece (The Old Testament)
• The story of Samson’s downfall (The Old Testament)
• The story of Esther (The Old Testament)
• The story of Ruth and Naomi (The Old Testament)
• The story of David and Goliath (The Old Testament)
• The story of David and Jonathan (The Old Testament)
• The story of King Solomon’s temple (The Old Testament)
• The story of King Solomon’s decision (The Old Testament)
• The story of Elijah and the still, small voice (The Old Testament)
• The story of Elijah and the chariot of fire (The Old Testament)
• The story of Daniel in the fiery furnace and in the lion’s den (The Old Testament)
• The story of Daniel and the handwriting on the wall (The Old Testament)
• The story of Jonah and the whale (The Old Testament)
• The story of Lucifer (The Old Testament)
• The story of Job (The Old Testament)
• The story of the first Christmas (The New Testament)
• The story of the choosing of the twelve disciples (The New Testament)
• The story of the water into wine miracle (The New Testament)
• The story of the walking on water miracle (The New Testament)
• The story of the calming the storm miracle (The New Testament)
• The story of the feeding of the five thousand miracle (The New Testament)
• The story of the raising Lazarus from the dead miracle (The New Testament)
• The story of the Sermon on the Mount (The New Testament)
• The story of the woman at the well (The New Testament)
• The parable of the sower of seeds (The New Testament)
• The parable of the good Samaritan (The New Testament)
• The parable of the prodigal son (The New Testament)
• The parable of the last supper (The New Testament)
• The story of Easter (The New Testament)
• The story of Thomas’ doubt (The New Testament)
• The story of the conversion of Paul (The New Testament)
• The story of Loki and the Gifts for the Gods (Norse myth)
• The story of how Thor won his hammer (Norse myth)
• The story of Odin (Norse myth)

Intermediate Classic Nonfiction

• The Holy Bible
• The writings of Buddha (500s–300s BCE)
• The Analects, Confucius (500s BCE)
• Tao Te Ching, Lao Tze (500s BCE)
• The Art of War, Sun Tzu (500s BCE)
• The Quran (600s)
• The Magna Carta (1200s)
• The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli (1500s)
• The Declaration of Independence (1700s)
• The Constitution of the United States (1700s)
• The Bill of Rights (1700s)
• The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Olaudah Equiano (1700s)
• Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, Thomas de Quincey (1800s)
• The Gettysburg Address (1800s)
• Narrative of Sojourner Truth, Sojourner Truth (1800s)
• Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe (1800s)
• Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs (1800s)
• Walden, Henry David Thoreau (1800s)
• Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Frederick Douglass (1800s)
• The Souls of Black Folks, W. E. B. DuBois (1900s)
• Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, James Weldon Johnson (1900s)
• The “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King, Jr. (1900s)
• The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank (1900s)
• The Story of My Life, Helen Keller (1900s)
• Roots, Alex Haley (1900s)
• Autobiography of Malcom X, Malcom X (1900s)
• Black Boy, Richard Wright (1900s)
• Black Like Me, John Howard Griffin (1900s)
• The Hiding Place, Corrie Ten Boom (1900s)

Advanced Classic Nonfiction

• The Histories, Herodotus (400s BCE)
• The Republic, Plato (400s BCE)
• History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides (400s BCE)
• Rhetoric, Aristotle (300s BCE)
• Apology, Plato (300s BCE)
• Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle (300s BCE)
• On the Nature of Things, Lucretius (60s BCE)
• De Republica, Cicero (50s BCE)
• The Early History of Rome, Livy (20s BCE)
• Wars of the Jews, Josephus (70s CE)
• Annals, Tacitus (100s CE)
• The Twelve Caesars, Suetonius (100s CE)
• Anabasis of Alexander, Arrian (100s CE)
• Meditations, Marcus Aurelius (100s CE)
• Lives of Noble Greeks and Romans, Plutarch (100s CE)
• Enchiridion, Epictetus (100s CE)
• The Confessions, Saint Augustine (300s)
• The City of God, St. Augustine (400s)
• The Consolation of Philosophy, Boethius (500s)
• The Ecclesiastical History, Adam Bede (700s)
• The Letters of Abelard and Heloise, Peter and Heolise Abelard (1100s)
• Summa Theologiae, Thomas Aquinas (1200s)
• The Imitation of Christ, Thomas a Kempis (1400s)
• In Praise of Folly, Erasmus (1500s)
• The Education of a Christian Prince, Erasmus (1500s)
• The Freedom of a Christian, Martin Luther (1500s)
• Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin (1500s)
• History of the Reformation, John Knox (1500s)
• The Life of Saint Teresa of Avila, Teresa of Avila (1500s)
• The Interior Castle, St. Teresa of Avila (1500s)
• Dark Night of the Soul, St. John of the Cross (1500s)
• The Defense of Poesy, Sir Philip Sidney (1500s)
• Novum Organum, Frances Bacon (1600s)
• The Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes (1600s)
• Meditations on First Philosophy, Rene Descartes (1600s)
• Discourse on Method, Rene Descartes (1600s)
• Essay Concerning Human Understanding, John Locke (1600s)
• The Second Treatise of Government, John Locke (1600s)
• An Essay on Criticism, Alexander Pope (1700s)
• An Essay on Man, Alexander Pope (1700s)
• The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin (1700s)
• The Rights of Man, Thomas Paine (1700s)
• Common Sense, Thomas Paine (1700s)
• On Liberty, John Stuart Mill (1800s)
• The Social Contract, Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1700s)
• The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith (1700s)
• A Critique of Pure Reason, Immanuel Kant (1700s)
• On American Taxation, Edmund Burke (1700s)
• Life of Johnson, James Boswell (1700s)
• The Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton (1700s)
• On the Origin of the Species by Means of Natural Selection, Charles Darwin (1800s)
• The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx (1800s)
• The Education of Henry Adams, Henry Adams (1800s)
• Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Frederich Nietzsche (1800s)
• Beyond Good and Evil, Frederich Nietzsche (1800s)
• Civilization and Its Discontents, Sigmund Freud (1900s)
• The Ego and the Id, Sigmund Freud (1900s)
• The Interpretation of Dreams, Sigmund Freud (1900s)
• Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler (1900s)

Additional Recommended Nonfiction

• The Diary of Samuel Pepys, Samuel Pepys (1600s)
• Wonders of the Invisible World, Cotton Mather (1600s)
• The Journal of John Woolman, John Woolman (1700s)
• Notes on Nursing, Florence Nightingale (1800s)
• Memoir, Correspondence and Misc., Thomas Jefferson (1800s)
• An Autobiography, Annie Besant (1800s)
• The Memoirs of Victor Hugo, Victor Hugo (1800s)
• Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville (1800s)
• A Child’s History of England, Charles Dickens (1800s)
• For Self-Examination, Soren Kierkegaard (1800s)
• The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, parts one through four, Susan Wise Bauer
• The Well-Trained Mind, Susan Wise Bauer
• The Well-Educated Mind, Susan Wise Bauer
• What Your Kindergartener Needs to Know, E.D. Hirsch
• What Your First Grader Needs to Know, E.D. Hirsch
• What Your Second Grader Needs to Know, E.D. HirscWhat Your Kindergartener Needs to Know, E.D. Hirsch
• What Your Third Grader Needs to Know, E.D. Hirsch
• What Your Fourth Grader Needs to Know, E.D. Hirsch
• What Your Fifth Grader Needs to Know, E.D. Hirsch
• What Your Sixth Grader Needs to Know, E.D. Hirsch
• The Elements of Style, William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White
• A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking
• The Meaning of It All, Richard Feynman
• Alexander of Macedon, Peter Green
• Treblinka, Jean-Francois Steiner
• The War Magician, David Fisher
• Inside the Third Reich, Albert Speer
• The Particle at the Edge of the Universe, Sean Carroll
• The Fabric of the Cosmos, Brian Greene
• Endurance, Scott Kelly
• Genome, Matt Ridley
• The Art of Learning, Josh Waitzkin
• Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why, Laurence Gonzales
• The Underachiever’s Manifesto, Ray Bennett
• Being Mortal, Arul Gawande
• Flourish, Martin Seligman
• Flow, Mihaly Csikszentmivaly
• The Inner Game of Work, W. Timothy Gallway
• Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Malcom Gladwell
• Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcom Gladwell
• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Robert Cialdini
• What Would Google Do?, Jeff Jarvis
• The Long Tail, Chris Anderson
• Freakonomics, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
• Discover Your Inner Economist, Tyler Cowen
• Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman
• Switch, Chip Heath and Dan Heath
• Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath
• The Gift of Fear, Gavin de Becker
• On Writing, Steven King
• Save the Cat!, Blake Snyder
• The War of Art, Steven Pressfield
• Plot and Structure, James Scott Bell
• How Children Fail, John Holt
• The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work, John Gottman
• Love Sense, Sue Johnson
• Parenting with Love and Logic, Foster Cline
• If I Have to Tell You One More Time, Amy McCready
• The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, Eckhart Tolle
• A New Earth, Eckhart Tolle
• The Conversations with God series, Neale Donald Walsch
• Biocentrism: How Life and Consciousness are the Keys to Understanding the True Nature of the Universe, Robert Lanza and Bob Berman
• Fringe-ology: How I Tried to Explain Away the Unexplainable–and Couldn’t, Steve Volk
• Dying to Be Me, Anita Moorjani
• A Severe Mercy, Sheldon Vanauken
• Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs, Chuck Klostermann
• When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi
• Educated, Tara Westover
• Go Ask Alice, Anonymous
• A Stolen Life, Jaycee Dugard
• A House in the Sky, Amanda Lindhout
• Into the Wild, John Krakauer
• In Cold Blood, Truman Capote
• Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?, Seth Godin
• Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable, Seth Godin

Spirituality isn’t something that can be learned in school. However, a basic understanding of world religions and belief systems encourages appreciation and curiosity regarding other cultures. And that doesn’t seem like such a bad thing.

ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE: RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY

Christianity: The most followed religion in the world, which is based on the Holy Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ. According to this religion, an all-knowing, all-loving, everywhere-present, all-powerful God created the universe. Humans are sinful and in need of redemption. Salvation–that is, eternal life in a place of bliss called Heaven–comes to those who profess faith in Jesus Christ and repent of their sins. Others go to Hell after death. In addition to faith, followers should practice love, humility, morality, prayer, Bible reading, and good works.

The Holy Bible: The religious text upon which Judaism, Christianity and some other religions are based. It includes the Old Testament, which discusses events that occurred prior to the life of Christ, and the New Testament, which discusses the life of Christ and events following it.

The Old Testament: The group of historical and instructional religious texts written by various Hebrew authors, likely from about 1500 BCE to about 400 BCE, that makes up the first part of the Bible. Some of the stories take place during the Hebrews’ time and some are based on ancient oral traditions. Parts of it are thought to be fairly historically reliable.

The New Testament: The group of historical and instructional religious texts written by various Greek authors in the first few centuries CE, largely about the life of Jesus Christ and the development of Christianity

Jesus Christ: A spiritual teacher who lived in the first century CE in the Middle East and became the founder of Christianity. He was born in Bethlehem, taught in Jerusalem, and was executed in Rome for his teachings. His followers believe he was God incarnated and that he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven after three days in the tomb. His teachings included parables and stories that were recorded by his disciples and later formed the first part of the New Testament of the Bible.

Catholicism: The largest branch of Christianity, which started during Roman times and emphasizes the Holy Trinity; the authority of the Pope, the veneration of saints, and the importance of sacraments, such as baptism, the Eucharist, and confession. It is organized into a hierarchical structure, with the Pope at the top, followed by bishops, priests, and deacons.

The Pope: The bishop of Rome, the highest leader of the Catholic Church, and the leader of the Vatican City State. Their responsibilities include leading religious ceremonies, making doctrinal decisions, appointing bishops, and more.

Protestantism: A branch of Christianity that emerged during the Reformation in the 1500s after Martin Luther and others began to reject certain Catholic teachings, such as the authority of the Pope and the practices of the Eucharist and confession. It emphasizes the authority of the Bible in conveying religious truth and is divided into many denominations, each with their own traditions, such as Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians and others.

Judaism: One of the oldest religions in the world, which originated in the Middle East over 3,500 years ago among a tribe called the Israelites, later known as the Jews. It is based on the Torah and other sacred texts. Teachings include: monotheism; the importance of avoiding sin; the importance of maintaining purity; and the importance of separateness. Rituals include the study of Jewish Texts, prayer, observation of the Sabbath and other holidays, circumcision, and bar/bat mitzvah ceremonies.

The Torah: The central text of Judaism, which is made up of the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These books detail the history, laws, and teachings of the Israelites.

The Talmud: A text upon which Judaism is partly based and which is interpreted by rabbi scholars. It is a large collection of Jewish laws, customs, and traditions. The Midrash, another important Jewish text, is used alongside it to help interpret it.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints/Mormonism: A large branch of Christianity founded in the U.S. by Joseph Smith in the 1830s after he was visited by the angel Moroni and given the Book of Mormon to transcribe. It is based on the Bible, the Book of Mormon and two other books called The Doctrine and Covenants and The Pearl of Great Price. It emphasizes the importance of family and has a strong missionary program.

The Book of Mormon: An important religious text upon which Mormonism is partly based. It tells the story of a group of Israelites who migrated to the Americas and received the gospel of Jesus Christ from God. It also contains teachings on faith, repentance, and the importance of following God’s commandments.

Islam: The second-most followed religion in the world, which is based on the Quran. Teachings include the existence of one merciful, all-powerful God, with Muhammad as his final prophet and messenger; the existence of angels; and the existence of a blissful heaven as well as a place of eternal punishment. Rituals include the Five Pillars and more. The religion is divided into two sects, the Sunni and Shia, with the major original difference between them being who should have succeeded the Prophet Muhammad as the leader of the Muslim community.

Muslim: A follower of Islam

The Five Pillars: The five main spiritual practices of Muslims, which include: recitation of the creed; daily prayers; almsgiving; fasting during Ramadan; and making a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime

Muhammad: The founder of Islam who is considered by Muslims to be the final prophet and messenger of God. He is said to have received his first revelation from God through the angel Gabriel in the early 600s CE while meditating in a cave near Mecca. After spreading his message there, then facing persecution from the Meccan leaders, he and his followers migrated to the city of Medina, an event that marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. Several years later, he negotiated with the Meccan leaders to perform pilgrimages to Mecca, a holy city of Islam, but the peace treaty was broken and battles ensued. Eventually, he and his followers returned to Mecca and established Islam as the dominant religion in the area.

The Quran: The text upon which Islam is based, which was revealed by God to the prophet Muhammad

Sharia law: A comprehensive system of Islamic law that encompasses all aspects of life, including personal, social, economic, and political matters. It is derived from the Quran, the teachings and practices of the Prophet Muhammad, and the interpretations of Islamic scholars throughout history.

Sufism: A mystical branch of Islam that emphasizes the inward search for God and enlightenment through various spiritual practices such as meditation, chanting, and dance. Sufi masters are those who have achieved a high level of spiritual realization and can serve as guides and sources of inspiration for others.

Hinduism: The third most followed religion in the world, which began around 500 BCE in India. It is based on a variety of texts and traditions, none of which are considered authoritative. Teachings include dharma (the path of rightness); samsara (reincarnation); moksha (enlightenment and liberation from the cycle of birth and death); karma (cause and effect); brahman (the ultimate reality); atman (the true self); maya (illusion); non-violence; respect for all life; vegetarianism; tolerance of other religions; the existence one or more gods, depending on the tradition; and more. Rituals include yoga, chanting, meditation and more.

Dharma: The path of rightness, as taught about in Hinduism, Buddhism and other eastern religions. It refers to the one unchanging truth and the universal cosmic order and calls for carrying out one’s religious duty, maintaining moral virtue, and achieving harmony with nature.

The Vedas: The oldest scriptures of Hinduism, composed in India between 1500 BCE to 500 BCE, that were transmitted orally for many centuries before they were written down. They include four main collections of hymns, prayers, and ritual texts, plus a concluding part that was written later: the Rigveda (the oldest part), the Yajurveda, the Samaveda, and the Atharvaveda, and the Upanishads (the concluding part). The Upanishads are considered to be the foundation of Hinduism, as they contain some of the most central teachings

Bhagavad Gita: An important sacred text in Hinduism which was written during the 100s CE. It is a dialogue that takes place between the god Krishna and the warrior Arjuna on a battlefield.There, Krishna provides Arjuna with teachings on duty, dharma, self-realization, the nature of the soul and more.

Avatars: Various earthly incarnations of the same Hindu god

Buddhism: The fourth most followed religion in the world, which is based on the teachings of Buddha, who lived around 500 BCE. Teachings include the Four Noble Truths; the Noble Eightfold Path; meditation; nirvana; reincarnation; karma; balance (called the “middle way”); nonattachment; compassion; the dharma; the sangha (teachers and fellow travelers one shares their earthly life with); and more.

Sutras: Buddhist texts based on the words of Buddha

Tantras: Buddhist texts created by ancient schools and scholars, which often emphasize rituals and symbolism

Siddhartha Gautama: The founder of Buddhism, who lived and taught in India around 500 BCE (though dates are uncertain) and became known as the Buddha. Born to a royal family in Nepal, he was a wealthy but unhappy young man who became enlightened while sitting underneath a Bodhi tree.

The Four Noble Truths: The four central principles of Buddhism, which include: suffering is universal; suffering is caused by desire and attachment; suffering can end; suffering ends through the Noble Eightfold Path

The Noble Eightfold Path: The eight ways to end suffering, which include: right understanding, right thinking, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration

Confucianism: The belief system that is based on the teachings of Confucius, which include the importance of tradition, morals, manners, rituals, loyalty, obedience, self-reflection, moderation, respect for elders and more. It holds no position on the existence of God or an afterlife, so is sometimes considered a philosophical system rather than a religion. It became the official state philosophy during the Han Dynasty.

Confucius: A philosopher who lived and taught around 500 BCE in China and who wrote The Analects of Confucius. He served in minor governmental positions before becoming a teacher and philosopher who sought a just and moral society.

The Analects of Confucius: The text upon which Confucianism is based, written by Confucius around 500 BCE

Taoism/Daoism: The belief system that is based on various Chinese philosophical writings such as the Tao Te Ching and the I Ching. It might have developed as a reaction to the authoritarianism of Confucianism. Teachings include the Dao (the Way–ultimate truth); wu wei (effortless action); yin and yang (opposites to balance each other); virtue; naturalism; the interconnectedness of all things; the existence of various gods, none of whom are supreme; the eternal nature of the soul; a regular afterlife as well as an enhanced afterlife; an more. Rituals include fortune telling, honoring deceased spirits, meditation; and more.

Laozi/Lao Zu: The Chinese philosopher considered to be the author of the Tao Te Ching, though evidence of his existence is mixed

The Tao Te Ching: One of the foundational texts upon which Daoism is based, which was written around 500 BCE. It consists of 81 short chapters that offer wisdom on a range of topics, including the nature of the universe, the meaning of life, and the principles of good governance.

The I Ching: The oldest Chinese classic text and one of the oldest surviving books in the world, which was compiled around 800 BCE and which influenced the Tao Te Ching. Sometimes used as a divination text, it consists of 64 hexagrams, each of which is made up of six lines that can be interpreted to offer guidance and insight on a range of issues.

Shinto: A traditional religion of Japan arising prior to 700 BCE that features the honoring of ancestors and a variety of nature spirits. With no central authoritative religious text, it emphasizes purity, gratitude, reverence for nature and reverence for the past, partly through rituals and festivals.

New Age spirituality/alternative spirituality: A form of spirituality that emerged in the 1960s and that encompasses a wide range of beliefs and practices, partly adopted from eastern religions. Central teachings include the existence of a single unifying life force, sometimes called God, of which all people are a part; essential human goodness; the absence of Hell and eternal judgment; moral relativism; religious tolerance; and the importance of self-mastery. Many followers also believe in reincarnation; the law of attraction; enlightenment and more. Practices include meditation; channeling; astrology; crystals; alternative healing modalities; and more.

People like to say that memorizing dates isn’t important, but I have to disagree–with a caveat. Learning approximate dates allows you to place events and eras in context without sidetracking your efforts toward rote learning. Approximate dates allow your brain to properly categorize the information and make the many helpful associations we rely on for thorough understanding.

In most of the history sections of this book, I have grouped terms into their major eras and placed them in approximate chronological order, but have avoided sharing exact dates. I’ve also provided a brief timeline below to serve as an overall framework for your history learning.  

In this book historical terms and concepts are chunked into four broad categories: Ancient History, the Middle Ages, Early Modern Times and Modern Times. If you know which of these historical periods an event occurred in, you will often have a “good enough” understanding of its context for casual conversation and application. 

Please note that most names of eras, including Stone Age, Iron Age, Bronze Age, Paleolithic Era, Mesolithic Era and Neolithic Era, are rough divisions. Since they’re defined by their technological developments, they started and ended at different times in different places of the world. 

Many times I’ve tried to recall the approximate date for the beginning of the universe, or the invention of fire, or the first known appearance of Homo sapiens on the spot but could not. Wondering out loud whether the Earth formed 4 or 6 billion years ago isn’t embarrassing, but not even having some near-miss guess to choose from can be. Print this timeline, place it on your wall and leave it there until this date framework is easily recalled.

ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE: WORLD HISTORY TIMELINE

PREHISTORY

The Beginning of Time

14 billion BCE: The Big Bang occurred

4.5 billion BCE: The Earth formed

4 billion BCE: The first living organisms formed

3.5 billion BCE: LUCA, the last universal common ancestor, formed

7 million BCE: Hominids evolved

The Stone Age

300,000s BCE: Homo sapiens began using stone tools, beginning the Paleolithic Era
12,000s BCE: The Last Ice Age ended

10,000s BCE: Farming began in the Fertile Crescent in Mesopotamia; the first towns were built; and the Neolithic Era began

8,000s BCE: Farming began in China

6000s BCE: Farming began in the Indus River Valley (India); metalworking began

4000s BCE: Farming began in the Americas

RECORDED HISTORY

Ancient Times (3000 BCE to 500 CE)

3000s BCE: The first civilization (the Sumerian Empire in Mesopotamia) began; the Egyptian Empire began; writing was invented, beginning recorded history
2000s BCE: The Indus River Valley civilization began; the Chinese civilization began on the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers; the Mayan culture began; the Chavin culture began; bronze metalworking began
1600s BCE: The Shang Dynasty began

1500s BCE: The Phoenician people arose

1200s BCE: The Hebrew people arose

900s BCE: The Assyrian Empire claimed much of Mesopotamia

500s BCE: The Roman Republic was founded; the Persian Empire claimed Mesopotamia and beyond; Buddha lived and taught; Muhammad lived and taught

400s BCE: Athens and Sparta were at their cultural height

300s BCE: Alexander the Great created the Macedonian Empire; the Fujiwara Dynasty arose in Japan

200s BCE: The Qin Dynasty took power; the Maya were at their peak power

100 BCE to 100 CE: The Roman Empire replaced the Roman Republic; Jesus Christ lived and taught

400s CE: The Byzantine Empire formed; the Roman Empire came to an end

The Middle Ages (500 CE to 1500 CE)

600s CE: The Tang Dynasty led China’s Golden Age

800s CE: Vikings began exploring and raiding; the Toltec culture arose; the Maori culture arose; the aborigine culture arose

1000s and 1100s CE: The Crusades took place

1200s and 1300s CE: Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan led the Mongolian Empire; the Aztec Empire began

1300s CE: The Ottoman Empire began; the Black Plague occurred

1400s CE: The Gutenberg Press went into use; the Incan Empire began; Constantinople fell, ending the Byzantine Empire; Russia began to unify

Early Modern Times (1500 CE to 1900 CE)

1492 CE: Christopher Columbus landed in the Bahamas

1500s CE: Amerigo Vespucci landed in South America and created the first map of the New World; the colonization of South America began; the African slave trade greatly increased; the Ottoman Empire was at its peak; the Elizabethan Era began; the Protestant Reformation began; North American exploration began

1600s CE: The Pilgrims settled Plymouth Colony; the colonization of North America began; the Edo Period began in Japan; the steam engine was invented

1700s CE: The Enlightenment began; Peter the Great unified Russia; Australian colonization began; the French Revolution occurred; the Industrial Revolution began

1776 CE: America declared independence from Great Britain by issuing the Declaration of Independence, starting the American Revolution

1800s CE: The South American colonies gained independence from their colonial rulers one by one; the Scramble for Africa (African colonization) occurred; the Victorian Era took place; the Opium Wars occurred; the first transcontinental railroad opened; Thomas Edison invented the lightbulb; the Wright Brothers invented the airplane

The Modern Era (1900 CE to the Present)

1900s CE: Henry Ford invented the Model T; Einstein discovered the Theory of Relativity; the Australian gold rush began; the dynasties ended in China and were replaced with the Republic of China

1914-1918 CE: World War I occurred

1920s CE: The first modern television was invented

1929 CE: The Wall Street crash set off the Great Depression

1933 CE: The Holocaust began

1930s CE: The Spanish Civil War occurred

1939-1945 CE: World War II occurred

1941 CE: The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, spurring the U.S. to join World War II

1945 CE:World War II ended; the U.S. dropped nuclear bombs on Japan; penicillin was made available to the public

1940s CE: The League of Nations was founded; India gained independence from Britain

1950s CE: The Korean War occurred; the USSR developed atomic weapons and the Cold War began; apartheid began in South Africa; the civil rights movement began; the Vietnam War began; space travel began

1969 CE: People landed on the moon

1970s CE: The Vietnam War ended

1989 CE: Pro-democracy student demonstrations were violently quashed at Tiananmen Square in China; the Berlin Wall fell

1990s CE: The Gulf War occurred

2001 CE: Middle eastern terrorist group Al-Qaeda attacked New York City on September 11

ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE: WORLD HISTORY OVERVIEW AND PREHISTORY

Prehistory: All history that took place prior to the invention of writing around 3000 BCE. The term is also sometimes used for all history that took place before the rise of cities and civilizations around 10,000 BCE.

Recorded history: All history that took place after the invention of writing around 3000 BCE, including the present day. It includes Ancient Times (including the Bronze Age and the Iron Age) (about 3000 BCE to about 500 CE); the Middle Ages (about 500 CE to about 1500 CE); Early Modern Times (including the Colonial Period, the Reformation, the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution and more) (about 1500 CE to 1900 CE); the Modern Era (the 1900s); and beyond.

Ancient history: The historical period from the beginning of recorded history (around 3,000 BCE) to the fall of the Roman Empire (around 500 CE)

The Middle Ages: The historical period from the fall of the Roman Empire (around 500 CE) to the discovery of the New World (around 1500 CE)

Early Modern Times: The historical period from the discovery of the new world (around 1500 CE) to 1900 CE

The Modern Era: The historical period of the 1900s, marked by industrialism, globalism, rapid technological advancement and world war

The Stone Age: The prehistoric era that began when early humans began using stone tools (over 2.5 million years ago) and before they engaged in metal work in a widespread manner. The Stone Age encompassed the Paleolithic Era, the Mesolithic Era and part of the Neolithic Eras and ended at roughly the start of ancient times (around 3000 BCE), when the Bronze Age began, though the end came to different places at different times.

The Paleolithic Era: The prehistoric era that began with the evolution of the species Homo sapiens until the Mesolithic Era

The Mesolithic Era: The prehistoric era that lasted from about 10,000 BCE to about 8,000 BCE in the Fertile Crescent, and later in other areas, when people began creating more complex social structures, building semi-permanent settlements, developing art, domesticating animals and making other changes that led to the Neolithic Era

The Neolithic Era: The historical era that began when people started farming (around 10,000 BCE to 8,000 BCE, depending on the area) and, with this location-stable food supply, began to settle into towns, cities and civilizations. The end of the Neolithic Era took place at approximately the beginning of ancient times (around 3,000 BCE).

The Bronze Age: The historical era that began when humans learned how to forge metal, particularly bronze, which was particularly useful in weaponry. It started during prehistoric times and lasted till about 1000 BCE (though dates vary by location). 

The Iron Age: The historical era that began when humans began replacing much of their bronze work with iron work instead. This occurred around 1000 BCE in some places in the world. Iron allowed for lighter, cheaper weaponry, which resulted in a more widespread use of it and more battles. 

Last Glacial Age/Last Ice Age: The most recent Ice Age (of many throughout the history of the earth). It lasted from about 2.5 million BCE to about 12,000 BCE. During this time, a land bridge formed between Asia and modern-day Alaska, which humans used to cross into the Americas. The land bridge formed because much of the world’s water was locked up in huge ice sheets and could not flow freely. From the Alaska area, humans settled North, Central and South America.

Last universal common ancestor (LUCA): The most recent living organism that survived to evolve into all current life on the planet, which formed around 3.5 bllion BCE

Hominids: The great apes that eventually evolved into humans, the first of whom lived approximately 7 million BCE

Homo habilis: The first human species, which evolved in East Africa from an unknown, extinct great ape around 2.5 million BCE. They were the first great apes to use stone tools and they had larger brains than their ancestors.

Homo erectus: The human species that evolved from Homo habilis around 1.5 million BCE and migrated out of Africa to Asia. These humans walked upright and were the first animal to use fire for cooking (around 1 million BCE). Around 500,000 BCE they started hunting with spears, building shelters and creating more complex tribal communities.

The Neanderthals: One of the most successful groups of the Homo erectus. After evolving in Africa at an unknown date, they migrated across Asia and Europe after the Sahara desert became passable and lived in Europe until around 40,000 BCE. They mated with Homo sapiens.

Homo sapiens: The modern-day human species. They evolved around 200,000 BCE in Africa and were highly successful, migrating across Asia and Europe along with the Neanderthals. They were the first apes to speak in a complex way. They led other related species in the complexity of their societies and technology. Around 25,000 BCE they began performing ritual burials and making clothing, artworks, jewelry, advanced tools, boats, ovens, pottery, harpoons, saws, woven baskets, woven nets and woven baby carriers.

Cro-Magnons: The group of Homo erectus who, around 25,000 BCE, replaced the Neanderthals in Europe. Like the Neanderthals, they mated with Homo sapiens. From them, Homo sapiens inherited larger brains.

Early modern humans: The group of Homo sapiens that evolved around 40,000 BCE and settled that last two habitable continents: Australia (using boats) and North America (using a land bridge connecting modern-day Alaska to Asia)

Cradle of civilization: The various areas of the world in which civilizations arose, largely independently, along important rivers. These include Egypt (along the Nile River); Mesopotamia (along the Tigris River and Euphrates River); the Indus River Valley (along the Indus River); China (along the Yellow River and Yangtze River); the Incan civilization (in modern-day Peru); and, sometimes, the Mayan civilization (in modern-day Mexico–though this civilization arose later than the others, it might have arisen independently, with little or no external influence). The ability to cultivate land and use it as a reliable food source led to a decrease in the nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle and the formation of the first towns. Town-based Mesopotamians built religious sites, smelted copper, developed writing, built irrigation channels, invented the wheel (which was only used for pottery until later) and much more. Just prior to farming, animal husbandry had begun. Some of the most important crops were barley and wheat, but other grains and vegetables were also grown.

The Neolithic Revolution: The move from a nomadic hunter-gatherer way of life to a town-based, agriculture-based way of life. The revolution occurred at different times in different places throughout the world; however, the change was seen on all continents in the span of several thousand years, despite no known contact between some of them. Note that the Neolithic Revolution is also called the Agricultural Revolution, though the Second Agricultural Revolution of the 1800s that helped bring about the Industrial Revolution is sometimes also called the Agricultural Revolution. Around the same time that the agricultural revolution began, Caucasians settled Europe for the first time.

Linear A: The written language of the Minoans, which was the world’s first written language. It has not been deciphered by modern historians.

Linear B: The written language of the Mycenaeans, which was the world’s second written language and the first to be deciphered by modern historians

Cuneiform: The world’s first complex written language. It was developed and used in Sumer after approximately 3,000 BCE and used pictographs. Its use triggered the beginning of recorded history.

Hieroglyphics: The world’s second complex written language. It was developed and used in Egypt shortly after cuneiform was developed and, like cuneiform, used pictographs.

Did you ever wonder what the best thing in the world is? Well, pay attention, because I know the answer: it’s reading. Reading is the best thing. Here is my list of the best books in the world that aren’t true, besides the ones in my classic children’s literature list.

ESSENTIAL RESOURCES: CLASSIC FICTION: OLDER KIDS AND ADULTS

Classic Poetry

• They Flee from Me, Sir Thomas Wyatt (1500s)
• Astrophil and Stella, Sir Philip Sidney (1500s)
• Idea, Michael Drayton (1600s)
• A Passionate Shepherd to His Love, Christopher Marlowe (1500s)
• Sonnets, William Shakespeare (1500s)
• There Is a Garden in Her Face, Thomas Campion (1600s)
• A Valediction Forbidding Mourning, John Donne (1600s)
• Good Friday, 1613. Riding Westward, John Donne (1600s)
• Batter My Heart, Three-Personed God, John Donne (from Holy Sonnets) (1600s)
• Song: To Celia (I), Ben Jonson (1600s)
• Song: To Celia (II), Ben Jonson (1600s)
• Delight in Disorder, Robert Herrick (1600s)
• To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time, Robert Herrick (1600s)
• Easter Wings, George Herbert (1600s)
• The Pulley, George Herbert (1600s)
• When I Consider How My Light Is Spent, John Milton (1600s)
• To My Dear and Loving Husband, Anne Bradstreet (1600s)
• To His Coy Mistress, Andrew Marvell (1600s)
• The Disappointment, Aphra Behn (1600s)
• A Description of a City Shower, Jonathan Swift (1700s)
• The Lady’s Dressing Room, Jonathan Swift (1700s)
• Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, Thomas Gray (1700s)
• The Indian Burying Ground, Philip Freneau (1700s)
• The Lamb, William Blake (1700s)
• The Sick Rose, William Blake (1700s)
• The Tyger, William Blake (1700s)
• I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, William Wordsworth (1800s)
• The Nightingale, Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1800s) (1700s?)
• Kubla Khan, Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1800s)
• The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1800s)
• She Walks in Beauty, Lord Byron (1800s)
• The poetry of John Hopkins (1600s)
• Ozymandias, Percy Bysshe Shelley (1800s)
• Ode to the West Wind, Percy Bysshe Shelley (1800s)
• Ode on a Grecian Urn, John Keats (1800s)
• On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer, John Keats (1800s)
• Ode to a Nightingale, John Keats (1800s)
• Paul Revere’s Ride, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• The Song of Hiawatha, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways, Elizabeth Barrett Browning (from Sonnets from the Portugese) (1800s)
• Aurora Leigh, Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1800s)
• Fra Lippo Lippi, Robert Browning (1800s)
• The Owl and the Pussycat, Edward Lear (1800s)
• Battle-Hymn of the Republic, Julia Ward Howe (1800s)
• ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, Clement Clarke Moore (1800s)
• The Raven, Edgar Allen Poe (1800s)
• Annabel Lee, Edgar Allen Poe (1800s)
• Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman (1800s)
• My Last Duchess, Robert Browning (1800s)
• The Lady of Shalott, Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1800s)
• The Lotos-Eaters, Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1800s)
• Crossing the Bar, Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1800s)
• Ulysses, Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1800s)
• Song of Myself, Walt Whitman (1800s)
• When Lilacs in the Dooryard Bloom’d, Walt Whitman (1800s)
• Dover Beach, Matthew Arnold (1800s)
• Modern Love, George Meredith (1800s)
• (I never lost as much but twice …), Emily Dickenson (1800s)
• (Success is counted sweetest …), Emily Dickenson (1800s)
• (Not one of all the purple Host …), Emily Dickenson (1800s)
• (“Faith” is a fine invention …), Emily Dickenson (1800s)
• (“Hope” is a thing with feathers …), Emily Dickenson (1800s)
• (There’s a certain Slant of light …), Emily Dickenson (1800s)
• (I felt a Funeral, in my Brain …), Emily Dickenson (1800s)
• (The Soul selects her own Society …), Emily Dickenson (1800s)
• (I heard a Fly buzz–when I died–…), Emily Dickenson (1800s)
• (The Heart asks Pleasure–first–)…), Emily Dickenson (1800s)
• (I like to see it lap the Miles–…), Emily Dickenson (1800s)
• (Because I could not stop for Death–…), Emily Dickenson (1800s)
• (My Life had stood–a Loaded Gun–…), Emily Dickenson (1800s)
• (Tell all the Truth but tell it slant–…), Emily Dickenson (1800s)
• Jabberwcky, Lewis Carroll (1800s)
• Drummer Hodge, Thomas Hardy (1900s)
• The Darkling Thrush, Thomas Hardy (1900s)
• God’s Grandeur, Gerard Manley Hopkins (1900s)
• Pied Beauty, Gerard Manley Hopkins (1900s)
• To an Athlete Dying Young, A. E. Housman (1900s)
• Easter 1916, William Butler Yeats (1900s)
• The Second Coming, William Butler Yeats (1900s)
• Sailing to Byzantium, William Butler Yeats (1900s)
• Lapis Lazuli, William Butler Yeats (1900s)
• Mending Wall, Robert Frost (1900s)
• The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost (1900s)
• Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, Robert Frost (1900s)
• Design, Robert Frost (1900s)
• The Emperor of Ice-Cream, Wallace Stevens (1900s)
• Anecdote of the Jar, Wallace Stevens (1900s)
• The Idea of Order at Key West, Wallace Stevens (1900s)
• The Red Wheelbarrow, William Carlos Williams (1900s)
• Poetry, Marianne Moore (1900s)
• The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, T. S. Eliot (1900s)
• The Waste Land, T. S. Eliot (1900s)
• I, Being Born a Woman and Distressed, Edna St. Vincent Millay (1900s)
• Eight Sonnets, Edna St. Vincent Millay (1900s)
• Anthem for Doomed Youth, Wilfred Owen (1900s)
• in Just-, E. E. Cummings (1900s)
• “next to of course god america i”, E. E. Cummings (1900s)
• “since feeling is first”, E. E. Cummings (1900s)
• Dream Variations, Langston Hughes (1900s)
• Song for a Dark Girl, Langston Hughes (1900s)
• Theme for English B, Langston Hughes (1900s)
• The Force That Through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower, Dylan Thomas (1900s)
• Do Not Go Gentle into That Green Night, Dylan Thomas (1900s)
• A Child’s Christmas in Wales, Dylan Thomas (1900s)
• Howl, Allen Ginsberg (1900s)
• Driving into the Wreck, Adrienne Rich (1900s)
• The Colossus, Sylvia Plath (1900s)
• Lady Lazarus, Sylvia Plath (1900s)
• Coal, Audre Lord (1900s)
• Digging, Seamus Heaney (1900s)
• The Forge, Seamus Heaney (1900s)
• Eggs, Susan Wood (1900s)
• The Heavy Bear, Delmore Schwartz (1900s)
• The poetry of Ezra Pound (1900s)

Intermediate Classic Fiction

• The Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan (1600s)
• Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe (1700s)
• The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders, Daniel Defoe (1700s)
• Gulliver’s Travels, Johnathan Swift (1700s)
• The Swiss Family Robinson, Johann David Wyss (1700s)
• Ivanhoe, Sir Walter Scott (1800s)
• Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen (1800s)
• Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen (1800s)
• Emma, Jane Austen (1800s)
• Mansfield Park, Jane Austen (1800s)
• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving (1800s)
• Rip van Winkle, Washington Irving (1800s)
• Frankenstein, Mary Shelley (1800s)
• The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexander Dumas (1800s)
• The Three Musketeers, Alexander Dumas (1800s)
• The Hound of Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle (1800s)
• Stories of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle (1800s)
• The Last of the Mohicans, James Fennimore Cooper (1800s)
• The House of Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne (1800s)
• The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne (1800s)
• The Professor at the Breakfast Table, Oliver Wendell Holmes (1800s)
• Great Expectations, Charles Dickens (1800s)
• Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens (1800s)
• A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens (1800s)
• Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte (1800s)
• Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte (1800s)
• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Jules Verne (1800s)
• A Journey to the Center of the Earth, Jules Verne (1800s)
• From the Earth to the Moon, Jules Verne (1800s)
• Around the World in Eighty Days, Jules Verne (1800s)
• Little Women, Louisa May Alcott (1800s)
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain (1800s)
• Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain (1800s)
• The Time Machine, H.G. Wells (1800s)
• The War of the Worlds, H.G. Wells (1800s)
• Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson (1800s)
• Kidnapped, Robert Louis Stevenson (1800s)
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson (1800s)
• The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, Howard Pyle (1800s)
• The Gift of the Magi, O. Henry (1800s)
• Dracula, Bram Stoker (1800s)
• The Portrait of a Lady, Henry James (1800s)
• The Golden Bowl, Henry James (1800s)
• The Way of a Pilgrim, Anonymous (1800s)
• The Pilgrim Continues His Way, Anonymous (1800s)
• Les Miserables, Victor Hugo (1800s)
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo (1800s)
• Moby Dick, Herman Melville (1800s)
• The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde (1800s)
• Lady Windermere’s Fan, Oscar Wilde (1800s)
• The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde (1800s)
• The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux (1900s)
• The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane (1900s)
• Twelve Men, Theodore Dreiser (1900s)
• The Good Soldier, Ford Maddox Ford (1900s)
• The Call of the Wild, Jack London (1900s)
• To Build a Fire, Jack London (1900s)
• White Fang, Jack London (1900s)
• A Room with a View, E. M. Forster (1900s)
• Howard’s End, E.M. Forster (1900s)
• A Passage to India, E.M. Forster (1900s)
• The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton (1900s)
• The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton (1900s)
• And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie (1900s)
• Murder on the Orient Express, Agatha Christie (1900s)
• The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Agatha Christie (1900s)
• The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck (1900s)
• The Lord of the Rings series, J. R. R. Tolkien (1900s)
• The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien (1900s)
• Brave New World, Aldous Huxley (1900s)
• Brave New World Revisited, Aldous Huxley (1900s)
• Our Town, Thornton Wilder (1900s)
• All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque (1900s)
• The Once and Future King, T.H. White (1900s)
• Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell (1900s)
• The Lord of the Flies, William Golding (1900s)
• The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger (1900s)
• Dune, Frank Herbert (1900s)
• Twelve Angry Men, Reginald Rose (1900s)
• Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury (1900s)
• Cat’s Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut (1900s)
• Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut (1900s)
• The Sirens of Titan, Kurt Vonnegut (1900s)
• On the Road, Jack Kerouac (1900s)
• Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Truman Capote (1900s)
• Go Tell It on the Mountain, James Baldwin (1900s)
• A Separate Peace, John Knowles (1900s)
• To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee (1900s)
• The American Dream, Edward Albee (1900s)
• Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Edward Albee (1900s)
• The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera (1900s)
• The Princess Bride, William Goldman (1900s)
• Rabbit, Run, John Updike (1900s)
• The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath (1900s)
• Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller (1900s)
• All My Sons, Arthur Miller (1900s)
• The Color Purple, Alice Walker (1900s)
• The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton (1900s)
• Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card (1900s)
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams (1900s)
• Walden Two, B.F. Skinner (1900s)
• The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald (1900s)
• The Fall of the House of Usher, Edgar Allen Poe (1900s)
• The Tell-Tale Heart, Edgar Allen Poe (1900s)
• Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Eugene O’Neill (1900s)
• The Iceman Cometh, Eugene O’Neill (1900s)
• Desire Under the Elms, Eugene O’Neill (1900s)
• Morning Becomes Electra, Eugene O’Neill (1900s)
• For Whom the Bell Tolls, Ernest Hemingway (1900s)
• A Movable Feast, Ernest Hemingway (1900s)
• Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway (1900s)
• The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway (1900s)
• In Our Time, Ernest Hemingway (1900s)
• Men Without Women, Ernest Hemingway (1900s)
• The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway (1900s)
• The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand (1900s)
• Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand (1900s)
• Anthem, Ayn Rand (1900s)
• Beloved, Toni Morrison (1900s)
• Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison (1900s)
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou (1900s)
• Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Tennessee Williams (1900s)
• A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams (1900s)
• The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams (1900s)
• The Stranger, Albert Camus (1900s)
• Catch-22, Joseph Heller (1900s)
• Native Son, Richard Wright (1900s)
• The Jungle, Upton Sinclair (1900s)

Advanced Classic Fiction

• The Illiad, Homer (700s BCE)
• The Odyssey, Homer (700s BCE)
• The Oedipus Plays, Sophocles (400s BCE)
• The Aeneid, Virgil (20s BCE)
• The Metamorphosis, Ovid (10s CE)
• Beowulf, Anonymous (1000s)
• The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri (1300s)
• The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer (1300s)
• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Anonymous (1300s)
• La Morte Darthur, Sir Thomas Malory (1400s)
• Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes (1500s)
• The Faerie Queene, Edmund Spenser (1500s)
• Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare (1500s)
• Hamlet, William Shakespeare (1500s)
• Macbeth, William Shakespeare (1500s)
• Othello, William Shakespeare (1500s)
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare (1500s)
• Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare (1500s)
• Utopia, Sir Thomas More (1500s)
• Doctor Faustus, Christopher Marlowe (1500s)
• Faust, Christopher Marlowe (1500s)
• Volpone, Ben Jonson (1600s)
• The Alchemist, Ben Johnson (1600s)
• The Bourgeois Gentleman, Moliere (1600s)
• The Misanthrope, Moliere (1600s)
• Paradise Lost, John Milton (1600s)
• Paradise Regained, John Milton (1600s)
• The Beggar’s Opera, John Gay (1700s)
• The Rape of the Lock, Alexander Pope (1700s)
• The Dunciad, Alexander Pope (1700s)
• Candide, Voltaire (1700s)
• Don Juan, Lord Byron (1800s)
• Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1800s)
• The Brothers Karamozov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1800s)
• Notes from the Underground, Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1800s)
• The Idiot, Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1800s)
• War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy (1800s)
• Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy (1800s)
• The Seagull, Anton Chekhov (1800s)
• The Three Sisters, Anton Chekhov (1800s)
• Uncle Vanya, Anton Chekhov (1800s)
• The Cherry Orchard, Anton Chekhov (1800s)
• Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert (1800s)
• Sentimental Education, Gustave Flaubert (1800s)
• Vanity Fair, William Thackeray (1800s)
• Barchester Towers, Anthony Trollope (1800s)
• Fathers and Sons, Ivan Turgenev (1800s)
• A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf (1900s)
• Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf (1900s)
• To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf (1900s)
• Sons and Lovers, D. H. Lawrence (1900s)
• Women In Love, D. H. Lawrence (1900s)
• Lady Chatterly’s Lover, D.H. Lawrence (1900s)
• A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce (1900s)
• Ulysses, James Joyce (1900s)
• Finnegans Wake, James Joyce (1900s)
• The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka (1900s)
• The Trial, Franz Kafka (1900s)
• The Bald Soprano, Eugene Ionesco (1900s)
• The Lesson, Eugene Ionesco (1900s)
• Jack, or the Submission, Eugene Ionesco (1900s)
• The Chairs, Eugene Ionesco (1900s)
• No Exit, Jean-Paul Sartre (1900s)
• Nausea, Jean-Paul Sartre (1900s)
• Waiting for Godot, Samuel Beckett (1900s)
• Endgame, Samuel Beckett (1900s)
• As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner (1900s)
• The Sound and the Fury, William Faulkner (1900s)
• Light in August, William Faulkner (1900s)
• A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen (1900s)
• Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen (1900s)
• The Wild Duck, Henrik Ibsen (1900s)
• Miss Julie, August Strindberg (1800s)
• Androcles and the Lion, George Bernard Shaw (1900s)
• Pygmalion, George Bernard Shaw (1900s)
• Swann’s Way, Marcel Proust (1900s)

Additional Recommended Classic Fiction

• The Orestia Trilogy, Aeschylus (400s BCE)
• Prometheus Bound, Aeschylus (400s BCE)
• Medea, Euripedes (400s BCE)
• The Bacchae, Euripedes (400s BCE)
• The Trojan Women, Euripedes (400s BCE)
• Hippolytus, Euripedes (400s BCE)
• Lysistrata, Aristophanes (400s BCE)
• The Frogs, Aristophanes (400s BCE)
• The Clouds, Aristophanes (400s BCE)
• Odes, Horace (20s BCE)
• The Golden Sayings of Epictetus, Epictetus (100s CE)
• Cur Deus Homo, Anselm (1000s)
• The Decameron, Giovanni Boccaccio (1300s)
• Mabinogion, Anonymous (1300s)
• Orlando Furioso, Ludovico Ariosto (1500s)
• The Schoolmaster, Roger Ascham (1500s)
• Tamburlaine the Great, Christopher Marlowe (1500s)
• The Jew of Malta, Christopher Marlowe (1500s)
• The Duchess of Malfi, John Webster (1600s)
• Life is a Dream, Calderon de la Barca (1600s)
• Pensees, Blaise Pascal (1600s)
• Absalom and Achitophel: A Poem, John Dryden (1600s)
• Oroonoko: The Royal Slave, Aphra Behn (1600s)
• The Bassett Table, Susana Centlivre (1600s)
• The Way of the World, William Congreve (1700s)
• Pamela, Samuel Richardson (1700s)
• Fantomina, Eliza Haywood (1700s)
• A Vindication of the Rights of Women, Mary Wollstonecraft (1700s)
• Charlotte Temple: A Tale of Truth, Susanna Rowson (1700s)
• The Charterhouse of Parma, Stendhal (1800s)
• The Red and the Black, Stendhal (1800s)
• The Devil’s Dictionary, Ambrose Bierce (1800s)
• Looking Backward, Edward Bellamy (1800s)
• Two Years Before the Mast, Richard Henry Dana (1800s)
• What Every Woman Knows, J.M. Barrie (1900s)
• The Petty Demon, Fyodor Sologub (1900s)
• The Three-Cornered World, Natsume Soseki (1900s)
• Kokoro, Natsume Soseki (1900s)
• I Am a Cat, Natsume Soseki (1900s)
• The Pastoral Symphony, Andre Gide (1900s)
• The Seven Who Were Hanged, Leonid Andreyev (1900s)
• The Life of Man, Leonid Andreyev (1900s)
• The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, Gertrude Stein (1900s)
• Tender Buttons, Gertrude Stein (1900s)
• Giants in the Earth, O.E. Rolvaang (1900s)
• The Key, Junichiro Tanizaki (1900s)
• The Horse’s Mouth, Joyce Cary (1900s)
• The Sea of Grass, Conrad Richter (1900s)
• Doctor Zhivago, Boris Pasternak (1900s)
• Snow Country, Yasunari Kawabata (1900s)
• The Sound of the Mountain, Yasunari Kawabata (1900s)
• Too Late the Philanthrope, Alan Paton (1900s)
• God’s Little Acre, Erskine Caldwell (1900s)
• Alas, Babylon, Pat Frank (1900s)
• The Ox-Bow Incident, Walter van Tillburg Clark (1900s)
• The Assistant, Bernard Malamud (1900s)
• The Fixer, Bernard Malamud (1900s)
• The Caine Mutiny, Herman Wouk (1900s)
• The Heart is A Lonely Hunter, Carson McCullers (1900s)
• A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess (1900s)
• The Ballad of Peckham Rye, Muriel Spark (1900s)
• A Day No Pigs Would Die, Robert Newton Peck (1900s)
• Bless Me, Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya (1900s)
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Tom Stoppard (1900s)
• All the King’s Men, Robert Penn Warren (1900s)
• Darkness at Noon, Arthur Koestler (1900s)
• Green Mansions, William Henry Hudson (1900s)
• The Country of the Pointed Firs, Sarah Orne Jewett (1800s)
• Little Lord Fauntleroy, Frances Hodgson Burnett (1800s)
• The Out of the Silent Planet series, C.S. Lewis (1900s)
• You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You, John Ciardi (1900s)
• No Longer At Ease, Chinua Achebe (1900s)
• The Seven Story Mountain, Thomas Merton (1900s)
• The Woman in White, Wilkie Collins (1800s)
• The Moonstone, Wilkie Collins (1800s)
• The Egoist, George Meredith (1800s)
• The Man Without a Country, Edward Everett Hale (1800s)
• Modern Love, George Meredith (1900s)
• The Rise of Silas Lapham, W. D. Howells (1800s)
• The Heart of the Matter, Graham Greene (1900s)
• The Power and the Glory, Graham Greene (1900s)
• Pale Horse, Pale Rider, Katherine Anne Porter (1900s)
• The Light in the Forest, Conrad Richter (1900s)
• Black Spring, Henry Miller (1900s)
• Johnny Tremain, Ester Forbes (1900s)
• Nineteen, Nineteen, John Dos Passos (1900s)
• Death Be Not Proud, John Gunther (1900s)
• The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Ernest J. Gaines (1900s)
• The Vicar of Wakefield, Oliver Goldsmith (1900s)
• You Can’t Go Home Again, Thomas Wolfe (1900s)
• Dangling Man, Saul Bellow (1900s)
• Herzog, Saul Bellow (1900s)
• Everyman, Anonymous (1900s)
• The Way of All Flesh, Samuel Butler (1900s)
• Far From the Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy (1900s)
• The Return of the Native, Thomas Hardy (1900s)
• The Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad (1900s)
• The Bridge of San Luis Rey, Thornton Wilder (1900s)
• Giant, Edna Ferber (1900s)
• Books by Isaac Asimov (1900s)
• Lost Horizon, James Hilton (1900s)
• Stranger In A Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein (1900s)
• The Maltese Falcon, Dashiel Hammett (1900s)
• The Citadel, A. J. Cronin (1900s)
• Magic, Inc., Robert Heinlein (1900s)
• Waldo, Robert Heinlein (1900s)
• A Death in the Family, James Agee (1900s)
• Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, James Agee (1900s)
• Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes (1900s)
• The Tin Drum, Gunter Grass (1900s)
• My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potak (1900s)
• The Chosen, Chaim Potak (1900s)
• The Promise, Chaim Potak (1900s)
• I Never Promised You A Rose Garden, Hannah Green (1900s)
• A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest J. Gaines (1900s)
• Summer of My German Soldier, Bette Greene (1900s)
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey (1900s)
• At the Bay, Katherine Mansfield (1900s)
• Red Roses for Me, Sean O’Casey (1900s)
• The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster (1900s)
• Of Human Bondage, W. Somerset Maugham (1900s)
• Sister Carrie, Theodore Dreiser (1900s)
• An American Tragedy, Theodore Dreiser (1900s)
• Main Street, Sinclair Lewis (1900s)
• Babbitt, Sinclair Lewis (1900s)
• Tom Jones, Henry Fielding (1700s)
• Joseph Andrews, Henry Fielding (1700s)
• The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, Lawrence Stern (1700s)
• Sartor Resarus, Thomas Carlyle (1800s)
• Pere Goriot, Honore de Balzac (1800s)
• Dead Souls, Nikolai Gogol (1800s)
• The Ball and the Cross, G. K. Chesterton (1900s)
• The Innocence of Father Brown, G.K. Chesterton (1900s)
• The Wisdom of Father Brown, G.K. Chesterton (1900s)
• The Magic Mountain, Thomas Mann (1900s)
• Buddenbrooks, Thomas Mann (1900s)
• My Antonia, Willa Cather (1900s)
• O Pioneers!, Willa Cather (1900s)
• The Mill on the Floss, George Eliot (1800s)
• Middlemarch, George Eliot (1800s)
• The Mayor of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy (1800s)
• Tess of the D’ubervilles, Thomas Hardy (1800s)
• The Awakening, Kate Chopin (1800s)

I have a basic working Mandarin vocabulary–what I call “traveler’s Chinese.” Though it’s one of my life goals to become fluent or close to it (mostly because it would be so much fun), I also feel that this basic level is extremely valuable in its own right. Once you get past the language basics and talk to some natives who–surprise!–actually understand you, the groundwork has been laid; you become confident. After that, you have fun with it: talk to people you meet, ask them to explain things, practice a bit here and a bit there. A decade or so later, you’re ready to visit the land of your chosen second language and make a lot of progress in a relatively short amount of time.

A note on the list: There are four tones in Mandarin Chinese. Fortunately, they’re not hard to master; just do an Internet search to hear them and practice. One more tip: At first, don’t worry about grammar too much. Get the main verbs, the main short words (“because,” “with,” “and,” “very,” and the time- and distance-related vocabulary) and the whole introductory conversation basics, then move on to your nouns–food, body parts, etc. When you practice, make as many mistakes as you can possibly make, grammar-wise; just get yourself understood. That’s the goal.

Conversational Basics and Common Phrases

Hello: Ni3 hao3
How are you: Ni3 hao3 ma
What is your name: Ni3 de ming2 zi jiao4 shen2 me
My name is: Wo3 de ming2 zi jiao4
First name: Ming2 zi
Family name: Gui4 xing4
How old are you: Ni3 ji1 sui4 le
I am __ years old: Wo3 you3 __ nian2
Good morning: Zao3 an1
Good afternoon:
Good evening: Wan3 an1
Yes: Shi4
No: Bu4 shi4
Please: Qing2
May I: Ke3 yi3
Thank you: Xie4 xie4
Excuse me/I’m sorry: Dui4 bu4 qi2
You’re welcome/I don’t mind: Mei2 guan4 xi1
No problem/I don’t care: Bu4 yao4 jin3
Where are you from: Ni3 lai2 zai4 na3 li3
I am from: Wo3 lai2 zi4
I speak __: Wo3 shuo1 __
Do you speak __: Ni3 shuo1 __ ma?
U.S.A.: Mei3 guo2
American: Mei3 guo2 ren2
English: Ying1 wen2
China: Zhong1 guo2
Chinese (person): Zhong1 guo2 ren2
Chinese (Mandarin language): Pu2 tong2 hua4
Chinese (Cantonese language): Guang3 dong1 hua4
How do you say: Wo3 zem2 me shuo1
What does this mean: Shen2 me yi4 ci2
Say it again: Zai4 shuo1 yi1 ci4
May I ask: Qing2 wen3
Can you please: Ni3 ke3 yi3
Nice to meet you: Hen3 gao1 xin1 jian4 dao4 ni3
Be careful: Xiao4 xin1 (yi1 dian3)
Hurry up: Kuai4 yi1 dian3
Wait a moment: Deng3 yi2 xia4
I am ready: Wo3 zhu3 bei4 hao3 le
Both are fine: Shen2 me dou1 ke3 yi3

Verbs

To be: Shi4
To go: Qu4
To want: Yao4
To use: Yong4
To need: Xu3 yao4
To know: Zhi1 dao4
To like: Xi3 huan1
To love: Ai4
To live: Zhu4
To be born: Chu1 sheng1
To die: Si2
To sleep/go to bed: Shui4 jiao4
To wake up: Xing3 lai2
To cook: Zuo2 (fan4)
To read: Kan4 (shu1)
To practice: Lian4 xi3
To make/do: Zuo3
To look at: Kan4
To see: Kan4 dao4
To look for: Zhao3
To walk: Zou3 (lu4)
To run: Pao3 (bu4)
To go to work: Shang4 ban4
To finish work: Xia4 ban4
To rest: Xiu2 xi3
To play: Wan2
To sing: Chang4 ge1
To smile: Wei1 xiao4
To laugh: Da4 xiao1
To hug: Bao4
To cry: Ai1 hao4; ku1; bei4 qi4
To dance: Tiao4 wu3
To swim: You2 yong3
To take pictures: Zhao4 xiang4
To go shopping: (Qu4) guang4 jie1; gou4 wu4; mai3 dong1 xi1
To go to the bathroom: Shang4 ce4 suo3
To take a shower: Xi3 zao3
To wash hands/face: Xi3 lian2/shou3
To ride (a bike, etc.): Qi2
To ride (a car–no movement): Zuo4
To visit (someone): Bai4 fang3
To visit (something): Can1 guan1
To leave: Zou3
To wait: Deng3 (dai4)
To stay (there): Liu2 zai4 (zhe1 li3)
To stay home: Dai4 zia4 jia1 li3
To stand up: Zhan4 qi3 lai2
To sit down: Zuo4 xia4
To find: Zhao3 dao4
To pay: Fu4 qian2
To break: Sui4; lan4
To fix: Xiu1
To take: Na2
To listen: Ting1 (shuo1)
To lay down (something): Fang4
To lay down (body): Tang3 xia4
To meet (regularly): Peng4 dao4; peng4 tou2
To meet (past or future): Kan4 jian4
To show/indicate: Zhan3 shi3
To mistakenly think: Yi3 wei2
To try: Shi4 yi1 shi4
To taste/experience: Chang2 hang2; chang2 yi1 chang2
To guess: Cai1 yi1 cai1
To translate: Fan1 yi4
To hate: Hen4
To put on/wear: Chuan1; dai4
To change clothes: Huan2 yi4 fu2

Time Words

When: Shen2 me shi2 hou4
How long: Duo1 jiu2
Early: Zao4
Late: Wan2
Soon: Hen3 kuai4
Not soon: Hen3 man4
Always: Zong3 shi4
Never: Cong2 lai2 (mei2 you3)
Again: Zai4
Often/usually: Jing1 chang2
Sometimes: You3 shi2 hou4
Still more (time): Hai2 (you3)
Daytime: Wan3 shang4
Nighttime: Wan3 shang4
Day: Tian1
Morning: Zao3 shang4
Afternoon: Xia4 wu3
Time: Shi2 jian1
Hour: Xiao3 shi2; zhong1 tou2
Minute: Fen1 zhong1
Second: Miao3 zhong1
This week: Zhe4 zhou1
Next week: Xia4 zhou1
Last week: Shang4 zhou1
Before/earlier: Yi3 qian2; zai4 shi1 qian2
After/later: Yi3 hou4; hou4 lai2; dai1 hui3
At the same time: Tong2 shi2
First: Di1 yi1
Second: Di1 er4
One time: Yi1 ci4
The first time: Di1 yi1 ci4
Midnight: Ban4 ye4
Long (time): Jiu2; chang2 shi2 jian1
A while: Yi2 xia4
Future: Wei4 lai2
Past:
Ever: Guo1; ceng2 jing2

Size and Amount Words

How much/how many: Duo1 shao1
More: Bi3 (jiao4) duo1 de;
Less: Bi3 (jiao4) shao3 de
A little: Yi1 dian3
A little more: Duo1 yi1 dian3
Most: Zui4
Some: Yi1 xie3 de
Only: Zhi2 you3
Still more (amount): Hai2 you3
Almost: Cha4 bu4 duo1
Not enough: Bu2 gou4
Not quite: Bu2 tai4
Too (much): Tai4
Size: Da4 xiao3
Short (people): Ai3
Short (stuff): Duan3
Tall (people): Gao1
Long (things): chang2
Wide: Kuan1 kuo4 de
Deep: Shen1 de
Empty: Kong1 dong4
Amount: Deng3 yu2
Enough: Gou3 le
None: Mei2 you3 yi1 ge
Both: Liang3
Both/all: Dou1; quan2 bu2 de
Another one: Zai4 yi1 ge
Equal: Deng3 (yu1)
How many?: Ji3 ge
Another: Bie2 de
One or two: Yi1 liang2 ge
Either one: Bu2 lun4 . . . dou1 (hao1)
Only: Jiu4
Pound: Bang4
Kilo: Gong1 jin1
1/2 kilo: Jin1
Still more: Hai2 you3
Others: Qi2 ta1 de
Every: Mei3 yi1; mei3 ge
Each: Mei3 yi1 ge
The whole (one): Zheng3 ge4
The whole (time): Suo3 you3 (shi2 jian1)
Everything: Yi1 qie4 dou1; shen2 me dou1; suo3 you3 shi4 wu4
Something: Xie1 shi4
Nothing: Mei2 you3 dong1 xi1; mei1 you3 shi4
Everybody: Mei2 ge ren2; ren2 ren2
Anything: Wu2 lun2 shen2 me
Somebody: Yi1 ge ren2
Nobody: Mei2 you3 ren2
Anybody: Ren4 he2 ren2; shen2 me ren2
Everywhere: Mei3 ge di4 fang1; dao4 qu4 dou1
Somewhere: Yi1 ge di4 fang1
Nowhere: Mei2 you3 di4 fang1
Anywhere: Ren4 he2 di4 fang1

Direction and Location Words

A direction: Fang1 xiang4
A location: Fang1 wei4
Here: Zher4
There: Nar4
High: Gao1
Low: Di1
Beside: Zai . . . pang2 bian1/lin2 jin4
Between: Zai4 . . . zhi1 jian1/zhong1 jian1
Ahead: Zai . . . qian2 fang1/qian2 mian4
Over/above/on: Zai4 . . . shang4 mian4; gao1 yu2
In: Zai4 . . . li3 bian1
Under: Zai4 . . . xia4 mina4
The top: Zui4 shang4 mian4; zui4 shang4 bian4
The bottom: Di3 bu1; zui4 di3
Side/limit: Bian1
Behind: Zai . . . hou4 mian4
Both sides: Liang3 bian1
This side: Zhe4 bian1
That side: Na4 bian1
Central: Zhong1 yang1 de
Inner: Li3 bian1 de
Outer: Wai4 bian1 de
Right: You3
Left: Zuo3
Center: Zhong1 jian1
Close/near: Jin4
Far away: (Yao2) yuan2
To travel forwards: Ziang4 qian2 zou3
To travel backwards: Ziang4 hou4 zou3
On the corner: Zai4 jiao3 luo4
One block: Yi1 kuai4 zhuan1
To turn right: Xiang4 you4 zhuan3
To turn left: Xiang4 zuo3 zhuan3
To go straight: Zhi2 zou3
North: Bei1
South: Nan2
East: Dong1 fang1
West: Xi1 fang1
Easterner: Dong1 fang1 ren2
Westerner: Xi1 fang1 ren2

Other Small Words

This: Zhe4 ge
That: Na4 ge
But/nevertheless: Ke3 shi4; dan4 shi4
If: Ru2 guo3; yao4 shi4
Which: Na3 yi1 ge
Although/even though: Sui1 ran2
Therefore: Suo3 yi3
Will: Hui4; jiang1 (yao4)
Should: Ying1 gai1
Because: Yin1 wei4
Anyway/regardless: Qi2 shi2; bu4 guan3
Also: Ye3; you4
Probably: Huo4 xu3; ke3 neng2
In addition: Ling4 wai4; hai2 you3; chu1 ci3 gi4 wai4
Instead of: Er4 bu2 shi2
Not so: Bu4 ran2
To: Qu4 (location); gei1; zi1 (time)
From: Cong2; lai2 zi
Of: Shu3 yu2
For: Wei4
(Word at end of a question): Ma
(Word at end of a completed statement): Le

Numbers and Money Words

1-10: Yi1, er4, san1, si4, wu3, liu4, qi1, ba1 jiu3 shi2
11: Shi2yi1
20: Er4 shi4
Hundred: Bai3
Thousand: Qian1
Ten thousand: Wan4
Million: Bai3 wan4
Billion: Yi4
1/10th yuen2: Yi1 jiao3
1/100th yuen: Yi1 fen1
To barter/exchange: Huan4
Passcode: Mi4 ma3
Number one: Yi1 yao4
1.00: Yi1 dian4 ling2 ling2
Money: Qian2
The cost: Jia4 ge2
Debit card: Jie4 ji4 ka1
Credit card: Xin4 yong4 ka3
Receipt: Shou1 ju4

Family Members

Husband: Zhang4 fu1; lao3 gong1
Wife: Qi1 zi; lao3 po2
Mother: Mu3 qian1; Ma1 ma
Father: Fu4 qian1; ba1 ba
Parents: Fu4 mu3 qian1
Son: Er2 zi
Daughter: Nu3 er2
Older brother: Ge4 ge
Younger brother: Di4 di
Older sister: Jie3 jie
Younger sister: Mei4 mei
Grandparents: Ye3 ye3 nai3 nai4
Grandmother (mom’s mom): Wai4 po2
Grandmother (dad’s mom):  Nai3 nai1
Grandfather (mom’s dad): Wai4 gong1
Grandfather (dad’s dad): Ye3 ye

Adjectives

Best: Zui4 hao3 de
Better: Geng4 hao3 de; bi (jian4) hao3 de
Worse/worst: Geng4 huai4 de; bi3 (jiao4) huai4 de; bi3 (jiao4) cha4 de
The same: Yi2 yang4 de
Different: Bu4 tong2 de
Big: Da4
Small: Xiao3
Clamorous: Da4 shan1
Loud: Chao3 nao4
Quiet/peaceful: An1 jing4 de
Old (people): Lao3
Old (things) jiu4
Young: Nian2 qing1 de
Weak: Ruo4 de; shou4 ruo4
Strong: (Qiang2) zhuang4 de
Heavy: Zhong4 de
Light: Qing1 de
Light/bright: Deng1
Soft: Ruan3 de
Hard: Ying4 de
Wet: Chao2 shi2 de; shi2 de
Dry: Gan1 (zao4) de
Clean: Gan1 jing4 de
Dirty: Zang1 de
True: Zhen1 de
False: Bu4 zhen1 de
Cheap: Pian2 yi4 de
Used: Er4 shou3 de; yong4 guo4 de
New: Xin1 de
Stinky: Chou4
Handsome: Ying1 jun4
Pretty: Piao4 liang4
Beautiful: Mei3 liang3
Broken: Sui4 le; lan4 de; huai4 de
Bright: Ming2 liang2 de; xing3 mu4 de
Dim: Bu4 liang2
Well-organized: Zu3 zhi1 de; zheng3 li2 de
Works well: Zuo2 de hen3 hao3
Doesn’t work: Mei2 zuo4
Happy: Gao1 xin1; kai1 xin1
Sad: Bei1 shang1; shang1 xin1 de
Hopeful/to hope: Xi1 wang4 (de)
Surprised: Chi1 jing1 de
Angry: Sheng1 qi4 de
Jealous: Du4 ji4
Afraid: Hai4 pa4
Excited: Xing4 fen4
Nervous: Jin3 zhang1 (DE??)
Worried: Dan1 xin1; zhao1 ji2
Embarrassed: Diu1 ren2; gan1 ga4
Bored: Wu2 liao3
Famous: Zhu4 ming2; you3 ming2
Popular: Liu2 xing2
Unpopular: Bu4 de ren2 xin1; bu4 luo3 xing2
Shy: Hai4 xiu1
Outgoing: Kai1 fang4
Nice: Hao3 de
Mean: Huai4 de
Friendly: You3 hao3 de
Scholarly: Hao4 xue2 de
Smart: Cong2 ming2 de
Stupid: Ben4 de
Rich: You3 qian2 de
Poor: qiong2
Funny: You3 mo2 de; hua1 ji4 de
Interesting: You3 qu4
Unique: Tu4 bie2 de
Ordinary/common: Pu2 tong1 de; ping2 chang2 de
Rare: Xi1 you3 de
Important: Zhong4 yao4
Complicated: Fu4 za2

Food Words

Food: Fan4; shi2 wu4
Fruit: Shui3 guo3
Vegetables: Shu1 cai4
Apple: Ping2 guo3
Banana: Xiang1 jiao1
Orange: Ju2 zi
Grape: Pu2 tao2
Carrot: Hu2 luo2 bo1
Peas: Wan1 dou4
Cucumber: Huang2 gua1
Spinach: Bo1 cai4
Broccoli: Ye1 cai4
Cabbage: Da4 bai2 cai4
Onion: Yang2 cong1
Corn: Bao1 gu3; yu2 mi3
Cauliflower: Hua1 cai4
Tomato: Xi1 hong2 shi4
Celery: Qin2 cai4
Green pepper: Qing1 jiao1
Red pepper: Tian2 jiao1 hong2 jiao1
Rice: Mi3 fan4; fan4
Noodles: Mian4 tiao2
Bread: Mian4 bao1
Chicken: Ji1 rou4; ji1
Fish: Yu2 rou4; yu2
Tofu: Dou4 fu1
Pork: Zhu1 rou4; zhu1
Egg(s): Ji1 dan4
Meat: Rou4
Beef: Niu3 rou4; niu3
Hamburger: Han4 bao3 bao1
Milk: Niu2 nai3
Alcohol: Jiu3
Beer: Pi2 jiu3
Wine: Jiu3
Potato: Tu3 dou4
Soy sauce: Jiang4 you3
Sauce: Jiang4
Oil: You2
Sugar: Tang3
Dessert: Tian2 shi2; tian2 dian3
Wheat: Mai4
Cookie: Bing3 gan1
Seafood: Hai3 xian1
Steak: Niu3 pai2
Beans: Dou4 li3; dou4
Shrimp: Xia1
Berry: Jiang1 guo3
Lettuce: Sheng1 cai4
Green vegetables: Qing1 cai4
Green beans: Ji1 dou4 ji1
Beverage: Yin3 liao4
Water: Shui3
Ice: Bing1
Sweet: Tian2 de
Salt: Yan2
Salty: Xian2 de
Spicy: La4 de
Sour: Suan1 de
Fresh: Xin1 xian4 de
Menu: Cai4 dan1
Fork: Cha1 zi
Knife: Dao1 zi
Spoon: Shao2 zi
Bowl: Wan3
Chopsticks: Kuai4 zi
Cup: Bei1 zi
Plate: Pan2 zi
Wok/pan: Ping2 guo1; guo1
Caffeine: Ka1 fei1 yin1
Coffee: Ka1 fei1
Decaf coffee: Two1 ka1 fei1 yin1 de ka1 fei1
Bottle: Yi4 ping2
Spices: Xiang1 liao4; tiao2 wei4 pin3
Cheese: Nai3 lao4
Pizza: Pi1 sa4
Snack: Dian3 xin1
Salad: Sha1 la1
Fast food: Kuai4 can1
Butter: Huang3 you2
A dish: Cai4
Soup: Tang2

Personal Effects

Pencil: Qian1 bi3
Pen: Bi3
Paper: Zhi3
Scissors: Bi3 ji4 ben3; ben3 zi
Tape: Zhao1 dai4
Computer: Dian4 zi3 (ji1 suan4 ji1)
Glue: jiao1 shui3
Map: Di4 tu3
Cards: Ka1 pian4
Letter: Xing4
Calendar: Ri4 li4
Stamp: You2 pian4
Envelope: Xin4 feng1
Cell phone:
Sign: Biao1
Light/lamp: Deng1
Clothes: Y2 fu2
Shirt: Chen4 shan1
Pants: Ku4 zi
Sweater: Mao3 yi1
Shoes: Xie4 zi
Skirt: Duan3 qun2; qun2 zi
Hat: Mao4 zi
Coat: Wai4 tao4
Socks: Wa4 zi
Underwear: Nei4 yi1; nei4 ku4; duan3 ku4
Bra: Wen2 xiong1; xiong1 zao4
Pajamas: Shui4 yi1
Shorts: Duan3 ku4
Jeans: Niu3 chang2 ku4
Blanket: Bei1 zi
Hairbrush: Shu1 zi
Comb: Shu1 zi
Handbag: Shou3 ti2 bao1
Purse: Qian2 bao1
Towel: Mao2 jin1
Shampoo: Xi3 fa1 shui3
Conditioner: Zhe1 li3 shui3
Soap: Xiang1 zao4; fei2 zao4
Lotion: Ying1 yang3 shuang1
Toothpaste: Ya2 gao1
Toothbrush: Ya2 shua1
Backpack:
Suitcase: Xiang1 zi; lu3 xing2 xiang3
Toilet paper: Ce4 zhi3
Garbage: La1 ji1
Garbage can: La1 ji1 xiang1
Air conditioner: Kong1 tiao2
Heater: Dian4 nuan3 qi4
Keys: Yao4 shi2
Batteries: Dian4 chi2
Clock: Zhong1
Camera: Zhao4 xiang4 ji1
Wallet: Qian2 bao1
Glasses: Yan3

Colors

Color: Yan2 se4
Red: Hong2 se4
Blue: Lan2 se4
Yellow: Huang2 se4
Green: Lu2 se4
Orange: Ju2 se4
Purple: Zi3 se4
Pink: Fen3 hong2 se4
Black: Hei1 se4
White: Bai2 se4
Gray: Hui1 se4
Brown: Zhong se4/ he1 se4
Silver: Yin2 se4
Gold: Jin1 se4

Body Parts

Body: Shen1 ti3
Head: Tou3
Mind: Si1 xiang3
Face: Lian3
Eyes: Yan3 jing1
Ears: Er3 duo1
Mouth: Kou3
Lips: Zui3 ba1
Nose: Bi2 zi
Hands: Shou3
Feet: Jiao3
Fingers: Shou3 zhi3
Toes: Jiao3 zhi3
Legs: Tui3
Arms: Shou3 bi4
Hair: Tou2 fa1
Back: Bei4
Neck: Bo2 zi
Skin: Pi2 fu1
Stomach: Du4 zi
Butt: Pi4 gu3
Poop: Fen4 bian4
Pee: Niao4

Travel Words

Car: Che1
Bus: Gong1 gong4 qi4 che1
Taxi: Chu1 zu1 che1
Motorcycle: Mo2 to2 che1
Plane: Fei1 ji1
Ship: Lun2 chuan2
Airport: Ji1 chang3
Bus station: Gong1 gong4 qui4 che1 zhan4
Train: Huo3 che1
Train station: Huo3 che1 zhan4
Bus stop: Gong1 gong4 qi4 che1 zhan4
Culture: Wen2 hua4
Foreign: Wai4 guo2
Foreigner: Wai4 guo2 ren2
To travel: Lu2 you2
Overseas/abroad: Hai3 wai4
Nation: Guo2 jia1; guo2 min2
Native language: Ben3 zu2 yu3
Trip/journey: Cheng2
Passenger: Cheng2 ke4
Hometown: Jia1 xiang1; ben3 guo2
Fare: Fei4 yong4
Hotel: Fan4 dian4; lu2 guan3

Places

Where: Zai4 na3 li3; nai4 nar3
Place: Di4 fang1
Supermarket: Chao1 shi4
Small market: Cai4 shi4 chang3; shang4 dian4
Park: Gong1 yuan2
Library: Tu2 shu1 guan3
Street: Jie1 dao4
Bank: Yin2 hang2
Hospital: Yi1 yuan4
Building: Jian4 zhu4
Elementary school: Xia3 xue2
Middle school: Zhong1 xue2
High school: Gao1 zhong1
College: Da4 xue
Gym: Jian4 shen1 fang2
City: Cheng2 shi4
Church: Jian4 tang2
Temple: Miao4
Post office: You3 ju2
Bar/nightclub: Jiu3 ba1
Movie theater: Dian4 ying3 yuan4
Theater: Ju4 yuan4
Outdoors: Wai4 mian4
Indoors: Li3 mian4
The zoo: Dong4 wu4 yuan1
Great Wall: Chang2 cheng2
Art museum: Bo4 wu4 guan3
Apartment building: Gong1 yu4

Rooms and Furniture

Room: Fang2 jian1
Bedroom: Fang2 jian1; wo4 shi4
Bathroom/toilet: Ce4 suo3
Kitchen: Chu1 fang2
Living room: Ke4 ting1
Dining room: Fan4 ting1
Bed: Chuang2
Window: Chuang1 (hu4)
Wall: Qiang2 bi4
Chair: Yi3 zi
Desk/table: Zhuo1 zi
Couch: Chang2 sha4 fa1
Pillow: Zhen3 tou2
Closet: Zha3 wu4 fang2
Door: Men2
Home/house: Jia1
Apartment: Fang2 zi

Nature Words

Weather: Tian1 qi4
Hot: Re4
Cold: Leng2
Warm: Nuan3 he de
Cool: Liang2 kuai4
Spring: Chun1 tian1
Summer: Xia4 tian1
Fall: Qiu1 tian1
Winter: Dong1 tian1
Sun: Tai4 yang2
Moon: Yue4 liang4
Stars: Xing1 xing1
Land: Lu4 di4; tu3
Sea/ocean: Hai3 yang2
Wind: Feng1
Rain: Yu3
Snow: Xue3
Clouds: Yun2
Cloudy: Yin1 tian1 de
Storm: Feng1 bao4
Grass: Cao3
Flower: Hua1
Tree: Shu4
Bush: Guan4 mu4 cong2
Nature: Zi4 ran2
River: He2 liu2
Lake: Hu2
Beach: Sha1 tan1
Mountain: Shan1
Fire: Huo3
Sunny: Qing2 lang3
Rainy: Xia4 yu3 de
Temperature: Wen1 du4
Animal: Dong4 wu4

Professions

Doctor: Yi1 sheng1
Nurse: Hu4 shi4
Waitress: Nu3 zhao1 dai4; fu2 wu4 guan2
Waiter: Nan2 zhao1 dai4
Salesperson/shopkeeper: Shou4 huo4 yuan2
Driver: Si1 ji1
Manager: Jin1 li3
Supervisor: Zhu2 guan3
School principal: Xiao4 zhang3
Cook: Chu2 shi1
Janitor: Men2 wei4
Writer: Zuo4 jia1
Secretary: Mi4 shu1
Librarian: Tu2 shu1 guan3 li3 yuan2
Scientist: Ke1 xue2 jia1
Soldier: Shi4 bing1
Journalist: Bao1 jie4
Minister: You2 di4 yuan2; mu4 shi1
Singer: Ge1 shou3
Artist: Yi4 shu4 jia1
Dancer: Wu2 dao3 jia1
President: Zong3 tong3
Government official: Gong1 wu4 yuan2
Tutor: Jiao1 jao4
Boss: Lao3 ban3
Interpreter: Fan1 yi4
Cashier: Shou1 ying2 yuan2
Garbage collector: qin1 jie3 gong1
Fireman:
Police officer:
Housekeeper/housewife: Bao3 mu2; (jia1 ting2) zhu2 fu4
Computer programmer:
Business owner:

Activity, Entertainment and Celebration Words

Game: You3 xi4
Sports/exercise: Yun4 dong4
Ball: Dan4; qui2
Basketball: Lan2 qui2
Football: Gan1 an1 qui2
Baseball: Lei qui2
Soccer: Zu2 qui2
Volleyball: Pai2 qui2
Ping-Pong: Ping1 pong1 qui2
Badminton: Yu3 mao1 qui2
Karate:
Competition: Bi4 sai4
Song: Ge1 qu3
Team: Huan2 dui4
To skate: Bing1 chang3
To see a movie: Kan4 dian4 ying3
Birthday: Sheng1 ri4
Christmas: Sheng4 dan4 jie2
New Year: Xin1 nian2
Spring Festival: Chun1 jie4
Happy birthday: Sheng1 ri4 kuai4 le
Merry Christmas:
Happy New Year: Xin1 nian1 kuai4 le
Congratulations: Zhu4 he4
Celebration: Qing4 zhu4
Holiday: Jia4 qi1
Vacation: Jia4 re4
Present/gift: Li3 wu4
Wedding: Hun1 li3
Funeral: Chu1 bin1

Sickness Words

Death: Si3
Life: Shen1 ming4
Sick: Bing4 le
Sickness: Ji2 bing4
Pills: Yao4 pian4
A cough: Ke2 sou4
A cold: Gan3 mao4
Fever: Fa1 shao1
Flu: Liu2 xing2 gan3 mao4
Stomachache: Du1 zi tong4
Headache: Tou2 tong4
?: Ban2
?: Shen1 bing4
To hurt/ache: Tong4
Allergy:
Tired: Lei4

Miscellaneous Words

Word: Zi4
Character: Xie1 zi4
New word: Sheng1 zi4; dan1 zi4
Sentence: Ju1 zi
Phrase: Ci2 zu3
Pronunciation: Fa1 yin1
Grammar: Yu2 fa3
Language: Yu3 yan2
Story: Gu4 shi4
Number: Hao4 ma3; hao4
Vocabulary:
Phone number: Dian4 hua4 hao4 ma3
Address: Di4 zhi3
Driver’s license: Jia4 shi2 zi2 zao4
Passport: Hu4 zao4
Age: Nian2 ji4
Literature: Wen2 xue2
Math: Shu4 xue2
History: LI4 shi3
Science: Zi4 yan2; ke1 xue2
Art: Yi4 shu4; mei3 shu4
Music: Yin1 yue4
Politics: Zheng4 zhi4
Government: Zheng4 fu3
Physical education: Ti3 yu4
Sign: Biao1 zhi4
Wood: Mu4 tou2
Plastic: Su4 liao4
Electricity: Dian4
Electric: Dian4 de
Machine: Ji1 qi4
Action/movement: Xing2 dong4
Problem: Wen4 ti3
Plan: Ji4 hua4
Idea/concept: Zhu2 yi4
Level: Shui2 ping1
List: Dan4 zi
Stress: Ya1 li4
Feelings/emotion: Gan3 jue2
Attitude: Tai4 du4
Mood: Qing2 xu4
Personality: Ge4 xing4
God: Shang4 di4
Classmate: Ton2 xue2
Relationship: Guan1 xi4
Friendship: You3 qing3

“So that’s what stuff is.” That’s an important realization. It could be a breakthrough moment in one’s education. Don’t underestimate young children’s ability to grasp many basic chemistry concepts, either; the earlier they start thinking about the big questions, the more interested and less intimidated they’ll be by them later on.

Like most other subjects, science is best learned through conversation. Experiments are great, too, but they’re not always necessary. If you have little kids who can’t yet handle close proximity to anything magnetic, explosive or filled with water, choose a few scientific concepts to talk about per day, and send the older kid to a more hands-on science class. (Video demonstrations, like those on YouTube, are great, too.)

That said, if you can manage it, there’s a huge number of great science project ideas out there, and hands-on projects are definitely a great memory aid.

ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE: CHEMISTRY

Chemistry: The science of matter, including what it is and how it’s made

Chemical: Any substance made up of two or more atoms. This word is also used to refer to human-synthesized substances; however, this is a colloquial usage.

Matter: Anything that is made of particles, takes up space (has volume), and has mass. It is one of only two “things” in the universe. The other is energy.

Weight: A measure of the force of gravity on something. It changes relative to where in space an object is located; for example, a book weighs less on the moon than on the earth.

Mass: A measure of something’s absolute heaviness (the amount of matter within it). It doesn’t change when the forces (such as the gravitational force) change because it is measured relative to an absolute standard (one kilogram).

Density: The measure of something’s mass per unit of volume. Objects with more of this are heavier than other objects with less that take up the same amount of space.

The three states of matter: Solid, liquid and gas

Solid: A substance with a definite shape and definite volume

Liquid: A substance with definite volume but a varying shape

Gas: A substance without a definite shape or definite volume.

Atoms: The building blocks of molecules and the smallest units of matter that retain the chemical properties of an element. Each is made up of a nucleus containing protons and neutrons and a shell containing electrons that spin around the nucleus. They also contain other subatomic particles and a great deal of empty space. (The space between subatomic particles in an atom is relatively similar to the space between heavenly bodies in the universe.) Molecules are formed when atoms chemically bond together through sharing or transferring electrons. Whereas molecules can be easily split through everyday chemical reactions, atoms require extraordinary amounts of energy to split them. Also note that a sheet of paper is about one million atoms thick.

Subatomic particles: The incredibly tiny pieces of matter that make up atoms. They include protons, neutrons, electrons, quarks, and more. They cannot be separated from each other without using extraordinary amounts of energy.

Nucleus: The center part of an atom that holds protons and neutrons

Protons: The positively charged parts of an atom, which are located inside the nucleus. The number of these in an atom corresponds to its element and its atomic number. For example, the oxygen atom has eight of these and its atomic number is eight.

Neutrons: The parts of an atom that contain no charge, are located inside the nucleus and, along with the protons, determine the atom’s mass number. The number of these in an atom is variable, with each possible variation creating a different isotope of the same atom.

Electrons: The negatively charged parts of an atom, which are located outside the nucleus and spin around it, and that enable chemical bonding between atoms

Atomic shells: The layers within an atom that surround the nucleus and contain electrons. They are organized by energy level, with the electrons in the innermost shell having the lowest energy, and those in the outermost shell having the highest energy.

Quarks: Subatomic particles that make up protons and neutrons

Element: A substance that contains only one kind of atom

Isotope: A particular variation of an atom, which is determined by the number of neutrons in that atom. For example, carbon-12 and carbon-13 both have six protons but carbon-12 has six neutrons and carbon-13 has seven neutrons. This means they also have different mass numbers. Also, while there might be some differences in their physical properties, chemically they behave alike.

Molecule: Any chemically bonded group of atoms, whether atoms of the same type, which form an element, or atoms of different types, which form a compound. Their bonds can only be broken through chemical change.

Compound: A combination of two or more substances that are chemically bonded together. The substances can’t be separated by physical means, only by chemical reactions. An example is water, whose chemical bonds are broken only through chemical reactions.

Mixture: A combination of two or more substances that are not chemically bonded and can, therefore, be separated through physical means. An example is air, which is not a single gas, but a mixture of gases and other particles. The gases aren’t chemically bonded to each other, and can be separated without breaking any chemical bonds.

Periodic Table of the Elements: A chart listing each known element, organized by these elements’ atomic numbers

Atomic number: The number of protons in an atom, which indicates the atom’s chemical properties and, by extension, its element type. The number of protons in an atom is the same as the number of electrons in an atom. 

Mass number: The total number of protons and neutrons in an atom

Chemical bonding: The joining of atoms to create molecules

Chemical reaction: The process that occurs when bonds between atoms in a substance are broken and the atoms rearrange to form new substances with different properties. An example is baking a cake: the cake is formed after heat changes the molecular structure of the batter.

Chemical symbol: The letters that represent the atoms of a particular element; for example, C for carbon

Chemical formula: A notation using chemical symbols and numbers to indicate the types and numbers of atoms present; for example, CO2 and H2O

Ion: A positively or negatively charged particle that is formed when an atom or molecule gains or loses one or more electrons. When an atom gains one or more electrons, it becomes negatively charged, and when it loses one or more electrons, it becomes positively charged.

Covalent bond: A chemical bond formed when atoms share electrons. Each atom still has its proper total number, but some of its electrons are attracted to the other atoms and stick there. Most non-metal elements are formed with this type of bond.

Double bond: A chemical bond formed when two atoms share two electrons each with each other

Ionic bond: A chemical bond formed when one atom loses one or more electrons to another atom. This creates a positively charged ion in one atom and a negatively charged ion in the other, which are attracted to each other.

Metallic bond: A chemical bond between metal atoms formed when the atoms share a pool of electrons, which allow the metals to easily conduct electricity

Hydrogen (H): The most abundant element in the universe, which forms water when it is burned in oxygen and which can form compounds with most other elements

Helium (He): The second most abundant element in the universe, though is not abundant in the earth’s atmosphere due to its low atomic weight and high velocity

Oxygen (O): The third most abundant element in the universe, which helps plants and animals release energy from food through the process of cellular respiration

Carbon (C): The fourth most abundant element in the universe, which is found in all organic compounds and in more compounds overall than any other element

Water (H2O): The most common liquid on earth, one that is a universal solvent and necessary for life, and that is formed when two H2 molecules and one O2 molecule undergo a chemical reaction called combustion, releasing two H2O molecules and energy

Carbon dioxide (CO2): A greenhouse gas produced through plant respiration, decomposition of organic material, the burning of fossil fuels and more

Sodium chloride (NaCl): Table salt, a combination of a metal (sodium) and a non-metal (chlorine)

Carbon monoxide: A poisonous gas formed when fuels burn in a place with limited oxygen, such as an engine

Salt: A chemical compound formed from the reaction of an acid with a base, which usually crystallizes in the form of cubes

Organic compound: Any compound that includes carbon (with a few exceptions)

Soluble: Able to dissolve in a solvent

Insoluble: Unable to dissolve in a solvent

Solution: The combination of a solvent and the substance that is dissolved in it

Metal: An element or an alloy that is shiny in appearance; conducts heat and electricity; and usually remains solid at room temperature. Some, like iron and nickel, are also magnetic. The definition of this term is not exact, and changes as its application changes. Also, some non-metal elements become metals at very high temperatures.

Alloy: A mixture of two or more metals or a metal and a different element to make a substance with enhanced usefulness

Acid: A chemical substance with a pH less than 7 that donates protons or hydrogen ions when dissolved in water, donates electrons to form chemical bonds and tastes sour when found in liquid solutions

Base/alkaline: A chemical substance with a pH greater than 7 that accepts protons from hydrogen ions in liquid solutions. Note that adding this type of substance to an acid helps neutralize the acid and produces water and salts.

pH scale: The 14-point scale used to measure whether a liquid solution is basic, acidic or neutral, with 7 being neutral, higher than 7 showing alkalinity and lower than 7 showing acidity

Corrosion: The damaging chemical reaction that occurs to a substance by its surrounding environment. For example, metal corrosion can occur when oxide forms on the surface of the metal.

Electrolysis: The separating of individual elements in a compound by passing an electric current through it when it is molten or in a solution

Fermentation: The process in which yeast and some bacteria break down sugars or other organic compounds into simpler compounds like carbon dioxide to produce energy without the use of oxygen

Endothermic reaction: A chemical process that absorbs heat

Exothermic reaction: A chemical process that emits heat

Oxidation: A chemical reaction in which a substance loses electrons, often by the addition of oxygen, causing it to change in some way. An example is the presence of iron oxide (rust) in metal exposed to water.

Reduction: A chemical reaction in which a substance gains electrons, often by the removal of oxygen, causing it to change in some way. An example is the conversion of iron oxide (rust) to iron in the presence of a reducing agent, such as hydrogen gas.

Oxidation-reduction (redox) reaction: A chemical reaction in which substance undergoes reduction, causing another to undergo oxidation. This happens because the substance undergoing reduction donates electrons to the other substance.

Computer science just isn’t a specialty anymore. Most companies create and/or manage several websites and computer programs, meaning that if you want to be successful in business, it’s helpful to understand these common terms.

How a computer works: When the computer is turned on, some of the microchips in the hard drive start the computer, then pass the control over to the boot loader. The boot loader initializes the hardware, loading the first sector of the hard drive to the memory. After this, it loads the operating system, the kernel, the computer settings and the shell. The shell presents the login screen to the user. After the user logs in, the operating system tells the driver to start talking to the hardware. After the user opens a program, the driver detects the clicks and talks to the kernel. The kernel then passes the information to the shell. The shell interprets it, then communicates it to the program. Finally, the program interprets it and the program is launched. The program loads the needed threads and processes into the RAM. Threads are run and interrupted on a regular basis according to how many time slices they’re allotted. The system clock tells the operating system when to stop each process, which is done after each time slice, no matter what. Each time this happens the OS checks to see if the program’s time is up or if it has more. It adjusts priorities and may switch to a different process. This activity is done in kernel mode, a mode in which the program isn’t allowed to control anything. After this, the operating system switches back to user mode and gives control back to the program. Computers running with multiple CPUs must share the kernel between them. Mistakes in this management can lead to crashes.

ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE: COMPUTER SCIENCE

Parts of a computer: Hard drive; memory storage; input/output unit; CPU; monitor; operating system (OS); software applications

Hardware: The physical components of a computer, such as the input/output unit and the monitor

Software: A set of instructions to be executed on a computer, usually with a particular use. These are also called applications or programs.

Hard drive: The physical place in the computer in which memory is located

Central processing unit (CPU): The place in the computer that loads instructions from memory, parses them, then executes them

The shell: The OS’s user interface; the part of the OS that the user sees and interacts with

Internal memory: Applications, programs and other data and instructions located within a computer, including ROM and RAM

External memory: Applications, programs and other data and instructions located on external hard drives, USB keys, etc.

Virtual memory: located in the internal memory but is made up of addresses that point elsewhere in the memory for the purposes of convenience and security.

RAM: fast copied temporary memory located on the hard drive disc or in microchips which is lost when the computer is shut down

ROM: long-term stored read-only memory, usually unalterable, containing system-level instructions

Operating system (OS): The software that runs all the basic operations of the computer; provides a secure, reliable environment for programs to run on; and grants programs access to inputs, outputs, memory, system software like drivers, and networking features. It also schedules processes when more than one application competes for time on the CPU. It contains a system clock; a file system; a user interfaced called the API that includes a set of calls or methods app programmers use to interact with the OS; and more.

Windows: The operating system Microsoft computers use

OSX: The operating system Apple computers use

Linux: A popular open-source operating system

Executable file (.exe): A file that talks to the operating system

The kernel: The part of a Windows computer that loads drivers, handles hardware, enforces security, enables network communication–anything the application needs permission to do, even just opening MS Office. (Accessing memory is not included in this.)

Service: A background process run by the OS. (Example: system clock, firewall, window update checks.)

Kernel mode: The mode an application goes into when it is accessing the computer’s kernel. A program can only go into kernel mode when allowed and only run the kernel code, not its own code at all.

User mode: App mode in which the OS can be accessed through an app can switch back and forth from kernel to user frequently.

Boot loader: The software program that the hard drive passes the control to right after starting the computer. It loads the fist sector of the hard drive to memory and passes control to it.

Native system services/executive system services: OS services that are callable from user mode

Kernel support functional routines: Subroutines inside the OS that are callable only from kernel mode

Computer architecture: The way the parts of a computer interact with each other, including which parts of the memory are able to communicate with which other parts and in which order. There are many different working computer architectures.

Virtual machine: A remotely located package of software that presents itself to the local machine as a complete separate machine. Virtual machines are highly convenient for purposes of testing code, working on a networked machine with network privileges, and on other occasions when a second or different computer/operating system package is needed.

Database: An organized collection of data, usually stored electronically. If available on the Internet, it can be accessed through servers.

Cookie: A small text file with various fields that is stored in the web browser and/or on the client’s computers. Normally, it is used to manage a session (keeping a user logged in across multiple pages, etc.).

Session: All of the applications running on a single user ID between login and logout

Programming language: A set of standardized rules for coding that results in functional source code. There are many programming languages, including C# and C++.

Source code: The human-readable instructions that make up a software program, which are written in a standard programming language

Script: A language that is Internet-appropriate, like JavaScript

Binary code: A language made up entirely of 0s and 1s, which are the only units a computer can directly work with (execute on its CPU). These true/false or 1/0 binary choices are also called boolean expressions. All other programming languages are made into source code, then finally parsed (interpreted by the computer) as binary code by a compiler. This is also called machine language or machine code.

Bit: The basic unit of information in computing, expressed as either a 0 or a 1

Byte: A unit of 8 bits

Kilobyte: A unit of 1,024 bytes

Megabyte: A unit of 1,024 kilobytes

Gigabyte: A unit of 1,024 megabytes

Terabyte: A unit of 1,024 gigabytes

Command: A computer instruction. Many put together make up an algorithm.

Algorithm: A complex logic-based instruction set that plays a specific role in a computer program

Computer code: The set of instructions forming a computer program that is read and carried out by a computer, which is used in turn to make up computer programs

Procedure: A reusable block of code that performs a specific task in a program. It might be part of an object in object-oriented programming and is also called a function or a subroutine.

Thread: A single sequence of instructions that can be executed independently within a program and that together make up processes, which together make up programs

Multi-threading: Running more than one process simultaneously in the same program using a single CPU, which schedules these processes to occur successively but seamlessly

Object-oriented programming: A way of designing software by making reusable data objects (files, data units, independent procedures or a procedure/data object that perform a particular function) that interact with one another

Pointer: An object that contains the address of each piece of memory

The leap section: The place in memory that stores dynamically allocated variables needed by a program

The stack section: The place in memory that store info in stacks, with the lowest addresses (oldest) on bottom, like cafeteria trays

Buffer: A place in memory that receives and holds data until it can be handled by requested processes. Each process can have its own set of buffers. Each buffer has a predetermined length and data type

Bug: Any kind of error in a software program. It may cause a program to unexpectedly quit, to be vulnerable to attack, or to work improperly.

Debugging: The process of removing computer program bugs

Testing: Reviewing programs to find bugs and other problems

Crash dump: A record of a program’s slate system memory at the time of a crash. It can be analyzed to figure out why it occurred.

Deadlock: A conflict of needs and allocations that stops all computing

Network: A group of computers that talk to each other and share resources through one or more shared computers called servers

Virtual private network (VPN): A type of computer network that allows users to connect to remotely

Local area network (LAN): A type of computer network that is smaller than a wide area network and that includes WiFi and ethernet

Wide area network (WAN): A type of computer network that is larger than a local area network and that includes the Internet

Server: A computer that provides information to other computers or allows other computers to connect to each other, usually remotely over the Internet or in a smaller computer network.

Clients: The individual computers that the server talks to. Some computers have both a client side and a server side.

Proxy server: A backup server used on corporate networks to protect against web attacks

Domain controller: The main server in a group of servers

Administrator: The manager of a domain (or any group of users)

Internet: The global collection of computer networks and their connections, all using shared protocols to communicate

Internet 2: A second, higher-speed Internet that is used to send very large files, such as research data between universities

Protocol: Rules to standardize processes in networks. They are used on both the sending and the receiving ends of the communication.

HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol): The set of rules for transferring files (text, graphic images, sound, video, and other multimedia files) on the Internet.

HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure): HTTP, but with encryption

Uniform Resource Locator (URL): An internet address that is used by the browser to look up the IP address of the server and the server’s name so that it can talk to that server and retrieve the page’s HTML

Packet: A small chunk of information that has been carefully formed from larger chunks of information in order to more efficiently communicate over a network. If not encrypted, they are vulnerable to capture. They might be distributed over multiple routers according to which is currently available.

Router: A machine that captures and sends on data packets. Most internet communications require many routers along the way.

Switch: A smart hub/router that connects network segments, thereby routing packets more efficiently

Modem: A router used on a small scale, as between private homes or small networks

Bandwidth: The maximum rate of data transfer across a given path

Cyber security: Practices that mitigate internet exploits, including Web development and application development practices

Computer vulnerability: A mistake or oversight in computer code that exposes the program to attack

Computer exploit: An attack on a local computer or many local computers that either damages it or allows the attacker to make use of it in any way without permission. The three most common types are exploitation of browser vulnerabilities, exploitation of email application vulnerabilities, and social engineering exploits.

Firewall: A network device used to prevent unauthorized incoming traffic. It is usually located between a private network and a link to the internet.

Social engineering: Gaining compromising information by exploiting human vulnerabilities, such as tricking people into sharing sensitive information

Encryption: The process of converting plaintext or readable data into an encoded form called ciphertext, which is not easily understandable without the decryption key. It is a security technique used to protect sensitive information from unauthorized access or interception, ensuring confidentiality and data integrity.

Cryptography: The process of encrypting plain text messages that are then sent and unencrypted on the receiving end with the use of a text key

Piracy: The illegal copying, distribution, or use of software

Direct memory access: Writing directly to RAM without going through the hard drive, as when a network file system is doing a transfer, over the internet

Active directory: A directory service that contains a database that stores security info about objects in a domain, inc users, computers, security IDs, etc.

Hacking: Using a computer to gain unauthorized access to data. The term is also sometimes used for creative problem-solving in coding.

Black hat hacking: The unauthorized and malicious activities carried out by individuals or groups with the intent to exploit computer systems, networks, or software for personal gain, disruption, or other harmful purposes

White hat hacking: Ethical hacking or penetration testing, involves authorized and legal activities performed by cybersecurity professionals to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses in computer systems, networks, or applications

You probably already have most of the skills on this list, at least to some degree. Treat this checklist, then, as a gentle reminder not to pass by the couple of things you haven’t quite nailed yet.

Note that this list does not include skills mentioned in other sections of this book or those generally possessed by people under the age of six, such as memorizing one’s address and phone number. My attempts at comprehensiveness, though well-meaning, are usually futile.

ESSENTIAL SKILLS: LIFE MANAGEMENT

• Managing time and tasks, including: creating short-term and long-term to-do lists; time-on-task estimating; padding time-on-task estimations; and breaking large projects into small steps
• Keeping ongoing to-do lists and short-term goals lists, with steps to achieve those goals
• Listing and working towards long-term life goals, dreams and plans
• Managing money, including: budgeting, calculating interest, avoiding debt, calculating the highest affordable mortgage payment, saving for retirement, investing in the stock market, filing taxes and organizing financial records
• Cleaning the home, including: washing laundry; washing dishes; dusting; cleaning the bathroom and more
• Performing simple household maintenance tasks, including: changing lightbulbs; testing and changing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors; cleaning the roof and gutters; mowing the lawn; maintaining a yard; fixing leaky faucets and unclogging the toilet
• Cooking and baking, including: two soups or stews; two stir-fry sauces; muffins; cakes; roasted chicken; and grilled steak
• Organizing one’s living space
• Learning basic self-defense techniques
• Maintaining a car, including changing the oil, checking tire pressure, checking fluid levels and scheduling regular tire changes and other maintenance
• Applying basic first aid skills, including CPR
• Caring for children
• Using public transportation
• Sewing
• Writing formal letters and emails
• Typing
• Memorizing emergency procedures in various settings, including knowledge of using a fire extinguisher
• Maintaining good hygiene, nutrition and exercise habits
• Preventing disease, including STDs
• Using responsible and healthy sexual practices
• Visiting doctors and dentists regularly
• Purchasing a house
• Holding family meetings
• Maintaining safe and secure Internet practices, including an understanding of online source verification
• Choosing and purchasing insurance for home, health and car
• Gardening
• Recycling, reusing and caring for the environment
• Using the Microsoft Office suite and other important computer programs
• Interviewing for jobs and job shadowing
• Knowing federal and local laws
• Driving a car
• Avoiding addiction and understanding the effects of drugs and alcohol
• Registering to vote and choosing who and what to vote for
• Doing community service work
• Planning and budgeting for trips
• Planning and hosting parties
• Traveling locally and globally, if possible
• Using basic tools, including: hammers, screwdrivers, power drills, hand-held sanders, knives, pliers, wedges and wrenches
• Doing home improvement projects: painting, building simple furniture items, installing hardware and more
• Building a fire
• Using a directional compass
• Making a water filter with sand, rocks, clay and charcoal
• Listening to educational podcasts and audiobooks
• Memorizing important poems and passages
• Writing longhand letters to friends
• Making a family tree
• Starting a small business
• Holding a garage sale

How to register to vote: In the U.S., legal residents over the age of 18 can vote. Register online, at a state or local election office or at the department of motor vehicles. Update your voter registration if you change addresses.

Other ways to get involved in politics: Serving as a poll worker, donating to candidates, running for local office, joining a citizen advisory board, creating a petition, writing about and discussing your issue or candidate of choice. Note that it is more effective to send letters to state officials than to DC. Calling is more effective than writing letters, and in-person visits are best of all.

ESSENTIAL INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

• Making friends
• Cultivating healthy relationships
• Communicating effectively, including: listening actively; restating the other person’s message; and calmly resolving conflict
• Avoiding and de-escalating conflict
• Using good eye contact
• Using good manners
• Shaking hands firmly
• Projecting vocally when appropriate
• Saying “no” without further explanation
• Enforcing healthy boundaries and respecting the boundaries of others
• Asking questions
• Talking to strangers
• Making casual conversation/small talk
• Crafting a convincing and logical argument
• Speaking in public
• Telling a joke
• Forgiving and apologizing first
• Accepting and learning from other cultures, family types and gender identities
• Responding to anger or unkindness without defensiveness, but instead with simple statements of fact (such as “I don’t agree” or “That’s interesting,”) questions (such as “Why did you do that?”) or kindnesses (such as, “Are you okay?”)
• Using simple consequences instead of physical force or emotional abuse (for example, “If you do that, I am not going to play with you right now,” or, “If you are rough with my toys, I will take them away”)

ESSENTIAL SELF-CARE SKILLS

• Spending time alone
• Engaging in long-term projects and hobbies
• Labeling emotions
• Separating fact from emotion
• Using self-calming strategies like deep breathing
• Doing self-guided cognitive therapy/reframing (writing down upsetting irrational thoughts and replacing them with rational ones)
• Journaling about difficult memories and moments, then rewriting the story in a way that is healthy, helpful and self-compassionate
• Maintaining healthy exercise and nutrition habits
• Maintaining spiritual/grounding practices such as meditation (observing one’s own mind with nonjudgmental acceptance) and mindfulness (observing the present moment with nonjudgmental acceptance)

ESSENTIAL SKILLS: PERSONAL QUALITIES TO DEVELOP

• Love
• Generosity
• Healthy attachment
• Respect for differences
• Confidence
• Dignity
• Honesty
• Humility
• Morality
• Loyalty/commitment
• Hope, optimism and positivity
• Personal responsibility
• Willingness to work hard
• Acceptance of hardship
• Toughness and survivalism
• Independence
• Creativity/imagination
• A sense of personal identity/uniqueness
• Purpose
• Cultivation of one’s best self

Ideas for enjoyable, educational activities aren’t hard to find. The trick is to remember them when the time comes. Here is a list to draw from on those quiet days when you want to spend time with friends or family while also furthering your knowledge base.

ESSENTIAL RESOURCES: EDUCATIONAL GAMES AND OTHER RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES

Educational Games

• Scrabble
• Chess
• Checkers
• Go
• Mah jong
• Monopoly
• Trivial Pursuit
• Dominos
• Card games
• Charades
• Crossword puzzles
• Sudoku
• Logic grid puzzles
• Mazes
• Map puzzles
• Complex strategy board games like Dungeons and Dragons, Magic or Settlers of Cattan
• Billiards/pool

Other Educational Recreational Activities

• Show and tell
• Talent shows
• Art museums and galleries
• Zoos
• Aquariums
• Science museums
• History museums
• Planetariums
• Concerts
• Theater plays
• Sporting events
• Educational and recreational clubs (scouting clubs, book clubs, science clubs, gaming clubs and more)
• Travel, especially to historical locations

Additional Recommendations: Homemade Educational Games

If you want to make learning the material in this book more enjoyable–and a bit easier–consider trying one or two of the following self-made learning games. Homeschooling families might find them especially useful, as multiple players can reinforce concepts simultaneously.

THE LIST GAME

Number of Players: Any

What You Need: One printed copy of one of the sections of this book per player, paper and writing instruments

How to Play: First, players review their fact lists for several minutes. Then they set the lists aside and start a timer for five to ten minutes. During the timed session, players list as many terms as they can remember, along with their definitions. The winner is the one who writes the most correct terms and accompanying definitions.

BINGO

Number of Players: Three or more

What You Need: One printed copy of one of the sections of this book per player, paper and writing instruments

How to Play: First, players each create a 5×5 grid on their paper. Then, they fill in each box with one of the terms from their chosen fact list. One player volunteers to serve as the first caller and reads the definitions of the terms from the list in random order. The other players must guess the right term, then block it off their BINGO card if they have it. The first person to have five correctly named terms in a row is the winner. Players can take turns serving as the caller.

TWENTY QUESTIONS/WHO AM I?

Number of Players: Two or more

What You Need: One printed copy of one of the sections of this book per player, paper and writing instruments

How to Play: First, one player (or team) chooses five terms from the chosen fact list. Then, they start a timer and the other player (or team) attempts to guess the terms one by one by using yes or no questions only. Only five terms may be named while questioning. For example, a player can ask, “Is it an object?” any number of times, but “Is it [term from the fact list]?” only five times total. After the team uses all five of their guesses, the timer is stopped. That team’s correct number of guesses and the time spent finding them are noted, and the teams switch roles and play again. The winning player or team is the one that identified the most of the five terms, with the time taken to do so as the tie breaker.

DO-IT-YOURSELF CROSSWORD PUZZLES

What You Need: One printed copy of one of the sections of this book, grid paper with large boxes and a pencil

How to Play: First, determine which of the terms on the chosen fact list are hardest for you to remember. Starting with those terms, create a simple crossword puzzle on the grid paper. This can work with just five or six terms, or you can make a more complicated version. Number each term as is standard for crossword puzzles and list the corresponding numbered clues next to the puzzle. The clues, in this case, will be the definition of the term. Create multiple puzzles and print out multiple copies of each and fill out the puzzles later on. (Note that crosswords using foreign-language vocabulary words can be easiest to create, since the native-language word can be used as the clue.)

DO-IT-YOURSELF HISTORICAL TIMELINE

What You Need: Paper, markers and a list of important dates

How to Play: First, determine which key historical dates you most want to remember. The historical timeline provided in this book might be a good place to find these. Draw a straight line down the middle of each piece of paper and divide the line into equal segments. Write the date increments on each segment, then write the corresponding events. Hang it on a wall for easy reference. Later, create a second version that only lists the dates and try to fill in the corresponding events by memory.

DO-IT-YOURSELF MAP PUZZLES

What You Need: A high-quality map of the world, or of a country or continent; scissors; cardboard

How to Play: Cut a map into puzzle-like pieces (for best results, use simple angular shapes). Reinforce the back of each piece with cardboard, then put the puzzle together repeatedly until you are able to do so quickly.

DO-IT-YOURSELF DOT-TO-DOT DRAWINGS

What You Need: A high-quality picture of an important world landmark, body system, or other visual aide to learning; paper; a marker

How to Play: Place a piece of paper over the chosen picture. Outline the picture with dots in the proper places. Number the dots as you go. Then try to redraw the picture by connecting the dots.

EDUCATIONAL COLORING SHEETS

What You Need: Coloring sheets that depict educational visual aides like planets, the parts of a plant, the parts of a cell, human body systems, maps and much more; crayons, markers or colored pencils

How to Play: Color and label the educational coloring sheet, taking time to appreciate its details. Hang them on a wall to jog your memory.

Additional Recommendations: Pretend Play Scenario Ideas

• Camping
• Store (toy store, grocery store, pet store, etc.)
• Restaurant
• Post Office
• Theater/play/music performance
• Art gallery
• Zoo
• Animal hunt
• Fort building
• Pet hotel
• Tea party
• Hospital
• Cops and robbers
• Superheroes
• Pilots
• Vet clinic
• Lions and deer
• Monsters and townspeople
• Alligators and swimmers
• Hot lava
• Obstacle course
• Firefighters
• Race cars
• Submarine
• Astronauts
• Royal family
• Library
• Aliens
• Movie and TV show characters
• Much more

There are many ways to reliably embarrass yourself in life. One of them is to reveal your lack of knowledge of the whereabouts of continents, oceans, nations and cities. Of course, one of the easiest ways to commit locations to memory is to visit them, even briefly, so you can associate unique sights and other sensory experiences (even emotion) to a point on a map.

ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE: GEOGRAPHY

Latitude lines/parallels: Imaginary lines running horizontally around the globe. They are measured in degrees, with the equator at 0° latitude, the north pole at 90° north and the south pole at 90° south.

Longitude lines/meridians: Imaginary lines running vertically around the globe. These meet at both poles. They are measured in degrees, with the prime meridian at 0° longitude (at Earth’s axis), and the farthest extensions at 180° east and 180° west.

Geographic coordinates: The two-number combination that gives a location’s latitude and longitude

Hemisphere: One half of the Earth’s surface, as divided by either the equator or by the Prime Meridian. There are four of these: the Northern and Southern hemispheres, divided by the equator (0° latitude); and the Eastern and Western hemispheres, divided by the prime meridian (0° longitude) and the International Date Line (180°).

Equator: The imaginary line around the center of the earth that we measure as zero degrees latitude. The Sun is directly overhead it at noon on the two equinoxes (March and Sept. 20 or 21). It divides the globe into the Northern and Southern hemispheres, and it appears halfway between the North and South poles, at the widest circumference of the globe. It is 24,901.55 miles (40,075.16 km) long.

Prime Meridian: The imaginary line down the center of the earth that we measure as zero degrees longitude (0°). It runs through the Royal Greenwich Observatory in Greenwich, England and divides the globe into the Western and Eastern hemispheres. The Earth’s time zones are measured from it.

International Date Line: The imaginary line located at approximately 180° longitude that, by convention, marks the end of one calendar day and the beginning of the next. It bends around countries to avoid date- and time-related confusion.

Tropic of Cancer: The imaginary line located at 23°30′ north of the equator. The sun is directly above the Tropic of Cancer on the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere around June 21. It marks the northernmost point of the tropics, which falls between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.

Tropic of Capricorn: The imaginary line located at 23°30′ south. The Sun is directly above the Tropic of Capricorn on the summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere around December 21. It marks the southernmost point of the tropics.

Arctic Circle: A line of latitude located at 66°30′ north, delineating the Northern Frigid Zone of the Earth.

Antarctic Circle: A line of latitude located at 66°30′ south, delineating the Southern Frigid Zone of the Earth.

Map projections: Distorted representations of the relative locations on Earth that allow for two-dimensional map making.

Mercator projection: The most famous map projection, which shows the far northern and southern areas of Earth as much larger than they are

Pangea: The most recent single, unified supercontinent to have preceded the current continental forms on the earth

The six main types of landforms: Mountains, hills, valleys, plateaus, plains, deserts. Islands, peninsulas, canyons, and deltas are also sometimes considered separate types of landforms, and there are many variations of all of these.

The seven continents: In order of size: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australasia/Oceania. Note that some people consider Asia and Europe as one continent that they refer to as Eurasia. Also note that the Middle East is considered part of Asia and is sometimes referred to as Asia Minor.

The five oceans: The Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Southern, and Arctic oceans

The Mediterranean Sea: The large body of water that lies between Europe, Africa and Asia and is mostly enclosed by land

The Tigris and Euphrates rivers: The river system that borders Mesopotamia and is surrounded by the Fertile Crescent in the Middle East

The Fertile Crescent: The part of the Middle East that surrounds the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and is the birthplace of farming and civilization

The Caspian Sea: The world’s largest inland body of water, located between Europe and Asia, with historical trading and political significance

The Nile River: The deep, gentle river in Africa that connects with the Mediterranean Sea. It is known for its predictable patterns and surrounding deserts. Its independent biosphere causes predictable flood patterns so that early civilizations did not need irrigation systems.

The Yellow River: The river in China on which Chinese civilization first sprang up

The Yangtze River: The longest river in Asia and the third-longest in the world to flow entirely within one country

The Gulf of Mexico: A basin of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by Mexico and the Gulf Coast of the U.S.

The Missouri River: The longest river in North America and a tributary of the Mississippi River

The Mississippi River: The second-longest river in North America

The Great Lakes: A collection of lakes on the border of the U.S. and Canada that include: Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Erie, Lake Huron and Lake Ontario

Mount Everest: The highest mountain in the world, which is located on the borders of Nepal and Tibet

K2: The second-highest mountain in the world, which is located on the borders of Pakistan and China

Mount Kilimanjaro: The highest mountain in Africa

Mount Denali: The highest mountain in North America and the mountain formerly known as Mount McKinley

The Andes: The longest continental mountain range in the world, located along the western edge of South America

The Alps: The highest mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe

The Ural Mountains: The mountain range that lies along the western border of Russia that is the natural boundary between Europe and Asia

The Rocky Mountains: The largest mountain range in North America, which lies north to south in the western part of the U.S.

The Appalachian Mountains: The second largest mountain range that lies entirely in North America, which lies north to south in the eastern part of the U.S.

The Gobi Desert: A large desert located in Mongolia and China

The Mojave Desert: A large desert located in the southwestern United States

The Antarctic Desert: The snow and ice desert that makes up the continent of Antarctica and that is considered the largest desert in the world

The Arctic: The region located on and around the North Pole, including the Arctic Ocean and several nearby countries

The Arabian Desert: A large desert located in the Middle East

The Sahara Desert: The desert located in northern Africa that expands and contracts regularly. In prehistoric times, it shrank enough to allow humans to migrate out of Africa. In ancient times, it became increasingly dry, preventing communication between Northern and Southern Africans. Egyptians in the North had much more contact with Middle Easterners and Europeans than they did with Africans south of the Sahara.

Sub-saharan Africa: The area of Africa located south of the Sahara Desert which, during its early history, evolved separately and cut off from northern Africa and Eurasia

The Horn of Africa: The easternmost part of the African mainland

The Gold Coast: The region on the coast of West Africa that includes modern-day Ghana, parts of Togo and parts of the Ivory Coast that got this name during colonial times due to their gold supplies

Oceania: The area of the world that encompasses Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia in the Pacific Ocean

Polynesia: The islands of the central and southern Pacific, including Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, the Cook Islands and more

Melanesia: The islands of the western Pacific, including Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia

Micronesia: The islands of the western Pacific, including the Marshall Islands, Palau, Guam, and the Federated States of Micronesia

The United Kingdom: The country that includes England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland

Great Britain: The landmass that includes England, Scotland, and Wales, but not Northern Ireland

England: The largest and most populous country within the United Kingdom, with London as its capital

Ireland: The separate country on the island of Ireland that is not part of the United Kingdom

The five climate zones of Earth: Arctic and antarctic (in the far north and south); north temperate and south temperate; and tropical (the middle of Earth on both sides of the equator)

The four U.S. mainland time zones: Pacific Time (PT: UTC-8); Mountain Time (MT: UTC-7); Central Time (CT: UTC-6); and Eastern Time (ET: UTC-5). Other time zones are used in Alaska, Hawaii and elsewhere. During daylight saving time, some of these time zones shift one hour. When daylight savings time is not being observed, “standard” is added, so that PT, MT, CT and ET become PST, MST, CST and EST. When daylight savings time is being observed, the same abbreviations become PDT, MDT, CDT and EDT.

The five regions of the U.S.: The West Coast/West, the Southwest, the Midwest, the Southeast and the East Coast/Northeast

The current number of countries in the world: Almost 200

The current population of the world: Approximately eight billion

The largest country in the world by area: Russian Federation

The smallest country in the world by area and population: Vatican City

The country with the highest life expectancy in the world: Japan

The country with the highest gross national product (GNP) in the world: The United States

The three most populous nations in the world: China, India and the United States

The five most populous cities in the world: Tokyo, Japan; Delhi, India; Shanghai, China; São Paulo, Brazil; and Mumbai, India. New York, U.S.; Seoul, South Korea; and Mexico City, Mexico are close to the top of the list.

Capital of Alabama: Montgomery

Capital of Alaska: Juneau

Capital of Arizona: Phoenix

Capital of Arkansas: Little Rock

Capital of California: Sacramento

Capital of Colorado: Denver

Capital of Connecticut: Hartford

Capital of Delaware: Dover

Capital of Florida: Tallahassee

Capital of Georgia: Atlanta

Capital of Hawaii: Honolulu

Capital of Idaho: Boise

Capital of Illinois: Springfield

Capital of Indiana: Indianapolis

Capital of Iowa: Des Moines

Capital of Kansas: Topeka

Capital of Kentucky: Frankfort

Capital of Louisiana: Baton Rouge

Capital of Maine: Augusta

Capital of Maryland: Annapolis

Capital of Massachusetts: Boston

Capital of Michigan: Lansing

Capital of Minnesota: St. Paul

Capital of Mississippi: Jackson

Capital of Missouri: Jefferson City

Capital of Montana: Helena

Capital of Nebraska: Lincoln

Capital of Nevada: Carson City

Capital of New Hampshire: Concord

Capital of New Jersey: Trenton

Capital of New Mexico: Santa Fe

Capital of New York: Albany

Capital of North Carolina: Raleigh

Capital of North Dakota: Bismarck

Capital of Ohio: Columbus

Capital of Oklahoma: Oklahoma City

Capital of Oregon: Salem

Capital of Pennsylvania: Harrisburg

Capital of Rhode Island: Providence

Capital of South Carolina: Columbia

Capital of South Dakota: Pierre

Capital of Tennessee: Nashville

Capital of Texas: Austin

Capital of Utah: Salt Lake City

Capital of Vermont: Montpelier

Capital of Virginia: Richmond

Capital of Washington: Olympia

Capital of West Virginia: Charleston

Capital of Wisconsin: Madison

Capital of Wyoming: Cheyenne

Capital of the United States: Washington D.C.

Capital of Canada: Ottawa

Capital of Mexico: Mexico City

Capital of Russia: Moscow

Capital of Australia: Canberra

Capital of South Africa: Cape Town

Capital of Egypt: Cairo

Capital of Uganda: Kampala

Capital of Kenya: Nairobi

Capital of United Kingdom: London

Capital of Spain: Madrid

Capital of France: Paris

Capital of Italy: Rome

Capital of Germany: Berlin

Capital of Northern Ireland: Belfast

Capital of Denmark: Copenhagen

Capital of Ireland: Dublin

Capital of Scotland: Edinburgh

Capital of Finland: Helsinki

Capital of Norway: Oslo

Capital of Sweden: Stockholm

Capital of the Netherlands: Amsterdam

Capital of Austria: Vienna

Capital of Greece: Athens

Capital of Poland: Warsaw

Capital of Turkey: Ankara

Capital of Czech Republic: Prague

Capital of Serbia: Belgrade

Capital of Slovakia: Bratislava

Capital of Romania: Bucharest

Capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Sarajevo

Capital of Hungary: Budapest

Capital of Iraq: Baghdad

Capital of Palestine: Jerusalem

Capital of Afghanistan: Kabul

Capital of Peru: Lima

Capital of Chile: Santiago

Capital of Colombia: Bogota

Capital of Argentina: Buenos Aires

Capital of Venezuela: Caracas

Capital of Guatemala: Guatemala City

Capital of Panama: Panama City

Capital of China: Beijing

Capital of Japan: Tokyo

Capital of India: New Delhi

Capital of South Korea: Seoul

Capital of Taiwan: Taipei

Capital of Thailand: Bangkok

Capital of Philippines: Manila

Capital of Singapore: Singapore

Capital of Indonesia: Jakarta

Capital of Vietnam: Hanoi

Capital of Nepal: Kathmandu

Capital of Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur

Capital of Mongolia: Ulaanbaatar

State in which Chicago is located: Illinois

State in which Boston is located: Massachusetts

State in which Philadelphia is located: Pennsylvania

State in which New York is located: New York

State in which San Francisco is located: California

State in which Los Angeles is located: California

Country in which Toronto is located: Canada

Country in which Montreal is located: Canada

Country in which Vancouver is located: Canada

Country in which Sydney is located: Australia

Country in which Melbourne is located: Australia

Country in which Auckland is located: New Zealand

Country in which Berlin is located: Germany

Country in which Brussels is located: Belgium

Country in which Amsterdam is located: Netherlands

Country in which Zurich is located: Switzerland

Country in which Copenhagen is located: Denmark

Country in which Milan is located: Italy

Country in which Manchester is located: United Kingdom (UK)

Country in which Vienna is located: Austria

Country in which Warsaw is located: Poland

Country in which Barcelona is located: Spain

Country in which Lisbon is located: Portugal

Country in which Johannesburg is located: South Africa

Country in which Mogadishu is located: Somalia

Country in which Sao Paulo is located: Brazil

Country in which Rio de Janeiro is located: Brazil

Country in which St. Petersburg is located: Russia

Country in which Prague is located: Czech Republic

Country in which Minsk is located: Belarus

Country in which Istanbul is located: Turkey

Country in which Tel Aviv is located: Israel

Country in which Dubai is located: United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Country in which Abu Dhabi is located: United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Country in which Shanghai is located: China

Country in which Hong Kong is located: China

Country in which Singapore is located: Singapore

Country in which Ho Chi Minh City is located: Vietnam

Country in which Phnom Penh is located: Cambodia

Country in which Jakarta is located: Indonesia

Country in which Bangkok is located: Thailand

Abbreviation of Alabama: AL

Abbreviation of Alaska: AK

Abbreviation of Arizona: AZ

Abbreviation of Arkansas: AR

Abbreviation of California: CA

Abbreviation of Colorado: CO

Abbreviation of Connecticut: CT

Abbreviation of Delaware: DE

Abbreviation of Florida: FL

Abbreviation of Georgia: GA

Abbreviation of Hawaii: HI

Abbreviation of Idaho: ID

Abbreviation of Illinois: IL

Abbreviation of Indiana: IN

Abbreviation of Iowa: IA

Abbreviation of Kansas: KS

Abbreviation of Kentucky: KY

Abbreviation of Louisiana: LA

Abbreviation of Maine: ME

Abbreviation of Maryland: MD

Abbreviation of Massachusetts: MA

Abbreviation of Michigan: MI

Abbreviation of Minnesota: MN

Abbreviation of Mississippi: MS

Abbreviation of Missouri: MO

Abbreviation of Montana: MT

Abbreviation of Nebraska: NE

Abbreviation of Nevada: NV

Abbreviation of New Hampshire: NH

Abbreviation of New Jersey: NJ

Abbreviation of New Mexico: NM

Abbreviation of New York: NY

Abbreviation of North Carolina: NC

Abbreviation of North Dakota: ND

Abbreviation of Ohio: OH

Abbreviation of Oklahoma: OK

Abbreviation of Oregon: OR

Abbreviation of Pennsylvania: PA

Abbreviation of Rhode Island: RI

Abbreviation of South Carolina: SC

Abbreviation of South Dakota: SD

Abbreviation of Tennessee: TN

Abbreviation of Texas: TX

Abbreviation of Utah: UT

Abbreviation of Vermont: VT

Abbreviation of Virginia: VA

Abbreviation of Washington: WA

Abbreviation of West Virginia: WV

Abbreviation of Wisconsin: WI

Abbreviation of Wyoming: WY