Tag: grade 6

Entertainment Lighter

The Chicken Channel

You may know that every year around Christmas many cable TV providers, like Rogers, offer their subscribers a “Fireplace Channel.” When you turn to the channel your screen fills with a burning firelog. It makes your TV look like a fireplace.

Now they’ve gone even further. Rogers is offering the “Rotisserie Channel.” A rotisserie is a barbeque pole that turns, to cook meat over a flame.

Animals

Sacred Giant Turtle In Vietnam Needs A Vet

Thousands of people in Vietnam are worried about a giant turtle they consider sacred. A sacred object is something that you worship because you believe it is very important.

The turtle is endangered. There are thought to be only four of them left. It is a giant turtle, weighing about 200 kilograms. Its Latin (scientific) name is Rafetus swinhoei.

Breaking News Environment

Disaster In Japan: Doctors, Helpers And Donations

After the tragic earthquake in Japan last Friday, things there are in turmoil. The tsunami (a huge wave caused by the earthquake) has left some villages and towns completely under water. Homes and buildings were destroyed.

The estimated amount of money lost by people and business owners because of the disaster is more than $180 billion, not to mention the many lives that have been lost and the people who have been injured or lost their homes.

Many countries around the world believe that they need to help this suffering nation in its time of need, including Canada.

Sports

Can The Maple Leafs Make The Playoffs?

The Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team haven’t been doing very well this year. They started off looking pretty good, but before long they began playing poorly. Soon, they were near the bottom of the NHL’s Eastern Conference standings. At one point, the Leafs were 14 points away from earning a spot in the playoffs, which meant they probably wouldn’t get to play in the playoffs.

But the Leafs have come back. They won seven of their last nine games and they now have a good shot at making the playoffs.

Breaking News News

Massive Earthquake, Tsunami Hit Japan

Last Friday there was a massive earthquake in Japan. It measured 9 on the Richter Scale, which is the scale that is used to measure how bad an earthquake is. This is the worst earthquake Japan had in 140 years, and they’ve had a lot of them. It was the fifth most powerful earthquake ever in in the world.

The earthquake caused buildings to “shake like palm trees,” according to one witness. Fortunately, because Japan does have a lot of earthquakes most of their buildings are built to be able to withstand them.

Kids

Great Things To Do In Quebec

In grade four, students in Ontario, PEI and Nova Scotia start to learn French in school. To show our son Anton just how wonderful French culture is, I suggested our family visit Quebec City over March Break.

Then I put Anton in charge of planning the trip.

Anton started his research sites like www.TripAdvisor.com and www.bonjourquebec.com, Quebec’s tourism site. He also talked with Micheline Lachance from Tourisme Quebec.

Anton: I’m dying to see the Ice Hotel. It seems impossible. What’s it like?

Micheline: The tour shows you what each type of room is like and how you can sleep on an ice bed and drink in ice glasses. Each room has ice sculptures with different scenes of nature.

Anton: I read Quebec produces about 80 per cent of the world’s maple syrup. Is March a good time to visit a sugar shack?

Technology

Apple Unveils The iPad 2

Last year Apple invented an amazing new piece of technology, called the iPad. It was different from anything anyone had seen before. It is a slim, flat screen but it acts like a computer. And because it’s a “touch-screen,” you use your fingers to move and open files.

Last week, Apple announced the iPad 2, a new and improved version of the iPad.

The company was very excited about the iPad 2. In fact, the head of the company, Steve Jobs, has been away sick for a long time but he came back to make the announcement himself.

Breaking News Politics

Protests In Libya Turn Violent

The people of Libya want rid of their leader, Moammar Gadhafi. He has been a brutal dictator for many years and they want him to step down.

They have been taking to the streets in protest.

However, Gadhafi (pronounced Ga-daf-fee)* refuses to leave. He said that he is “loved” by the Libyan people and he will never go.

Health

McDonald’s Manages To Make Oatmeal Unhealthy

Here’s a trick question: How many ingredients are there in oatmeal?

One, right? OK, even if you count the oats and the water, that’s two. So… two at most, right?

Not when you get oatmeal at McDonald’s.

The fast-food chain, noted for making food that is very bad for you, has recently added oatmeal to its menu as a healthy option for customers in the United States.

Breaking News Politics

Mayor Ford Looking Into Fishy Spending

In Toronto, as in many large cities, there are lots of people who cannot afford to live in a house or an apartment.

To make it easier for people to afford housing, the city offers low-priced apartments.There are more than 100,000 people in Toronto who live in low-cost housing.

Those apartments are managed by a department of the city called the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC). The people at TCHC are supposed to use our tax money to buy houses and apartments that are then rented at a low cost by people who haven’t got a lot of money. It’s big responsibility.