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Go to the Teaching Center for "Job Hunt," October 21.
Click here for the answer key.
In This Issue
In this issue, your class will read about Kepler-16b, the first planet scientists have found that orbits two stars. Students will also learn about the spacecraft researchers used to discover the planet.
News Brief: Researchers find the remains of a giant crocodile.
News Debate: Should kids have to pay to be on sports teams?
Info Zone: Learn about flu symptoms.
Your Turn: WR News chats with the director of Puss in Boots.
Brain Builders: Go the Distance (Read a Diagram)
Common Core State Standard
Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions).
Concepts of Comprehension©
SETTING
Setting tells you where and when a story takes place. Reinforce this skill with the work sheet on page 3.
National Standards
SCIENCE (NSES)
Cover: Seeing Double
• Objects in the sky
• Position and motion of objects
Page 2: King Croc
• Diversity of organisms
• Organisms and environments
Page 6: The Flu on View
• Personal health
SOCIAL STUDIES (NCSS)
Page 3: Sports Shake-Up
• Individuals, groups, and institutions
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 “King Croc” on page 2 with more advanced readers.
• Share “A Cool Cat” 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: Nov. 11, 2011
Badge of Honor: A U.S. veteran receives a top medal for his actions.
TEACHING THE COVER STORY
Seeing Double
Scientists discover a planet with two stars.
Before You Read
Ask students: What is a planet? How many planets do you know of? How might scientists try to discover planets beyond our solar system?
Vocabulary
horizon: the line in the distance where land or water seem to meet the sky
massive: giant
orbit: to circle
uninhabitable: unlivable
Background
• Where is Kepler-16b located? The planet’s star system is located between the constellations of Cygnus and Lyra, about 200 light-years from Earth.
• What else do scientists know about Kepler-16b’s stars? The planet’s two stars orbit around a common center, and they eclipse each other every 41 days, says Laurance Doyle, a scientist with the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute in Mountain View, Calif. The stars are also smaller than our sun. One is 69 percent the mass of our sun, and the other is 20 percent. Researchers are continuing to study Kepler-16b. “[We want to know] how [it] could have formed in the first place. [And] we’d like to [learn] how old it is,” Doyle told WR News.
• How many planets has the Kepler telescope discovered? Kepler is the first mission specifically designed to search for Earth-like planets that orbit stars beyond our solar system. Since the spacecraft was launched in March 2009, it has found more than 1,200 planets. Kepler-16b is the first circumbinary, or two-star, planet to be discovered.
• How did the Kepler mission get its name? The mission is named after Johannes Kepler (1571–1630). He was a German astronomer who revolutionized people’s views of the universe. In support of Nicolaus Copernicus’s (1473–1543) theory that our planets move around the sun, Kepler wrote three mathematical laws. The laws describe how the planets move around the sun.
Think Critically
Why might scientists want to discover unknown planets?
Extend the Lesson
Divide students into eight groups. Then assign each group one of the eight planets in our solar system to research. Have each team come up with at least 10 facts about its planet. Then invite the teams to present their findings to the class.
Web Resources
• For more about the Kepler mission, visit www.kepler.nasa.gov.
• Find student-friendly teaching resources about the Kepler spacecraft at www.kepler.nasa.gov/education.
Lexile rating: 850L
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TEACHING THE NEWS BRIEF
King Croc
Researchers find the remains of a giant crocodile.
Before You Read
Ask: What do you know about crocodiles? What might the reptiles have looked like millions of years ago?
Vocabulary
ancient: very old
Background
• How did experts choose the crocodile’s name? Acherontisuchus guajiraensis comes from the river Acheron from Greek mythology. Scientists chose that name to represent the croc’s home.
• Where in Colombia did they find the crocodile? Researchers found the remains of three adult specimens in the Cerrejón coal mine in northern Colombia. That is one of the world’s largest open-pit coal mines.
Think Critically
How might being able to live in different environments help an animal survive?
Extend the Lesson
Have students crack the crocs’ survival code by researching how the reptiles’ features, such as their feet, tail, and teeth, help crocodiles catch food and escape danger. Then ask students to create crocodile diagrams pointing out what they have learned.
Web Resource
See interviews with croc experts at www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/crocs.
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TEACHING THE INFO ZONE
The Flu on View
Learn about flu symptoms.
Tip: Before reading, have students brainstorm which parts of the body, such as the nose, might be affected by the flu.
Before You Read
Ask: What is the flu? How can you tell whether you have it?
Vocabulary
fatigue: a lack of energy and drive
symptom: a sign
Background
How can people avoid the flu? Getting the flu vaccine lowers the risk of contracting influenza. U.S. health officials recommend that everyone age 6 months and older get the vaccine. Other preventive measures include covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze, washing your hands often with soap, and avoiding contact with people who are ill.
Think Critically
Recent research shows that among kids, the flu mainly spreads from boys to boys or from girls to girls. Why might kids be more likely to pass the infection on to children of the same gender?
Extend the Lesson
Tell students that the flu is a type of virus. Have students research basic facts about viruses and bacteria. Ask: How are they similar? How are they different? Then have students work in pairs to create Venn diagrams based on their findings.
Web Resource
Find student-friendly flu facts at tinyurl.com/flu-kids.
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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 understand setting.
Help students learn how to use proper capitalization 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
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Yes
They need money to pay for extra stuff they would use. If you don't have to pay then people wouldn't show up some days. They wouldn't show up if they don't feel like going,they don't mind because they aren't paying a penny. If a game is coming up and you don't wan't to go because you don't feel like it. What would you say Yes or No?
No
i think kids should not pay because at my school, 68% of kids at my local elementary school are on walfare. my town is very small and very poor. also, 43.6million people in the U.S are on walfare. the number will keep going up because economic times are hard right now. there are also some familys that should be on walfare, due to the lack of money they have in their family. this is just my opinion on it.
sports shake up
kid should have to pay because they need money to buy the unerformes and they should do funraisers
Yes
They need to pay for extra stuff needed. Kids wouldn't care showing up for practice because they don't have to pay for it.