Largest Single US Lottery Payout Gives Winner $759 Million

A very lucky person has won the largest single lottery payout in United States history - $758.7 million. A 53-year-old hospital worker from Massachusetts, Mavis Wanczyk, came forward Thursday to claim her prize in the Powerball drawing. She said she had quit her job and wanted to take some time to relax. Lottery officials say she chose to take a single payment of $480 million, or $336 million after taxes. Winners can also choose to receive the jackpot in 30 payments over 29 years. The winning numbers were drawn Wednesday night in the Powerball, which is played in most U.S. states. The matching numbers were 6, 7, 16, 23 and 26, with the Powerball number 4. Wanczyk bought her ticket Wednesday at a store in a small Massachusetts town. She said for some of the winning numbers, she chose birthdays of people she knows. The jackpot was the second-largest overall lottery prize in U.S. history. The biggest jackpot ever was a $1.6 billion Powerball payout in 2016. But that prize was shared among three winners. Lottery officials reported the odds of winning Wednesday’s Powerball were one in 292.2 million. The Powerball lottery is held twice a week, with numbers drawn from two containers. One container holds 69 numbered balls, from which five are drawn. Another ball – known as the Powerball - is selected from the other container. To win the full jackpot, a person must match all six numbers. Why does the jackpot grow so large? The jackpot continues to grow each time there is no top prize winner. The last time someone matched all six Powerball numbers was June 10, when a California man won $447.8 million. The jackpots have been growing larger because there are fewer big winners. This is because lottery officials have made changes to the game that make the odds of winning more difficult, The Washington Post reports. Two years ago, the chances of winning were about 1 in 175 million. This compares to the latest drawing’s odds of one in 292.2 million.   This resulted from a change to the game in October 2015, when Powerball increased the number of balls from 59 to 69, according to the newspaper. Experts say the bigger the jackpot gets, the amount of media coverage also increases, driving ticket sales higher and higher. Several studies have shown that lower-income Americans buy most of the lottery tickets. American states benefit from lottery sale But the huge lottery payoffs do not only benefit the winners. U.S. states participating in lotteries also get a percentage of revenue, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. Some states put the lottery earnings in a general state fund, which can be used for many things. But many others set the money aside for specific purposes - such as education, environmental programs or anti-crime efforts. Some states even earn more money from the lottery than from income taxes on companies, according to Reuters news agency. I’m Bryan Lynn.   Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English. His report was based on stories from the Associated Press and other sources. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Do you play the lottery? Does a bigger jackpot want you to buy a ticket? Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   relax – v.  spend time resting or doing enjoyable things jackpot – n. large amount of money won in a game of chance odds – n. the probability that something will happen benefit – v. be useful or helpful revenue – n. money collected for public use potential – adj. capable of becoming something in the future  

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News Words: Maintain

Is it a good thing to maintain something? Learn the meaning of maintain is in this week's News Words.

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August 23, 2017

A look at the best news photos from around the world.

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Survey: Fewer Americans Like Charter Schools

  American's support for charter schools has dropped significantly in the past year. But there is less opposition to other kinds of school choice, including vouchers, according to a new survey by Education Next. Education Next is a journal published by Harvard's Kennedy School and Stanford University. For many years, it has taken a survey of public opinions about education issues. This year, the report says that only 39 percent of people who took the survey wanted to see more charter schools – a roughly 12 point drop from last year. The report also notes that opposition to vouchers has dropped from 44 percent to 37 percent. School choice and charter schools School choice allows public education funds to pay for schools or services that fit the needs of students. It refers to the idea of giving parents and students more choices about where to study. A charter school is a school that receives a special charter, or written rules, from a state government. These schools, a type of school choice, are publicly funded but operate independently from school districts. President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to expand school choice. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has made school choice a top issue for the department. But some charter school supporters have feared that Trump's arguments for school choice could actually hurt the movement. The authors of the Education Next study say the decline in support for charter schools does not have a direct connection to Trump. They say that support for charters fell almost equally across party lines. Support for charters dropped 11 percent among Democrats and 13 percent among Republicans. Martin West is an associate professor of education at Harvard University and one of the authors of the report. "We can't say definitively what is responsible for the decline," he said. West added that opposition from teachers unions and Democrats may have played a role. In addition, debates over the usefulness of charters may have hurt charters' image. "These developments may have led to a souring of the charter brand," he said. Public debates about charter schools The results of the survey have not discouraged charter school proponents. Nina Rees heads the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. She said that more than 300 public charter schools opened last year. And there are now over 6,900 charter schools serving 3 million students across the country. "The opinions about charter schools that matter most are the opinions of parents and students who have chosen charter schools," Rees said. Some experts say that Trump has had an effect on the public debates about charter schools. Robin Lake heads the Center on Reinventing Public education, a research and policy organization. She said the Trump administration's statements have deepened partisan tensions around charter schools. Lake explained that she had heard from many people that "schools have a lot of conversations with parents that they didn't use to have about why charter schools are public and why they are not a partisan issue." Rick Hess is a director of education policy at the American Enterprise Institute. He said Trump and DeVos may have turned school choice into a much more divisive issue than it needed to be. He noted they may have been too critical of public schools. "Sometimes the way these things get talked about, you can wind up alienating people who might be with you," Hess said. I'm John Russell.   Maria Danilova reported on this for AP News. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   voucher – n. a document that gives you the right to get something (such as a product or service) without paying for it survey – n. an activity in which many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to gather information about what most people do or think about something  sour – v.  to become unpleasant or unfriendly discourage – v. to make (someone) less determined, hopeful, or confident partisan –adj. strongly supporting one leader, group, or cause over another alienate – v. to make (someone) unfriendly : to cause (someone) to stop being friendly, helpful, etc., towards you

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US Navy Commander Dismissed After Accidents in the Pacific

The U.S. Navy has dismissed the commander of the 7th Fleet, which is based in Japan.   A series of Navy ship accidents raised concerns about Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin's ability to command operations in the Pacific. Aucoin took command of the 7th Fleet in September 2015 and was expected to retire in a few weeks.   A statement from the Navy said Rear Admiral Phillip Sawyer will replace Aucoin. Sawyer, who had already been named as Aucoin’s successor, will take command immediately.  Accidents at sea  There have been four Navy accidents in the Pacific since late January, including two collisions that left sailors dead and missing.  Admiral Scott Swift is the commander of the US Pacific Fleet. “While each of these four incidents is unique, they cannot be viewed in isolation,” Swift said earlier.  Most recently, on Monday the Navy ship USS John S. McCain collided with a ship carrying oil near Singapore. The crash injured five sailors and left ten others missing.   Admiral Swift spoke on Tuesday at a news conference in Singapore, where the McCain is now located.   Swift said Navy divers had found remains of some of the missing sailors in a flooded part of the ship. He also said Malaysian divers, who were helping in the search, had found a body, but it had not been identified yet.  The 7th Fleet said in a statement Wednesday that Navy and Marine Corps divers are continuing to search the McCain for missing sailors. The statement also said the search is growing to include a greater area “as time goes on.”  According to the government of Singapore, the search area has more than doubled. It now includes about 5,500 square kilometers. Airplanes and ships from the U.S., Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia are all participating in the search.  Identifying the missing  At least three of the ten missing sailors have been identified by relatives.  Crew member Logan Palmer, from the Decatur, Illinois area, was reportedly identified by his mother.   April Brandon in Michigan said the military informed her that her son, Ken Smith, is also missing. Smith’s father, stepmother and grandfather served in the Navy. Brandon said, “His father and I couldn’t be prouder of our son.”  The family of Jacob Drake of Ohio was also told he was missing, the Columbus Dispatch reported. Drake had been engaged to be married to Megan Partlow. She told The Associated Press that she had last communicated with Drake on Sunday.  The collision happened early in the day in a busy shipping area near Singapore. It created a large hole in the McCain’s left rear hull.  The cause of the collision has not been determined. The Navy previously said there was no evidence it was intentional, or that it was a result of sabotage or cyberintrusion.  I’m Jill Robbins.    Ken Moritsugu originally wrote this story for the Associated Press. Phil Dierking adapted this story for VOA Learning English.Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor.  Do you think the captain of a ship should be dismissed after a crash?  We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.   ______________________________________________________________  Words in This Story    successor – n. a person who has a job, position, or title after someone else  collision – n. an instance of one moving object or person striking against another  unique – adj. used to say that something or someone is unlike anything or anyone else  isolation – n. apart from others  proud – adj. feeling deep pleasure or satisfaction as a result of one's own achievements, qualities, or possessions or those of someone with whom one is closely associated.  hull  – n. the main body of a ship or other vessel  cyberintrusion – n. breaking into a computer system

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Apps for Home Improvement and Design

Most people think of tools such as hammers and nails for home improvement and design projects. But you should also be thinking of tech tools such as apps to help you get such jobs done. Whether your plans are large or small, apps can help you with inspiration and organization. You may even save time and money using them. Some apps can show you images of how your design ideas might look in your home before you even carry them out! Apps for gathering ideas and inspiration Houzz One popular design app is Houzz. The Houzz app helps plan home design and improvement projects. Users can search by room, style and more, then see over 10 million photos in the app. Moving to a new city? You can search Houzz photos to get an idea of decorating styles in your new area. You can shop for products from within the app and be alerted to sales. The View in My Room feature uses augmented reality to show you how furniture would look in your home. Houzz lets users save items in lists to help find them later. Lists can be shared with others to help teams work together on a project. The app also has articles and videos to give ideas for home projects. Houzz can help users find professionals for remodeling projects. The app lists local contractors, designers, architects and swimming pool builders. Houzz is free for iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Android, Amazon Fire tablets and Microsoft. Links to the apps are at the Houzz website. Pinterest The Pinterest social media app can help give you design ideas and keep those ideas organized. Create boards of paint colors to help choose a perfect shade. Pin images with hues you can compare to others later. ​Search for design ideas. Looking to create a home theater? Search for “home theater" on Pinterest to see others' designs. You can get ideas by following boards by paint companies, furniture stores and home decorators. The Pinterest app is free for: Pinterest for iPhone/iPad Pinterest for Android Apps for choosing colors Dulux Visualizer When you are choosing paint colors, you may have difficulty imagining which color would look best on your walls. Apps can help show how a color would look in your home before you buy a can of paint. The Dulux Visualizer app can help you choose a color. Use your camera or a photo on your phone to match a color you like to a paint color. Then use your camera within the app to get an idea of how that color will look in your home. The app uses augmented reality to provide an image. It can also show you paint colors that will go well with the colors in your furniture. This video shows how Dulux Visualizer works: And, you can order paint samples through the app to be sent directly to you. The Dulux Visualizer app is available free for iPhone, iPad and Android in Britain. You can download the app from the Dulux website. For the U.S., Benjamin Moore Color Capture app and the Color Snap Visualizer app from Sherwin Williams. Color911 The next app won a “Best Design and Decorating App 2017” award from the magazine Architectural Digest. Color911 was designed by professional color consultant Amy Wax. Color911 can help match colors from a photo on your phone or on the Internet. You can create your own color palette in the app, or find palettes others have created. The app comes with over 100 color themes, each with 36 different colors. The app lets users adjust colors for hue, saturation or brightness. You can share your palette with others. The Color911 app is available for iPhone and iPad for about $4. Additional color themes are available to buy. Apps to help do the work iHandy Level app The iHandy Level app lets you measure levels vertically and horizontally with the phone. The app can help make sure everything is placed evenly and straight. One note: be sure to calibrate the level before using it to get the best results. iHandy Level app is free for: iHandy Level app for iPhone/iPad iHandy Level app for Android Home Design 3D The Home Design 3D app is a powerful tool to help design homes. The app helps users plan building and decorating projects in two and three dimensions. This video shows what the app can do: Users can import blueprints and add color and texture to surfaces. The app permits users to place virtual furniture in virtual rooms and virtual cars in virtual garages. Save your plans and share them with others. You can even order 3D prints of your plans. The Home Design 3D app is available for: Home Design 3D for iPhone/iPad Home Design 3D for Android The app is free but it costs about $11 to let the app save your project plans. Photo Measures  Communicating clearly is important when planning a home design project. Photo Measures is an app that helps make sure everyone understands the design plans. Take photos of your home, then use them in the app to get started. You can mark measurements, angles and the name of the room on the photos. Mark each wall to have exact measurements you can then share with others. The app will keep these measurements handy when it's time for you to decorate. When you are trying to decide whether a piece of furniture will fit in your room, open the app to see the exact size of the room. The app lets you organize your photos into folders. You can share photos or folders with others if you are working on a project in a team. This video shows how Photo Measures works: Photo Measures is available for: Photo Measures for iPhone/iPad for about $7 Photo Measures for Android for about $5 A free version of Photo Measures lets you save two photos. They are Photo Measures Lite for iPhone/iPad and Photo Measures Lite for Android * Infographic used with permission, courtesy of EZ Living Interiors I’m Caty Weaver.    Carolyn Nicander Mohr wrote this report for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. Have you ever used apps for home improvement or design projects? Have you tried any of these apps? Can you suggest apps to help with home improvement and design projects? Share your thoughts in the Comments Section below or on our Facebook page. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   hammer - n. a tool that has a heavy metal head attached to a handle and that is used for hitting nails or breaking things apart nail - n. a long, thin piece of metal that is sharp at one end and flat at the other end and that is used chiefly to attach things to wood inspiration - n. something that makes someone want to do something or that gives someone an idea about what to do or create​ organization - n. the act or process of putting the different parts of something in a certain order so that they can be found or used easily​ augmented reality - n. an enhanced version of reality created by the use of technology to add digital information on an image of something​ hue - n. a color or a shade of a color​ furniture - n. chairs, tables, beds, etc., that are used to make a room ready for use​ consultant - n. a person who gives professional advice or services for a fee​ palette - n. the range of colors used by someone​ adjust - v. to change (something) in a minor way so that it works better saturation - n. the intensity of color vertical - adj. positioned up and down rather than from side to side : going straight up horizontal - adj. positioned from side to side rather than up and down : parallel to the ground​ calibrate - v. to adjust or mark (something, such as a measuring device) so that it can be used in an accurate and exact way blueprint - n. a detailed plan of how to do something​ texture - n. the way that something feels when you touch it garage - n. a building or part of a building in which a car, truck, etc., is kept​ handy - adj. very useful or helpful​ _____________________________________________________________ This infographic shows seven apps that could help with your next home improvement or design project.  

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Russian Culture Still Alive in Rural Alaska

  Alaska is the largest state in the United States. It is also one of the least populated. The state is home to 741,000 people. Among them are Native Alaskans, immigrants, adventure-seekers and oil industry workers from other parts of the country. The state is also home to a community known as the Russian Old Believers. They came to Alaska from Russia nearly 50 years ago. They built a village on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. The village is called Nikolaevsk. Splitting from Russia The Old Believers split from the Russian Orthodox Church in the 17th century. They separated to protest changes in the church imposed by the patriarch. The patriarch is the highest-ranking Bishop in the Russian Orthodox religion. Later, political changes in Russia forced many of them to flee the country. Mother Irina Fefelova is a member of the Old Believers church. She is the widow of Kondrat Fefelov, an Old Believers priest. She said the introduction of communism in Russia made it difficult for the Old Believers to continue their traditions and lifestyle. "With the arrival of communism, at first it was fine, but then they just started coming to the huts and taking everything. Our people were used to having big families, the same as we do now. But, you need to feed the kids – and they’d just come in and everything…and people had kids, mothers were crying – how we are supposed to feed the kids? And they go: “Throw the kids to the dogs, they’ll eat them...” At the time, Old Believers feared arrest. Many left Russia and crossed the border into China. Fefelova herself was born in China.   “We lived there for a while. And then life turned bad again with communists. Our parents escaped from communists – ran from Russia to China, and then we left China for the same reason." Fefelova’s family then went to Brazil. Later, they moved to the northwestern U.S. state of Oregon. Some members of the Old Believers settled in Oregon.  Others, like Fefelova, continued on to Alaska. At that time, the Fefelova family already had seven kids. Four more were born in Alaska. For Mother Irina, Alaska was a good place to call home. Keeping their traditions In Alaska, the Old Believers still pray in an ancient language called Old Church Slavonic. The older generations speak Russian. But, Fefelova says the younger generation prefers English. "Our kids speak Russian well, we spoke good Russian in the family. But their kids do not speak Russian – they come to the grandma, and can’t tell me, what they need. It’s hard. It’s such a pity for the grandchildren. Now, when they finish praying, Father starts reading them stories – all in American. Because the kids…don’t understand a word." Today, about 300 people live in Nikolaevsk.  The men in the village earn money by fishing, and sometimes by building fishing boats. The village was once famous for these boats. Denis Fefelov is the son of Mother Irina and Father Kondrat, the late priest. “We’ve built over 100 boats… And now the boats are barely worn out, they stay functional. Instead of ordering new ones, people just sell them on. But we still build some…”   Fefelov was born in Brazil. He came to the U.S. with his family when he was three years old. He speaks fluent Russian and Old Church Slavnoic, and teaches children church songs. He also watches the evening news in English, however, and considers himself an American. Women in Nikolaevsk wear sarafan – a traditional Russian dress. They make the dresses themselves. The men have long beards and wear Russian shirts.  Denis says people in nearby towns are used to seeing the Old Believers dressed in their traditional clothing.  "We are here for 40 years. Maybe some tourists that visit think it’s weird clothes. But the local people, they know us." I’m Phil Dierking.   Natasha Mozgovaya wrote this story for VOA News. Phil Dierking adapted this story for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.  Are there small communities from other countries where you are from?  We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.   ______________________________________________________________  Words in This Story    cellar - n. the part of a building that is entirely or partly below the ground  communism - n. a way of organizing a society in which the government owns the things that are used to make and transport products (such as land, oil, factories, ships, etc.) and there is no privately owned property . patriarch - n. an official of very high rank in the Orthodox Church pity - n. a strong feeling of sadness or sympathy for someone or something

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August 22, 2017

A look at the best news photos from around the world.

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August 21, 2017

A look at the best news photos from around the world.

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Sportscaster Robert Lee Moved Off Game Because of His Name

This is What’s Trending Today… United States Civil War General Robert E. Lee has been in the news a lot lately. In American history, Lee led the Army of the Confederacy of Northern Virginia from 1862 to 1865. The Confederacy was a group of Southern slave-holding states that withdrew from the Union and fought for independence from the U.S. government. Lee eventually surrendered, and the states re-joined the Union. Today, Americans are divided over whether statues of Robert E. Lee should be removed from public places. Some believe the statues represent an important part of Southern history. Others say they glorify traitors to the U.S., as well as America’s history of slavery and racial oppression. ​ The debate about Lee recently took a dramatic turn. In February, officials in Charlottesville, Virginia decided to remove a statue of Lee from a public park. Their decision led to a violent demonstration on August 11, in which white supremacists and others opposing the removal of the statue clashed with counter-protesters. One woman was killed when a white supremacist’s car struck counter-protesters. Now, the controversy over General Lee has a new twist. Sports network ESPN has decided not to send broadcaster Robert Lee to Charlottesville to cover the University of Virginia’s opening football game September 2.    ESPN said the decision was made, together with Robert Lee, “as the tragic events in Charlottesville were unfolding, simply because of the coincidence of his name.” “In that moment it felt right to all parties,” the ESPN statement said. It added: “It’s a shame that this is even a topic of conversation and we regret that who calls play-by-play for a football game has become an issue.” ESPN’s decision drew a huge response on social media, with most commenters criticizing the action or making fun of it. Many people posted side-by-side pictures of the Civil War general and sportscaster Robert Lee, who is Asian American. “Yo ESPN, I think viewers will know the difference between Robert E Lee the confederate general and Robert Lee the football announcer,” tweeted Josh Jordan. “Nothing takes a stand against racism better than banning an Asian guy from a TV job because his name is Robert Lee,” wrote radio host Dana Loesch. She later tweeted: “Don’t tell ESPN about Lee Jeans, the official denim of confederate generals.” U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch also found humor in the story. “If you happen upon a civil war era Orrin Hatch in your reading do not be alarmed, that was also me,” he tweeted. Current ESPN broadcaster Bob Ley took to Twitter to make a joke about his name being similar to the other two Lees. “Rather worried my employee ID/pass may not admit me in the AM.” And that’s What’s Trending Today. I’m Bryan Lynn.   Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English. His report was based on stories from the Associated Press and other sources. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor. We want to hear from you. Do you think ESPN did the right thing? Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   glorify – v. make something seem better or more important than it really is​ twist – n. something that happens unexpectedly coincidence – n. when events happen at the same time in an unexpected way shame – n. something that is regretted topic – adj. subject people talk or write about conversation – n. discussion among people or a group denim – n. strong, thick material used to make clothes  

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How to Identify Gender Inequality in Teaching Materials

  Editor’s Note: This is part two of a two-part series on promoting gender equality in the classroom   Creating a classroom environment that treats women and men equally is important for the educational success of students. However gender equality does not stop with the teacher.  It is also important that the materials used are supporting equal treatment. In fact, many classroom materials, especially those that are older, may contain gender bias in activities, photos, or words. These materials can include textbooks, images, reading materials, written assignments, or even test materials.  Having students use materials like these in class can reinforce stereotypes about gender roles in society. Classroom materials that reinforce gender stereotypes can discourage students, weaken their motivation and limit their overall academic performance. This can result in fewer opportunities available to students when they finish their schooling. Background Research has found that stereotypes and gender bias in English language materials do exist. Several studies by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, have found that some texts underrepresent women, contain stereotypes about women or offensive comments about women. In addition, research has found that characterizations in teaching materials often show a male majority.  One study on high school English language textbooks in Iran found that male characterizations were used as much as 80% of the time. Identifying gender bias: case studies The first step is to understand how to identify gender bias in textbooks.  Examine the image below.  These images were taken from an English language textbook.  What do you notice about how the men and women are being portrayed? In this image there are six people, four men and two women, shown in different jobs.  The men pictured include a construction worker, a doctor, a police officer, and a truck driver.  The women shown include a farm worker and a food store employee. This image shows men and women in gender-stereotyped jobs in two ways.  First, male representation is double that of female. Second, the men generally are working in higher-level, more economically powerful jobs. Now look at a short reading activity from an actual English language textbook. What do you notice about the representation of men and women in the example? How does weather affect us? The weather of a place can affect our daily lifestyles in many ways This makes the weather forecast something of significance to us. Weather influences to a very great extent the sort of food we eat, what we wear, how we live and work. Despite the advances made in science and technology, farmers and their crops are still at the mercy of the climate and the weather. The fishermen, farmers, journalists, sportsmen, housewives and aeroplane pilots are some of the persons who are directly affected by the weather. The fishermen must be sure that there are no strong winds and excessive rainfall before going out to sea. Farmers must know the weather conditions so that their crops can be planted at the right time. Do you remember when the El Niño weather phenomena caused a vast amount of crops to be destroyed? Sportsmen cannot be engaged in sporting activities during certain weather conditions. Can you imagine a game of cricket or football being played during a period of heavy rainfall? The housewife, too, must know the weather for the day to be able to decide her daily activities, for example, laundry work. From the Global Education Monitoring Report's World Education Blog See more examples at Global Education Monitoring Report The piece discusses weather and how it affects people in different jobs. However, it refers to some of the jobs using masculine endings, such as “fishermen” and “sportsmen.”  The only specific reference to a woman is that of “housewife.” This enforces gender stereotypes in two ways:  First, it creates the impression that some of these jobs are meant for males only.  It also creates the impression that the job of staying at home and doing house activities is meant for women. Identifying bias: Materials and curriculum checklist It is important that teachers are skilled in identifying the signs of unequal gender representation in textbooks and other materials. A UNESCO checklist can help teachers check their materials for this problem. Here are some of its guidelines: Are the materials used by the teacher or students free from gender stereotypes? Do the materials show females and males an equal amount of times? Do the materials show females and males with equal respect, and potential (when talking about jobs, or the future, for example)? Does the curriculum reflect the needs and life experiences of both males and females? Does the curriculum promote peace and equality for males and females, regardless, of their race, class, disability, religion, sexual preference, or ethnic background? Improving your materials So, what can teachers do when they find gender inequities in teaching materials? The answer is: it depends. Some teachers are able to make changes to their materials or the way in which they use them. Other teachers may be able to create original teaching content. Here are some more UNESCO guidelines that might help such efforts. Make sure that males and females are shown equally in class materials. Make sure that the themes, subjects, and pictures used in class materials connect to the life experiences of both female and male students. Make sure that female and male students are not presented only in stereotypical ways. Make sure you use a balanced amount of materials written by male and female authors. Include women and men as examples of experts or leaders It requires additional work for teachers to review their materials for gender bias. But using gender-sensitive materials in class can help support the creation of more gender-sensitive attitudes among students.  It can also establish a stronger learning environment where all students are motivated to succeed. I’m Phil Dierking. And I’m Jill Robbins   Phil Dierking wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. What are other ideas for adapting teaching materials to be more gender-sensitive? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   bias – n. a tendency to believe that some people, ideas, etc., are better than others that usually results in treating some people unfairly​ characterization – n. the act of describing the character or qualities of someone or something​ curriculum – n. the courses that are taught by a school, college, etc.​ discourage – v.  to make (someone) less determined, hopeful, or confident​ gender – n. the state of being male or female​ opportunity – n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done​ stereotype – n. an often unfair and untrue belief that many people have about all people or things with a particular characteristic​

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