Australia is a continent as well as a country. Its remote location has given rise to an uniquely Australian ecosystem, one that the rest of the world might see as wild and dangerous. However, since colonial times, Australia’s development has been similar to that of the Americas and other places in the world. Then, after World War II, the continent’s economy boomed along with those of Japan, the U.S. and many other countries. Increased tourism and immigration were part of the reason for this, as was increased postwar industrial production. During this time, Australia imported a great deal of American technology and culture; improved their infrastructure; provided greater access to healthcare and other social benefits; and grew from a relatively small, isolated nation to the important economic power we know today.
ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE: HISTORY OF AUSTRALIA
Ancient Times (3000 BCE to 500 CE)
The Aborigines: The indigenous people of Australia, who might have come from Asia on a land bridge during prehistoric times. (During the last Ice Age, sea water was trapped as ice and sea levels were much lower, allowing for migrations in areas that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.) The Aborigines lived in tribal societies ruled by chiefs. They are known for their music, including the use of the didgeridoo, a wind instrument made from a hollowed-out tree trunk; for their spiritual connection to nature, including their concept of the Dreamtime, which refers to the time of creation and the connection between the living world and the spirit world; and for their expert wood carving.
Easter Island statues: The famous collection of around 900 statues that was created by the Polynesians or an earlier unknown people on Easter Island in the Pacific. They are made of volcanic rock and some stand over 30 feet tall. Shaped as human figures, including full bodies, torsos and heads and shoulders, they might have represented watchful ancestors.
The Middle Ages (500 CE to 1500 CE)
The Maori: The indigenous people of New Zealand, who likely arrived during the Middle Ages from Polynesia. They are known for their traditional forms of dance; their intricate tattoo art; and their seafaring skills.
Early Modern Times (1500 CE to 1900 CE)
New Holland: The name the Dutch gave the Australian continent after locating it in the 1600s. (The Dutch also located Tasmania and New Zealand around this time.) The Dutch did not settle the area, however.
James Cook: The British explorer who is known for his trips to the Pacific in the 1700s: several to New Zealand and Australia, parts of which he claimed for Britain; one to the Hawaiian Islands; and one to Antarctica, where thick pack ice prevented him from landing. He is also known as Captain Cook.
New South Wales: The name that Captain Cook gave to the east coast of Australia while mapping it, which later became the name of the first Australian colony that included Sydney Cove. After other colonies arose in Australia, then gained independence, New South Wales became one of the six Australian states.
Arthur Phillip: The leader of the first British settlement of Australia, which was made up of over 700 convicts, a few free settlers, and 200 marines. He was sent there in the late 1700s by the British government to establish a penal colony for English prisoners in order to alleviate prison overcrowding in England. After settlement, the British and Aborigines coexisted, but not entirely peacefully. Many Aborigines were killed in conflicts over land and many others died of Western diseases.
Sydney Cove: The bay settled and named by Arthur Phillip’s group of settlers, who struggled to survive in an unfamiliar climate with limited supplies. Later, other groups of convicts and settlers arrived. In the 1800s other colonies were built, some penal colonies and some free.
Treaty of Waitangi: The 1800s treaty between the British and the Maori that gave sovereignty over the island to the British in exchange for various rights and protections, including land ownership rights. Two versions of the treaty were written, though, with one leading the Maori to believe they were giving up governorship, not sovereignty. Following this, there were wars between the British and Maori. Eventually, New Zealand became an official British colony.
The Australian gold rush: The influx of settlers in the mid-1800s that occurred after the discovery of gold there and that resulted in the creation of five new Australian colonies: Tasmania, Western Australia, Victoria, Queensland, and South Australia. After Australia gained independence, these, with New South Wales, became the six Australian states. During the gold rush, the Aboriginal population declined significantly due to land fights and foreign disease.
The Modern Era (1900 CE to the Present)
The Commonwealth of Australia: The full name of today’s Australia, a parliamentary democratic federation of the six Australian colonies, which was founded in the early 1900s. Though it is part of the British Commonwealth (a group of former British colonies), it is sovereign and independent. Its constitution is partially based on the American and British constitutions and calls for free trade and equal rights.
The Australian Imperial Force (AIF): The Australian military group that fought alongside the British during World War I and participated in significant battles, including those at Gallipoli and the western front. Australia allied with Britain because they were a part of the British Commonwealth.
Battle of Kokoda Track: A World War II battle during which Australia successfully prevented Japan from invading. In spite of having limited resources, Australia fought on the side of the Allies in Europe and in the Pacific; were faced with invasion by Japan; and suffered the 1941 bombing of their city, Darwin, by Japan.
Battle of the Coral Sea: A World War II battle during which Australian and American forces successfully halted a Japanese naval offensive
In some people, the word writer inspires a feeling of pride or admiration. In others, it inspires dread. If you’re in the latter category, consider making writing improvement your top educational priority. If you aren’t, practice a lot anyway. It’s likely the most useful skill you’ll learn in school.
ESSENTIAL SKILLS: WRITING
How to write a paragraph: Write the main idea. Follow this with several supporting sentences. After mastering this basic formula, experiment with placing the main idea elsewhere in the paragraph. Switch to a new paragraph when the main point you’re making and supporting changes–no sooner and no later.
How to take notes on a text: First, find the main idea of the entire section of writing. Practice this skill alone until you are good at it. (This comes in handy in both personal and philosophical arguments, in which the main point of the speaker often gets lost.) After that, identify the main supporting ideas in the section—the points that give rise to the main idea. Finally, make note of any particularly insightful or important side point. Record your notes in the simplest form possible, without unnecessary blank spaces on the page. Use bullets.
How to write an outline: Place your thesis statement at the beginning. Then list the major points that support your thesis using Roman numerals (I, II, III, etc.). Under each of these, list all of the supporting ideas or arguments using capital letters (A, B, C, etc.). If needed, under these, list subordinate ideas using numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.), then small letters (a, b, c, etc.).
How to write a short story: First, create a compelling dilemma involving interesting characters. Think of the story as a movie without a narrator, and write each scene like a movie scene without any background explanation. Start the story at a particularly interesting place in media res (in the middle of action). Make sure that every character undergoes inner change, and the protagonist is quite changed by the end. Make sure that in each and every scene there is an immediate conflict in addition to the story’s larger conflict, and make sure that every scene moves the story forward. Use the standard plot graph, with a slow introduction, then rising action (when lots of complications are thrown in), then a climax (when everything bad happens all at once), then a quick resolution.
How to write a poem: Read several poems of several types, including free verse, odes, haikus, rhyming poems with regular stanza lengths, nonrhyming poems with regular stanza lengths and more. Find a feeling within yourself and choose a subject that in the moment of writing causes that same strong feeling in you. Write a straight description of that subject/metaphor that includes words that convey your reaction to it, without ever describing your thoughts or feelings directly. As you edit it, get rid of any extra words and any words that sound in any way corny (flower, sunshine, beauty, etc.).
How to write an essay: First, research the topic. Then, write a great thesis statement. This will often be one sentence in length, but for more complex themes, you can state the argument, then use a second sentence to review your supporting evidence; for example, “This paper argues that rabbit habitats should be more carefully preserved. It discusses several reasons for this, then offers two practical changes that can be made.” Note that most instructors won’t object to the use of the passive voice or the self-referencing phrase, “this paper.” “Here, I,” as in, “Here, I explain …” also usually works. Next, choose references that support that thesis statement. Then, write a fairly thorough outline that includes the supporting arguments, evidence and references. Write a first draft of the essay without overly concerning yourself with proper grammar and perfect phrasing. The introductory paragraph should grab the reader’s attention and clearly state the position the paper will support. It usually briefly mentions several important supporting arguments and ends with the thesis statement. The middle paragraphs provide support for the main argument, one point at a time and offer credible references, and the conclusion restates the argument and the main supporting points, then ends by widening the reader’s scope. It might refer to the significance or larger application of the position or contain a call to action.
Writing Rules
The goal of writing is to be understood, and preferably, to be understood easily. This happens when language is clear, concise, well-organized and direct. The following rules for good writing can and should be selectively broken in creative writing, but in most nonfiction writing and in most practical writing (letters, emails, instructions, etc.), they stand.
Be organized. Write an outline first, and use it.
Be specific and concrete. Otherwise, you’ll lose your reader.
Be concise. Overwriting sounds arrogant.
Don’t use a lot of adjectives and adverbs. They’re out of style.
Pay attention to transitions. When possible, don’t confuse the reader by jumping from one step to the next or one idea to the next without showing (subtly) how they relate.
Pay attention to rhythm. Intersperse long and short sentences and read the piece out loud or have someone else read it out loud to you to see if it flows well.
Use the active voice. This just means to avoid “is” and “are” when possible, particularly when doing so creates a needlessly long phrase, as in “is trying to help people figure out” instead of “helps” or “advises.”
For dialogue, use either “said” or “asked” or leave the quote bare. Don’t use “stated,” “exclaimed,” etc.
State quotes in the past tense, even if the author still believes what they said.
Use the positive form of the statement, avoiding double negatives when possible.
Do not use run-on sentences. One sentence per sentence is enough.
Place the phrase you want to emphasize at the end of the sentence.
Keep related words together. A clause (a descriptive phrase) should be right next to the person, place or thing that it’s describing.
Express coordinate ideas in similar form. (For example, when using bullet points, all of the points should be in the same form, same tense, and as parallel in structure as possible.)
Don’t accidentally inject opinion. When making unsupported statements, consider using “may,” “might” or “can” instead of “should” or “will.”
Don’t be awkward. When grammar rules feel wrong, they can safely be broken. Usually.
Don’t be fancy. No one will like you more for it.
Practice. Revise and rewrite. Wait a year, then revise again. To become a faster, clearer, more organized writer, practice outlining nonfiction texts. Also, master the art of writing short, factual, straightforward stories worthy of a top-notch news reporter. Then move on to the more creative stuff.
Essay Writing Tips
Pretend you’re in an argument. An essay is an argument, after all. Pretend someone is in the room with you right now. They don’t agree with what you’re saying but they’re willing to listen without answering back—yet. How would you answer these questions? (When stuck, imagine someone screaming them at you.)
Why is what you’re telling me important? Why should anyone care about your opinion on this? Are there relevant statistics, or is there a reason someone might disagree with you? (Introductory sentences or paragraphs, including introductions to new sections.)
What is your main point, anyway? (Thesis statement.)
What is your evidence? (Supporting paragraphs.)
Just spit it out. Do NOT stare at a blank screen. If you can’t think of a great first sentence, skip it and write the second one. Just write. If the person you’re arguing with were here in front of you, and your grade depended on your convincing them, you wouldn’t not talk. You would just start saying something. You’ll edit later.
Don’t be fancy. It’s harder. Use short, simple sentences. Pretend the person you’re arguing with is a high school student. You can always make things sound more professional in the final edit, combining short sentences to make longer ones and switching out a few key words to bring it up a level. (You might notice that you keep more of those unpretentious sentences than you thought you would, though.)
Be scannable. The goal of writing is to be understood, and preferably, to be understood easily. Don’t make your teachers work too hard to understand what you’re saying. A good reader should be able to fully digest your paragraph in under thirty seconds. If it takes them longer than that, it’s the writer’s fault, not the reader’s.
Don’t pad. This is a first draft. Don’t add in any sentences that don’t strictly need to be there. In the final edit, if a point needs more explanation (and you need more pages), go ahead. Doing so before getting to the end is a waste of time.
Pretend it’s just an outline. Still too intimidated to start writing the real thing? Tell yourself you’re just filling in your outline a bit. Write full, simple sentences (and a few longer, more inspired ones as they come to you) within the outline itself. Then pop in your source quotes or ideas (properly referenced).
Oh, and do write that outline. Organization is everything. Writing is just what happens later.
Don’t go in order. First paragraphs are the hardest. Write whatever seems easiest first. Success begets success.
Don’t stop to research. Add something like [REFERENCE NEEDED] in the paragraph and move on. Which reminds me:
Bracket everything that isn’t yours. [LIKE THIS.] That way, you don’t end up accidentally plagarizing.
Take some hits. It’s painful, but some sentences don’t sound perfect. If you revise endlessly, you’ll spend twenty percent of your time perfecting one percent of your essay (and improving your grade not at all). Teachers aren’t looking for professional-quality writing. They’re looking for professional-quality thinking.
Use your last perfectly-formatted essay as a template. Erase the text, retitle the document, and you’re off.
Tell yourself you’ll bang the whole thing out in an hour. You won’t, but you’ll get the first draft mostly done, and after that you’ll just tie up few “loose ends.” (This really works.)
Remind yourself that this essay isn’t your whole grade. If your organization and thinking is clear, you’ll likely be just fine, grade-wise.
Remember that there’s never a good day to write an essay. They’re almost all equally unfit, and equally fine.
Questions for Literary Analysis
What main point does the piece make?
What is the historical context of the piece?
Who was the author (profession, social standing, age, etc.) of the piece?
What is the genre of the piece?
What does the author have to gain or lose from others accepting or rejecting his ideas?
What events led to the writing of the piece?
What events resulted from the writing of the piece?
When it comes to analyzing a literary work, here is what you need to know: the basic historical context of the piece; the reason the piece is considered great or important; and what the piece is, ultimately, about (what’s its point?). After that, you’ll want to look at the literary devices in the work and understand how they add to its meaning, beauty and effectiveness. This sounds like a lot of work, but don’t be a martyr: for context, and to get through more difficult works, I highly recommend Cliffs Notes, SparkNotes . . . and skimming.
Bonus points: Understand the difference between good and great literature (one is well-written and entertaining while the other is these, plus important and universal in some way) and don’t confuse a work’s true meaning with the meaning that the author intended (the authorial intent). Great literature, it is said, is a mystical creature with a life independent of its creator.
A few additional notes on poetry interpretation: Though any great literary work can abide line by line analysis, due to its shorter length, poetry is particularly amenable to it. At least once in your life, choose a poem you like and study its use of some of the literary devices below as well as its use of repetition, rhyme, rhythm, cadence and, most importantly, diction (both the connotations and the denotations of each word). Think about how each of these elements furthers the meaning of the poem. Ask yourself how these elements add to the meaning of the piece. You might be surprised how much there is to say about those few lovely stanzas.
Most people should probably know most of the terms below; it just makes for better conversation about books. Play with literary analysis by choosing one or two favorite works and identifying some or most of the following literary devices in them. This will help you appreciate their beauty in a way you haven’t before.
ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE: LITERARY ANALYSIS
Subject: The objective main topic of a literary work. An example is Tom Sawyer’s adventures in the book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Theme: The subjective, philosophical idea that is explored in a work. An example is the theme of boyhood in the book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Narrative: A work’s story line
Premise: A work’s basic setup, which might include its setting and the question or problem faced by its main character. An example is the premise of George Orwell’s novel 1984, in which the main character’s desire for freedom is thwarted by a totalitarian government.
Plot: The events of a story
Subplot: An additional plot interwoven with the main plot
Conflict: A struggle or challenge that affects the story line
Setting: The time, place, and conditions in which a work’s action takes place; a work’s context
Point of view: The perspective from which the story or piece is told. It can be first person; second person; third-person objective; third-person limited omniscient; or third-person omniscient.
First person point of view: The narrative perspective in which the narrator speaks as themselves, using “I,” “me,” and “we”
Second person point of view: The narrative perspective in which the story is told directly to the reader using “you” and “your”
Third-person objective point of view: The narrative perspective in which the narrator remains an observer and does not reveal the internal thoughts or feelings of the characters. They use pronouns like “she,” “he,” “they,” and “them.”
Third-person limited omniscient point of view: The narrative perspective in which the narrator reveals the thoughts and feelings of one or a few characters, usually the main character. They use pronouns like “she,” “he,” “they,” and “them.”
Third-person omniscient point of view: The narrative perspective in which the narrator shows complete knowledge of all the characters in the story, including their thoughts and motivations. They use pronouns like “she,” “he,” “they,” and “them.”
Dramatic structure: The traditional five-part format many or most stories follow. It includes an inciting incident in which the protagonist must make a choice of some kind, rising action, a climax, falling action, and the resolution (also called a dénouement).
Climax: The peak moment of the action, occurring at or near the end of the work. It is often the turning point for the protagonist.
Dénouement: The final resolution of the story
Characterization: Writing that brings a character to life and makes them unique
Protagonist: The story’s main character
Tragic hero/tragic figure: A protagonist whose story comes to an unhappy end due to his or her own behavior and character flaws
Antihero: A protagonist who isn’t all good and may even be bad
Antagonist: The story’s main bad guy
Round character: A character that is complex and realistic
Flat character: An uncomplicated character that doesn’t feel real to the reader
Foil: A character who provides a clear contrast to another character
Soliloquy: A monologue by a character in a play
Genre: A work’s category based on its content and form. Some examples are mystery, science fiction, romance and historical fiction.
Fiction: Imagined, untrue literature
Nonfiction: Factual literature
Biography: A nonfiction life story written by someone other than the subject
Autobiography: A nonfiction life story written by the subject
Memoir: A nonfiction story written by the subject about his or her own experiences, but not about his or her entire life
Anthology: A collection of short stories written by various authors, compiled in one book or journal
Myth: A story that attempts to explain events in nature by referring to supernatural causes, like gods and deities
Fable: A story intended to depict a useful truth or moral lesson and that frequently involves animals that speak and act like human beings
Tale: A story about imaginary or exaggerated events that the narrator pretends is true
Parable: A short story that teaches a moral or spiritual lesson
Parody: A humorous imitation of a popular work
Satire: A humorous work that makes fun of another work or anything else, revealing its weakness
Exposition: Explanatory writing
Didactic writing: Instructional writing
Freewriting: Writing continuously without much thought in order to discover hidden ideas or feelings
Diction: Word choice
Denotation: The dictionary meaning of a word
Connotation: A word’s unspoken implication(s)
Jargon: Terms only familiar to those in the know
Syntax: The ways words are organized in sentences and paragraphs
Pace: The speed and rhythm of a work, which is conveyed through sentence length, plot movement and more
Style: The distinctive way an author writes, which includes their diction, voice, tone, mood, pace, favored themes and more
Tone: The attitude or mood of the author or narrator toward the work. Some examples are formal, conversational, humorous and nostalgic.
Voice: The distinctive personality or perspective of the author, including the author’s ideas and beliefs. A magazine can have many voices, but maintain a single tone throughout.
Mood: The overall feeling of the piece. Some examples are dark, brooding and fanciful.
Literary convention: A commonly used feature, style, idea or technique in literature. Some examples are: a hero’s journey; a three-act structure; and a sidekick character.
Literary device: A writing tool that helps convey ideas and meaning or adds interest to a work. Some examples are imagery, foreshadowing and personification.
Figurative language: Language that implies or represents an idea rather than directly stating it, often for mood, dramatic effect, or humor. Some examples are hyperbole, understatement, imagery, similes and metaphors.
Simile: A figure of speech in which two things are compared using the words like or as
Metaphor: A figure of speech in which something is said to be something else, without using the words like or as. An example is Shakespeare’s line, “All the world’s a stage.”
Synecdoche: A figure of speech in which a part stands in for the whole or a whole stands in for a part. Some examples are: using the word boards in place of the word stage and saying “the Americans” instead of “the American team.”
Metonymy: A figure of speech in which a related concept is substituted for the whole. An example is saying “the White House” in place of “the President.”
Analogy: A comparison that goes into some detail
Imagery: A mental picture or representation of a person, place, or thing
Symbol: Something that appears in a piece of writing that stands for or suggests something else. An example is the red letter A worn by the main character in The Scarlet Letter.
Motif: A recurring idea, symbol or set of symbols in a work that contribute to the work’s theme(s). An example is the house in Gone With the Wind, which is named Tara.
Alliteration: The repetition of initial sounds in closely-placed words. An example is: “Sally sells seashells by the seashore.”
Assonance: The repetition of vowel sounds in closely-placed words. An example is: “The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain.”
Pun: A play on words that relies on a word’s having more than one meaning or sounding like another word. An example is: “A boiled egg for lunch is hard to beat.”
Cliché: An overused expression. An example is: “Actions speak louder than words.”
Double entendre: A phrase that can be interpreted in two different ways. An example is: “That’s what she said.”
Euphemism: An innocuous-sounding phrase used in place of something distasteful or offensive. An example is the use of the word passing in place of the word death.
Irony: A figure of speech that occurs when reality is the opposite of one’s reasonable expectation. An example is: “I was hired to write books but instead, I am burning them.”
Oxymoron: A phrase composed of two words with contradictory meanings. An example is “open secret.”
Paradox: A statement that initially appears to be contradictory but then, on closer inspection, turns out to make sense. An example is: “The first shall be last and the last shall be first.”
Allusion: A reference that is not directly stated or explained. An example is using the phrase “to be or not to be” without mentioning Hamlet or Shakespeare.
Foreshadowing: Hints of upcoming events in a work, often included to build suspense. An example is: “She didn’t know what she was getting herself into.”
Personification: The attributing of human characteristics to something that is not human. An example is: “My computer hates me.”
Onomatopoeia: A word or words that imitate a sound. Some examples are bang and pop.
Editorial: A short article expressing an opinion or point of view. Often, but not always, written by a member of the publication staff.
Serial: A series of related works or a regularly published work, as a newsletter or magazine
Synopsis: A brief summary of a story, manuscript, or book
Rough draft: The first organized version of a document or other work
Hook: A starting sentence or idea that grabs the reader’s attention. In an essay, the hook might be a statistic or a paraphrased idea presented by an expert. In an article, the hook is usually the main idea.
Boilerplate: A piece of writing that gets reused frequently, sometimes with minor changes
Canon: Works generally considered by scholars to be the most important of a genre
Byline: The author’s name appearing with his/her published work
Pseudonym: A “pen name”
Public domain work: Any written material not under copyright
Query: A short letter pitching an article or a book idea to an editor or agent
Side bar: Extra information put alongside, but not in, the main article
Slant: The bias or angle in a piece of writing
Unsolicited manuscript: A manuscript that an agent or editor has not asked to see
Thesis statement: The part of an essay that clearly states the essay’s main point. It might also briefly mention several of the relevant supporting points. It is usually either one or two sentences in length (most commonly one).
Three-prong thesis statement: A thesis statement that offers three supporting points and is usually only one sentence long; for example, “I love rabbits because they are fast, soft and beautiful.” This is a simple way to go, if your ideas allow for it.
Five-paragraph essay: A simple essay format that includes one introduction paragraph, three body paragraphs and one concluding paragraph. The three body paragraphs present three supporting points for the thesis (which is usually a three-prong thesis).
ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE: POETRY
Stanza: A group of lines in a poem that form a metrical or thematic unit and that are set off by a space
Verse: Poetic lines composed in a measured rhythmical pattern, that are often, but not necessarily, rhymed
Beat: A one-count syllable or pause in speech, action, or poetry
Stress: An emphasis given to a particular syllable in word pronunciation or in poetry reading
Meter: A recurring rhythmic pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem
Rhythm: A term used to refer to the recurrence of stressed and unstressed sounds in poetry
Couplet: A group of two rhyming lines
Triplet: A group of three rhyming lines
Quatrain: A four-line stanza and the most common stanzaic form in the English language
Iambic pentameter: A metrical pattern commonly used in English poetry in which each line has five metrical feet, with each foot containing two syllables. The first syllable of each foot is stressed and the second syllable is unstressed.
Epic: A long narrative poem told in a formal, elevated style with a serious subject
Lyric: A brief poem that expresses the personal emotions and thoughts of a single speaker, not necessarily of the poet
Sonnet: A poem that consists of fourteen lines, usually written in iambic pentameter, with a varied rhyme scheme
Acrostic: A sentence or poem in which the first letters of each word of the sentence stand for a different word or idea. An example is “Lighthearted Overwhelming Virtuous Eve: LOVE.”
Villanelle: A poem consisting of nineteen lines of any length divided into six stanzas
Ode: A dignified poem written to praise someone or something
Free verse: A poem that is free of rules and formal structure
Limerick: A lighthearted rhyming poem with a particular structure
Ballad: A narrative folksong-like poem
Haiku: A traditional Japanese poem consisting of three lines, with the first line having five syllables, the second line having seven syllables, and the third line having five syllables
Elegy: A poem expressing grief and loss
Epigram: A concise, clever statement; a witty quote
Epitaph: A brief poem sometimes written on a gravestone paying tribute to a dead person or commemorating another loss
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.
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)
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
“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. Theirbonds 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 withthis 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)
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
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
Like freedom and fun, creativity is an inborn need. If you haven’t discovered this need in yourself, it’s possible you haven’t yet found your medium. It’s also possible that this checklist of art and craft skills will pique your interest.
Painting (with acrylic paint, oil paint, watercolor on canvas, glass, fabric, human body, plaster, wood, walls with brushes, sponges, hands, stencils and more; this includes murals)
Sculpture: wood, wax, stone, metal, clay and mixed media
Performance art: Dance, theater, music
Collage, fresco and mosaic
Conceptual and installation art
Multimedia art, including recycled material art
ESSENTIAL SKILLS: APPLIED ARTS
Architecture
Carpentry/woodworking
Building (go-karts, playground structures, garden trellises, etc.)
Ceramics/pottery
Film making
Culinary art
Glass blowing
Lighting design
Landscape architecture
Graphic narratives/Comics/Cartooning
Photography
Printmaking
Fashion design
Model making
Collecting
Scrapbooking
Textile arts: Crocheting, sewing, knitting, macrame, weaving and more
Graphic design/electronic art (creating brochures, magazines, etc.)
Website creation
Digital printing
Video game creation
Easy Crafts for Children
Clay/Play-Doh modeling
Braiding and weaving
Making wrapping paper
Beading
Making bean-filled heat packs to heat in the microwave
Making greeting cards
Making bound books
Making Christmas ornaments
Weaving paper baskets
Making masks
Making paper chains
Making edible necklaces and Christmas strings with popcorn or apples
Making mobiles
Making hand and finger puppets
Making miniature villages or people from various materials
Plastic bag painting (putting paint and small objects in a plastic baggie and shaking)
Coloring
Stamping
Making leaf and hand prints and rubbings
Gluing and taping with recycled materials
Hole punching and tying string
Making egg carton treasure boxes
Making stick and popsicle stick art, such as a flower pots or a birdhouse
You know how out of the blue one day you hear a song you used to love and you think, I can’t forget this again. I have to write it down. You start to wonder how many other great songs you’ve let slip from memory. Then you have kids, and you start actively seeking them out so you can pass them on. This list is a good jumping-off point for that process.
It’s highly unlikely that all your favorite songs are listed here. But there are a lot of great ones, and many that you’ll hear here and there throughout your life. Listen to them at the YouTube links provided, absorbing the style of each artist and thinking critically about what you like, what you don’t like, and why. No need to memorize song titles, but a working recall of most of these artists will help you immensely in your many enjoyable music-related conversations to come.
This list is a work in progress; check back for updates.
ESSENTIAL RESOURCES: CLASSIC SONGS AND MUSICAL ARTISTS
Classical Compositions
Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565, Johann Sebastian Bach (1600s)
Allegro from Brandenburg Concerto No 3, Johann Sebastian Bach (1600s)
Air from Orchestral Suite No 3, Johann Sebastian Bach (1600s)
Vivace from Double Violin Concerto, Johann Sebastian Bach (1600s)
Ave Maria, Johann Sebastian Bach and Charles Gounod (1600s)
The Hallelujah Chorus from The Messiah, George Frideric Handel (1600s)
Canon, Johann Pachelbel (1600s)
Moonlight Sonata, Ludwig van Beethoven (1700s)
Fur Elise, Ludwig van Beethoven (1700s)
Adagio Sostenuto from Moonlight Sonata, Ludwig van Beethoven (1700s)
Ode to Joy from Symphony No 9, Ludwig van Beethoven (1700s)
Allegro Con Brio from Symphony No 5, Ludwig van Beethoven (1700s)
Overture from The Magic Flute, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1700s)
Reminiscences de Don Juan from Don Giovanni, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1700s)
Overture from The Marriage of Figaro, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1700s)
Adante from Piano Concerto No 21, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1700s)
Rondo Alla Turca from Piano Concerto No 11, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1700s)
Lacrimosa from Requiem Mass, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1700s)
Spring: Allegro from The Four Seasons, Vivaldi (1700s)
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from The Nutcracker, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1800s)
Marche from The Nutcracker, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1800s)
Opera 20 Act 2 No 10 Scene (Moderato) from Swan Lake, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1800s)
Opera 20 Act 1 No 2 Valse (Corps de Ballet) from Swan Lake, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1800s)
The 1812 Overture, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1800s)
Tutto nel Mundo from Falstaff, Giuseppe Verdi (1800s)
Overture from The Barber of Seville, Gioachino Rossini (1800s)
Hungarian Dance No 5, Johannes Brahms (1800s)
Spring Waltz, Frederic Chopin (1800s)
Nocturne No 2, Frederic Chopin (1800s)
Clair de Lune, Claude Debussy (1800s)
Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95/the “From the New World” Symphony from New World Symphony, Antonin Dvorak (1800s)
In the Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt Suite, Edvard Grieg (1800s)
Morning (Hovis Advert) from Peer Gynt Suite, Edvard Grieg (1800s)
Anitra’s Dance from Peer Gynt Suite, Edvard Grieg (1800s)
Hebrides Overture, Mendelssohn (1800s)
Ave Maria, Franz Schubert (1800s)
The Beautiful Blue Danube, Johann Strauss (1800s)
Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves, Giuseppe Verdi (1800s)
The Ride of the Valkyries, Richard Wagner (1800s)
Wedding Chorus from Lohengrin, Richard Wagner (1800s)
Prelude from Carmen, Georges Bizet (1800s)
Habanera from Carmen, Georges Bizet (1800s)
Radetzky March, Johann Strauss (1800s)
Meditation from Thais, Massanet (1800s)
Hebrides Overture (Fingal’s Cave), Mendelssohn (1800s)
Pomp and Circumstance March No 1, Sir Edward Elgar (1800s and 1900s)
Che Gelida Manina from La Boeme, Giacomo Puccini (1800s and 1900s)
Humming Chorus from Madame Butterfly, Giacomo Puccini (1800s and 1900s)
Dance of the Adolescents from The Rite of Spring, Igor Stravinsky (1900s)
O Fortuna from Carmina Burana, Carl Orff (1900s)
Peter and the Wolf, Sergei Prokofiev (1900s)
Glassworks, Philip Glass (1900s)
Interstellar, Hans Zimmer (1900s)
Time, Hans Zimmer (1900s)
Star Wars Theme, John Williams (1900s)
The Metamorphosis, Philip Glass (1900s)
Folk Songs and Spirituals
The Star-Spangled Banner
America, the Beautiful
America (My Country Tis Of Thee)
God Bless America
You’re a Grand Old Flag
The U.S. Air Force Song (Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder)
The Marine’s Hymn
The Battle Hymn of the Republic (Glory Glory Hallelujah)
When the Saints Go Marching In
Amazing Grace
How Great Thou Art
I’ll Fly Away
Kumbaya
He’s Got the Whole World
Swing Low Sweet Chariot
What a Friend We Have in Jesus
This Little Light of Mine
I’ve Got Peace Like a River
Michael, Row the Boat Ashore
Go Tell It on the Mountain
Happy Birthday to You
Oh, Susanna
Coconut
Banana Boat Song (Day-O)
Home on the Range
You Are My Sunshine
Someone’s In the Kitchen With Dinah
Take Me Out to the Ballgame
I’ve Been Workin’ on the Railroad
Alouette
Clementine
On Top of Old Smokey
Yankee Doodle
My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean
Christmas Carols
The First Noel
Joy to the World
Silent Night
The Twelve Days of Christmas
We Three Kings
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
Angels We Have Heard on High
Away in a Manger
Auld Lang Syne
Deck the Halls
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
O Holy Night
O Little Town of Bethlehem
O Christmas Tree
Oh Come All Ye Faithful
The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting)
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
What Child Is This?
White Christmas
Holly, Jolly Christmas
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
I’ll Be Home for Christmas
I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
What Child Is This
Ave Maria
Winter Wonderland
The Little Drummer Boy
Here Comes Santa Claus
Jingle Bell Rock
Let It Snow
Jingle Bells
Frosty, the Snowman
Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
Children’s Songs and Rhymes
The Alphabet Song
Rock-a-Bye Baby
Ba Ba Black Sheep
Mary Had a Little Lamb
Hush, Little Baby
Skidamarink
Skip to My Lou
Knees Up Mother Brown
Down by the Bay
The Itsy Bitsy Spider
Frere Jacques
Lollipop, Lollipop
If You’re Happy and You Know It
Skip to My Lou
The More We Get Together
This Old Man
The Ants Go Marching One By One
Row, Row, Row Your Boat
Five Little Monkeys
Old McDonald
Three Blind Mice
Nick Nack Paddywack
Pop Goes the Weasel
Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
London Bridge Is Falling Down
She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain
Little Bo Peep
Sing a Song of Sixpence
A Tisket a Tasket
Little Boy Blue
Old King Cole
Little Miss Muffet
The Muffin Man
Over the River and Through the Wood
The Farmer In the Dell
Baby Bumble Bee
BINGO
Do Your Ears Hang Low?
John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt
Where is Thumbkin?
Are You Sleeping, Brother John?
Five Little Ducks
There’s a Hole in the Bucket
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
I’m a Little Teapot
The Wheels on the Bus
You’ll Sing a Song
Down By the Riverside
Lavender’s Blue
Where, Oh, Where Has My Little Dog Gone?
How Much Is That Doggy In the Window
The Green Grass Grew All Around
It’s Raining, It’s Pouring
Songs from Musicals
Tomorrow (Annie)
Maybe (Annie)
Hard Knock Life (Annie)
Somewhere Over the Rainbow (The Wizard of Oz)
When You Wish Upon a Star (Pinocchio)
Footloose (Footloose)
You’re the One That I Want (Grease)
Summer Days (Grease)
I Could Have Danced All Night (My Fair Lady)
Sunrise, Sunset (Fiddler on the Roof)
Tradition (Fiddler on the Roof)
Oklahoma! (Oklahoma!)
Oh What a Beautiful Morning (Oklahoma!)
I Feel Pretty (West Side Story)
Da-Doo (Little Shop of Horrors)
Skid Row (Little Shop of Horrors)
Beauty and the Beast (Beauty and the Beast)
This Provincial Life (Beauty and the Beast)
Be Our Guest (Beauty and the Beast)
Kiss the Girl (The Little Mermaid)
Spoonful of Sugar (The Sound of Music)
Edelweiss (The Sound of Music)
Sixteen Going on Seventeen (The Sound of Music)
My Favorite Things (The Sound of Music)
Do-Re-Mi (The Sound of Music)
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (The Sound of Music)
Moon River (Breakfast at Tiffany’s)
Bali Ha’i (South Pacific)
I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair (South Pacific)
Sisters (White Christmas)
Anything You Can Do (Annie Get Your Gun)
Sit Down, You’re Rocking’ the Boat (Guys and Dolls)
Singing in the Rain (Singing in the Rain)
Popular Artists
1920s, 30s and 40s
Billie Holiday (Blue Moon; God Bless the Child)
Doris Day (Dream a Little Dream of Me; Que Sera Sera; Perhaps, Perhaps)
Frank Sinatra (My Way; Fly Me to the Moon; New York, New York; That’s Life; I’ve Got the World on a String)
Bing Crosby (Swingin’ on a Star; Let Me Call You Sweetheart)
Sammy Davis Jr. (I’ve Gotta Be Me; Candy Man)
1950s and 60s
Elvis Presley (Can’t Help Falling in Love; Love Me Tender; Blue Suede Shoes; Hound Dog; Jailhouse Rock; Don’t Be Cruel; All Shook Up)
Otis Redding (I’ve Been Loving You too Long [to Stop Now]; [Sittin’ on] the Dock of the Bay; Try a Little Tenderness; I’ve Got Dreams to Remember)
Bill Withers (Just the Two of Us; Lean on Me; Ain’t No Sunshine)
Ella Fitzgerald
Nina Simone (I Ain’t Got No/I Got Life; Sinnerman; I Put a Spell on You)
Etta James (At Last; Something’s Got a Hold on Me)
B.B. King (The Thrill Is Gone; Every Day I Have the Blues)
Louis Armstrong (What a Wonderful World; Cheek to Cheek; Unforgettable)
Miles Davis (Blue in Green; So What)
John Coltrane (A Love Supreme, Parts 1-4; Naima)
Duke Ellington (It Don’t Mean a Thing [If It Ain’t Got That Swing])
Muddy Waters (Mannish Boy)
Sam Cooke (A Change Is Gonna Come; What A Wonderful World/Don’t Know Much About History)
John Lee Hooker (Boom Boom)
Chuck Berry (Johnny B. Goode; No Particular Place to Go; Maybelline; Roll Over Beethoven; Sweet Little Sixteen; You Never Can Tell)
Bobby Darin (Dream Lover)
Buddy Holly (Everyday; That’ll Be the Day; Peggy Sue)
Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers (Why Do Fools Fall in Love)
Frankie Valli (Big Girls Don’t Cry; Walk Like a Man; Can’t Take My Eyes Off You)
Jackie Wilson (Lonely Teardrops; [Your Love Keeps Lifting Me] Higher and Higher)
Jerry Lee Lewis (Great Balls of Fire; Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On)
Patsy Cline (I Fall to Pieces; Walkin’ After Midnight; Crazy)
The Drifters (Under the Boardwalk; Save the Last Dance for Me)
The Everly Brothers (All I Have to Do Is Dream; Bye Bye Love; Wake Up Little Susie)
Four Tops (Reach Out [I’ll Be There]; I Can’t Help Myself [Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch]; Baby I Need Your Loving; Walk Away Renee)
The Isley Brothers (Shout, Parts 1 and 2; This Old Heart of Mine [Is Weak for You])
The Righteous Brothers (Unchained Melody; You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’)
The Ronettes (Be My Baby)
Fats Domino (Blueberry Hill)
The Shirelles (Mama Said; Will You Love Me Tomorrow)
The Spencer Davis Group (Gimme Some Lovin’)
The Staple Singers (I’ll Take You There; Respect Yourself; Let’s Do It Again)
The Supremes/Diana Ross (Baby Love; Where Did Our Love Go; Stop! In the Name of Love; You Keep Me Hanging On; You Can’t Hurry Love; I Hear a Symphony)
The Temptations (My Girl)
Roy Orbison (Only the Lonely; Oh, Pretty Woman)
Little Richard (Good Golly, Miss Molly; Tutti Frutti; Long Tall Sally)
Dion (Teenager in Love, The Wanderer, Runaround Sue, Abraham, Martin and John)
Paul Anka (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)
Wilson Pickett (In the Midnight Hour; Land of a 1,000 Dances; Mustang Sally)
1970s
The Beatles (All You Need is Love; Come Together; Hey, Jude; Let It Be; Yesterday; Yellow Submarine; Ticket to Ride; While My Guitar Gently Weeps; With a Little Help From My Friends)
John Lennon (In My Life; Strawberry Fields Forever; Imagine; Happy Christmas [War Is Over])
Aretha Franklin (Respect; [You Make Me Feel Like a] Natural Woman; Chain of Fools; I Say a Little Prayer)
Bob Dylan (Like a Rolling Stone’ Blowing in the Wind; Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door; Mr. Tambourine Man; The Times They Are a-Changin’)
Cat Stevens (Wild World; Morning Has Broken; Cat’s in the Cradle; Where Do the Children Play; Blowin’ in the Wind)
John Denver (Take Me Home, Country Roads; Annie’s Song; Rocky Mountain High; Home Grown Tomatoes)
Willie Nelson (On the Road Again; Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys; Always on My Mind)
Johnny Cash (Ring of Fire; I Walk the Line; Hurt)
Simon and Garfunkel (Bridge Over Troubled Water; Scarborough Fair; Mrs. Robinson; The Sound of Silence)
Peter, Paul and Mary (Puff the Magic Dragon; Blowin’ in the Wind; If I Had a Hammer; Lemon Tree; We Shall Overcome; Leaving on a Jet Plane)
The Carpenters (We’ve Only Just Begun; Close to You; Yesterday Once More; Rainy Days and Mondays)
The Grateful Dead/Jerry Garcia (Workingman’s Dead; Uncle John’s Band)
The Jimi Hendrix Experience/Jimi Hendrix (All Along the Watchtower; Purple Haze)
Janis Joplin (Me and Bobby McGee; Piece of My Heart; Summertime)
Joni Mitchell (Both Sides Now; Help Me; Big Yellow Taxi)
The Doors/Jim Morrison (Light My Fire; People Are Strange; Riders on a Storm; Break on Through to the Other Side)
The Eagles (Hotel California; The Long Run; Take It Easy)
The Byrds (Mr. Tambourine Man; Turn! Turn! Turn!)
James Taylor (Five and Rain; Sweet Baby James; You’ve Got a Friend; Carolina in My Mind)
Neil Young (Cortez the Killer; Rockin’ in the Free World; Sugar Mountain)
Credence Clearwater Revival (Have you Ever Seen the Rain?; Bad Moon Rising; Proud Mary; Who’ll Stop the Rain; Down on the Corner)
Lou Reed (Walk on the Wild Side; Perfect Day)
Sonny and Cher (I Got You Babe)
The Beach Boys (California Girls; Surfin’ USA; I Get Around; Good Vibrations)
The Jackson 5 (I Want You Back)
Nancy Sinatra (These Boots are Made for Walkin’; Bang Bang)
Joe Cocker (With a Little Help From My Friends; You Are So Beautiful)
Al Green (Let’s Stay Together; Love and Happiness; Take Me to the River)
Curtis Mayfield (People Get Ready; Superfly)
James Brown (Get Up [I Feel Like Being a] Sex Machine; I Got You [I Feel Good])
Elvis Costello ([What’s So Funny About] Peace, Love and Understanding)
Marvin Gaye (Let’s Get It On; I Heard It Through the Grapevine; Ain’t No Mountain High Enough; Mercy Mercy Me)
Sam & Dave (Soul Man)
Sly and the Family Stone (Hot Fun in the Summertime; Family Affair)
Smokey Robinson and The Miracles (Cruisin’; You Really Got a Hold on Me)
Kool and the Gang (Jungle Boogie)
Gloria Gaynor (I Will Survive)
Bee Gees (Stayin’ Alive)
1980s
Barbra Streisand (The Way We Were; You Don’t Bring Me Flowers; Don’t Lie to Me)
Bette Midler (From a Distance; I Think It’s Gonna Rain Today; Wind Beneath My Wings)
Billy Joel (Piano Man; New York State of Mind; We Didn’t Start the Fire)
Bob Marley (Don’t Worry Be Happy; Three Little Birds; I Shot the Sheriff; One Love)
Bruce Springsteen (Born in the U.S.A.; Dancin’ in the Dark; Streets of Philadelphia)
Cyndi Lauper (Girls Just Want to Have Fun; True Colors; Time After Time)
David Bowie (Ziggy Stardust; Let’s Dance)
Dolly Parton (I Will Always Love You; 9 to 5)
Gladys Knight (Midnight Train to Georgia; I Heard It Through the Grapevine)
Guns N’ Roses/Axl Rose (Paradise City; Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door; Welcome to the Jungle; November Rain)
Kenny Rogers (The Gambler)
Moody Blues (Nights in White Satin)
Jimmy Cliff (I Can See Clearly Now)
Madonna (Vogue; Like a Virgin; Material Girl; Like A Prayer)
Pink Floyd (Money; Another Brick in the Wall Part 2)
Prince (Kiss; 1999; Purple Rain)
Queen/Freddie Mercury (We Will Rock You; We Are the Champions; Bohemian Rhapsody; Another One Bites the Dust)
The Ramones (Blitzkrieg Bop; Sheena Is a Punk Rocker)
Luther Vandross (Love the One You’re With)
Lionel Richie (Easy; Stuck On You)
Lynyrd Skynyrd (Sweet Home Alabama)
Led Zeppelin (Stairway to Heaven)
Michael Jackson (Thriller; Bad; Black and White; We Are the World; Billie Jean)
The Bangles (Walk Like an Egyptian, Manic Monday; Eternal Flame)
Steppenwolf (Born to Be Wild; Magic Carpet Ride)
Stevie Nicks (Talk to Me)
Stevie Wonder (I Just Called to Say I Love You; Isn’t She Lovely; Signed, Sealed, Delivered)
The Animals (Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood; The House of the Rising Sun)
The Clash (Rock the Casbah; London Calling; Should I Stay or Should I Go)
Neil Diamond (Sweet Caroline)
Roxette (She’s Got the Look)
The Rolling Stones ([I Can’t Get No] Satisfaction; Paint It Black; You Can’t Always Get What You Want)
The Police (Message in a Bottle; Every Breath You Take; Roxanne)
The Who (Baba O’Riley; I Can See For Miles; Won’t Get Fooled Again)
Tina Turner (What’s Love Got to Do With It; Proud Mary, Simply the Best)
Journey (Don’t Stop Believin’)
Nat King Cole (Unforgettable; When I Fall in Love; Mona Lisa)
Natalie Cole (Unforgettable; This Will Be [An Everlasting Love])
Ray Charles (Georgia on My Mind; Night & Day; Hit the Road, Jack; I Got a Woman)
Tony Bennett (Fly Me to the Moon; I Left My Heart in San Francisco)
Diana Ross (I’m Coming Out; Endless Love)
Van Morrison (Brown Eyed Girl; Gloria [Them])
1990s
Whitney Houston (I Will Always Love You; Greatest Love of All; I Have Nothing)
Celine Dion (The Power of Love; My Heart Will Go On)
Eric Clapton (Tears in Heaven; Wonderful Tonight)
Elton John (Can You Feel the Love Tonight; Rocket Man)
Eminem (Slim Shady; Without Me; Not Afraid; Godzilla)
Mariah Carey (I Don’t Wanna Cry; Hero; Vision of Love; Emotions)
Nirvana/Kurt Cobain (Smells Like Teen Spirit; Come As You Are)
Alanis Morissette (Ironic)
Phil Collins (Another Day in Paradise; In the Air Tonight)
No one is saying you need to become an all-star. But learning the basics of a wide variety of sports helps you understand your options and, almost certainly, find something you will enjoy long-term.
For each of the activities below, learn the basic rules of the game, experience playing the game multiple times, and learn proper form for as many of the skills involved in the game as possible. (This is particularly important with swimming and running.) YouTube videos are an invaluable resource for this.
ESSENTIAL SKILLS: PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Team Sports
Volleyball
Soccer
Baseball/Softball
Football
Basketball
Hockey
Badminton
Tennis
Pickleball
Cricket
Polo
Lacrosse
Solo and Two-Person Sports
Swimming
Running
Biking
Roller skating
Ice skating
Hiking
Camping
Water skiing
Wake boarding
Surfing
Sailing
Rafting
Snorkeling
Pool diving
SCUBA diving
Kayaking/canoeing/rowing
Snow skiing
Snowboarding
Sledding
Dance (including square dancing, line dancing, ballet, jazz, tap, swing, ballroom, rumba, hip hop, salsa, and tango)
Parkour
Yoga
Rock climbing
Martial arts (Jiu Jitsu, Tae Kwon Do, karate, MMA and more)
I remember learning basic biology in school. It was a long time ago, and yet, most of this stuff stuck. It’s everywhere, after all–in the news, in other books. And yet, after creating this list, I was struck by the fine delineations, especially regarding the differences between genes, genetic traits, chromosomes, alleles, and DNA.
ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE: BIOLOGY
Living thing: An organism that reproduces; grows; responds to stimuli; evolves over time; has metabolism; has homeostasis; and has a cell-based structure
Plant: A multicellular eukaryotic organism that gets its energy from the sun using chlorophyll and does not wholly move. Most reproduce asexually.
Animal: A multicellular eukaryotic organism that usually has a distinct orientation (i.e., a top and a bottom); symmetry; mobility; sexual reproduction; sense perception; and a reliance on living, biological organisms for energy
Common name: The name commonly used for a species of animal or plant
Scientific name: The official name of an animal or plant. This is usually in Latin and made up of the genus and species names, but sometimes also contains the name of the sub-species.
Habitat: The natural environment in which a species lives and thrives
Life cycle: The stages of growth and development of living things. This is different for different species; for example, frogs have a tadpole stage and caterpillars have a cocoon stage.
Generation: All members of a species bearing offspring around the same time
Food chain: A series of plants and animals that use each other for food
Food web: A series of interlinked food chains
Excretion: The elimination of metabolic waste
Homeostasis: Biological equilibrium, when a living thing’s internal conditions (such as temperature and mineral levels) remain mostly steady
Dormant: Still alive but not actively growing, such as a seed in a package
Decomposition: The breakdown of organic materials (such as dead plants and animals) by bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms so the materials can be recycled in the environment for other uses
Metabolism: The set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms
Parasite: A living thing that feeds on other living things and also uses them as their home
Host: A living thing that homes and feeds a parasite
Evolution: The long series of small but significant genetic changes that happen to living things
Extinction: The dying out of a species
Mass extinction: The large-scale dying out of many species on earth. This happens due to human activity, major weather changes brought on by major events, like an asteroid hitting the earth, and other occurrences.
Natural selection: The natural process by which some species adapt and survive and others die out
Artificial selection: The human-controlled process by which plants and animals with desirable traits are selectively bred in order to produce offspring with those same traits
Male: The sex with the parts needed to fertilize the egg
Female: The sex with the parts needed to produce the egg
Sexual reproduction: Reproduction involving two parents, one male and one female
Asexual reproduction: Reproduction involving only one parent. Algae, mosses and some ferns reproduce this way because they don’t have flowers.
Vegetative reproduction: Asexual reproduction that occurs using a fragment or cutting of a plant. Some examples are plants that grow from runners (like strawberries), from tubers (like potatoes), from cuttings and even from just a few cells (as in a lab).
Fertilization: The combining of genetic material from a sperm cell with the genetic material from an egg cell, which results in conception
Embryo: The newly conceived form of life between the fertilized egg (zygote) stage and the fetus stage
Fetus: An unborn baby who is past the embryonic stage (about nine weeks into the pregnancy)
Ovulation: The release of eggs from the ovaries
Cell: The smallest unit of living matter that can carry out all of the functions of life
Tissue: Cells of the same type combined together to do a particular job
Organ: Tissues of different types working together to do a particular job, such as the stomach
System: Organs of different types working together to do a particular job, such as the digestive system
The eight parts of a plant cell: Cell wall; cell membrane; cytoplasm usually containing chloroplasts, chromoplasts, other organelles and the nucleus; and a large vacuole containing water, sugar and other dissolved substances
The nine parts of an animal cell: Cell membrane; cytoplasm; nucleus; nuclear membrane; mitochondria; ribosomes; endoplasmic reticulum; Golgi complex; and lysosomes
Nucleus: The control center of the cell
Mitochondria: The part of the cell that converts substances into energy
Golgi complex: The cell warehouse that stores and distributes substances made in the cell
Ribosomes: The part of the cell that builds proteins
Lysosomes: The part of the cell that breaks down and recycles waste
Mitosis: The process of cell division that results in two genetically identical cells, each with a set of the same chromosomes. This happens when the nucleus of the cell divides. Most cells reproduce in this way.
Meiosis: The process of cell division that results in four cells, each with half of the original cell’s genetic material. Sex cells (gametes) reproduce in this way.
Cytokinesis: The final stage of cell division in which the cytoplasm and organelles are divided between the two daughter cells
External respiration: The movement of oxygen from the outside environment to the cells within tissues, and the movement of carbon dioxide in the opposite direction
Internal respiration/cellular respiration: The use of oxygen within the cells to convert nutrients (such as glucose) into energy in the form of ATP, which is then used for various cellular processes
Adenosine triphosphate (ATP): An organic chemical that provides the energy needed for various processes in cells, such as muscle contraction, nerve impulse propagation, and chemical synthesis
Aerobic respiration: Internal respiration that uses oxygen
Anaerobic respiration: Internal respiration that doesn’t use oxygen (and produces less ATP)
Enzymes: Proteins that act as catalysts, speeding up chemical reactions in living things
Thermogenesis: The process of heat production in organisms
Basal metabolic rate (BMR): The rate of energy expenditure per unit time by an animal at rest
Calorie: A unit of measurement denoting the amount of heat energy needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius, which shows how much energy food provides to animals
Kilocalorie: A unit of measurement denoting the amount of heat energy needed to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one degree Celsius, which shows how much energy food provides to animals
Classification/taxonomy: The organizing of things into groups according to their shared features
The eight levels of the taxonomy of living things: Domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species. Also, many species are divided into subspecies called races, breeds or varieties.
The three domains of living things: Bacteria/monera, archaea and eukaryota. Both bacteria and archaea are prokaryota. Scientists disagree about how to divide the domains.
The four kingdoms of eukaryota: Fungi, protistas, plantae and animalia
Prokaryote: A living thing whose cells do not have nuclei
Eukaryote: A living thing whose cells have nuclei
Bacteria/monera: A single-celled prokaryotic organism that exists everywhere on Earth
Archaea: A single-celled prokaryotic organism that has genes, enzymes and other similarities to eukaryota that bacteria do not have
Fungus: A eukaryotic organism that lacks chlorophyll and feeds on living and dead things, including mold, yeast and mushrooms. Many grow in damp, dark places.
Protista: A eukaryotic organism other than animals, plants, or fungi. This is a catch-all group that includes mold, protozoas, algae and other eukaryotes, most of which live in moist environments.
Protozoa: A single-celled eukaryotic organism. Most feed on organic matter.
Amoeba: A type of protozoa that can change shape, usually by extending out pseudopods (fluid-filled sacs in the shape of arms or tentacles)
Species: The taxonomic level at which all the members can mate and reproduce offspring of their kind
Homo sapiens: The scientific name for the human species. This species belongs to the eukaryota domain; the animal kingdom; the chordata phylum (since they have a stiff rod that supports the body); the mammalia class; the primates order; the Hominidae family; and the Homo genus.
ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE: GENETICS
Genes: The sets of instructions inherited from parents and located in the body’s chromosomes that tell the body how to form particular characteristics. They are in every cell of the body (except red blood cells) and are made up of DNA. Most are either dominant or recessive. Each of these provides instructions for multiple traits, and some traits are determined by multiple genes.
Genome: The complete set of physical genetic material of an organism (DNA or RNA)
Genetic trait: A single characteristic that is expressed in a living thing in the way the related gene determines
Gene map: A visual arrangement showing the organization of the genes on a chromosome. It is used to learn about genetic influences in disease development and other genetic patterns.
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA): The chemical that makes up genes, has a double helix shape, and works with RNA to tell the body how to build the proteins that make up genetic traits
Ribonucleic acid (RNA): A chemical found alongside DNA that is similar to DNA in form but performs different functions (except in some viruses, which have RNA in place of DNA). It helps choose which genes are expressed in the organism and carries out the instructions provided by the DNA.
Chromosome: The bundles that hold all of the individual genes and are stored in the nucleus of most body cells. Humans have 23 pairs of these, each of which holds many, many genes.
X and Y chromosomes: The chromosomes that determine gender. Everyone has one X chromosome, but males have a Y and females have a second X.
Dominant gene: The gene in the gene pair that is expressed in the organism, whether paired with a recessive gene or another dominant gene
Recessive gene: The gene in the gene pair that is not expressed in the organism except when there are two associated recessives present, one from each parent
Co-dominance: The state that occurs when the contributions of both genes are displayed in a trait
Allele: One of the two associated genes in a gene pair that occupies the same position on a chromosome and determines the same trait as the other allele in the pair
Homozygote: An organism that has identical alleles for a specific gene
Heterozygote: An organism that has two different alleles for a specific gene, which enables their offspring’s corresponding gene to vary. An organism can be a homozygote for one trait and a heterozygote for a different trait.
Carrier: An organism that has a recessive allele for a genetic trait but does not display it. Carriers can pass the allele onto offspring, who will express it if they inherit the same one from both parents.
DNA profiling: Analyzing sections of an individual’s DNA in order to identify them. It is also known as genetic fingerprinting.
Genetic engineering: The direct manipulation of an organism’s genes using biotechnology
Genetically modified organism (GMO): An animal, plant, or microbe whose DNA has been altered using human-created genetic engineering techniques
Gene splicing: The process of cutting and recombining genes from different organisms or different parts of the same organism to produce specific characteristics
Cloning: Producing genetically identical offspring of an organism either naturally or artificially. In nature, many organisms produce these through asexual reproduction.
Hybrid: A type of offspring produced by the mating of two different species. These are usually unable to reproduce offspring of their own kind due to differences in the chromosomes of the parents.
Ahhhh … smell that fresh air. That’s the smell of you on a walk in a park with your kids, naming the trees and flowers you pass, then explaining sexual versus asexual reproduction.
ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE: BOTANY
Leaf: The part of a plant that makes food, which usually have veins and holes on their undersides to let in water and air
Stem: The part of a plant that supports it and move nutrients between the roots and leaves
Roots: The part of a plant that absorbs water and nutrients from the ground and anchors the plant.They have four parts: the primary root, the secondary roots, root hairs, and the root cap. The five types are: taproots (one main root with small offshoots, like a carrot has); fibrous roots (many equal-sized primary roots, like grasses have); adventitious roots (roots that grow from an unusual part of a plant, like the hairs on an onion bulb); aerial roots (roots that grow aboveground, like ivy has); and prop roots (roots that grow aboveground to provide additional support, like mangroves have).
Bark: The dead protective tissue on the outside of a tree, which is formed in a living layer underneath the current layer after that layer gets pushed out by the new rings that are forming. It provides oxygen and CO2 exchange; protects the tree from disease; insulates the tree; and helps hold in moisture.
Heartwood: The older, central rings of the tree which can no longer transport water and nutrients
Sapwood: The newer, outer rings of the tree which can still transport water
Annual ring: A single layer of thickening of a tree trunk, which takes one year to form
Fruit: The part of the flowering plant that holds the seeds. They include nuts, succulent fruits, berries, pods (like pea pods), kernels (like wheat kernels) and more.
Cone: The part of a conifer tree that holds the seeds. They start out open, then after pollination, close up. When the seeds are ripe and the weather is warm and dry, the scales open and drop the fertilized seeds so they can find dirt to grow in.
Seed: The part of a plant that holds the embryo, a food supply (to help the seed grow before photosynthesis is possible) and a protective coat. They are dispersed through animal excrement, wind, water and catching on animal fur.
Seedling: A small, newly-grown plant
Flower: The part of the plant that produces sex cells and enables reproduction. It can be either male or female. Plants that contain both types don’t need to cross-pollinate with other plants.
Petal: The part of the plant that protects the reproductive parts of the flower and attracts insects needed for pollination
Stamen: The male part of the flower, which contains pollen
Anthers: The top part of the stamen
Pistil/carpel: The female part of the flower, which contains ovules and can trap pollen. After ovules are pollinated they grow into seeds, which grow into fruit, which in turn produce more seeds.
Deciduous plant: A plant that loses its leaves each year
Evergreen plant: A plant that does not shed its leaves all at once, including conifers and some broadleaf trees and shrubs
Conifer: An evergreen with cone-shaped reproductive structures and tough, waxy needles that don’t lose as much water as regular leaves do
Angiosperm: A plant that produce flowers
Gymnosperm: A plant that does not produce flowers, whose seeds are located on its leaves instead
Hydrophyte: A plant that grows in water or waterlogged soil, such as algae, seaweed and lily pads
Pollination: The transfer of pollen from the male part of a plant to the female part of the plant
Photosynthesis: The process green plants use to make food from sunlight, water and air. This happens when chloroplasts in chlorophyll absorb sun energy, which the plant uses to combine water and carbon dioxide to make glucose and oxygen. The glucose is stored as energy for growth, while the oxygen is released into the environment.
Plant respiration: The process green plants use to break down stored energy for growth, in which they take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide and water vapor. Though plants release carbon dioxide, they store more than they use and therefore serve as a CO2 sink, which reduces greenhouse gases in the air.
Dormant: Still alive but not actively growing; for example, a seed in a package
Germination: The waking up of a dormant seed
Growth season: The period of time during which a plant is actively growing and developing, which varies by plant
Annuals: Plants that die after a one-year life cycle
Biennials: Plants that die after a two-year life cycle
Herbaceous perennials: Plants whose roots live many years but whose above ground parts die back each year
Woody perennials: Plants whose roots and aboveground parts continue to live year after year
Ephemerals: Plants with very short lifecycles
Autotrophy: The ability of a plant to make one’s own food
Tropism: The ability of a plant to respond to external stimuli
Geotropism: The ability of a plant to sense gravity and grow away from it in order to seek light
Phototropism: The ability of a plant to sense light and grow toward it
Thigmotropism: The ability of a plant to sense touch
ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE: ZOOLOGY
Biped: An animal with two legs
Quadruped: An animal with four legs
Vertebrate: An animal with a backbone
Invertebrate: An animal with no backbone, such as a snail)
Arthropod: An animal with an external skeleton/ exoskeleton, such as a grasshopper
Warm-blooded: Having the ability to regulate one’s body temperature
Cold-blooded: Having a body whose temperature changes with the environment
Herbivore: An animal that eats primarily or only plants
Carnivore: An animal that eats primarily or only meat
Omnivore: An animal that eats both plants and meat
Larva: The form some animals take before beginning metamorphosis
Pupa: The form some animals take during metamophosis
Metamorphosis: The total restructuring of an animal’s body, which sometimes happens inside a cocoon or chrysalis
Hibernation: A period of inactivity in some animals that includes the slowing of the metabolism
Migration: The large-scale movement of a species from one place to another
Echolocation: The ability of some animals, such as bats, to locate solid objects by emitting sound and hearing the echo come back to them
The main body structures of most animals: A fluid-filled cavity and a skeleton to hold the cavity in place and allow for movement; an outer layer to enclose the body, which can be skin, an exoskeleton, a cuticle, scales, shells, prickles, fur and more; and a part or parts of the body to provide for locomotion, such as fins, flippers, wings, legs, etc.
Animal senses: Sight; smell; taste; balance; touch (including through whiskers and tentacles); a sense of gravity; a sense of water pressure and currents (as some fish have); a sense of electric pulses (as sharks have); and possibly, a sense of Earth’s magnetic fields (as birds may have)
Types of animal communication: Body language, such as preening or dancing; making noises, such as using vocal cords or rubbing body parts together; sending out chemical messages through pheromones or by spraying; and changing color
Two types of animal reproduction: Laying eggs (before or after fertilization) and giving birth to live young
Lots of people will tell you that learning a new language is easy. And it can be . . . but it usually isn’t. The problem isn’t with the actual difficulty of the language, though. The problem is that we don’t practice.
Unless you live among native speakers, it’s a problem that’s not easily remedied. My suggestion: every few months (more if you’re in a hurry), play some audio recordings of words with translations or children’s music in the car on repeat. Language learning is not an all-at-once thing; you’ll need lots of time and repetition to let it sink in. If possible, be casual about it, but be consistent.
If you’re a person who enjoys reading and writing, copy your word lists onto flash cards or foldable lists. Personally, I spend countless hours writing and rewriting my lists when in full-on language learning mode.
You can also make games out of your vocabulary words–all kinds of fun games. At the end of this post I provide a story you can tell your kids that incorporates practice and repetition (theirs or yours).
Greetings
Hello: Hola Good morning: Buenas dias Good afternoonL Buenas tardes Good evening: Buenas noches Goodbye: Adios; chau What is your name?: Como se llama? My name is …: Me llamo; mi nombre es … Pleasure to meet you. Mucho gusto. How are you: Como esta (for a less familiar person); Como estas (for a more familiar person); Como esta usted (for a formal situation or older person) Where are you from: De donde viene I’m from …: Soy de … See you later: Hasta luego. See you tomorrow: Hasta manana
Almost-Free Words
Important: Importante Interesting: Interesante Perfect: Perfecto Excellent: Excellente
Exclamations
Thank you very much: Muchas gracias You’re welcome: De nada Execuse Me: Disculpe; perdoname; con permiso Goodness: Caramba Please: Por favor I’m sorry: Lo siento Forgive me: Disculpe Help me: Ayudame Danger: Peligro Forbidden: Prohibito No smoking: No se fuma Fire: Fuego; incendio Emergency: Emergencia Hurry up: Appurase; rapido For sale: Se vende For rent: Se alguila Look: Mira Stop: Pare Watch out: Cuidado That’s fine: Esta bien Go away: Dejeme Bienvenido: Welcome Oops: Opa (an expression from Greek) True: Verdad Of course: Por supresto It’s okay/don’t worry about it: Tranquila; no se preculpe Are you sure: Seguro What do you mean: Como How do you say: Como se dice At what time: A que hora Qual es: Which is it
Small Words
Me, I—mi, yo You—tu (familiar) usted They, them; ellos o ellas This—-esta That—este Now—ahora Because—por que But—pero For—para To—a Actually—-En verdad The—la, e, los, las (depending on gender) In—por, en We/us—nosotrous a—un, una never—nunca only—solo alone—solamente maybe—quisas o tal vez Equal—iqual Without—sin She-he—-ella, el Their—su Her’s/his.—la , le Your—tu (familiar form) Other—otra Also—tambien Yes/no —si y no (shaking one finger is the most common form of no in South America—the index finger) Therefore—por lo tanto Then—entonces Of the —del Per—por Like/similar to—paracido Here—(different words used depending on distance aqui, aji, alla) Together —-conmigo, contigo (familiar) Quite—bastante
Verbs
To be—Ser (permanent): soy, son, es; estar (less permanent): estoy, esta To do—hacer…hago, hace To feel—Sentir sineto , sienta To be there—hay To want—querer, quiero, quiere, quieres To like—Gusta, me gusto, se gusta To go (irregular verb) voy, vas, viene, To live—vivir—vivo, vives, viva To eat—comer como, comes, come To drink—For non-alcoholic beverages: Tomar: tomo, tomes, tome; For alcohol: Beber …bebo, bebes, bebe To cost—cuesta To carry/transport—Llevar To Exit—salida( noun) To Arrive:—Llegar, llego, llegas, llega To park: Estacionar To Wait: Esperar, espero, espero, esperamos To speak: Hablar, hablo, hables, habla To say—digo, dices, dice To stay put—quedar, quedense (command form) To Help—ayudar, ayudo, ayudas, ayuda To be able/capable—Puedar, puedo, puedes, puede To understand—entender entiendo, entiendes, entiende To comprehend—Comprender, comprendo, comprendes, comprende To Hope—Esperar, espero, esperes, espere To know/be acquainted with (person) Conocer, conozco, conoces, conoce To know (facts) Saber, se, sabes, sabe To charge/exchange—Cambiar, cambio, To travel—viajer, viajo, viege To close—Cierrar to find—encountrar to wash—lavar, lavo (clothes) to clean—limpiar, limpio, to buy—comprar, compro, ustead compra to sit—sentar to smoke—fumar to take—tomer to walk—cambiar-=–cambio, cambias, cambia to search for—buscar, busco, buscas, busca to see—ver veo, ve To give—dar, doy, da To pay—pagar, pago, paga To sign—firmar, firmo, firme To need—necesitar, necesito, necesita To cook—cocinar cocino, cocina To reserve—reservar, To confirm—confirmar Include—incluye To take a photo—sacrar una foto To Call—llamar, llamo Prohibitied—prohibito To accept—acceptar, acepto To sleep—dormir,duermo,duerma To work—trabajar, trabajo, trabaja To think—pensar, penso To believer—creer, creo, cree To stop—parar To return—volver To sell—vender,vendo, vende To exit—salir, salgo To come—venior, vegno, viene To lose—perder, pierdo, pierde To win—ganar, gano, unstead gana To study—estudiar, studio To dance—baillar, bailo, bailas To sing—cantar, canto, canta To play—jugar..juego, juega To hate—odiar To love—-amar, encantar, encanto, encanta
Descriptions
Large—grande, Small—pequeno Afraid—austado Fast—rapido Slow—despacio o despacito Good—bueno, bien Bad—mal, malo Pretty—bonita Handsome—guapo (word also means hard working in some contexts) Fat—gordo Thin—flaco Tall—alto Short—corto Open—abierto Closed—cerrado Personal—personal Better—mejor Best—primer Hot—caliente (refers to heat, piquante refers to spicy) Cold—frio Exact—exacto Special—especial The same—mismo Different—differente Cheap—burato Expensive—carro Necessary—necesito (this is a verb, not an adjective) Necesito eso, or necesita eso (you need this) Not necessary—no necesito Joven—young Difficult—dificil Easy—facil Modern—moderna Old—viejo Classic—classico Weak—debil Strong—fuerte Oldest—mejor Youngest—menor Ready—listo Light—ligero Heavy—pesada Perfect—perfecto Excellent—excelente Private—privado Stupid—estupido Smart—intelligente Late—tarde New—nuevo Logical—logico Strange/weird—extrano Interesting—interesante Wet—mojado Dry—seca Second hand—segundo Busy—ocupado Quiet—tranquilo Dangerous—peligro Safe—seguro Available—disparsible Tired—cansado Broken—roto Important—importante Sure—seguro Worried—preoccupado Fun—divertito Happy—felix Sad—triste Shy—-timido Often—frequentamente
People and Animals
Grandfather—abuelo Gandmogther—abuela Father—padre Mother—madre Secretary—secretaria Waiter—amarero Miss—senorita Mister—senior Mrs—senora Family—familia Relative—familiares Police—policia Military—gendarmo Everyone—todos las personas No on—nadia Person—persona Boy—nino Girl—nina Children—ninas, ninos Baby—bebe Husband—espouso Wife—espousa Girlfriend—novia Boyfriend—novio Dog—perro Cat—gato Cousins—primos Nieces/nephews—sobrainas,sobrinos Uncle/aunt—tio, tia Men/man– hombres, hombre Women/woman—mujeres Daughters—hijas
What—que What is it—que es esto Where —donde esta How much—cuanto? Who—quien Who is it?—quien es Which—cual How—como Why—por que Why not—por que no What time is it? Que hora es?
Colors
Black—negro White—blanco Blue—azul Red—rojo Yellow—amarillo Green—verde (careful in using this description, though: some things that are green are considered dirty, i.e. pornography or a “green” magazine) Pink—rosado Purple—purpuereo Orange—naranja
Places
Museum—museo Bookstore—libroria Bakery—panaderia Department store—almacia Country—campo (refers to terrain/geography) City—ciudad Home—casa Exchange store—casa de cambio Address—direction Movies—cine Restaurant—ristorante Parking lot—estacionamonte Café—cafeteria Bar—taberna Bank—banko Hotel—hotel Hostess—hostel Room—cuarto Bathroom—bano Bus stop—parade de autobus Entrance—entrada Exit—salida Supermarket—supermercados Mall—cinto commercial Shoe store—zapateria Hospital—hospital Police station—comisaria Post office—el correo Pharmacy—farmacia Embassy—embajada Place—lugar, parte, locale School—escuela secendaria (secondary school); escuela escuela primaria (grade school) Building—edificio
Hungry—hambre Thirsty—sed Food—comida To eat—comer Drink –beber o tomar Coffee—café Milk—leche Cream—crema Water—aqua Ice—hielo Miner water—aqua mineral Sugar—azucar Tea—te Soft drink—gaseosa Bottle of wine—una botella de vino Red/white wine—tino /blanco vino Salt—sal Pepper—pimiento Mustard—mostaza Oil—accete Vinegar—vinagre Garlic—ajo Soup—sopa Noodles—fideos Chicken—pollo Meat—carne Vegetables—verduras Fruit—fruitas Seaford—mariscos Fish—pescado Cold veggie soup—gazpacho Banana—banana Orange—naranja Apple—manzana Tangerine—mandarina Pineapple—pina o anana Mango—mango Avocado—aquacate Onion—cebolla Turkey—pabo Tomato—tomato Sausages—chorizo Ham—jamon Rice—arroz Corn—maiz Beans—frijoles Juice—jugo Lemonade—limonada Cider—cidra Flour—harina Bread—-pan Ice cream—helado Chocolate—chocolate Vanilla—vanilla Strawberry—fresa Pastry—pastel Cookies—galletas Custard—flan Milk shake—batido de leche Espresso—un expreso Cheese—queso Eggs—huevos Butter—mantequilla o Manteca Margarine—margarina Whisky—whiskey Beer—cerveza Alcohol—alcohol Tuna—atun Lobster—langusta Sardines—sardines Salmon—salmon Bacon–tocino Broth—caldo Stew—guiso Steak—chursasco, carne BBQ—churrasco , churro Tenderloin—tourneados Roast beef—rosbef Pork—cerdo Toast—tostada Grilled—parrilla Baker—Horneado, Mashed potatoes—pueredo papas Potatoes—papas (careful to use las papas because the word is feminine. El Papa refers to the pope) French Fries—papas fritas Chicken breast—suprema de pollo Salami—salarme Breakfast—desayuno Lunch—almuerzo Soysauce—salsa d soya Liquids—liquidos Fry—frita Grill—parilla Salad—ensalada
Restaurant Words
Plate—un plato Cup—una taza/copa Glass—vaso Teaspoon—una cuchariva Spoon—cuchara Fork—tenedor Knkife—cuchillo A can —una lata Box—una lajo A jar—un pomo Menu—la carta What is today’s special?—Cual es el plato del dia Reservation—reservacion Table—mesa I’dlike to order—quisiera pedar Bill—-la cuenta Fast to go—comida para llevar Fast food—comida rapida
Directions
Where/there—aqui, aji Here is—aqui tiene Right—derecha Left—izquierda Straight—derecho One block—una cuadrenta Turn—gire Corner—ciquina Opposite from—frenta a Next to—junto a In Front—frente In back—al antes Everywhere—en todas partes No where—ninguna parte Far—lejos Close—cerca North—norte South—sur East—este West—oeste Highway—carretera Lost—perdido Upstairs—arriba Downstairs—abajo Separate—aparte Together—contigo,conmigo
Times
Time—tiempo Hour—hora Day—dia Week—semana Month—la mesa Year—ano Today—hoy Evening/night—noche First—primero Second—segundo Third—tercero Last—ultimo Morning—la manana Yesterday—ayer Tomorrow—manana Before—antes After—despues Later—despues, lluego Earlier—antes Every day—todos las dias Always—siempre Never—nunca 1:00—una hora 1;15—la una y quince/cuarta 1:30—uno y media 1:45—cuarto al dos 1:01—la una y una Date—fecha The end—el final Finished—finis
Amounts
More—mas Less—menos All—todo Some—unos None—nada That’s all—eso es todo Kilogram—kilo Half kilo—medio kelo Dozen—docena Approximately—approximente A bit of—un poco de Number—numero Single—individual Double—doble Too much/too many—demasiado Not enough—no bastante Enough—bastante Many/much—mucho Very—muy A little—poco, poquito
Money Words
Money—dinero Dollars—dolares Travelers checks—chequs de viajero Exchange rate—cambio Commission—interes Fee—tarrif Bills—billetas Small change—suelto Signature—la firma The payment—le debo Credit card—tarjeta de credito Cheap—barrata Price—precio Discount—discuento ATM—el cajero
Medicine—medicina Doctor—-El Doctor Ambulance—ambulancia Nurse—enferma What’s wrong>–Que le pasa I’m sick—Me siento enfermo Headache—dolor de la cabeza Flu—la gripe It hurts here—me dula aqui I feel dizzy—tengo mareos nauseas Pregnant—embarazada Pain—dolor Stomach ache—dolor to estomacho Backache—dolor de espalda I feel—siento Diarrhea—diarrhea Antibiotics—antibioticsos Allergic—alergico Vaccinated—vacundo (a)
Travel Words
Passport—passaporte Documents—documentes Bag—bolsa Vacation—vacaciones Suitcases—maletas Business trip—viaje de negocios Baggage cart—carnto para maletas Room—cuarto, habitacion Single bed—habatacion con una sola cama Reservation—reserve Shower—ducha Private bath—bano privado Oceanview—vista del mar Motocycle—moto Taxi—taxi Bus—autobus Car—auto, coche Truck—camion Station—estacion Ticket—boleta, pasaje Roadmap—mapa de carreteras, plano de ciudad Boat—boats, Port—puerto Cabin—camarote Subway—metro One-way ticket—billete de ida Round-trip ticket—billete de y vuelta Departure—partida Arrival—llegada Tourism/tourist—turismo, turista
Miscellaneous Words
American—nortemaricano(a) Englis—ingles Spanish0—espanol Grammatical—gramatica Meaning—signfico Questions—preguntas One more time—ulta vez Femine—feminia Information—informacion Life—vida County –pais (refers to actual country, not a general description) Age—edad Word—palabra World—mundo Death—muerte Race—carrera Competition—competencia Party—fiesta Free-libre Game—juego Holiday—fiesta Vacation—vacaciones Power—poder Religion—religion Catholic—catholico Protestant—protestante Drama—drama Information—informacion Friendship—amistad
“The Spanish Backyard” Story and Game
Harriet and Toby were just regular kids, living in just a regular house. Still, they had what many people don’t: they had a wonderful backyard.
Sometimes their yard was a wide, deep ocean. Other times it was a space station. But Harriet and Toby’s favorite times of all were when the yard became a magical kingdom far away, where anything they spoke in Spanish appeared.
The catch: they had to speak the sentence properly three times in a row.
One day, Harriet and Toby were hungry. They were waiting for their parents to finish cooking a large meal. So, they decided to make food appear in their yard–every kind of food they could imagine.
What do you think Harriet and Toby asked for? What would you want to make appear?
Note to teachers: Here, have your students make sentences with the word list you’re working on currently. Change the scenario to fit the types of words you want to practice. Each time the student gets the sentence right, draw what they said or say, “Look! It’s a …”
Harriet and Toby continued playing The Spanish Backyard until the sun was all the way down.
