Author: Joyce Grant

News Politics

Obama “Officially” President Again

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Barack Obama was “sworn in” as president of the United States on Sunday.

It’s his second term as president. A term is four years; because he won the election in November, he is slated to serve another four years.

Obama was sworn in by taking an “oath of office.” An oath of office is a promise he makes in accepting the job of U.S. president.

In taking the oath, he promised to “faithfully execute the office of president of the United States and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States so help me God.”

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Arts News

Cirque Du Soleil Lays Off 400 Employees

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Some of Cirque du Soleil’s performers will soon have their feet on the ground.

That’s because the fantastical circus company is laying off 400 employees.

Cirque employs about 5,000 people around the world, doing more than 100 types of jobs including performing.

Most of the lay-offs will be at the organization’s Montreal headquarters, according to an article in the Globe and Mail.

Cirque du Soleil is a famous Canadian performing troupe. According to Wikipedia, they describe themselves as “a dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment.”

They were founded by two former street performers, Guy Laliberte and Gilles Ste-Croix, about 30 years ago.

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News

Head Of Canada’s Largest School Board Resigns Over Plagiarism

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Last week, thousands of children in Toronto learned an important lesson about the seriousness of plagiarism, from the head of the largest school board in Canada.

Plagiarism is when you copy someone else’s work and claim the ideas or writing as your own.

When you use someone else’s writing in a school report, for instance, you must let the reader know where the passage came from.

That’s known as “citing the source” or “giving attribution.”

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Lighter Technology

It’s Fun To Work (And Play) At Google

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Everyone wants to work somewhere that’s interesting and fun.

The people at Google have taken that concept to an extreme.

Their new Canadian headquarters in Toronto, Ont. have some features that make everyone want to come to work.

Google is the Internet’s most popular search engine (the software program that helps you find websites you’re looking for).

The company also makes many other software products such as Google Maps and Google Chrome.

Google also owns many Internet companies including YouTube and Blogger.

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News

Part II Of TKN’s 2012 News Quiz. How Many Of These Stories Do You Remember?

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Yesterday we posted a quiz featuring questions from events in the news in the first half of 2012. Let’s see how much you remember from the past six months as you tackle these 2012 news questions.

17) What huge sporting event took place in Summer 2012? Bonus point if you know what city it took place in.

18) The man who famously said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” passed away in August 2012. What was his name, and why was he famous?

19) Name the mayor of Toronto. Name one thing he did that was newsworthy in 2012.

20) “Replacement refs” filled in during an NFL labour dispute. What did they do that irritated many fans?

21) What did the Pope’s butler do in 2012 that made headlines?

22) Who won the World Series in 2012?

23) Why is nine-year-old Caine Monroy famous?

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News

Top Stories From 2012 – Take Our Fun Quiz!

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Now that it’s 2013, it’s a good time to look back on some of the biggest news stories of the year.

Take our quiz and see how much you remember about these stories from the past year. The link beside each question will take you to the TKN article that will give you the answer.

1) A famous scientist turned 70 on Jan. 8, 2012. Name him. (Article.)

2) Something happened to the Costa Concordia in January. What? (Article.)

3) Where did two teens send a “Legonaut”? (Article.)

4) Why did some Canadian Little Leaguers travel to Africa for a baseball game? Who did they play? (Article.)

5) Who won the 2012 Super Bowl? (Article.)

6) Name the northern Ontario city that declared a “state of emergency” in February. Bonus points if you can spell it correctly. (Article.)

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Painting by Canadian artist Rocky Green, Redneck Arts.
Arts

Happy Holidays, From Your Team At TKN

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Happy holidays!

Thank you for reading Teaching Kids News and using it in your home or classroom.

During the winter break, please enjoy our archives. There are more than 400 great articles on lots of topics.

Type a key word into our Search box or click on a topic in the “tag cloud” on our home page.

There are lots of articles kids will enjoy in categories like sports, animals, science, space, England, United States, Canada and yes, even politics.

Please also look at our new “In-Class Ideas” section (tab in the upper menu on the home page). There are some terrific ideas for in-class and homeschooling work based on articles from TKN. These are projects that other classes have done successfully with their students. Fun!

Have a great holiday season, and we’ll see you in the new year.

This beautiful, snowy image is by Canadian artist Rocky Green. (Copyright Rocky L. Green.)

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Lighter

What’s In A Meme? Ikea Monkey Goes Viral

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Who knows why something “catches on” through the Internet?

Somehow it sparks the collective imagination and before you know it, it’s gone “viral.”

That’s what happened last week with the “Ikea monkey.”

Bronwyn Page was in an Ikea (furniture store) parking lot in North York, Ont. on Dec. 9 when she saw something unusual.

A little brown monkey wearing a diaper and a tiny, expensive-looking coat.

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News

England’s Future Monarch To Be Born In 2013

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The third person in line to the throne of England will be born in 2013.

The Royal Family announced this week that Kate Middleton and her husband, Prince William, are going to have a baby.

Prince William is Queen Elizabeth II’s grandson.

Kate, also known as the Duchess of Cambridge, married William in a lavish ceremony in London, England last year.

People around the world watched the royal wedding on TV.

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News

NYPD Officer’s Random Act Of Kindness Goes Viral

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A tourist was visiting Times Square in New York when she witnessed a “random act of kindness” she—and thousands of other people—will never forget.

A homeless man was begging for change. He had no shoes or socks on, in the frigid November evening.

As the tourist, Jennifer Foster, watched, a New York police officer approached the man.

The policeman said, “I have these size 12 boots for you; they are all-weather. Let’s put them on and take care of you.”

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