Welcome to the NEW WR News Edition 4-6 Online Teaching Center! Here you'll find all the information you've come to rely on from your Teacher's Guide, now in a convenient online format.
Click the tabs above to access article background information, reproducible skills pages, and additional resources. The boxes at right will take you to subscriber-only content, including interactive digital editions, archives, and your teacher's guide in printable
PDF format.
The Teaching Center for each issue will be available two weeks before the issue date.
Please feel free to contact us at wrnews@weeklyreader.com with any questions, comments, or concerns.
Go to the Teaching Center for "Farewell to a President," April 20.
Click here for the answer key.
In This Issue
In this issue, your class will read about the 2012 Summer Olympics. Students will also meet teenage boxer Claressa Shields, U.S. Olympic gymnast Jonathan Horton, and swimmer Missy Franklin.
News Brief: A researcher travels to the world’s deepest location.
News Debate: Should schools require summer reading?
Info Zone: Evidence prompts a new search for Amelia Earhart’s plane.
Your Turn: WR News chills out with actor John Leguizamo.
Brain Builders: Tour Olympic Park (Read a Diagram)
Help your class celebrate Earth Day by sharing this poetry activity about nature. Click here for the answer key. Students can also complete this chart to keep track of how much water they use in a week.
Students can enter Weekly Reader's "My Best Teacher Ever" Contest for a chance to win a $50 gift card. Click here for more information.
Click here to download the second of two reading assessments to share with students.
Download the tracking guide here .
Common Core State Standard
Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.
Concepts of Comprehension©
FACT AND OPINION
Fact is information that someone can prove true or false. Opinion is what someone believes about a subject. Reinforce this skill with the work sheet on page 3.
National Standards
SOCIAL STUDIES (NCSS)
Cover: London Calling
• Global connections
• Individuals, groups, and institutions
Page 6: Earhart’s Island?
• Time, continuity, and change
• People, places, and environments
SCIENCE (NSES)
Page 2: Deep Dive
• Science as a human endeavor
GEOGRAPHY (NCGE)
Page 8: Tour Olympic Park
• Use maps to acquire information.
LANGUAGE ARTS (NCTE/IRA)
Teacher’s Guide (page 4)
• Students conduct research.
Varied Reading Levels
Students’ reading levels aren’t all the same, so WR News varies in difficulty.
• Find an easier version of the cover story in this issue’s digital edition at www.weeklyreader.com.
• Try “Deep Dive” on page 2 with advanced readers.
• Share “A Cool Story” on page 7 with struggling readers.
Online Exclusives
Digital Edition: an exciting multimedia version of the cover story, with videos, slide shows, and interactive features
News Quiz: a weekly news scavenger hunt based on the issue
This is your final issue of the 2011-2012 school year. Have a great summer!
TEACHING THE COVER STORY
London Calling
Athletes gear up for the Summer Olympics in London, England.
Before You Read
Ask students: What do you know about the Olympics? What might it be like to compete in the games? What sports are usually included?
Vocabulary
declare: to name
guarantee: to secure
spectator: a viewer
venue: a site
Background
• How long has boxing been an Olympic sport? Men’s boxing was one of the first Olympic competitions, dating back to the seventh century B.C. The ancient Greeks wrapped their fists in leather straps to fight. In more recent years, boxing greats such as Floyd Patterson, Muhammad Ali, and George Foreman have celebrated Olympic victories.
Women’s boxing was brought into the public eye in 1993, when a teenage girl named Dallas Malloy went to U.S. federal court to win the right for women to participate in amateur boxing. This summer, only 36 women in the world will compete in the first Olympic women’s boxing competition. They will participate in three weight divisions, and the matches will be four rounds of two minutes each.
• When are the Paralympic Games? Those games, which are open to athletes with disabilities, will run from August 29 to September 9 in London. Participants will take part in 20 sports, including swimming, tennis, and cycling.
• What are the Olympic mascots? Cyclopean characters Wenlock and Mandeville will serve as the mascots for this year’s Summer Olympics and Paralympics. The figures represent drops of steel from a girder of Olympic Stadium.
Think Critically
Why might a city want to host the Olympics? What steps might officials need to take to get their town ready for such a big event?
Extend the Lesson
Have each student choose a Summer Olympic sport he or she does not know much about. (Find the complete list of sports here: www.london2012.com/sport.) Then ask each student to research his or her sport and write a paragraph that includes five facts about the activity.
Web Resource
For more information about the Summer Olympics, visit www.london2012.com.
Lexile rating: 830L
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TEACHING THE NEWS BRIEF
Deep Dive
Researcher James Cameron reaches Earth's deepest spot.
Before You Read
Ask: What might it be like to visit the world’s deepest spot? What might you see there?
Vocabulary
amphipod: a tiny shrimplike sea creature
bleak: lifeless
Background
Who else has traveled to Challenger Deep? Only two other people have reached the spot: U.S. Navy Capt. Don Walsh and Swiss oceanographic engineer Jacques Piccard. They spent about 20 minutes at the Challenger Deep in 1960, but they were unable to see clearly because their submarine kicked up a large amount of debris from the seafloor. James Cameron is the first person to make the trip alone.
Think Critically
Why might experts want to travel to the world’s deepest spot?
Extend the Lesson
Have students work in small groups to track down other record-breaking spots, such as the world’s longest river, tallest mountain, hottest location, and rainiest place. Then ask each group to research at least five facts about its destination.
Web Resource
See photographs of Cameron’s Deepsea Challenger at tinyurl.com/deepsea-challenger.
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TEACHING THE INFO ZONE
Earhart's Island?
Evidence prompts a new search for Amelia Earhart's plane.
Tip: Before reading the Info Zone, have students visit tinyurl.com/earhartspeaks to listen to Amelia Earhart talk about aviation.
Before You Read
Ask: Who was Amelia Earhart? What happened to her?
Vocabulary
rivet: a short metal fastener
Background
• What are some of the records Earhart set? In 1928, the aviator became the first woman to make a solo round-trip flight across the United States. Four years later, she became the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean on a solo flight.
• Was she alone on her last flight? No. Earhart was accompanied by a navigator, Fred Noonan. Neither was heard from again.
• What are some theories about the disappearance? Some people believe Earhart ran out of fuel and crashed into the ocean. Others claim Earhart and Noonan were U.S. spies and that the Japanese captured them.
Think Critically
How might the disappearance of Earhart affect how she is remembered? Would she be as well-known if she had not vanished?
Extend the Lesson
Have each student research Earhart and write a newspaper article about an event in her life.
Web Resource
Learn about Earhart at www.ameliaearhartmuseum.org.
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Click on each image to download a PDF of that activity. Click here for the answer key.
Use this activity to help students learn how to distinguish fact from opinion.
Help students learn how to conduct research by sharing this activity.
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Grades 4 to 6 Teaching Centers and Issue Dates, 2011-2012
Senior Managing Editor: Clara Colbert
Senior Editor: Brooke Ross
Senior Associate Editor: Rebecca Zissou
Contributing Editor: Laura McClure Anastasia
Senior Group Art Director: Jeff Talbot
Senior Art Director: Claudia Ramirez
Associate Art Director: Raquel Hernandez
Designer: Nicole Hocutt
Manager, Copy Editing: Kim Paras
Senior Copy Editor: Sarah Chassé
Copy Editor: Troy Reynolds
Manager, Photo Department: Julie Alissi
Multimedia Researcher: Carrin Ackerman
Production Designer: Richard Gore
Operations Manager, Manufacturing: Christine DiLauro
Vice President, Operations: Marcia Smith
Senior Vice President, Editorial: Ira Wolfman
The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc., President and Chief Executive Officer: Robert E. Guth
Executive Vice President, RDA: Lisa Sharples
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