THE HOBBIT is exactly the story we need to escape from normal life - and now Andy Serkis will take on a mammoth reading.

1. Ahmedabad Police Detain 4 for Spreading Rumours on Amit Shah's Health  The Wire
2. I am healthy, not suffering from any disease, says Amit Shah  Times of India
3. HM Amit Shah silences all the rumour mongers, says 'No need to worry'  TIMES NOW
4. Not Allowing Migrants' Trains "Injustice": Amit Shah To Mamata Banerjee  NDTV
5. 'Not Suffering From Any Disease': Amit Shah Dismisses Rumours About His Health  Outlook India
6. View Full coverage on Google News

• Facebook is taking a harder line on misinformation related to coronavirus than it has on other health topics in the past.
• This decision may increase the pressure on the company to act more decisively against other forms of harmful falsehoods that spread on its social networks.
• Facebook is banning events that promote flouting lockdown protests, and is removing the conspiracy theory video "Plandemic."
• But false claims that vaccines are dangerous still proliferate on Facebook — even though they contribute to the deaths of children.

Amid the pandemic, Facebook is taking a harder line on misinformation than it has in the past. That decision may come back to haunt it.

As coronavirus has wreaked havoc across the globe, forcing lockdowns and disrupting economies, false information and hoaxes have spread like wildfire on social media. Miracle cures, intentional disinformation about government policies, and wild claims that Bill Gates orchestrated the entire health crisis abound.

In the past, Facebook has been heavily criticised for failing to take action to stop its platform being used to facilitate the spread of misinformation. To be sure, coronavirus falsehoods are still easily found on Facebook — but the company has taken more decisive action than in previous years:

• For starters, Facebook is now displaying warning messages to people who have shared false information about COVID-19. They're imperfect — Stat reported that they may be too vague in their wording to have a major impact — but it's a step further than Facebook has taken on misinformation in the past.
• The company is also taking down event pages for events that reject mainstream science on coronavirus by calling on people to flout lockdown rules.
• And it is banning "Plandemic," a conspiratorial video about coronavirus that has been going viral on social media and contains numerous falsehoods.

But Facebook's actions to combat COVID-19 misinformation may backfire — in the sense that it has the potential to dramatically increase pressure on the company to take stronger action against other forms of misinformation.

The company has long struggled with how to handle fake news and hoaxes; historically, its approach is not to delete them, but to try to artificially stifle their reach via algorithmic tweaks. Despite this, pseudoscience, anti-government conspiracy theories, and other falsehoods still abound on the social network.

Facebook has now demonstrated that it is willing to take more decisive action on misinformation, when the stakes are high enough. Its critics may subsequently ask why it is so reticent to combat the issue when it causes harm in other areas — particularly around other medical misinformation.

One expected defence for Facebook? That it is focused on taking down content that causes "imminent harm," and while COVID-19 misinformation falls into that category, lots of other sorts of falsehoods don't.

However, using "imminence" as the barometer of acceptability is dubious: Vaccine denialism directly results in the deaths of babies and children. That this harm isn't "imminent" doesn't make it any less dangerous — but, for now, such material is freely posted on Facebook.

Far-right conspiracy theories like Pizzagate, and more recent, Qanon, have also spread on Facebook — stoking baseless fears of shadowy cabals secretly controlling the government. These theories don't intrinsically incite harm, but have been linked to multiple acts of violence, from a Pizzagate believer firing his weapon in a pizza parlour to the Qanon-linked killing of a Gambino crime boss. (Earlier this week, Facebook did take down some popular QAnon pages — but for breaking its rules on fake profiles, rather than disinformation.)

And Facebook is still full of groups rallying against 5G technology, making evidence-free claims about its health effects (and now, sometimes linking it to coronavirus in a messy web). These posts exist on a continuum, with believers at the extreme end attempting to burn down radio towers and assault technicians; Facebook does take down such incitements to violence, but the more general fearmongering that can act as a gateway to more extreme action remains.

This week, Facebook announced the first 20 members of its Oversight Board — a "Supreme Court"-style entity that will review reports from users make rulings as to what objectionable content is and isn't allowed on Facebook and Instagram, with — in theory — the power to overrule the company. It remains to be seen whether its decisions may affect the company's approach for misinformation, and it still needs to appoint the rest of its members and get up and running.

For now, limits remain in place as to what Facebook will countenance in its fight against coronavirus-specific misinformation.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company would immediately take down posts advertising dangerous false cures to COVID-19, like drinking bleach. It is "obviously going to create imminent harm," he said in March. "That is just in a completely different class of content than the back-and-forth accusations a candidate might make in an election."

But in April, President Donald Trump suggested that people might try injecting a "disinfectant" as a cure, which both has the potential to be extremely harmful, and will not cure coronavirus.

Facebook is not taking down video of his comments.

Do you work at Facebook? Contact Business Insider reporter Rob Price via encrypted messaging app Signal (+1 650-636-6268), encrypted email (robaeprice@protonmail.com), standard email (rprice@businessinsider.com), Telegram/Wickr/WeChat (robaeprice), or Twitter DM (@robaeprice). We can keep sources anonymous. Use a non-work device to reach out. PR pitches by standard email only, please.

SEE ALSO: Facebook announced the first 20 members of its oversight board that will decide what controversial content is allowed on Facebook and Instagram

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This month’s school closures have forced families to become teachers at home overnight. 

Teaching students to read is the first job of our schools. How can we help all students become strong, confident readers? Literacy for All: Equitable Practices for Reading and Dyslexia was held on February 20, 2020 in Annapolis, Maryland. The event was hosted by National Center on Improving Literacy (NCIL), Decoding Dyslexia Maryland (DD-MD), and community partners. Reading experts from NCIL shared best practices in early screening and interventions supported by decades of reading research.

Interesting question. Before I answer, let me ask one: What keeps Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, up at night? You know Amazon, the trillion-dollar corporation that delivers something like a 5 billion packages a year. I’m at a professional meeting. The chair asks what “levers” we have for improving reading achievement in the U.S. It’s an easy question. There are so many possibilities. The first one most folks think of is, the teacher. If teachers did better, kids would do better.

Teacher question: Everyone says reading and writing are connected. But our school focuses on only reading. We have a reading program (we don’t have a writing program). We test the students three times a year in reading, but never in writing. Writing isn’t even on our report card, though I guess it is part of Language Arts. What should we be doing with writing? Shanahan's response: You came to the right place. I think your school is making a big mistake not giving sufficient attention to writing.

Teaching students to read is the first job of our schools. How can we help all students become strong, confident readers? Literacy for All: Equitable Practices for Reading and Dyslexia was held on February 20, 2020 in Annapolis, Maryland. The event was hosted by National Center on Improving Literacy (NCIL), Decoding Dyslexia Maryland (DD-MD), and community partners. Reading experts from NCIL shared best practices in early screening and interventions supported by decades of reading research.

Teacher’s question: Our school psychologist tests all of our boy and girls for RAN. He says it is the best predictor of reading ability. How can I improve my students’ RAN performance? Shanahan’s response: If someone tells you that you can teach RAN, run!

Interesting question. Before I answer, let me ask one: What keeps Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, up at night? You know Amazon, the trillion-dollar corporation that delivers something like a 5 billion packages a year. I’m at a professional meeting. The chair asks what “levers” we have for improving reading achievement in the U.S. It’s an easy question. There are so many possibilities. The first one most folks think of is, the teacher. If teachers did better, kids would do better.

Teacher question: Everyone says reading and writing are connected. But our school focuses on only reading. We have a reading program (we don’t have a writing program). We test the students three times a year in reading, but never in writing. Writing isn’t even on our report card, though I guess it is part of Language Arts. What should we be doing with writing? Shanahan's response: You came to the right place. I think your school is making a big mistake not giving sufficient attention to writing.

Teaching students to read is the first job of our schools. How can we help all students become strong, confident readers? Literacy for All: Equitable Practices for Reading and Dyslexia was held on February 20, 2020 in Annapolis, Maryland. The event was hosted by National Center on Improving Literacy (NCIL), Decoding Dyslexia Maryland (DD-MD), and community partners. Reading experts from NCIL shared best practices in early screening and interventions supported by decades of reading research.

Teacher’s question: Our school psychologist tests all of our boy and girls for RAN. He says it is the best predictor of reading ability. How can I improve my students’ RAN performance? Shanahan’s response: If someone tells you that you can teach RAN, run!

Conservatives had this Common Core thing all wrong, it was said. We’d be proven wrong by history. Common Core, pushed by President Barack Obama, was going to work. It wasn’t like all the other liberal education plans. A new study by the Pioneer Institute reveals that, no, we were right all along. The study, released…

The post New Study Confirms We Were Right: Reading, Math Scores Have Collapsed Thanks to Obama, Common Core appeared first on The Western Journal.

When I tell people that I do not remember learning how to read, they laugh. But I really do not recall learning to read. Reading was an activity that excited my family, and so it was no surprise that I would love reading. The love of books and...

Travel bans, border closures, and other migration management tools did not prove effective at blocking COVID-19 from spreading across international borders. Yet as governments have shifted from containment to mitigation with the coronavirus now in community transmission in many countries, these restrictions are a logical part of the policy toolkit in the context of social distancing and restricting all forms of human movement, as this commentary explores.

I know that many of you are bored and horny right now during this lockdown and quarantine period, so allow me to recommend some of my favorite sex books! If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably already seen a few of my recommendations, but here’s a more extensive reading list.

Many states have recently enacted laws or rules designed to ensure that teachers are well versed in evidence-based reading instruction. Here are some highlights.

Many states have recently enacted laws or rules designed to ensure that teachers are well versed in evidence-based reading instruction. Here are some highlights.

Many states have recently enacted laws or rules designed to ensure that teachers are well versed in evidence-based reading instruction. Here are some highlights.

New York state is considering adopting a new set of K-12 reading and math standards that differ somewhat from the Common Core State Standards, which have had rocky reception in the state since they went into place in 2010.

Many states have recently enacted laws or rules designed to ensure that teachers are well versed in evidence-based reading instruction. Here are some highlights.

The Tennessee department of education is proposing unsually comprehensive legislation that will require all current and new K-3 teachers, and those who train them, to know evidence-based reading instruction.

Many states have recently enacted laws or rules designed to ensure that teachers are well versed in evidence-based reading instruction. Here are some highlights.

Many states have recently enacted laws or rules designed to ensure that teachers are well versed in evidence-based reading instruction. Here are some highlights.

Worried that far too many students have weak reading skills, states are passing new laws that require aspiring teachers—and, increasingly, teachers who are already in the classroom—to master reading instruction that’s solidly grounded in research.

Many states have recently enacted laws or rules designed to ensure that teachers are well versed in evidence-based reading instruction. Here are some highlights.

English fiction -- 18th century -- History and criticism.

Worried that far too many students have weak reading skills, states are passing new laws that require aspiring teachers—and, increasingly, teachers who are already in the classroom—to master reading instruction that’s solidly grounded in research.

München [Munich] : Fr. Hanfstaengl, [between 1870 and 1879?]

Many states have recently enacted laws or rules designed to ensure that teachers are well versed in evidence-based reading instruction. Here are some highlights.

Fatma Deniz
Sep 25, 2019; 39:7722-7736
BehavioralSystemsCognitive

Buyers can ask for a mix of their favorite genre or seek booksellers’ recommendations

OM Madagascar responded to the declining literacy rate in the Androy region by starting a literacy course in Ambovombe. Last month the first class graduated, and the second class began.

Siniore desires for her family and friends to know Christ’s love as she does. After a training, she took what she learnt and put it into practice.

New survey data from Education Week show that most K-2 teachers and education professors are using instructional methods that run counter to the cognitive science.

Expert says labels, books, and writing centers all help with skill development

Blood lead levels well below 10 µg/dL are now recognized as causing adverse cognitive effects, including lower scores on standardized reading and math tests.

This is the first study to show that reading readiness early in kindergarten is independently associated with blood lead levels well below 10 µg/dL. Results suggest that lead exposure may have a larger impact on urban education than national estimates suggest. (Read the full article)

Dyslexia has a lifelong impact on learning. The consensus in the literature from clinical studies is that dyslexia is not caused by vision abnormalities. However, interventions and therapies directed at eye-related functions are still available.

In this cohort the majority of dyslexic children had normal results for all ophthalmic tests. These population-based data support the consensus that dyslexia is not primarily a vision problem and that vision-based therapies are not justified or likely to help. (Read the full article)

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends parent-child reading from infancy through at least kindergarten, the span of maximal brain growth. Home literacy environment, including reading behaviors and access to books, has been shown to promote oral language and print concepts.

Home reading environment is positively associated with activation of brain areas supporting narrative comprehension and mental imagery in preschool children. This offers novel insight into the neurobiological foundations of emergent literacy and potential effect of shared reading during early childhood. (Read the full article)

Students with dyslexia often struggle with math fluency as well, and scholars at a recent conference put a spotlight on some of the possible connections.

Hongyan “Red” Yuan, an instructional designer at Penn State Berks and member of the board of the Reading Chinese Association (RCA), recently helped to coordinate the donation of 1,500 surgical masks to Penn State Health St. Joseph.

The National Council on Teacher Quality has found that the number of elementary programs teaching scientifically based reading instruction is increasing.

The National Council on Teacher Quality has found that the number of elementary programs teaching scientifically based reading instruction is increasing.

Many teachers leave preservice training without clarity on what the cognitive science says about how students learn to read.

Some of the most important pre-literacy skills begin in infancy. This timeline shows examples of the milestones children meet on their path to fluent reading.