Potatoes are a staple of the Irish diet. Image: United States Department of Agriculture

It’s well known that in the 1840s, Ireland suffered from a disaster known as the Irish potato famine.

“Famine” means a “shortage of food.”

More than a quarter of the population of Ireland died or left the country from 1845 to 1852 because of the famine. For much of the country at the time, potatoes were the main source of food.

The famine had a big effect on Ireland; for one thing, its population is not yet back to pre-famine levels.

The famine happened because the country’s potatoes caught a disease. At the time, no one knew what the disease was or how to cure it.

Recently, scientists discovered what it was.

Scientists have been examining dried potato leaves from the time of the famine.

They have found a new “strain” of disease, which they are calling HERB-1. It was previously unknown to science and they believe it was responsible for the blight in the mid-1800s.

The way the scientists used the dried leaves to discover the strain may help them understand more modern diseases in plants.

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Jonathan Tilly

Writing/Discussion Prompt
Today’s story demonstrates how learning from the past can help our understanding of future solutions. What other examples can you think of where using knowledge from the past has been able to help others in the future?

Reading Prompt: Demonstrating Understanding
Some information is more important than others. Rank these facts in order of importance:

_________ “More than a quarter of the population of Ireland died or left the country from 1845 to 1852 because of the famine.”

_________ “Famine” means a “shortage of food.”

_________ “Scientists have been examining dried potato leaves from the time of the famine.”

_________ “The famine happened because the country’s potatoes caught a disease.”

_________ “They have found a new “strain” of disease, which they are calling HERB-1.”

Explain your reasoning.

Primary
Demonstrate understanding of a variety of texts by identifying important ideas and some supporting details (OME, Reading: 1.4).

Junior
Demonstrate understanding of a variety of texts by summarizing important ideas and citing supporting details (OME, Reading: 1.4).

Intermediate
Demonstrate understanding of increasingly complex texts by summarizing important ideas and citing a variety of details that support the main idea (OME, Reading: 1.4).

Grammar Feature: Its vs. It’s
Its vs. It’s is a classic. Many people struggle to figure out which one to use when. But the proper way to use them is really quite simple and if you remember to double-check every time you see “its” or “it’s”, you’ll get it right every time. “It’s” is a contraction meaning it + is. For example, “It’s cold outside.” “Its” is possessive, meaning ownership. In the example that follows, the pedals belong to it (a bike), “Its pedals are broken.”

Reread today’s article and underline the word “it.” Make a list of all the things that “it” means.

Kevin Durant is an NBA star. He plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Image: Keith Allison

To help his home city “bounce back” after a terrible storm, NBA player Kevin Durant has donated $1-million.

The number of people harmed by a recent tornado in the U.S. state of Oklahoma was greatly reduced, thanks to a special early-warning system.

On Monday, a major tornado hit Moore, a suburb of Oklahoma City. A tornado is a violent storm that usually looks like a whirling funnel.

Residents were warned there was a big storm coming, and possibly a tornado, days before it arrived. When it actually hit, sirens blared, giving people a 16-minute head start to find shelter.

Those sixteen minutes likely saved many lives, according to a news report by The Associated Press.

The country’s National Weather Service issued a warning that a tornado was coming. Then, outdoor sirens started going off. When people heard the noise, they knew to go somewhere safe from the storm, such as a basement.

Thirty-six sirens were installed in Moore because it is in an area of the U.S. that sometimes has tornadoes. Other parts of North America are not as likely to have tornadoes.

Researchers are working on creating longer-term warnings, that will give people even more warning time.

This photograph shows the tornado as it travelled south of Oklahoma City. Image: Ks0stm

In Canada, Environment Canada issues weather warnings to alert people to big storms.

One of the people affected by the tornado is basketball player Kevin Durant, who plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He said it was “tough to see” what the tornado did to his town. He has donated $1-million to help the city rebuild.

He told The Associated Press that the city will come together and “we’re going to bounce back.”

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Jonathan Tilly

Writing/Discussion Prompt
Today’s story explains that a tornado is a violent storm that usually looks like a whirling funnel. The science of what causes tornados is quite fascinating and, with the help of an adult, search the web and youtube for explanations that are right for you.

However, to see what the swirling wind looks like, do the following experiment. Materials you’ll need are: 2 empty 2-litre plastic pop bottles, water, duct tape, sequins (optional).

1. Pour approximately 1 litre of water into one of the pop bottles.
2. If using sequins, add them to the water now.
3. Place the empty pop bottle on top of the pop bottle containing the water, so that both spouts are lined up.
4. Use the duct tape to create a seal between both spouts. (The water will need to travel from one bottle to the other, so a well-made seal is a good idea.)

Now that your tornado in a bottle is made, flip the plastic bottles so that the water is falling into the empty bottle. Turn the top water bottle in a circular motion while keeping the bottom water bottle in place. This will produce a “whirling funnel” of water. If you do not see the water moving in this way, try turning the top water bottle more quickly.

Reading Prompt: Comprehension Strategies
A comprehension strategy is a tool that helps you understand what it is that you are reading. One excellent tool for making sure you are comprehending a text is asking yourself questions.

Did you ask yourself questions as you read? If so, what were they? If not, what strategy did you use to ensure that you understood the article correctly?

Primary & Junior
Identify a variety of reading comprehension strategies and use them appropriately before, during, and after reading to understand texts (OME, Reading: 1.3).

Intermediate
Identify a variety of reading comprehension strategies and use them appropriately before, during, and after reading to understand increasingly complex texts (OME, Reading: 1.3).

Grammar Feature: Adjectival Compounds / Dashes ( – )
Dashes ( – ) are punctuation marks that can be used to change or modify the meaning of the words they connect. When a dash is used in this way, the first word modifies the meaning of the second word. For this reason, these constructions are called adjectival compounds, i.e. the number modifies the amount of the second word, the noun. Today’s story contains two adjectival compounds, 16-minute and 1-million.

Write 5 of your own adjectival compounds. Make sure that the number changes the value of the noun it precedes.

A child rides his bike and gets some exercise too! Image: Trofobi

Only a quarter of Canadian kids walk or bike to school and that’s not enough, according to a new “report card on physical activity for children and youth.”

Active Healthy Kids Canada (AHKC) is a Canadian charity that encourages children and their parents to get more exercise.

Their report found that only 24 per cent of five to 17-year-olds in Canada use “active transportation” to get to school. “Active transportation” means not using cars, trains or buses.

On the other hand, their parents were twice as likely to walk to school when they were children.

Every year in its report card, AHKC focuses on one aspect of healthy living.

This year’s theme, “driving,” looked at how much exercise kids are getting when they travel to and from different places near their homes.

There are many things the report listed as possible reasons why children wouldn’t use active transportation. The biggest one is the distance between schools and homes.

Many children live too far away from their school to be able to get there by walking or biking.

Another reason is that sometimes driving is easier. Parents may drop their child off at school, on their way to work.

A third reason is safety.  Many parents prefer not to let their child walk to school, especially if they are young.

AHKC has some suggestions about how children can work with their parents to make active transportation a bigger part of their life.

One is for parents to drive close (but not all the way) to the school, and have children get out and walk the remaining distance.

Another is for parents to take turns looking after and walking with children so that they can travel safely.

The easiest and best thing to do is for parents to tell their children to try to walk, bike or wheel to different places whenever possible – not just when they are going to school. And children can tell their parents to walk more, too!

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Jonathan Tilly

Writing/Discussion Prompt
If you decide with your parents that you will start walking or riding your bike to school, keep a journal of when you went and how long each walk took. In a week, look to see how often you were able to use active transportation getting to school. Discover the average time it takes you to go back and forth. Compare the average length of your trips to trips to school in your car.

Reading Prompt: Extending Understanding
What other types of activities can you do to promote a healthier lifestyle for you, as well as your friends and family?

Primary
Extend understanding of texts by con- necting the ideas in them to their own knowledge and experience, to other famil- iar texts, and to the world around them (OME, Reading: 1.6).

Junior
Extend understanding of texts by con- necting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insights, to other familiar texts, and to the world around them (OME, Reading: 1.6).

Intermediate
Extend understanding of texts, including increasingly complex or difficult texts, by connecting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insights, to other familiar texts, and to the world around them (OME, Reading: 1.6).

Grammar Feature: Double letters before a suffix
A suffix is an ending that is added to the end of a root word in order to change its meaning. Their are many suffixes in English. The most common suffixes are: “-s,” “-ed,” “-ing,” and “-est.” Quite often, these endings are simply placed at the end of the root word and nothing more needs to take place. For example, the root word “smell” becomes “smelleded” or “smeels” simply by adding the suffix to the end of the root word. However, in other instances, another letter is added or is removed. For example, today’s story includes two situations where the final letter in the root word is doubled before adding the suffix, “biggest” and “getting.”

What other words have the final letter of their root word doubled before adding a suffix?

He was given the job last August – when he was only three – and will continue to be mayor until this August.

The boy was awarded the position after his name was pulled out of a hat.

Once a year, people who live in or nearby Dorset can pay $1 to have their name written on piece of paper and put into a hat.

Then a name is randomly drawn out of the hat, and the person whose name it is becomes the mayor.

Last year, Robert Tufts’ name was pulled out.

A mayor is the person who is the leader of a city, town or village.

Usually, people will vote for their mayor in an “election.” The person with the most votes, wins.

Because Dorset has fewer than 30 people and the mayor isn’t actually expected to do very much, the town’s residents have decided to let anyone become mayor by picking out a random name.

At the end of the summer, people will put their names in the hat again, and another mayor will be chosen.  For now, however, Robert will continue serving as mayor, where his main duties are going to daycare and acting friendly towards the other people in his town.

There are no rules about where you have to live or how old you have to be to become the mayor of Dorset, so anybody could win next year.

Curriculum Connections
By Paul McGoey

Writing/Discussion Prompt
If you were the mayor of your city, what would you do?  Is there anything you think you could improve?

Reading Prompt: Metacognition
Are there any words or ideas in the article you don’t understand?  Do you have any unanswered questions about the story?  Write out some strategies you can use to help understand these words and ideas or get answers to your questions.

Primary
Identify, initially with some support and direction, what strategies they found most helpful before, during, and after reading and how they can use these and other strategies to improve as readers (OME, Reading, 4.1)

Junior
Identify the strategies they found most helpful before, during, and after reading and explain, in conversation with the teacher and/or peers, or in a reader’s notebook, how they can use these and other strategies to improve as readers (OME, Reading, 4.1)

Intermediate
Identify the strategies they found most helpful before, during, and after reading and explain, in conversation with the teacher and/or peers, or in a reader’s notebook, how they can use these and other strategies to improve as readers (OME, Reading, 4.1)

Grammar Feature : Verb
A verb is a word that shows action.  A regular verb is a word that you can add an “ed” ending to if you are using it in the past tense (or just “d” if it already ends in “e”).  An irregular verb is a word that changes in a different way, if it changes at all.

Notice the difference in this sentence:

The boy was awarded the position by having his name pulled out of a hat.

Here, “awarded” and “pulled” are regular verbs, because they are the past tense forms of “award” and “pull”.  “Was” is an irregular verb, because it is the past tense form of “is”.

Make a t-chart in your notebook with the headings “regular verbs” and “irregular verbs”.  Go through the article and add verbs (action words) to the chart.  Before you put a word on the chart, make sure you think about whether there is any way the verb could work with an “ed”, even if it doesn’t have one in the story.

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope took this picture of Mars on June 26, 2001, when Mars was approximately 68 million kilometers from Earth. This is the closest Mars has been to Earth since 1988. Image: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team

A Dutch business owner is looking for people who want to live on Mars.

He believes that with proper preparation, a human settlement can exist on the Red Planet. He said the settlement would provide valuable information for those who support and study life beyond Earth.

The project is called Mars One and nearly 80,000 people–including 35 Canadians–have applied to start a new life on Mars.

Those who are chosen to go would set up a colony, similar to a city.

Supplies for the colony will be sent to Mars beginning in 2016. The first four settlers are scheduled to be transported to Mars in 2023.

After two years, four more people would be sent to join them.

People would continue to settle on Mars until the total became 20. By that time, Mars One says that the colony would be self-sufficient. That means they would be able to take care of themselves and continue to build the settlement on their own.

So far, no human has ever visited Mars and critics say that Mars cannot support human life.

But the people who run the Mars One project are confident that it can happen. And within two weeks, 80,000 others have said they feel the same way.

Even Chris Hadfield, former commander of the International Space Station, who just returned to Earth after five months in space, has shown interest. He said he would be honoured to go to Mars.

The project will be filmed for a reality television series to help pay the costs of the project.

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Kathleen Tilly

Writing/Discussion Prompt
Why do you think so many people have already applied to be part of the first colony on Mars? What do you think they expect to find? What do you think they hope to experience?

Would you or anyone you know be interested in this opportunity? Why or why not?

Reading Prompt: Making Inferences/Interpreting Texts
The article states, “Supplies for the colony will be sent to Mars beginning in 2016.”

What supplies would be necessary in order to set up the first colony on Mars? What would be the most important supplies and what would not be essential?

Junior
Use stated and implied ideas in texts to make inferences and construct meaning (OME, Reading: 1.5).

Intermediate
Develop and explain interpretations of increasingly complex or difficult texts using stated and implied ideas from the texts to support their interpretations (OME, Reading: 1.5).

Grammar Feature: Synonyms
Synonyms are different words that have a similar meaning. For example, a synonym for ‘joyful’ is ‘happy’.

Read the article and identify any words that would be difficult for a primary student to read or understand then think of synonyms to replace these challenging words.

Christy Clark will remain the Premier of B.C. after the provincial election was won by the Liberals. Image: Chris Krug

The Liberals unexpectedly won the provincial election in British Columbia on Tuesday surprising many people, who thought the New Democratic Party (NDP) would win.

The Liberals and the NDP are two of Canada’s biggest political parties.

The Liberals were already in power in B.C.; after this election, they will stay in power.

Being “in power” in this case means they are responsible for making many of the important decisions involving laws and money in the province. It also means that their leader is the Premier of the province.

Many people—including political experts—thought the New Democratic Party would win the election. Not only did the Liberals win, but they won a “majority government.” That means they have more seats in the legislature than all of the other parties combined.

Election results
Liberals – 50 seats
NDP – 33 seats
Green Party – 1 seat
Independent – 1 seat
Conservative Party – 0 seats

Part of the reason why some people thought the NDP would win was because polls seemed to show that they had the most support.

Before many elections, people are asked who they will probably vote for; it’s called a “poll.” Polls help to predict who will win an election.

Polls taken in the last few months in B.C. asked people in that province which party (the Liberals, NDP, Conservatives or Green) they wanted to be in power. The most popular choice was the NDP.

Even though they are good for making guesses about who will win an election, polls can be wrong. For one thing, pollsters don’t ask everyone what they think – only certain groups of people – and, people can change their minds about who they will vote for.

The final vote on the actual election day is the only one that counts.

Christy Clark is the leader of the Liberals in B.C. She was the Premier of the province before the election and now will remain as Premier.

On Tuesday she made a happy speech in front of her supporters after the votes were counted.

In her speech, she said something funny. She said, “Well, that was easy!”
Everyone in the audience laughed, because it had been anything but easy for the Liberals to win the election.

In an interesting twist, while Clark led her Liberal party to victory, she didn’t win in her own riding of Vancouver-Point Grey. It’s the first time since 1924 that someone has become Premier without themselves having a “seat” in the legislature.

Clark will likely decide to try to win a place in the legislature in a future “by-election.” (A by-election is a special election that is held between regularly scheduled elections.)

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Jonathan Tilly & Paul McGoey

Writing/Discussion Prompt
Christy Clark proved many experts wrong by winning this recent election. Has there been a time in your life that you won something shen not many people believed you had a chance? Name a few of the characteristics someone needs to have in order to do this. How could these qualities help a leader?

Reading Prompt: Reading Unfamiliar Words
Stories about politics, like this one about an election, can be quite complicated. There are often many terms that are difficult to understand. Sometimes it’s possible to understand the terms from the context of the article. Other times, it’s helpful to look up their meaning.

How did you ensure that you understood the following terms?

party, riding, votes, legislature, by-election, victory, election, Premier, poll

Primary & Junior
Predict the meaning of and rapidly solve unfamiliar words using different types of cues (OME, Reading: 3.2).

Grammar Feature: Drop the “E” when adding “ing”
There are many helpful rules out there for spelling tricky words. But one of the all time best is, when adding “ing” to a word that ends with an “e,” drop the final “e”. Here are  few examples,

guide + ing = guiding
smile + ing = smiling
dance + ing = dancing
ease + ing = easing

Find all the words in today’s article this rule and underline them.

The Canadian astronaut left Earth to live on the International Space Station (ISS) late last December.

He touched down in Kazakhstan on Monday at 10:31 p.m. (EDT), along with two other astronauts who had been on the ISS.

He will now undergo extensive medical testing to help his body adjust to life on Earth again.

In the five months he was living on the ISS, Chris Hadfield changed the way we all relate to space.

He opened up space-life to the ordinary public in a way that no one ever had before.

With the help of his son, Evan, he tweeted messages, took photos of the Earth, answered kids’ questions during assemblies, created music and made astounding videos of his life in space. He even took the time to help one university student with his physics homework!

Was there nothing this astronaut couldn’t do?

Before Hadfield left, he had 20,000 Twitter followers. He now has more than 914,000.

Hadfield, and his son Evan who helped him do much of the tweeting and posting (read our article about that here), worked with the Canadian Space Agency to create a Twitter feed (@Cmdr_Hadfield), a Facebook page, a YouTube channel, a Reddit channel and other “social media” channels.

• Click here for an interactive map showing all of the places on Earth Chris Hadfield photographed

Now that he’s safely back on Earth, here are some of the coolest and most astounding videos Chris Hadfield created to help us understand–and delight in–space.

What happens when you wring out a cloth in space? (This is really cool – stay with it until the end.) (3:19)

Making a sandwich in space. (2:27)

Chris Hadfield (in space) and Ed Robertson (on Earth) sing a song they wrote, called Is Somebody Singing? (I.S.S.). (5:29)

How does an astronaut throw up in space? (1:49)

A real-life makeover of David Bowie’s famous song, “Space Oddity.” (5:31)

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Paul McGoey

Writing/Discussion Prompt:
Chris Hadfield spent four months with little gravity. In space, when Hadfield let go of something, it floated. His son, Evan, told TKN that when his dad gets back to Earth, he sometimes accidentally drops things, forgetting they’ll fall!

List some of the other adjustments Chris Hadfield will have to make now that he’s back on Earth.

Reading Prompt: Text Features
Text boxes are small pieces of text that explain a picture, chart or a video.

For example, a text box written for the Pixar Short Film, For The Birds, gives a short summary of the video:
This is a short video where one big bird tries to be friends with some smaller birds, but they make fun of him and poke him.  Due to the weight of the big bird, the wire they are all sitting on bends really far down and snaps back up when the big bird falls off it, causing all the small birds to get shot high into the air and lose their feathers.

With your teacher’s or parent’s permission, watch three or four short videos online. Write a textbox for each that is approximately one or two sentence and explains what happens.

Primary
Identify a variety of text features and explain how they help readers understand texts (OME, Reading, 2.3)

Junior
Identify a variety of text features and explain how they help readers understand texts (OME, Reading, 2.3)

Intermediate
Identify a variety of text features and explain how they help communicate meaning (OME, Reading, 2.3)

Grammar Feature: Apostrophe
To show ownership or possession, you can add an apostrophe and then an s to a noun (‘s).  If the word is plural or already ends in an s, you usually just add an apostrophe at the end.

Notice the difference in these two sentences:
1. “In Chris Hadfield’s own words, he is, ‘safely home—back on Earth, happily readapting to the heavy pull of gravity.’”
2. “With the help of his son, Evan, he tweeted messages, took photos of the Earth, answered kids’ questions during assemblies, created music and made astounding videos of his life in space.

(Sewing Machine. Image: mangan2002)

Things appear to be changing for the better for people who work in clothing factories in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is a small country in south-east Asia.

About four million people there work in clothing factories, cutting and sewing clothes. A lot of the clothing they make is sold in stores in North America.

Most of the factory workers in Bangladesh earn much less than workers who do similar jobs in North America. Often they work long hours, and many of them work in unsafe conditions.

Recently there was an accident involving workers in a clothing factory near Bangladesh’s capital city, Dhaka. Many workers were injured or killed.

Since then, different groups have been asking questions about worker safety and trying to come up with ways to make conditions better for the people who make clothes in Bangladesh.

The government of Bangladesh also wants to improve the standards for workers. That will include raising their pay and letting them join “unions.”

Their “minimum wage” will be increased. The minimum wage means the least (minimum) you can pay someone to do a job. Currently, clothing workers in Bangladesh earn a minimum of $38 a month.

The government in Bangladesh has also announced they will let the workers freely form unions.

A union is when all the workers at a place or in a company join together to protect each other and get the most pay and benefits possible. Before now, the owners of the factories in Bangladesh had to give permission before workers could form a union (which meant unions weren’t very likely to happen).

A lot of the clothing sold in North America is made in Bangladesh because, with wages so low, companies can sell them for low prices.

Some of the North American clothing companies that buy clothes made in Bangladesh are also working together to help improve the conditions in factories.

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Paul McGoey & Jonathan Tilly

Writing/Discussion Prompt
Sometimes, governments do things when people put pressure on them to change. For instance, the North American clothing companies are putting pressure on the government in Bangladesh. Who do you think put pressure on the clothing companies?

Reading Prompt: Demonstrate Understanding
Sometimes we can show if we’ve truly understood something by making sure we understand new ideas and terms. You may not have not known many of the terms mentioned in today’s article. Without rereading, in your own words, explain both “minimum wage” and “union.” Were you successful? Or did you find this challenging? Why was this easy or hard to do?

Junior
Demonstrate understanding of a variety of texts by summarizing important ideas and citing supporting details (OME, Reading: 1.4).

Intermediate
Demonstrate understanding of increaseingly complex texts by summarizing important ideas and citing a variety of details that support the main idea (OME, Reading: 1.4).

Grammar Feature: Directional language

Compass Rose. Image: Brosen

A compass rose is a tool that helps people communicate different directions. As you can see in the image to the right, The four directions that are the basis of this system are “N” (North) “E” (East), “S” (South), and “W” West. The tool is then divided further by combining the vertical directions with the horizontal directions in order to describe more specific directions.

For this activity, you’ll need a partner, pencil, one paper clip, and three print outs of this compass rose. Create a spinner by placing the paper clip in the middle of one of the compass rose and use the lead of the pencil to ensure that when the paperclip is spun, the clip stays in place. On this game board, write the letters “T” (Thumb) in the “SE” (southeast) corner, “I” (Index) in the “NE” (northeast) corner, “R” (ring) in the “NW” (northwest) corner, and “P” (pinkie) in the (southwest) corner. Now you are ready to play one-handed twister against a friend–each using your own game board.

Article: New Blue Jays Pitcher Separated From Beloved Pit Bull, by Joyce Grant

Activity: Considering Different Points-Of-View In A News Story

Preparation:

1. Choose a story in the news to examine.  For the sake of this example, we will use the story of Mark Buehrle being separated from his pit bulls.
2. Find between 4-8 distinct points of view to focus on, ones that are directly referenced in or have a bearing on the story.  For example:

a)     Mark Buehrle

b)    A pit bull breeder

c)     The girl who was attacked by the pit bull in 2005

d)    The Blue Jays general manager

e)     An Ontario government official

f)     Someone who runs an animal pound

3. Devise 3-5 questions related to the story that would likely produce notable reactions from the person or group represented by each perspective.  For example:

a)     What do you think about pit bulls?

b)    What are you going to try to make happen in this situation and how?

c)     What are you afraid might happen in this situation?

4. Make individual slips of paper that contain every possible combination of one perspective and one question.  For example, in this case there are six possible perspectives and three possible perspectives, for a total of 18 slips (6×3=18).  Include a couple of blank lines underneath each question for the students to jot down answers.  Each slip should look something like this:

Your Perspective: A pit bull breeder

What do you think about pit bulls?

  ______________________________________________________________________

 Ideally, the number of students who are getting a slip like this should make up approximately 2/3 of the class.  Don’t worry about exact numbers.

5. For whichever students are remaining, make up a “guessing chart” where they will guess the perspective of each student who is answering one of the questions at the front of the class.  Make sure there is a space for every perspective and each question.  For example:

6. Print the slips and charts and cut them out so there are enough for every individual student.

Execution:

1. Explain the news story, ideally by using a printed hard copy of the TKN version or displaying www.teachingkidsnews.com on a projector.
2. Tell students they are going to get either a “guessing chart” or a “perspective slip” and describe them (show an example of each if necessary).  Advise them not to share what they have written on their paper with anyone else.
3. Instruct class on how to proceed:

a)     If they get a “perspective slip”, they should jot down an answer to the question posed on it.  Answers don’t need to be in full sentences, but they should be in first person, as if they are the person or group specified.

b)    If they get a “guessing chart”, they should jot down – on the back of the paper – ideas of what people from each perspective listed on the chart might think about the situation.

4. Distribute the papers and give students approximately five minutes to come up with ideas.
5. Write down the first question on the board (i.e. “What do you think about pit bulls?”).  Tell every student with a “perspective slip” that has that question on it to come up to the front of the classroom.  If the preparation was done correctly, there should be one student from each perspective.
6. Have the students at the front share their answers in first person in no particular order.  Tell students with the “guessing charts” to write down the names of the students they think are representing each individual person or group in the respective column on the question #1 row.  Students who don’t have guessing charts can guess as well, but don’t have to record their answers.
7. Have the presenting students reveal their “secret” perspectives.  Tell the students with the charts to record how many they guessed correctly.
8. Repeat the process for the rest of the questions.
9. After all the questions are done and perspectives are revealed, tell the students with the charts to mark down how many they guessed correctly in total.  Ask if any students want to share their scores.

Teaching Tips

1. Pick a news story that has at least two clearly divergent views, but isn’t extremely upsetting or violent in nature.
2. Consider writing the questions on the board in advance or displaying the “perspective slips” or “guessing charts” on a projector to save time and facilitate understanding.
3. If there are students in the class who are ELLs or extremely uncomfortable role-playing in front of their peers, consider purposeful grouping – give those students “guessing charts”.
4. Circulate around the room to ensure students are on track during the answering phase.  Try to keep this time period relatively short to avoid boredom and restlessness on the part of the students with the “guessing charts”.
5. Consider giving a small prize to the students with the highest score on their “guessing chart”.

R.H. King Academy has provided its students with a program to help them cope with anger and to grow. Image: SimonP

A program to prevent kids from dropping out of school is now available in Canada.

Reconnecting Youth is a U.S. program that helps kids gain self-esteem and cope with their emotions.

The Canadian program adds something more. It helps kids to see how anger can rule their lives.

The Canadian program is taught by social workers, who have training to help kids deal with anger that may be holding them back.

Many teens who are angry may also skip classes, insult teachers and even drop out of school, says Ed Schild, a spokesperson for the Reconnecting Youth program.

Reconnecting Youth has been a pilot project at R.H. King Academy in Toronto for the past two years.

The students in the program learn a five-step process for handling their emotions. The first and most important is to stop before acting out, which can be a difficult lesson to learn.

Students are given bracelets to remind them to think before they act. They also do assignments that help them see other people’s points of view.

Some kids in the program have gone through a lot to make them so angry, like parents dying, abuse or bullying. According to the program’s brochure, kids have said that after the program, their marks increased and they were able to handle anger and stress better.

For some, just knowing that anger is getting in the way of their life is a big step forward.

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Jonathan Tilly

Writing/Discussion Prompt
Anger, like many emotions, can be an obstacle to success. How do you cope with your emotions in order to succeed in your goals? What advice would you give to a fellow student who was having difficulty controlling his/her emotions?

Reading Prompt: Extending Understanding
Programs like Reconnecting Youth go beyond traditional school subjects, like English, math, science,and gym. Do you think schools should explore topics like controlling emotions and behaviours? Why or why not?

Junior
Extend understanding of texts by connecting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insights, to other familiar texts, and to the world around them (OME, Reading: 1.6).

Intermediate
Extend understanding of texts, including increasingly complex or difficult texts, by connecting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insights, to other familiar texts, and to the world around them (OME, Reading: 1.6).

Grammar Feature: Style
The way an author chooses to tell his/her readers information is a big part of the authors style. For example, an author might be said to have a “direct” style if he/she writes sentences that are to the point and contain facts. However, on the other hand, an author might be said to have an “indirect” style if he/she take a longer path when telling their readers information. An “indirect” writing style may likely have more included in it than facts.

Read the two portions below from today’s article and identify the sections as having a “direct” or “indirect” style.

“The Canadian program adds something more. It helps kids to see how anger can rule their lives.”

“Reconnecting Youth has been a pilot project at R.H. King Academy in Toronto for the past two years.”

With these examples in mind, when might an author choose to use a “direct” or “indirect” writing style?