AN ACTIVITY FOR GRADES 6-8 Activity: Ordering News Stories and Determining Newsworthiness Preparation Decide on 4-7 relatively current news stories to focus on. They can be from Teaching Kids News, or articles of your own choosing. For the sake of […]
Other News
Scientists Discover Cause Of Irish Potato Famine
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.
NBA Star Donates $1-Million To Oklahoma Relief Efforts
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.
For Healthier Kids, Put Away The Car And Walk To School
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.
Four-Year-Old Becomes Mayor Of Small Town
A four-year-old boy named Robert Tufts is the mayor of the small town of Dorset in Minnesota.
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.
First Human Colony Planned For Mars
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.
Surprising Win For Liberals In BC Election
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.
Hadfield Arrives Back On Earth; Videos From His Incredible Journey
In Chris Hadfield’s own words, he is, “safely home—back on Earth, happily readapting to the heavy pull of gravity.”
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.
Factory Conditions, Wages Improving In Bangladesh
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.
(Grade Seven: Language Or Social Science) Considering Different Points-Of-View In A News Story
AN ACTIVITY FOR GRADE SEVEN Article: New Blue Jays Pitcher Separated From Beloved Pit Bull, by Joyce Grant Activity: Considering Different Points-Of-View In A News Story Preparation: Choose a story in the news to examine. For the sake of […]
