We are going to be using a combination of these two techniques to annotate our readings this semester. I will give you a reading in a Word document. You are going to annotate using the Track Changes Comment function. If you would like to highlight, feel free, but what I will be focusing on during the grading process are the comments you write. However, I do want you to approach annotation in the same way the first, handwritten video asks you to. Think as you read. What are the questions you have? What do you disagree with or agree with? Where do you have strong reactions? What are you reminded of as your read? Have you seen these concepts before? Are you inspired to look for more information? Annotation is proof that you have read deeply and have a strong understanding of the material. It also shows me that you can apply what you have learned to other parts of your life as well. Annotate: Please read the following article: 6 Science-Backed Reasons to Read a Book.docx download Then, please complete the following steps for annotation using the Track Changes function in Microsoft Word: Highlight any word you do not know. Then, look it up and write the definition/synonym in the attached comment. Highlight each of the article's main ideas. In the attached comment, write why you feel that idea is important. Write any questions you have at the end of the article. [A minimum of three questions is required for credit.] Write two sentences after the questions. Briefly summarize the main take-away from this article. What do you think you were supposed to learn? How did this article make you feel? What was your emotional or intellectual reaction to this reading? Why do you think you felt that way? Submit your annotated article using the Submit Assignment button. After you submit, double-check your work. Open the document you submitted and make sure the comments are still showing/readable. If they are not, make sure you have saved with the Track Changes turned on. Remember, you are not accepting any changes - just posting them.
6 Science-Backed Reasons to Go Read a Book RightNewbyLaura Schocker6 Dec 2017In a world of omnipresent screens, it can be easy to forget the simple pleasure of curling up with a good book. In fact, a HuffPost/YouGov poll of 1,000 U.S. adults found that 28 percent hadn't read one at all in the past year. But the truth is that reading books can be more than entertainment or a high school English assignment. A study released earlier this month suggests that enjoying literature might help strengthen your "mind-reading" abilities. The research, published in the journal Science, showed that reading literary works (though, interestingly, not popular fiction) cultivates a skill known as "theory of mind," which NPR describes as the "ability to 'read' the thoughts and feelings ofothers."Andthat's hardly the only way being a bookworm can boost your mind and well-being. Below, six more science-backed reasons to swap the remote for anovel.Readingcan chill youout.Stressedout? Pick up a paperback. Research conducted in 2009 at the University of Sussex showed that reading was the most effective way to overcome stress, beating out old favorites such as listening to music, enjoying a cup of tea or coffee and even taking a walk, The Telegraph reported when the findings were released. Measured by evaluating heart rate and muscle tension, it took the study participants just six minutes to relax once they started turningpages."Itreally doesn't matter what book you read, by losing yourself in a thoroughly engrossing book you can escape from the worries and stresses of the everyday world and spend a while exploring the domain of the author's imagination," study researcher Dr. David Lewis told TheTelegraph.Itcould help keep your brainsharp.Alifetime of reading might just help keep your brain in shape when you reach old age, according to research published in the online issue of the journal Neurology. The study, which included 294 participants whodied
at an average age of 89, found that those who engaged in mentally stimulating activities, such as reading, earlier andlater onin life experienced slower memory decline compared to those who didn't.In particular, peoplewho exercised their minds later in life had a 32 percent lower rate of mental decline compared to their peers with average mental activity. The rate of decline amongst those with infrequent mental activity, on the other hand, was 48 percent faster than the averagegroup."Ourstudy suggests that exercising your brain by taking part in activities such as these across a person's lifetime, from childhood through old age, is important for brain health in old age," study author Robert. S. Wilson of the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago said in a statement. "Based on this, we shouldn't underestimate the effects of everyday activities, such as reading and writing, on our children, ourselves and our parents orgrandparents."Andit might even stave off Alzheimer'sdisease.Accordingto research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2001, adults who engage in hobbies that involve the brain, like reading or puzzles, are less likely to have Alzheimer's disease, USA Today reported at the time. However, the researchers identified only an association, not a cause-and-effect relationship: "These findings may be because inactivity is a risk factor for the disease or because inactivityis a reflection ofvery early subclinical effects of the disease, or both," they wrote in thestudy."Thebrain is an organ just like every other organ in the body.Itagesin regard tohow it is used," lead author Dr. Robert P. Friedland told USA Today. "Just as physical activity strengthens the heart, muscles and bones, intellectual activity strengthens the brain againstdisease."Readingmay help you sleepbetter.Manysleep experts recommend establishing a regular de-stressing routine before bed to calm your mind and cue your body up for shut-eye -- and reading can be a great way to do so (as long as the book isn't a page-turner that'll keep you up all night). Bright lights, including those from electronic devices, signal to the brain that it's time to wake up, meaning reading your book under a dim light is a better bedside bet than a laptop.
Getting lost in a good book could also make you moreempathetic.Accordingto a study published in the journal PLOS ONE, losing yourself in a work of fiction mightactually increaseyour empathy. Researchers in the Netherlands designed two experiments that showed that people who were "emotionally transported" by a work of fiction experienced boosts inempathy."Intwo experimental studies, we were able to show that self-reported empathic skills significantly changed over the course of one week for readers of a fictional story by fiction authors Arthur Conan Doyle or José Saramago," they wrote in the findings. "More specifically, highly transported readers of Doyle became more empathic, while non-transported readers of both Doyle and Saramago became lessempathic."Sogo ahead, let yourself get caught up in a particularly compelling story, or swept away by a powerful character -- it's good foryou!Self-helpbooks, on the other hand, can easedepression.Self-help books may really help you help yourself. A study published in the journal PLOS ONE showed that reading self-help books (also called "bibliotherapy"), combined with support sessions on how to use them, was linked with lower levels of depression after a year compared to patients who received typical treatments. "We found this had a really significant clinical impact and the findings are very encouraging," study author Christopher Williams of the University of Glasgow told the BBC. "Depression saps people's motivation and makes it hard to believe change ispossible."Self-help books may even work in cases of severe depression. According to a University of Manchester meta-analysis published in 2013, people with severe depression can benefit from "low-intensity interventions," including self-help books and interactive websites, as much or more than those who are less severelydepressed