Learning to read during the coronavirus pandemic

+ Tattoos IRL that echo Sci-Fi US Edition - Today's top story: Teaching kids to read during the coronavirus pandemic: 5 questions answered [View in browser]( US Edition | 26 September 2020 [The Conversation]( Academic rigor, journalistic flair How is virtual education affecting what young students learn? Having teachers appear within a little box on a computer or iPad screen makes educating little kids particularly hard. I asked Keisha McIntosh Allen and Kindel Turner Nash, who train future teachers at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, to answer several questions about how [adults can support young readers](. “It will help a great deal if families see themselves as partners with their child’s teachers and appreciate how everyday activities can support the process of learning how to read,” wrote Allen. Like Nash, she is also raising children of her own. This week, we also liked articles about [diplomatic kerfuffles over fishing](, [learning about grief and mourning from Greek classics]( and “[dynamic tattoos](” that are good for you. Emily Schwartz Greco Philanthropy + Nonprofits | Childhood + Parenting Editor Siblings, as well as parents, can help young learners become avid readers. Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images [Teaching kids to read during the coronavirus pandemic: 5 questions answered]( Keisha McIntosh Allen, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Kindel Turner Nash, University of Maryland, Baltimore County If families embrace reading as fun and routine and teachers work more closely than before with the families of their students, it's possible that remote learning won't be a huge obstacle to literacy. Greek hero Achilles with the body of Hector, his main opponent in the Trojan War. Jean-Joseph Taillasson/Krannert Art Museum [What the Greek classics tell us about grief and the importance of mourning the dead]( Joel Christensen, Brandeis University Families who lost their loved ones during the pandemic could not even properly grieve. Greek epics show why lamentation and memorial are so important and what we can learn in these times. China has clashed with neighbors over its fishing in the contested South China Sea, pictured here. Controversially, Chinese fishermen also venture as far as Argentina and Ecuador. Yao Feng/VCG via Getty Images [US-China fight over fishing is really about world domination]( Blake Earle, Texas A&M University Chinese fishermen are illegally trawling South American waters, inflaming tensions with the US. But for centuries Washington used aggressive fishing to expand its overseas presence, too. - [Dynamic tattoos promise to warn wearers of health threats]( Carson J Bruns, University of Colorado Boulder Researchers are developing tattoo inks that do more than make pretty colors. Some can sense chemicals, temperature and UV radiation, setting the stage for tattoos that diagnose health problems. - [3 research-based ways to cope with the uncertainties of pandemic life]( Bethany Teachman, University of Virginia Feel like you're facing too many pandemic-related unknowns? Reframing what it means to not know can help you break the uncertainty-anxiety connection. - [Voting while God is watching – does having churches as polling stations sway the ballot?]( Jordan LaBouff, University of Maine Where you vote can make a difference in how you vote. Although the influence can be small, some ballots are decided by fractions of a percent. - [When noted journalists bashed political polls as nothing more than ‘a fragmentary snapshot’ of a moment in time]( - [A language generation program’s ability to write articles, produce code and compose poetry has wowed scientists]( - [What makes hurricanes stall, and why is that so hard to forecast?]( - [How a pregnant mouse’s microbes influence offspring’s brain development – new study offers clues]( - [Revenue goals lurk behind decision to hold Big Ten college football games amid pandemic]( - [3 ways a 6-3 Supreme Court would be different]( - [It’s time for states that grew rich from oil, gas and coal to figure out what’s next]( Families are still the primary caregivers for older Americans. MoMo Productions/DigitalVision via Getty Images [Video: How will society change as the US population ages?]( Marcia G. Ory, Texas A&M University Americans 65 and older are living longer. The change toward longer old age in the U.S. will have profound effects on health care needs, families and what it means to be old. You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation](. Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe](. 89 South Street - Suite 202 Boston, MA 02111