Teaching Strategies, Tactics, and Methods

A sub-heading is a mini-headline given to a subsection or paragraph within a central piece of writing.

What does Sub-Heading Mean?

A sub-heading is a mini-headline given to a subsection or paragraph within a central piece of writing. Subheadings are smaller than the main heading but more extensive than the paragraph text of the article.

Subheadings often appear in non-fiction writing, such as instruction or informational texts. They capture the reader’s attention to keep them reading down the page, following each sub-heading.

Without sub-headings, texts would be long paragraphs of text. That isn’t easy to read through!

Importance of Using Sub-Headings

The primary purpose of sub-headings is to grab the reader’s attention. They’re meant to stand out, which is why they’re written in a large font and are snappy.

Some sub-headings are purely informational. Subheadings act as a guide to serve the reader through the page until they’ve found what they’re looking for.

For example, if you’re reading a recipe, you might scan to find the ‘Ingredients’ sub-heading so that you can read what ingredients you need.

You might also find sub-headings listed on the contents page of a non-fiction text. It allows the reader to find the right page based on the sub-heading.

Interesting sub-headings are used in texts such as newspaper articles or blog posts. They encourage the reader to keep reading and help break the text into manageable chunks.

Subheadings are like hooks – they get the reader to stop, look, and read through the information.

How to Write Interesting Sub-Headings

When writing a sub-heading, it’s essential to know what content will be written in the paragraph underneath. So, first, establish what the section is about and the most critical part of the paragraph.

Sub-headings should ideally be:

• Useful – To benefit the reader;
• Unique – To share information that the reader may not be aware of;
• Ultra-Specific – To ensure the reader knows what is being said;
• Urgent – To get the reader’s attention.

Heading and Sub-heading Examples

Subheadings and headings have similar functions, but there’s one key difference between them.

Headings appear once at the beginning of the text, whereas multiple sub-headings can occur throughout the text. The header is the title, and the sub-headings split the text into sections or paragraphs.

Subheadings are sometimes called mini-titles. It can be helpful to think of them that way because they provide titles for specific text sections.

Here are some heading and sub-heading examples: the header is highlighted in red, and the sub-heading is in blue.

Example 1 (Fact File)

Ocean Creatures

Clownfish and Anemones: Friends for Life

Clownfish have a symbiotic relationship with anemones.

Blue Whales: The Largest Mammal on Earth

Not only are blue whales the most notable species of whale, but they’re also the largest mammal on Earth.

Example 2 (List)

Countries in Europe

A-C

• Albania
• Andorra
• Armenia
• Austria
• Azerbaijan
• Belarus
• Belgium
• Bosnia
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Cyprus
• Czechia

D-F

• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France

Example 3 (Biography)

The Life of Santa Claus

Father Christmas’ Early Years

When Father Christmas was a little boy.

A Fateful Meeting with Rudolph

On one fateful day, Santa came across a reindeer different from any other.

Example 4 (Contents Page)

The Most Delicious Pastries in the World

• Paris’ Best Croissants (1-2)
• Japan’s Mouthwatering Mochi (3-4)
• Dreamy Brazilian Sonho (5-6)
• Crunchy Cannoli from Italy (7-8)

How many sub-headings should you use?

How many sub-headings you use usually depends on your writing content and how much of it there is.

Subheadings help break up a text and make it more manageable to read and scan. So, if the text is short, it might not even need sub-headings at all.

On the other hand, longer writing pieces may need many more sub-headings. It varies from text to text.

Generally, however, sub-headings should be used to break up text sections. For example, if the next paragraph moves onto an entirely different subject, it would be a good idea to use a sub-heading above it to signal that you’re moving on to something else.

The thought process is similar to when to start a new paragraph, but you don’t always need a sub-heading for every new paragraph. Instead, subheadings should group linked paragraphs and separate the general sections of a piece of work.

For example, suppose you were writing a non-chronological report about mammals that live in the Amazon rainforest. In that case, you might have sub-headings for each mammal or each rainforest layer.

What is inheritance?

Inheritance is the way that parents pass traits onto their offspring. It happens in plants, animals, and, yes, even humans!

You might have noticed that family members look similar, even though they’re not identical. It might be that someone’s hair and eyes are the same color as their parents, or their face has the same shape. These are inherited characteristics that you don’t have any control over.

Environmental characteristics also have nothing to do with what’s passed on from a parent to a child. Think about how you style your hair, clothes, scars, or piercings.

What are some examples of inherited characteristics?

Examples of Inherited Characteristics in Humans

Some characteristics that are passed down from parent to child in humans include:

• Eye color
• Hair color and texture
• Skin tone
• Blood group (A, B, AB, O)
• Freckles
• Colour blindness
• Dominant hand
• Dimples
• Earlobe attachment
• Hairline shape

Some of these can be seen physically, like the color of your eyes or whether you have freckles. Others are invisible to the human eye, as your blood will look the same as anyone else’s, even if you have a different blood group, and people who are color-blind can’t be identified by sight alone.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of other inherited characteristics we don’t know about because they’re hidden in our genetic code or DNA.

Examples of Inherited Characteristics in Animals

Like humans, animals take many physical characteristics from their parents. Though there are a lot of species to cover, here are just a few key inherited traits that will come up again and again:

• Eye color
• Fur color and pattern (e.g., patches, spots)
• Height and length
• Ear size and shape
• Tail size and length
• Scale color and pattern

This is how you get recognizable cat and dog breeds, like Russian Shorthairs or Golden Retrievers. People raising these animals sometimes carefully select inherited traits to occur in the next generation.

Examples of Inherited Characteristics in Plants

All living things share characteristics with their parents. Even plants! Think about these traits found in flowers, trees, and shrubbery:

• Flower color and shape
• Seed shape (round or wrinkled)
• Seed color
• Pod color and shape
• Leaf pattern
• Stem height
• Flower position

 

Both animals and plants can undergo selective breeding. Farmers look for specific inherited characteristics to increase their crops’ yield or make them hard enough to survive harsh weather or diseases.

How are inherited characteristics passed on?

Inherited traits are carried in your genes. In the past, people thought that inherited characteristics were passed on through our blood, but that can’t be the case. Red blood cells have no DNA in them! Everything from your hair color to whether you are left, or right-handed must be coded in these twisty double-helix shapes.

What are environmental characteristics?

Unlike inherited characteristics, environmental characteristics are not passed down from parent to child. These can include:

• Hobbies
• Favorite genres of music
• Languages spoken
• Religion
• Fashion sense
• Pierced ears
• Ability to ride a bike
• Favorite color
• Preference for dogs or cats (or any other pet!)

Did you know a few plants change color based on the type of soil they’re planted in? In these cases, flower color isn’t an inherited trait but closer to an environmental one!

How can you tell if a trait is inherited or environmental?

It’s tricky. Environmental characteristics can be misleading, especially if shared across multiple family members.

One way to describe the difference between inherited and environmental traits is nature vs. nurture.

A helpful example is ‘pierced ears’ because you can see it in someone’s physical appearance. You might have had your ears pierced to wear earrings like your mother and grandmother before, but when you were a baby, your ears weren’t naturally pierced.

Even though this trait is shared over different generations, it isn’t inherited. Instead, piercing your ears happens after you are born due to contact with the environment.

If you grew up in a place where piercing ears were not a common thing to do, you might not have them pierced.

Consider the example of ‘knowing how to ride a bike. What if you grew up in a place where there were no bikes? This trait is influenced by your environment rather than inherited, so you would not be able to instinctively know how to ride a bike – not without practice, at least.

How do we know about inherited characteristics?

We know about inherited characteristics because of the work of Gregor Mendel, an Austrian man born in 1822 who is sometimes known as the ‘Father of Genetics’.

When he became a friar, Mendel went to live in an abbey. Here, he continued his education by studying the plants in the garden. Afterward, he became a priest, and although he originally intended to become a high school teacher, he could not pass the tests required.

As a priest in the abbey, he studied pea plants closely – over 30,000 of them! As a result, he was the first to recognize that baby pea plants could look similar or different from their parent plants. In addition, some of the physical traits they could inherit were more common than others. These included dominant (more powerful) and recessive (less powerful) traits.

No one knew how vital Gregor Mendel’s work was until years later, when scientists created the field of genetics.

Fun Experiments about Inheritance

One of the best ways to demonstrate inherited characteristics in humans is to look around the classroom. These time-tested experiments are a classic way of showing children how it affects their daily lives.

First, collecting information about how many people in the class have what eye color is a fun statistical experiment. It’s an excellent opportunity to show how science and maths go hand-in-hand. How many students have brown eyes, green eyes, or blue eyes? You can do the same for hair color, too!

As a homework task, children could compare their eye color or hair color to siblings, parents, or grandparents, trying to track inherited characteristics through the generations.

Another good one is to see who can roll their tongue and who can’t, but this one comes with a caveat. Although it’s a ‘traditional’ example of an inherited trait, scientists now believe this is a myth! At the very least, it also has environmental factors. Nevertheless, trying it out in class is still a good way for learners to explore the subject’s history and how we’re still learning more about inheritance daily.

Possessive Apostrophe

A possessive apostrophe is a kind of apostrophe that demonstrates that something belongs to or is connected to something else. Forinstance, Linda’s bag or the Queen’s hat.

How to use apostrophes correctly

When children learn to apply possessive apostrophe rules, it can get a little unclear. Still, hopefully, this guide will give you some great examples to use when explaining possessive apostrophes for your children.

Read the rules and possessive apostrophe examples to understand how this punctuation works.

Firstly, deciding when to use a possessive or standard apostrophe can vary. It depends on the type of noun you’re making into a possessive. Here is a general rule of thumb for singular nouns and plural nouns:

1. When using singular nouns, add apostrophe + s. For example:

• The dog’s leash.
• The writer’s desk.
• The planet’s atmosphere.

1. For most plural nouns where the word ends in ‘s’ (when you have multiple subjects you’re discussing), add only an apostrophe after the noun. For example:

• The dogs’ leashes (various dogs).
• The writers’ desks (multiple writers).
• The planets’ atmospheres (different planets).

1. For possessive pronouns (e.g., yours, theirs, mine), do not use apostrophes to form possessives.

A great way to remember the possessive apostrophe rules is to remember these three things:

• For single nouns, add an apostrophe and an ‘s’.
• For plural nouns, add an apostrophe after the ‘s’.
• If it’s a personal possessive pronoun, it doesn’t need an apostrophe.

Even though these rules will show you how to use apostrophes correctly in most cases, there are still exceptions in English. For example, if you encounter a singular noun that ends in s (class, Jess), you should use the plural noun rule and add an apostrophe. For a plural noun that doesn’t end in s, use the singular noun rule and add an apostrophe and ‘s’.

How to use apostrophes correctly — Common exceptions

English comprises several source languages, from Germanic and Scandinavian to Latin, Spanish, and French. Due to this, there are often exceptions to standard grammatical rules; sometimes, it can feel like there are more exceptions to the rules than words that follow the rules.

Here is how to use apostrophes correctly in a few different commonly found exceptions:

Which is correct — children’s or childrens?

Placing the apostrophe in words like ‘children’ can be difficult. It’s a plural, but it doesn’t look like one because it doesn’t end in ‘s’.

To show possession, you add an apostrophe to the end of ‘children’ and then finish with an ‘s’: children’s. For example:

• children’s clothes;
• children’s books.

Shared or Individual Possessives

In some sentences, two or more subjects are shown to possess something. When do you use apostrophes, then?

1. Joint Possession

A single apostrophe shows joint (or shared) possession on the last subject.

• It was Luna and Tilly’s idea.
• We’re going to Mum and Dad’s house.

1. Individual Possession

Apostrophes show individual possession of each subject.

• Carly’s and Lucy’s dogs are so cute.
• Grandma’s and Grandad’s presents should be arriving soon.

Using Apostrophes after a Name

We can use the apostrophe when referring to a person or writing a name to indicate possession of that person. However, we can run into the same exceptions. Some names end in ‘s’.

For names that don’t end with an ‘s’, we would add an apostrophe and an ‘s’ afterward. Here are some examples:

• Lucy’s
• Seren’s
• Charlie’s
• Sid’s
• Ramana’s

We add an apostrophe to the end for names that already end with an ‘s’.

• James’
• Chris’
• Alexis’
• Travis’
• Lucas’

Even though they’re proper nouns, they follow the same rules as regular nouns.

Adding apostrophes to surnames can also be confusing. Here’s why:

• We can use surnames to talk about a single person in a household (May — e.g., Mrs. May — drives a red car)
• We can use surnames to refer to the whole family unit (The May’s house is down the road)
• Some surnames can also end in ‘s’, which muddles things further.

Let’s take a look at some examples.

• The Smiths’ house belongs to the family whose surname is ‘Smith’. There are multiple family members, so ‘Smith’ is plural. Since it’s now plural with an ‘s’ at the end, we add an apostrophe to show possession.
• Smith’s house — The singular ‘Smith’ suggests we’re just talking about one person here. It’s an individual rather than a group of people in a family, so we follow the singular noun rule for possessive apostrophes by adding the apostrophe and then the ‘s’.

Using Apostrophes for Contractions

When it comes to using apostrophes with contractions, it’s about placement. First, you will always use letters to combine the two words when you form contractions. Then, it would help if you placed an apostrophe in the order of these lost letters.

For examples:

• you + have = you’ve (you took out ‘ha’)
• can + not = can’t (you took out ‘no’)
• they + will = they’ll (you took out ‘wi’)

There is, however, one exception to this rule, which is otherwise universal. The exception applies to the word ‘won’t’, formed from ‘will + not’. In this case, a new word is formed by adding letters and omitting them.

Using Apostrophes with Surrounding Punctuation

When an apostrophe is added, it becomes part of the word it has been attached to. Therefore, it should never be separated from that word. Likewise, it applies when the apostrophe is surrounded by other punctuation.

For example:

• “When were you born, darlin’?” asked the man. Mary thought briefly and replied, “Around the late ’90s.”
• “Why are you wearing that awful jumper?”, exclaimed the girl. “‘Cause my mum forced me to”, moped the boy.

Using Apostrophes to Show Plural Possession

When it comes to regular nouns, the plural form is made by adding either the letter s or es.

For example:

• Girl — girls
• Friend — friends
• Actress — actresses
• Church — churches

To show possession in the plural form, you must put an apostrophe after the s.

For example:

• Girls — girls’ (girl + s + apostrophe)
• Friend — friends’ (friend + s + apostrophe)
• Actress — actresses’ (actress + es + apostrophe)
• Church — churches’ (church + es + apostrophe)

Common Mistakes

One of the biggest mistakes people make when showing possession with plural nouns is placing the apostrophe before the s.

For example:

• The girl’s bathroom was always packed at lunchtime.

The sentence is incorrect because placing the apostrophe before the s implies that the bathroom belongs to one girl instead of girl. Instead, it should be written as:

• The girls’ bathroom was always packed at lunchtime.

Another common mistake when making a regular noun plural is using an apostrophe + s to create the plural form.

For example:

Correct: Computers are costly nowadays.

Incorrect: Computer’s are very expensive nowadays.

Correct: Generally speaking, actresses are paid less than actors.

Wrong: Generally speaking, actress’s are paid less than actors.

The only exception to this rule is that sometimes an apostrophe + s is added when creating the plural form of a word that is not usually a noun.

For example:

• Have a look at these do’s and don’ts.

This is not a universal technique for creating the plural form of words that aren’t typically nouns, but some writers use it because they feel its adds clarity.

Using Apostrophes with Plural Irregular Nouns

In the English language, there is a range of irregular nouns which change their spelling entirely in the process of becoming plural.

For example:

• Child — children
• Foot — feet
• Woman — women
• Person — people

To show possession with these irregular nouns, you must add an apostrophe + s after the odd word.

For example:

• On the school trip, all children’s hats were bright red to make them easy to identify.
• The city center was busy on Saturday because of the women’s march.

Instead of this, people often put the apostrophe after the s.

For example:

Incorrect: On the school trip, all children’s hats were bright red to make them easy to identify.

Incorrect: The city center was super busy on Saturday because of the women’s march.

Things get more complicated regarding possessive plurals of proper names ending in s, ch, and z.

For examples:

• Hernandez
• Lloyds
• Birch

Usually, when putting a proper noun, such as Smith, in the plural possessive form, you add an s + apostrophe; this would give you Smiths’. However, this isn’t the case for proper nouns ending in s, ch, and z.

If someone’s name ends in s, ch, or z, to make it plural, you must add es.

For example:

• Hernandez — Hernandezes
• Lloyds — Lloydses
• Birch — Birches

Then, to show possession, you add an apostrophe.

For examples:

• The Hernandezes’ party is this Saturday at 10 pm.
• The Lloydses’ dog just had a litter of puppies.
• The Birches home just underwent massive renovations.

It can often look strange, but it is technically correct.

Using Apostrophes with Singular Compound Nouns

In terms of showing possession with singular compound nouns, such as father-in-law, you must add an apostrophe + s at the end of the word.

For example:

• My father-in-law’s car is very fancy.
• The passer-by’s expression was one of confusion.
• The girl ruined her step-sister’s favorite jumper at the birthday party.

To show possession in the plural form for a compound noun, all you have to do is form the plural first and then add an apostrophe + s.

For example:

• My two sisters-in-law’s houses are on the same street.

What is a tiger’s habitat?

Tigers can live in many habitats, depending on where they live and what kind of tiger they are.

Here we will explore all the different habitats that a tiger might live in, but before we do this, let’s have a quick look at the different types of tigers first, shall we?

Different kinds of tiger

Tigers are the most prominent members of the cat species, and their particular species name is Panthera Tigris. There are nine subspecies of tigers. However, three of them are extinct now. Tigers also make up one of the big four that can roar!

Did you know: Each tiger’s stripes are unique and individual, just like human fingerprints; no two are the same!

Here are the nine different types of tigers:

The Amur/ Siberian tiger. These tigers are the largest of the remaining subspecies, with males growing more than 10.5 feet (from head to tail) and weighing up to 660 pounds. Females are smaller but can still rise to an impressive 8.5 feet (head to bottom) and weigh up to 370 pounds.

Siberian tigers are characterized by their brown, as opposed to black, stripes. In addition, they have white bellies and a white ruff of fur around their necks. Their orange hair is paler than the other tiger sub-species too.

Siberian tigers are primarily in Eastern Russia, though some are located in China and Noth Korea.

The Bengal/ Indian tiger. This category of tiger boasts the most significant number of subspecies. Despite this, they are still endangered on the IUCN Red List. However, they are probably the most well-known and widely recognized out of all the tigers.

The Bengal tiger can be identified by their yellow to light orange coat, and its stripes range from dark brown to black. Their tales are orange with black rings. Some Indian tigers also possess a recessive gene, which can cause their fur to appear cream or white. These ‘white’ or ‘albino’ tigers are rarely found in the wild but can be found in captivity.

Bengal tigers live in India, and they are the national animal of India and Bangladesh.

The South China Tiger. The South China tiger is listed as Critically Endangered on the Red List, one level above Endangered. The WWF report that these tigers are functionally extinct, as most only exist in captivity.

The exact number of South China tigers in the wild, if any at all, is largely unknown. It is because 40 years ago, the Chinese Government declared them as pests. With only 4,000 remaining at the time, they were believed to be hunted and killed.

South China tigers, compared to their subspecies, are smaller. They also have broader stipes that are spaced further apart. In addition, they possess lots of distinct markings around their face.

The Malayan Tiger. The Malayan Tiger used to be categorized with the Indo-Chinese tiger until 2004. They are very similar, except the Malayan tiger is smaller.

The Malayan tiger can be found in the tropical and subtropical forests in Southern Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia.

Malayan tigers also have orange-colored fur and black stripes, with white hair on their eyes, cheeks, and bellies. The black lines are generally thinner than the other types of tigers and help provide the perfect camouflage out in the jungle.

The Malayan Tiger is the national symbol of Malaysia, and it can be found on the coat of the Malaysian Army uniform.

These tigers live remotely in hilly and mountainous terrain, so very little is known about their numbers. They are also listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List.

The Sumatran Tiger. The law protects these tigers in Indonesia, and poachers face harsh jail sentences if they defy these laws. Despite this, tigers are still hunted, and their body parts and skin remain in high demand.

The Sumatran Tiger has the darkest coat out of all the tigers. They can be characterized by their broad black stripes, which are closely spaced and sometimes doubled. The Sumatran tiger also has striped forelegs, unlike the Siberian tiger.

These tigers can only be found on the Indonesian Island of Sumatra.

The Bali Tiger. Sadly, this tiger is now reported as extinct, with the last sighting of the Bali tiger recorded in Western Bali in the late 1930s.

The cause of extinction was mainly due to poaching and their loss of safe habitat, resulting in a loss of prey. There are no Bali Tigers in captivity, either.

The Javan Tiger. These tigers, unfortunately, are also extinct. Their last record is from Java’s Meru Betrir National Park in 1976.

Again, these tigers were hunted out of existence, and their habitat was converted for human use.

The Capsian Tiger. The last of our nine big cats, and also now extinct. The Capsian Tiger was declared extinct in the 1970s.

Before their extinction, Caspian tigers were one of the largest subspecies of tigers, with a muscular physique, wide paws, and massive claws. They fed on wild boar and sometimes red deer, roe deer, and dogs too.

Like the other extinct tigers, the Caspian Tiger was heavily hunted in the early twentieth century. As a result, they also suffered from a loss of natural habitat and loss of prey. Capsian Tigers were native to Turkey, Iran, Asia, Afghanistan, and China.

What is a habitat?

A habitat is a place where any organism makes its home. For a habitat to thrive, it needs to meet a particular set of requirements so that the organism can survive. For tigers, there must be the right weather conditions, enough food in the form of prey, and plenty of mating opportunities.

As such, the main factors that indicate the suitability of habitat are; shelter, food, water, and space. A habitat is said to be appropriate when it has the right balance of all of these. Sometimes it might be the case that an area meets only some criteria but not all. Or, a habitat may start meeting all the requirements but become inhabitable over time. This can be due to natural causes, climate change, or human activity and interference.

Different kinds of habitats for a tiger:

As we can see, many types of tigers live worldwide. Of course, they will live in different conditions, too, from the sun to the snow. It seems that tigers can weather it all.

Though we have briefly touched upon where each tiger can be found, we can now take a more in-depth look at the question of what is a tiger’s habitat.

Perhaps the most striking of habitats for a tiger is Russia’s, Birch Forest. These tigers’ habitat is home to the Siberian Tiger, which has a far harsher northern climate than the other tigers. Here you will find long, cold, and dark winters accompanied by mild summers that bring tropical storms and typhoons. Winds from Siberia bring in more relaxed, dry air, causing lots of snow. January can reach temperatures as low as -20 degrees; yikes!

However, the advantage of this habitat is that the forests see a much lower human population than other tigers’ habitats. As a result, tigers are less likely to face threats from human interference and hunting. In addition, the vast woodlands allow the tiger lots of room to roam and provide a healthy ecosystem.

 

However, Asia hosts the most tigers, offering a home to the Bengal. Bengal tigers can be found throughout India. Smaller tigers, such as the Malayan and the Indo-Chinese tiger, tend to live in southern, warmer countries such as Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia.

Tigers can live in a variety of environments. Here are some more facts about tigers’ habitats:

1. Evergreen Forests: Made up of evergreen trees, they exist in a range of climates and can contain acacia, banksia, and eucalyptus trees in more temperate zones. Because there is no seasonal loss of leaves, the trees provide excellent shade and cover for tigers to evade hunters and stalk their prey.
2. Mangrove Swamps: Formed by mangrove trees in slightly salty tidal waters, mangrove swamps are found in coastal areas. They help to create a diverse ecosystem that is rich in wildlife. The Sundarbans Mangrove area between India and Bangladesh is the home of the Bengal tiger.
3. Tropical Rainforests: Found near the Earth’s equator, the world’s largest tropical rainforests receive about 150 cm to 400 cm of rain per year. The combination of moisture and warmth makes them the most biodiverse places on the planet. Rich in wildlife, tropical rainforests are an excellent habitat for the carnivorous tiger.
4. Savannahs: Characterized by grasses and trees spread out so they do not create a canopy, the savannah has rainfall in one season of the year. It provides a large area for the tiger to roam.
5. Grasslands: Offercontinuous covering of grasses and fewer taller plants, like trees and shrubs; grassland areas are the most common in the world. They’re home to larger mammals which are the tigers’ prey.
6. Mountains: With steep sides and exposed bedrock, mountains are elevated areas of the Earth’s crust. Amazingly, some tigers inhabit mountain regions. In 2010, a population of Bengal tigers was found at 13,000 feet in the Himalayas.

The vast array of habitats a tiger can thrive in demonstrates what an adaptable creature they are. Though tigers are not naturally found in Africa, Europe, America, or in captivity, they have been known to survive remarkably well in these places.

What do tigers eat?

For tigers to get on in their habitat, there must be an abundance of food to keep them alive. It may be no surprise to hear that all tigers are carnivores; they eat meat. Therefore, most tigers’ diets consist of large prey, like deer, rhinos, elephant calves, or pigs.

To kill their prey, tigers will attempt to clamp down on the subject’s neck with their jaws to suffocate the animal. The teeth of a tiger possess pressure-sensing nerves, so they know exactly where to deliver the fatal blow. Tigers are strong and fierce animals but only succeed in 10% of their hunts.

Threats to a tiger’s habitat:

Over the years, the number of tigers has dramatically decreased, with three subspecies becoming extinct and the other six classed as endangered or critically enlarged. As a result, the future of our tigers is uncertain.

As a form of conversation, many tigers now live in captivity. But this is far from ideal, and tigers bred in captivity have little to no chance of survival in the wild. Tigers in captivity are also often subjected to cruelty and abuse. At best, they cannot flourish as they would in the wild; at worst, they are killed for entertainment.

Tigers should remain in their natural habitats. However, they face multiple threats to their homes in the form of:

Human Action or Interference. Covers a wide range of activities, from poaching to inhabiting the land to destroying areas for commercial purposes.

Poaching or Hunting. Despite local laws and conservation efforts, many tigers are still hunted and killed.

Lack of Prey. As the population of tigers decreases, so are the numbers of other species. With less food to eat, tigers become at risk of starvation.

Climate Change. Climate change can affect the amount of water and shelter available to tigers.

As we have already discussed, the lack of food, water, shelter, and mating opportunities will affect a tiger’s habitat.

A rhetorical question is a figure of speech that comes in the form of a question that makes a point instead of seeking an answer. A rhetorical question may have a clear answer, which the person asking it probably already knows, but the questioner asks it to emphasize the point.

In literature, a rhetorical question is evident and used for style as an impressive persuasive device. Rhetorical questions are often used in persuasive texts as they directly appeal to the reader’s agreement and usually discuss well-known facts.

Different Types of Rhetorical Questions

Before we can look at a few examples and analyze rhetorical question effects in writing, there are three primary rhetorical questions that your little ones can learn to use in writing. These include:

Anthypophora: Anthypophora is also sometimes referred to as hypophora.

Erotesis: Erotesis is a kind of rhetorical question that we most commonly see in speeches and other persuasive writing.

Epiplexis: These rhetorical questions are used to revoke the credibility of the fact of point of view.

While children won’t need to, or be expected to, know these tricky terms, it’s still beneficial for them to know that we can ask rhetorical questions in several different ways!

What is an Example of a Rhetorical Question?

Now that we understand what rhetorical questions are and some of the different forms they can take, check out these examples of rhetorical questions for kids. They should give you an idea of rhetorical question effects in a piece of writing:

• ‘Who cares?’
• ‘Who wouldn’t want to be a millionaire?’
• ‘Do we want our planet to survive?’
• ‘Is this supposed to be some kind of joke?’
• ‘Are you serious?’
• ‘Do you just think money grows on trees?’
• ‘Wouldn’t you feel happier if you could wear what you wanted to school?’

The easiest way to write a rhetorical question is by forming a question right after a statement to mean the opposite of what you said. These are called rhetorical tag questions, for example:

The dinner was good, wasn’t it?

It encourages the reader or listener to agree with the statement before the question.

Examples of Rhetorical Questions in Literature

Writers use rhetorical questions in works of literature to evoke reflection

Rhetorical Question Effects: Why do we Use Rhetorical Questions?

Although we now know a bit about rhetorical questions, you may wonder, “what’s the point of asking questions to which we know the answer?”. Rhetorical questions can be employed to have a range of exciting impacts and effects on our writing. Here are eight different rhetorical question effects:

• To raise doubt.
• To challenge the listener or reader.
• To emphasize an idea.
• To demonstrate that a previously asked question was obvious or incorrect.
• Make the listeners think about specific topics.
• Subtly draw attention and emphasize specific points.
• Introduce topics and ideas.
• Engage the audience.

Rhetorical Question Effects on Persuasive Writing

To help us understand these rhetorical question effects a bit more, let’s look at how we can use them in persuasive writing.

1. Ridicule another person’s argument:

For example, when trying to make another politician’s ideas sound ridiculous, you often hear rhetorical questions like this:

“And where will you get the money to pay for a new hospital? The magic money tree?”

Here, the rhetorical question is used to convey and create a sarcastic tone to make another politician sound silly because everyone knows there’s no such thing as a ‘magic money tree.

It can be an effective way to persuade your audience that the person who you’re arguing against isn’t very credible. You do have to take care with this; otherwise, as in the example above, you can sound a bit mean!

2. Get your audience to think:

Martin Luther King Jr. utilized rhetorical questions to get the listener to stop and think about his point. For example, in his I have a dream speech, he said:

“Now, what does all of this mean in this great period of history? It means that we’ve got to stay together. We’ve got to stay together and maintain unity.”

Here, the rhetorical question invites the audience to pause for a minute and ponder what has just been said in the speech. As there is no obvious answer to this question, it provides an excellent opportunity for King to present his ideas of togetherness as the only answer to a highly complex question.

3. Inspire your audience to take action:

Another rhetorical question effect is that they can persuade your audience to act. For example, in a speech about feminism and women’s rights, Emma Watson said:

“If not me, who? If not now, when? The reality is, if we do nothing, it will take 75 years, or for me to be 100 before women can expect to be paid the same as men for the same work.”

Here the rhetorical question is being used because there is no obvious answer. It is intended to inspire people by making them think about how important it is to take action immediately.

How do you Create a Rhetorical Question?

So far, we have learned what rhetorical questions are, explored the rhetorical question effects, and seen some great examples of them in action. It is time for your children to learn how to write independently. But how do you create a rhetorical question?

First, they must think of something they are confident about or passionate about. Then, it will help them generate rhetorical questions that make their readers feel about that topic.

Next, they will need to use something called rhetorical tag questions. These are questions that force the reader or audience to agree with them. The easiest way to write a rhetorical question is by forming a question right after a statement to mean the opposite of what you said.

A possessive noun is a noun that shows ownership of something. Possessive nouns are commonly created with the addition of an apostrophe and ‘s’ at the end of a noun. For example:

• This is the cat’s toy.

This sentence shows that the cat owns the toy, making the noun cat possessive by adding an apostrophe and an ‘s’. Therefore, because of the apostrophe and the ‘s’, we can see that the toy belongs to the cat.

How do you know if a noun is possessive?

A possessive noun is represented through an apostrophe, the letter ‘s’, or both. So, when trying to figure out if it’s a regular or possessive noun, look out for the apostrophe and the ‘s’.

However, an apostrophe and an ‘s’ on some nouns can also represent a contraction – two words squashed together to make one word. For example, ‘The girl’s could be a possessive noun, or it could mean ‘The girl is.

In this case, you should see whether a second noun follows the noun – the second noun is usually what the first noun has. If a verb or adverb follows the noun, it’s not possessive.

First Noun (Possessive)

Second Noun

The

girl’s

hat

was blue.

The

dog’s

tail

is wagging.

The

bike’s

tires

are flat.

It is why it’s essential to take care when writing possessive nouns – they’re similar to contractions, which is where it can get confusing. However, as long as children take the time to learn the differences between them and the uses of both, they should master possessive nouns and contractions.

What is a possessive noun example?

Now that we know how to spot a possessive noun, can you spot the possessive nouns in these sentences?

1. Is this Brandon’s book on the table?
2. On our trip to the zoo, we saw lots of colorful animals. The parrot’s feathers were in lots of different colors.
3. We have been invited for tea at Sarah’s house
4. The trainer flipped a fish into the walrus’ open mouth.
5. The chicken’s eggs were taken by the farmer early in the morning.

Singular Noun

Possessive Noun

Example Sentence

Cat

Cat’s

Don’t touch the cat’s toy.

Brittany

Brittany’s

This is Brittany’s essay.

Computer

Computer’s

The computer’s hard drive is full.

What is a possessive plural noun?

Plural nouns can be transformed into possessive nouns too.

When plural nouns end in an ‘s’, you must add an apostrophe to form a possessive noun.

Plural Noun

Possessive Plural Noun

Example Sentence

Plants

Plants’

The plants’ home is in my backyard.

Windows

Windows’

The windows’ glass was broken.

Eggs

Eggs’

The eggs’ colors differed significantly.

Cats

Cats’

The cats’ treats are in the cupboard.

Houses

Houses’

The houses’ doors are all painted red.

Of course, many plural nouns in English are irregular and don’t end in ‘s’. Check out this example of a plural possessive noun in a sentence:

• The children’s clothes were brand new.

The plural of ‘child’ isn’t ‘childs’ – it’s ‘children’. Although plural, it doesn’t end in an ‘s’. So, to make it possessive, we add an apostrophe and an ‘s’.

Here are a few more examples of plural possessive nouns.

Plural Noun

Possessive Plural Noun

Example sentence

Women

Women’s

Women’s right to vote took 100 years to achieve.

Cattle

Cattle’s

The cattle’s field was enormous.

Geese

Geese’s

The geese’s eggs were hidden.

What is an abstract possessive noun?

We have focused on indicating possession of a physical feature or object. Now it’s time to step it up a gear into the abstract.

Sometimes the idea of possession is more abstract. For example, when you talk about how long you’ve been doing something, you can use an apostrophe to claim that time as a possession.

• I have three years’ experience working as a shop assistant.

However, you can also write this differently using the word ‘of’ instead of the apostrophe.

1. I have three years of experience working as a shop assistant.

Definition: What is a homograph?

• Homographs are two or more words spelled the same but have different meanings and origins.

Some people suggest that homographs also have to sound different and have different pronunciations. The Oxford Guide to Practical Lexicography tries to mitigate this confusion by classifying different types of homographs. For example, a word spelled the same as another but with a different meaning is called a homograph.

How do you identify a homograph?

Remember, homographs are words that can sound different but have the exact spelling. Take a look at these 20 examples of homographs.

• Park – a public play area or to bring a vehicle to a stop and leave it temporarily.
• Bat – a type of sports equipment or an animal.
• Bass – a type of fish or a genre of music.
• Minute – small or a unit of time.
• Crane – a bird or a machine used at construction sites.
• Tear – to rip something or the liquid that flows from the eyes when crying.
• Bow – a weapon for shooting arrows or a formal way of greeting or showing respect.
• Saw – a sharp tool used for cutting hard materials or past tense for the word “see”.
• Pen – an object used for writing or a small area in which animals are kept.
• Lean – thin or to rest against something.
• Skip – a fanciful jump or to miss out on something.
• Close – to be near something or to shut.
• May – you might do something or the month of May.
• Type – how you use a keyboard or a specific class of something.
• Miss – a female title or overlooking.
• Blue – feeling depressed or the color.
• Train – a mode of transport or to coach somebody.
• Fair – a place to enjoy some rides or the act of being reasonable.
• Bag – secure something or a holdall.
• Slip – a fielding position or a fall.

Take a look at these sentences that we can create with homographs:

Cotton candy was popular at the fair as the children enjoyed the rides.

It’s only fair that we all adhere to the rules.

Can you see that the word fair is the homograph here?

Let’s try another couple.

The boys were excited to take the train to see the baseball game.

I need to train to become more skilled at tennis

Our teacher is called Miss. Thomson.

It was the second time she had to miss gym class this week.

What is the difference between Homograph, Homonym, and Homophone?

Homonym – Homographs pronounced the same have their separate classification and are called ‘homonyms’.

Examples of homonyms include the words “bark”, “match”, and “mat.” These are words that can still have different meanings.

Homophone – Homophones are words that share the same pronunciation but have different spellings. The ‘phone’ part in the homophone means sound.

Examples of homophones include the words “write” and “right”, “knight” and “night”, and the terms “see” and “sea.” They sound the same but have very different meanings.

Before looking at the types of words, it’s helpful to go back to what a ‘word’ is. A word is a unit of grammar. It can be selected and moved around relatively independently but can’t easily be split.

Some words can be joined together to make one word. For example, they connect with an apostrophe or a hyphen to create a new adjective.

There are many types of words that your children will learn about in the classroom. Types of words can be described as eight parts of speech in the English language: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection. Understanding parts of speech and using the correct English language term.

Why do we need to learn types of words?

It’s also essential that children can correctly identify the different word types when they are analyzing the work of others, whether that is a:

• story
• newspaper article
• poem
• factual report
• play

They will need to be able to use the correct English language terms when discussing why writers have chosen to use certain types of words. For example, an author has used specific adjectives to present a character in a certain way.

Understanding word types can also help pupils improve their writing, as they will be doing so with a greater awareness of the impact of their word choices.

Learning word types is also a vital objective of the national curriculum in the UK. So your child will learn many different types of words to understand, read and write in KS2.

What are the types of words?

There are eight types of words. The English language terms most often used to describe these are ‘word classes’ or ‘parts of speech. These are:

• nouns
• determiners
• pronouns
• verbs
• adjectives
• adverbs
• prepositions

However, some more words fall outside these ‘eight types’.

These are the different types of words in the English language. There are lots of different kinds of words that have a different impact on your pupils’ writing. These can be taught in the classroom to enhance writing to convey tone, description, facts, and emotions. Read on to find out what these words include and mean for your pupils’ writing.

1. Nouns

Nouns are a type of word that function as the name of a specific object or set of things. For example, ‘chair’ is a noun describing an object you sit on. There are also different types of nouns, including collective nouns, compound nouns, plural nouns, common nouns, proper nouns, and abstract nouns.

2. Adjectives

Adjectives are words used to describe a noun to make the writing more descriptive. For example, ‘The family lived in a beautiful cottage’ – here, the adjective ‘beautiful’ is used to create a more descriptive image of the house. An easy way to remember how to use adjectives is that they ‘add’ to the noun.

Example sentence: ‘She chose vibrant yellow shoes to match her coat.’

3. Adverbs

Adverbs are a type of word that modifies an adjective, verb, or another adverb to express how an action is being carried out. They can communicate place, time, circumstance, manner, cause, and degree. For example, quickly, gently, then, there. The easiest way to consciously incorporate adverbs into our writing is to ask when, where, and how an action or event occurs.

4. Verbs

Verbs are also often described as action words. Verbs can be used to convey an action that’s doing something. For example, the term ‘jumping’ or ‘running’. Alternatively, a verb can be used to describe an occurrence. For example, the word ‘became’ in the sentence ‘the caterpillar became a butterfly.

Example sentence: ‘The student ran to the bus stop because he was late for school.’

5. Connectives

Connectives can be defined as ‘connecting’ two clauses in a sentence. Connectives can be conjunctions (but, when, because) or connecting adverbs (however, then, therefore).

Example sentence: ‘The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared.’

6. Pronouns

Pronouns are a special kind of noun. They’re used to reference a person rather than an object or place. Pronouns are often used in writing to identify a person talking to them or being talked about. They also help to reduce repetition, as we don’t have to refer to the person by name in every sentence.

For example, she, it, he, they, ze, and this.

Example sentence: ‘Ted is my friend. He is coming over later.’

7. Preposition

Prepositions are a kind of word usually used in front of nouns or pronouns. They show the relationship between the noun or pronoun and other terms in a sentence and often indicate a position, location, direction, or time.

Example sentence: An example of a preposition is ‘around’ that can be used in a sentence such as ‘There was a white fence around the house.’

8. Determiner

A determiner is a type of word that introduces a noun. The determiner is always placed in front of the noun. For example, ‘These apples are good.’

9. Modal verb

Modal verbs indicate likelihood, ability, permission, or obligation. These types of verbs indicate possibilities and can be used to direct what could or should happen in a story. For example, the modal verb ‘should’ can be used in the sentence ‘The monster should go away.’

What type of word is ‘this’?

The word ‘this’ can be used in a variety of different ways and different contexts. Depending on the context, it can be used as an adjective, a definite article, a pronoun, or an adverb. So it’s a versatile word that we use all the time.

So when we answer the question ‘what type of word is ‘this’?’, it’s tricky to give one answer. It can’t be pinned down to one type of word.

Here’s how it can be used as different types of words.

1. Adjective

The word ‘this’ can be called an adjective when it describes a noun. It’s most commonly used as an adjective to emphasize the noun being referred to in the sentence.

Example: This bag is mine.

2. Definite Article

‘This’ can be referred to as a definite article when it’s used to identify or indicate a specific noun that the audience knows about already.

Example: I have to take this call.

3. Pronoun

When ‘this’ substitutes a particular thing, such as another pronoun, it can be called a pronoun.

Example: Is this your idea?

The same sentence could be written with the pronoun ‘it’. Is it your idea? ‘This’ takes the place of the pronoun.

4. Adverb

‘This’ functions as an adverb describing an adjective, a verb, or another adverb.

Example: I didn’t know you could get dogs this small.

What about collocations?

Collocation is a fancy way of saying words that go together. This word pair can often only make sense in a particular order. For example, we would usually say ‘back and forth instead of ‘forth and back. It sounds silly the other way around. These words that go together are often picked up from a young age and continue to do so as we grow up; you’ve probably said these without even realizing it!

Here are some examples of words that go together:

• Bed and breakfast
• Knife and fork
• Pen and pencil
• Nice and easy
• Shoes and socks
• Fun and games
• Wait and see
• Pots and pans
• Salt and pepper
• Cup and saucer
• Read and write

What is Mother’s Day?

Mother’s Day is a day that focuses on celebrating and honoring mothers and maternal figures for all they do. It’s a day that asks people to show gratitude to maternal figures for their effect on our personal lives and work in society.

This celebration changes worldwide depending on which country you are in. But all focus on demonstrating love and appreciation for mothers.

Why are there different dates for Mother’s Day around the world?

Mother’s Day worldwide falls on different dates at different times of the year. Some of them line up, following the official Mother’s Day date set by the United Nations of the second Sunday in May. Others have their traditional holidays and celebrations, also called Mother’s Day.

Many countries and cultures have their traditions to celebrate essential people like mothers. People might refer to these celebrations as ‘Mother’s Day’ worldwide, even if it has different cultural background. But, of course, you’ll find a wealth of traditions relating to these events, too, like International Women’s Day.

Dates of Mother’s Day Around the World:

Date

Country

Second Sunday of February

Norway

8th March

Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia, Serbia, Vietnam

Fourth Sunday of Lent

Guernsey, Ireland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Nigeria, United Kingdom

21st March

Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Lebanon, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen

10th May

Mexico, El Salvador, Guatamala

Second Sunday of May

Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Bermuda, Bhutan, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Liberia, Malaysia, Malta, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Samoa, Singapore, Slovakia

South Africa, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad, and Tobago, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United States of America, Uruguay, Vietnam, Venezuela, Zambia, Zimbabwe

26th May

Poland

30th May

Nicaragua

Last Sunday of May

Algeria, Cameroon, Dominican Republic, France, Haiti, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Sweden, Tunisia

12th August

Thailand

15th October

Malawi

How do different countries around the world celebrate Mother’s Day?

Most places celebrate Mother’s Day with similar traditions of giving cards, flowers, and gifts to mothers or maternal figures that people want to honor. However, some places and cultures celebrate in different ways with their popular traditions and customs.

Here’s a list of just a few different places that celebrate Mother’s Day and how they put their stamp on the occasion.

United Kingdom

In the UK, Mother’s Day occurs on the same day as the traditional Christian day, Mothering Sunday. It happens on the fourth Sunday during the Christian period of Lent. It used to be a day for people to go and visit the church where they were baptized or their regular church as a child, called their mother church. Mother’s Day date changes every year, even though it is no longer a religious celebration in the mainstream.

Nowadays, Mother’s Day is about celebrating mums and maternal figures who we want to show our gratitude and love for. Often people will send flowers, cards and children will hand make gifts and keepsakes to give their mum as a surprise.

USA

America celebrates Mother’s Day, the second Sunday in May, the most popular day worldwide. The modern Mother’s Day, as many people know it originated in America by Anna Jarvis in 1907. She campaigned for a day to celebrate mothers as a tribute to her mother, who passed away in 1905. Her campaign continued until 1911, when Mother’s Day became a recognized holiday across every state in the USA.

Mother’s Day grew in popularity. Soon card companies created greeting cards, and the tradition of buying flowers and presents became a norm. Carnation flowers also became particularly associated with Mother’s Day, as they were Anna Jarvis’ mother’s favorite flower. Anna Jarvis objected to this change, believing that the holiday was becoming more about profit than sentimentality. After working on getting Mother’s Day recognized, she campaigned against this celebration for the rest of her life.

Australia

Mother’s Day in Australia is also celebrated on the second Sunday in May and began being celebrated in 1924. The tradition of gift-giving on Mother’s Day is said to have been started in Australia by Janet Heyden. In the aftermath of World War 1, there were a great many mothers who had lost their husbands and sons. So Janet Heyden began a campaign to give charitable gifts to them to make sure they still felt the love they deserved. It was a hit, and now gift-giving is a staple tradition for Mother’s Day worldwide.

Carnations, however, are less prevalent in Australia as they don’t flower during autumn. So, chrysanthemums are the more traditional Mother’s Day flower for Australians.

Poland

In Poland, Mother’s Day – or Dzień Matki – is always celebrated on the 26th of May every year, not changing date like many other countries. However, it isn’t treated as a public holiday.

Traditional celebrations also include gift and card making and giving. Children will make, decorate and write laurki, which are hand-made cards with paper flowers.

Mexico

Día de las Madres is celebrated on the 10th of May every year in Mexico. It’s a huge event to celebrate mothers and honor them with the love they deserve. Families will come together to celebrate with music, food, and flowers.

People might hire bands and play songs to serenade their mothers, even waking them up with a song to start the day. One of the most famous music choices is Las Mañanitas, sung for birthday celebrations.

The evenings are full of food, bringing plenty of dishes to serve together or going out to eat. It’s the busiest day of the year for restaurants in Mexico!

Nicaragua

In Nicaragua, Mother’s Day is celebrated each year on May 30th. The day is all about ensuring Nicaraguan mums get the recognition they deserve, with many schools and businesses closing for the day to allow families to come together and celebrate their wonderful mums, grandmothers, aunts, and any other motherly figures!

Thailand

In Thailand, Mother’s Day is celebrated on the 12th of August as this is the birthday of their queen – Queen Sirikit. It was first celebrated in 1976, as Queen Sirikit is viewed as the mother of her country. The day celebrates her work to support the people of her country who are in need but also honors mothers all over the country. Because of this, charity is a big part of celebrations. Children will be involved in donating to monks and various charitable deeds to help show their gratitude.

It’s treated as a national holiday, which might include parades, fireworks, and celebrations. In addition, you’ll often see flag decorations and pictures of Queen Sirikit. It’s also traditional for children to gift their mother with jasmine flowers, symbolizing the purity of a mother’s love.

Ethiopia

Unlike other celebrations for Mother’s Day worldwide, in Ethiopia, it lasts for three whole days. Taking place at the end of the rainy season in the autumn, it can happen in October or November, changing with the weather each year. The celebration of Antrosht celebrates mothers in communities and Mother Earth and all that we get from our planet.

It’s celebrated with three days of meals, songs, and dancing.

Malawi

In Malawi, Mother’s Day takes place on the 15th of October every year, and it’s treated as a national holiday. This day is also World Rural Women’s Day and is often commemorated by a public speech by the president about the importance of mothers.

Japan

In Japan, Mother’s Day was initially celebrated on the 6th of March as this was the birthday of Empress Kōjun. However, in 1949 it was changed to the second Sunday in May, aligning with the most common date for Mother’s Day worldwide.

Red carnations are the most popular flower to give on Mother’s Day in Japan.

Russia

In Russia, Mother’s Day is celebrated on two dates across the year! It can be celebrated alongside International Women’s Day on the 8th of March and the last Sunday in November.

March 8th has a long history as a day for activism, kickstarting impactful revolutions in the early 20th century. Women-led protests have had a significant impact on the social and political landscape in Russia and countries across the world. Mother’s Day is a day for celebrating the effects of mothers and maternal figures on our lives and the culture around us. It’s a day for highlighting important issues which affect everyone, regardless of gender.

The Origins of Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is celebrated in a variety of ways around the world. Although many cultures may celebrate the same holiday, how it’s integrated into society and how it’s viewed will be altered through each country’s cultural lens. However, this difference in celebration may also be because of how the holiday originated in each society, which is different for each country.

In past societies, such as Ancient Greece and Rome, festivals celebrated and honored Rhea and Cybele, the mother goddesses. Modern iterations of holidays to celebrate motherhood are most notably found in the Christian celebration of “Mothering Sunday.” It was formerly a significant tradition in the United Kingdom and certain parts of Europe, but it eventually faded in popularity over time. However, it was brought back to popularity when it was merged with the American Mother’s Day holiday in the mid-20th century.

The origins of Mother’s Day in America are linked to Anna Jarvis, who is seen as the creator of the modern Mother’s Day holiday. Initially, her mother put together a women’s group to promote health and friendship. Then, following her mother’s death in 1907, Jarvis held a memorial service at her mother’s church. However, this celebration didn’t stop at this church, and within five years, it had become a popular holiday until, in 1914, President Wilson made it a national holiday. This holiday is celebrated by wearing a pink carnation as a tribute to one’s maternal figure. Over time, sending gifts and cards was incorporated, as was celebrating a wider variety of women in the family, such as grandmothers and aunts.

However, due to the mass commercialization of this holiday, Jarvis spent the latter years of her life attempting to abolish the holiday.

In Australia, the holiday was first celebrated in 1924. A Sydney woman, Janet Heyden, frequented a hospital, and there she discovered many elderly, lonely mothers. Heyden sought to help them and gift them with tokens of thanks and celebration of their role as mothers. To do this, Heyden invited various schools and businesses to donate gifts to these women. It was a sensitive issue that many agreed to help with as many of these women had lost their sons and husbands in World War I or, as a consequence of the war, had never been a wife or mothers.

Because of the actions of Janet Heyden, Mother’s Day is typically celebrated on the second Sunday of May. Although it’s not recognized as an official holiday, many still celebrate it with their maternal figures.

What does ascending order mean?

In maths, ascending order means placing the smallest to largest numbers from left to the right.

It can also mean arranging letters or words alphabetically from A to Z.

Ascending means going up, so ascending order means the numbers are going up. So it is a way of ordering numbers.

Children can imagine what ascending order means by thinking about climbing a staircase. The first step is number 1, and the steps get higher just as the number of steps rises. So when arranging numbers in ascending order, they can think about which order they would go in if they were on a staircase.

A number line is a great visual aid to help children understand ascending order.

How to arrange numbers in ascending order

To arrange numbers in any order, we need to compare them. Then, we can order them.

When children start learning how to order numbers, it can be helpful to have countered with the numbers on them so they can move them around.

Integers

• Count the number of digits that there are in each number.
• The number with the least digits is the smallest, so you can write it first.
• The number with the most digits is the most significant, so it goes last.
• If numbers have the same amount of digits, start by comparing the digit on the left (in the thousands, hundreds, or tens column).
• Then, keep moving across the number from left to right to compare the digits. Keep writing them down from smallest to biggest.
• Continue until no numbers are left, and they have all been ordered.

Negative numbers

It might seem a little confusing at first glance, but arranging negative numbers in ascending order isn’t that different from placing positive numbers.

The higher the number after the negative sign, the smaller the value of the number. So, for example, -73 is smaller than -5.

If you arranged them in ascending order, those two numbers would read like this: -73, -5.

Fractions

Ordering fractions into ascending order is easy. The fraction with the smaller numerator goes first for fractions with the same denominator. When fractions have the same numerator, the ones with the largest denominator are the smallest.

When fractions have the same numerator, the fraction with the higher denominator is the smallest. The higher the denominator, the smaller the parts of the whole. For example, ⅕ is smaller than ½. You can help children to understand this concept by looking at a fractions wall.

To order fractions with different numerators and denominators, you must convert them to have the same common denominator. Then you can compare and order them.

Decimals

First, see if there is a whole number as part of the decimal. The number with the smallest whole number is the smallest.

If the whole number is the same, compare the decimal parts after the decimal point just as you would compare whole numbers.

What is an example of ascending order?

Let’s say you have these numbers: 87, 3, 47, 150, 1743, 574.

You first need to look for the shortest number to order those numbers. This will be the smallest. In this case, the smallest number is 3.

Then, you need to look for the biggest number, the longest number. In this case, that is 1743.

Then, you need to find the following smallest number. You can see that it is either 47 or 87 because those numbers are the shortest from the ones remaining on the list. 47 is smaller than 87, so our list looks like this: 3, 47, 87, X, X, 1743.

Then we have two numbers remaining. These are 150 and 574. Looking at the digit in the hundreds column shows us that 150 is smaller than 574. It means that we can slot them into the list correctly.

The final list in ascending order is 3, 47, 87, 150, 574, 1743.

What does descending order mean?

Descending order means the opposite of ascending order. It means arranging numbers to go from the largest to the smallest. Descending means “going down”, so descending order means that the numbers are going down.

Children can think about going down a staircase to conceptualize descending order.

The process for arranging numbers in descending order is the same as placing them in ascending order, except that the smallest number goes on the right-hand side, and the largest number goes on the left-hand side.