Should Students Have to Learn a Foreign Language?

Should Students Have to Learn a Foreign Language? What do you think?
Be sure to back up your opinion by giving valid reasons.

Should Schools Stop Selling Chocolate Milk?

Read both sides of the Debate of the Week in Student News and sound off with your opinion.
*Just put your name - NO nicknames!*

11-3-11

*Remember to hit "refresh" and to right-click to open links in new window. If you want, open Word and type your answers there. *

Read the Time For Kids article on school and answer questions 1 and 2.
Then, read the National Geographic article on Thanksgiving and answer questions 3,4, & 5.
Use information from the articles!

1. Which scores have gone up and which scores have gone down? By how much?
2. Why is reading tougher to learn in the class than math?
3. [The Celebration] How did the Puritans and the Native Americans celebrate the first Thanksgiving? Give 3 examples from the reading.
4. How did the Puritans and the Native Americans dress for the first Thanksgiving?
5. Using information from the Thanksgiving article, how can we improve in ELA by learning about Thanksgiving?

Schould the U.S. Continue to Explore Space?

Read the Debate of the Week in Scholastic News and sound off with your opinion of the US space program.

Should Kids Be Required to Wear School Uniforms?

Read the debate of the week and post your opninion on whether students should have to wear school uniforms. SUPPORT your opinion.

Dino Death Pit!

Although dinosaurs have been extinct for over 65 million years, scientists are still learning a lot about them. Read the Kids National Geographic article called Dino Death Pit! and answer the following questions. Remember, You only have 30 minute at this station - work quick and give concise answers. If you have trouble with a question, skip it and then come back to it.

1. In your own words, describe what "quickmud" is.
2. Dinosaurs that lived 230 million years ago were about the size of what animal? (2)
3. Page 3 of the the article talks about a "bizarre toothless meat-eater called a ceratosaur." Why is this dinosaur "bizarre?"
4. How was Guanlong's arms different from the Tyrannosaurus Rex's arms? (5)
5. Would you want to play in "quickmud?" Why?

Should the school week be shorter?

Read the Debate of the Week in Scholastic News and sound off about what you think. Be sure to use complete sentences and be clear in your writing.

Should Kids Learn Cursive?

Read Scholastic News "Debate of the Week" and post your response. State your opinion and BACK UP YOUR OPINION.

Animal Myths 9/22/11

*myth: a popular story that is thought to be true.

Animals do some pretty strange things. Giraffes clean their eyes and ears with their tongues. Snakes see through their eyelids. Some snails can hibernate for three years. But other weird animal tales are hogwash. Read this National Geographic Kids article (right-click and open in new window) and find out how some of these myths started—and why they're not true.

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE FIRST BEFORE YOU ANSWER THE QUESTIONS. There are 5 pages to the article.
1. Why can it be bad if penguins look up at low-flying airplanes?
2. Explain what the parotoid glands on a frog can do to predators and humans.
3. If you see a baby bird on the ground, why should you NOT touch it?
4. What are ostriches doing when it looks like they're burying their heads in the sand?
5. Pick any animal and make up your own animal myth. Have fun with this one and be as creative as possible.

Practioce for 2011-2012 Students

Answer the following questions.
1. What is your first name?
2. What movie did you recently see?
3. Did you like the movie? Why/why not?
4. Go to this National Geographic Kids' Link and write 3 facts about anacondas.

Fine Kids For Disrupting Class?

Read the Debate of the Week in Scholastic News (March 7, 2011) and post your thoughts. Be honest and explain your thinking. Use complete sentences.

Ban Gadgets in Crosswalks?

Some major cities are thinking of making laws that prohibit people from using cell phones, iPods, and other electronic devices on the street. Read Scholastic News (Feb. 21 edition) page 7 and post your honest thoughts. Be sure to be clear and use examples - responses should also be appropriate.

Outlaw Saggy Pants?

After reading the article "Outlaw Saggy Pants" in Scholastic News, give your opinion on this issue. State your opinion and explain your thoughts. Be honest and support your answer.

Scholastic News Article

Pick an article from Scholastic News (February 14th issue) and express your thoughts on that article. Be sure to include the title of the article, a quick summary, some facts, some opinions, and anything else interesting worth pointing out in your article.

Time For Kids

Using the worksheet provided go to this Time For Kids link (right-click" and open) and answer questions 1-5 and 7-8 on the worksheet.

Type your response to question 6 and post on the Blog.

All About Presidents

Read this article on Presidential Fun Facts and Presidents Then and Now and answer the following questions.

"Fun Facts" Article

1. What is Abraham Lincoln's son's first name?

2. What was President Reagan's career before he became president?

3. Why do you think there aren't a lot of left-handed presidents?

4. Why was James Polk the first president to be photographed? How do we know what all the previous presidents looked like if they weren't photographed?

"Presidents Then And Now" Article

5. What mean animal did Teddy Roosevelt own?
6. This animal likes to "play dead" when scared. What kind of animal am I and which president would I belong to?
7. How would you react if Quentin interrupted you the same way he interrupted his father?
8. How are the two articles alike? How are they different?

Can Animals be Nice?

Read this article to find out how animals can act a lot like humans. Answer questions in any order, just remember to number them.

*If you do not want to type your response, you may handwrite it. (pacing - about 45 minutes)

1. In your own words, what does the first apragraph mean to you?

2. [Foxy freinds] Why did the female fox stop playing with the male fox?

3. [Foxy freinds] How did the male fox react?

4. [Unexpected gift] How did Sniff, the chimpanzee, help the scientist?

5. [One Good Turn] What does the phrase "Scarfed down" mean?

6. [In a Pinch] Sumamrize what happened.

7. Extended Response: describe a time when you withnessed (or heard about) an animal helping another animal.

Cotton Gin

Go to this link, read about the history of the cotton gin, and answer the following questions.
1. What country started to grow cotton 2,000 years ago?
2. Before the cotton gin, how did people get the seeds out of cotton?
3. What century did people start to grow cotton in North America? (examples - 1300s, 1400s, 800s, etc)?
4. What kind of cotton was grown on the Atlantic Coast?
5. Who invented a cotton gin that actually worked well?
6. The new cotton gin had _______ teeth that caught cotton fibers, and a system of _______ to pull harder.
7. After the cotton gin was invented, people started to wear more cotton instead of ______.