- The world’s most expensive stamp is on display in London ahead of its auction later this month. It’s expected to go on sale for £6million to £12million. The stamp is the only known surviving 1856 one cent magenta stamp from British Guiana, which was in South America. It has been sold at auction three times before and each time the stamp set a new world record. It is expected to set yet another high when it goes under the hammer in New York, America, on June 17. Originally the stamp was found by a 12-year-old Scottish boy living in British Guiana in 1873.
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- American soldier Bowe Bergdahl is recovering in hospital in Germany after being held hostage for five years in Afghanistan. He was released at the weekend after being held captive against his will by the Taliban. Even though he’ll soon be able to see friends and family again, getting used to normal life after being a hostage can be hard. But one man who knows what it can be like is Terry Waite. Terry was held captive for nearly five years in Lebanon, in the Middle East, 25 years ago. He spoke of how he managed to recover from the experience.
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- Imagine, being able to make your own 3D animated movies at home, using free software. Pixar says RenderMan, the 3D rendering software used to make hit movies like Toy Story, Monsters Inc and Harry Potter, will be given away for free. The company has also lowered the price companies would pay for the software. Pixar said it would release a free version of RenderMan “for students, institutions, researchers, developers, and for personal use”. The company hopes it’ll create a community of animators playing with the kit and sharing ideas.
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- Wildlife campaigners in Brazil are challenging football’s governing body, FIFA, to help protect the armadillo. The Brazilian three-banded armadillo is listed as a vulnerable species and is the inspiration behind this summer’s World Cup mascot. This type of armadillo is found only in Brazil, where it lives in a type of tropical dry forest known as Caatinga. Scientists want Fifa and Brazil’s government to make parts of the armadillo’s habitat protected areas.
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- About three children in every classroom have poor working memory. This means they find it hard to remember more than one or two things at a time. But scientists say brain training could be the answer to help people improve memory and even do better with their school work. Researchers have found that 80% of the children who attend brain training sessions have shown an improvement.
Top tips for improving your memory
If you find it hard to remember what you have to do in the classroom, some of these simple tips might help:
- Record what the teacher asks you to do. You could do this by making notes, or by using a voice recorder on your phone.
- Break down long lists of things that you have to do into small steps. Do the first thing on the list, then check what the second thing is.
- Use rhythm to help you remember tricky spellings too. To remember the spelling of friend, think “fri – end”. That way, you remember ‘i’ comes before ‘e’.
- Use memory aids. These might be number lines that you use in math’s or cards with useful spellings that you use in literacy.
- Finally, if you have forgotten something important, you can always ask for help.
