1.

Learning on the Go
Why do children need to play?
There is a bus stop in a poor neighborhood in Philadelphia, USA. Near the bus stop, there is a small
playground. But it's not just any playground. It's a place for children to learn as they play.
The playground is called an "Urban Thinkscape". An Urban Thinkscape has activities that help children with
math, speaking and other skills. Large puzzles help the children learn math. There are also pictures for the
children to look at. The children use these pictures to tell stories. This helps them with their speaking skills.
The playground has rubber mats, too. Children jump on these mats. They have to jump in special patterns. This
helps the children learn to concentrate. When children get better at math, speaking, and concentrating, they
do better in school.
The team that built the Urban Thinkscape wants to build many more playgrounds. What other fun activities do
you think they can add?

2. Puppies in Prison
In what ways do dogs help people?
When Brian was a puppy, he lived in prison. Brian was part of a program in the US called
Puppies Behind Bars (PBB). In PBB, prisoners train puppies to be service dogs. The dogs help
veterans who have anxieties and fears.
Each prisoner in the program gets a puppy to train. The prisoner trains his or her dog for one
to two years. The dogs learn to do about 90 tasks. The dogs open doors and turn on lights.
They learn to wake up a veteran when he or she is having a bad dream. They even salute!
Gloria Stoga started Puppies Behind Bars. She wanted to help veterans with fears live normal
lives. She also wanted to give prisoners a chance to help others.
The prisoners are sad when the dogs leave. But they also feel good. "It fills us with pride,"
says Nora Moran, who trained dogs when she was in prison. And Joey, who was Brian's
trainer, says, "It's so gratifying knowing that I did something for somebody..."
3. American or British Accent? It's All About the 'R'
How do Americans speak differently from the British?
In the 17th century, groups of people from England moved to America. They spoke English
like the people in England. In 1776, people in America started their own country - the United
States of America. Americans still spoke like the British. But in England, the British accent
started changing.
At first, Americans and the British pronounced the 'r' sound. For example, when they said
words like 'hard' and 'winter,' you could hear the 'r' sound. But after some time, British
people stopped pronouncing the 'r' sound. Why?
In the late 18th century, there were many new businesses in England. Business owners
made a lot of money. These richbusiness owners wanted to sound different than everyone
else. So, many of them changed their accent. They pronounced the 'r' sound less. By the
19th century, more British people wanted to change their accents to sound 'rich.' Soon,
everyone was using the 'new' accent.
Can you hear the difference between American and British accents today?
4. Do We Still Need Printed Dictionaries?General Interest
When do you use a dictionary?
Where do you find a dictionary? Is it on your bookshelf? Do you have one on your computer?
A dictionary is a book with words and their definitions. People use dictionaries to learn new
words. Now, there are also dictionary apps. These apps are for people who have a
smartphone or a computer.
Merriam-Webster is a famous dictionary publisher. Their dictionaries are also online. You can
use these dictionaries for free. Merriam-Webster also has an online version that people pay
for. This online version also has games, word lists, videos, and a blog. At the end of each
year, Merriam-Webster shows which words people looked up the most.
Language is always changing and growing. So the dictionary is always getting bigger. In
2002, the Merriam-Webster dictionary was 2,700 pages long! Merriam-Webster may stop
printing their dictionaries soon. They might only keep the online version. If they do, they will
save a lot of paper!