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 "Emergency in Africa," Oct. 7
Click here for the answer key.
In This Issue
In this issue, your class will read about a ship that experts recently confirmed belonged to a famous pirate. Students will also learn about modern-day pirates, and what officials are doing to stop them.
News Brief: A new gel could replace dentists’ drills for good.
News Brief: Active hurricane season spins up trouble.
News Debate: Should the school week be shortened to four days?
Info Zone: Get tips on perfecting posture.
Your Turn: Students uncover an 11,500-year-old hair.
Brain Builders: Crime on the High Seas (Read a Chart)
Click here to download the first of two reading assessments to share with students.
Download the tracking guide here.
Common Core State Standard
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
Concepts of Comprehension©
PLOT
Plot is the events that make up the main story of a text. Reinforce this skill with the work sheet on page 3.
National Standards
SOCIAL STUDIES (NCSS)
Cover: Ship, Ahoy!
• People, places, and environments
• Time, continuity, and change
Page 7: A Furry Find
• Individuals, groups, and institutions
SCIENCE (NSES)
Page 2: Tooth Paste
• Personal health
• Abilities of technological design
Page 2: Storm Central
• Changes in Earth and sky
LANGUAGE ARTS (NCTE/IRA)
Teacher’s Guide (page 4)
• Students apply knowledge of language structure.
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 “Storm Central” on page 2 with more advanced readers.
• Share “A Furry Find” 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
Coming in the Next Issue: Oct. 21, 2011
Job Hunt: Millions of Americans struggle to find work.
TEACHING THE COVER STORY
Ship, Ahoy!
Experts confirm they have found Blackbeard's ship.
Before You Read
Ask students: What words or images come to mind when you hear the word pirate? How might a pirate ship differ from other ships? What are some steps scientists might take to study a pirate ship? Why?
Vocabulary
artifact: a very old object
confirm: to make certain
excavate: to remove
vessel: a ship
Background
• What happened to the pirate Blackbeard? Not long after his ship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge, ran aground on a sandbar near Beaufort, N.C., in 1718, the pirate moved on to his next adventure. He blockaded the harbor in Charleston, S.C. There, he faced off with members of the British Royal Navy, who were sailing aboard the HMS Pearl. They cornered Blackbeard and killed him.
• How did experts confirm Blackbeard’s ship? On dives to the shipwreck, archaeologist Mark Wilde-Ramsing and the rest of the team searched for anything that might indicate that the wreckage was another ship. For example, they searched for artifacts dated to a later period and for items that didn’t f it with historical records at the time. Over the years, what they found continually matched what they knew about Blackbeard’s vessel.
• Who is excavating the ship? Archaeologists with the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, along with several other organizations, are continuing to excavate the remains of the Queen Anne’s Revenge. So far, archaeologists have found more than 250,000 artifacts from the shipwreck. Some of the items recently went on display at the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort.
Think Critically
Explain to students that pirates still exist in our seas today. Then ask: Why might some parts of the world have more pirates than others? What might be some challenges of stopping them?
Extend the Lesson
Have students imagine they are archaeologists studying the Queen Anne’s Revenge at the bottom of the sea. Ask: What might a day at work be like? What might you see? Then have each student write a one-page story about his or her experience.
Web Resources
• To read statistics and news about modern day pirates, including efforts to end piracy, visit www.marisec.org/piracy.
• For more information about Blackbeard and his ship, go to www.blackbeardthepirate.com.
Lexile rating: 900L
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TEACHING THE NEWS BRIEF
Storm Central
Scientists predict an active hurricane season.
Before You Read
Ask: What is a hurricane? What are some ways people can stay safe during a hurricane?
Vocabulary
hurricane: a strong storm that forms over an ocean
intense: strong
Background
• How many of the predicted storms are expected to affect the United States this hurricane season? Scientists can’t say. However, before Hurricane Irene hit the East Coast in August, no major hurricane had made landfall in the United States since Hurricane Ike in 2008.
• How many storms spun up last year? The 2010 hurricane season saw 19 named tropical storms and hurricanes. Twelve of the storms were hurricanes, and five were major hurricanes.
Think Critically
Why might scientists give hurricanes names?
Extend the Lesson
Have students work in pairs to track a tropical storm or a hurricane. Find kid-friendly instructions and a blank tracking map at tinyurl.com/storm-path.
Web Resource
View a step-by-step guide to how hurricanes form at tinyurl.com/hurr-start.
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TEACHING THE INFO ZONE
Take a Seat
Get tips on perfecting posture.
Tip: Before reading the Info Zone, ask students to name the posture mistakes the boy makes in the “Ouch!” photo.
Before You Read
Tell students to freeze! Then ask: How are you sitting right now? Is your back straight? Are your feet on the ground? Are there any changes you could make to improve your posture?
Vocabulary
posture: positioning
Background
What’s an easy way to check your posture? While sitting in front of the computer, check how your body is positioned every so often. Ask yourself: Are my
ears, shoulders, and hips aligned? Are my feet flat? Even small changes will help—having good posture puts less strain on your muscles and joints.
Think Critically
What are ways you can remember to use good posture?
Extend the Lesson
Ask students to work together to create a presentation on the importance of good posture. Then have students give the presentation to the school.
Web Resource
To download Stretch Break for Kids, free software that prompts users to stop working every half hour and suggests stretches for good posture, visit tinyurl.com/stretch-breaks.
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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 identify a story’s plot.
Help students learn how to use proper punctuation 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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