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The Teaching Center for each issue will be available two weeks before the issue date.
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Go to the Teaching Center for "Animal Adventure," 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 and U.S. Olympic gymnast Jonathan Horton.
News Brief: Director James Cameron reaches Earth’s deepest spot.
News Brief: 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 final reading assessment 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.
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: Knockout Summer
• Global connections
• Individuals, groups, and institutions
Page 2: A Cool Story
• Culture
• Individual development and identity
SCIENCE (NSES)
Page 2: Deep Dive
• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• Properties of Earth materials
LANGUAGE ARTS (NCTE/IRA)
Teacher’s Guide (page 5)
• Students use strategies to comprehend text.
Motivate Reluctant Readers
In this issue, the story written for reluctant readers is “A Cool Story.” Before reading, ask: What might a kids’ movie about the Ice Age be like?
Online Exclusive
Digital Edition: an exciting multimedia version of the cover story, with videos, slide shows, and interactive features
This is your final issue of the 2011-2012 school year. Have a great summer!
TEACHING THE COVER STORY
Knockout Summer
Athletes gear up for the Summer Olympics in London, England.
Before You Read
Ask: What do you know about the Summer Olympics? What might it be like to compete in the games? What sports are usually included?
Vocabulary
championship: a contest
jab: a punch
spectator: a viewer
Background
• When did the Olympics begin? The ancient Greeks started the games about 2,800 years ago. Participants competed in a single event—a 200-yard foot race. Americans have been competing in the games since the first modern Olympics were held in Greece in 1896. Women were allowed to take part in certain events beginning in 1900. In 1904, Olympic officials began awarding medals to the winners. U.S. athletes have won more than 2,325 Summer Olympic medals.
• When will the Paralympic Games take place? Those games, which are open to athletes with disabilities, will run from August 29 to September 9 in London, England. Participants will take part in 20 sports, including swimming and tennis.
• What are the Olympic mascots? Cyclopean characters Wenlock and Mandeville will serve as the mascots for this summer’s London Olympics. The figures represent drops of steel from a girder of Olympic Stadium. Wenlock’s name comes from Much Wenlock, an English town where the Wenlock Olympian Society held its first Olympian Games in 1850. Mandeville’s name is derived from Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury, England. The Stoke Mandeville Games, a precursor to the Paralympics, were held there.
Think Critically
Why might a city want to host the Olympics? What steps might officials need to take to get the town ready for such a big event?
Extend the Lesson
Research a sport. Have each student choose a Summer Olympic sport he or she doesn’t know much about. (Find the full list at 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 2012 Summer Olympics, visit www.london2012.com.
Lexile rating: 640L
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TEACHING THE NEWS BRIEF
Deep Dive
Director James Cameron reaches Earth's deepest spot.
Before You Read
Ask: What might it be like to visit the world’s deepest spot?
Vocabulary
boundary: a limit
Background
Who else has traveled to the Challenger Deep? Only two other people have reached the deepest spot on Earth: Swiss oceanographic engineer Jacques Piccard and U.S. Navy Capt. Don Walsh. They spent about 20 minutes at the Challenger Deep in 1960, but they were unable to see clearly because their sub kicked up a large amount of debris from the seafloor. James Cameron is the first person to make the trip alone. The images he recorded will be shown in a 3-D movie.
Think Critically
Why might researchers want to travel to the world’s deepest spot?
Extend the Lesson
Study superlatives. 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 find at least five facts about its destination using books or the Internet.
Web Resource
See photos of Cameron’s Deepsea Challenger submarine at tinyurl.com/deepsea-challenger.
TEACHING THE NEWS BRIEF
A Cool Story
WR News chills out with actor John Leguizamo.
Before You Read
Ask students: Have you heard of the Ice Age? What do you know about it? What kinds of creatures might have lived during that time?
Vocabulary
ground sloth: an animal that roamed Earth until about 10,000 years ago
Background
What is an ice age? An ice age is a period of time when sheets of ice cover Earth. The most recent ice age took place from about 70,000 years ago to about 10,000 years ago at the end of the Pleistocene Epoch. The term Ice Age generally refers to that time.
Think Critically
How might scientists know what types of animals lived during the Ice Age?
Extend the Lesson
Research an Ice Age animal. Have students use books or the Internet to research an animal that lived during the Ice Age, such as a mastodon, a woolly mammoth, or a saber-toothed tiger. Then ask each student to find at least three facts about his or her animal, including its diet and appearance. Invite each student to share what he or she learned with the class.
Web Resource
To learn more about the movie, visit www.iceagemovie.com.
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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 edit text by sharing this activity.
Use this activity to test reading comprehension.
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Grade 3 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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