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Welcome to issue 6 of Know Your World Extra. Scroll to the bottom of the page for additional activities for your students.

Background Iinformation About Issue 6
Feature-The Case of the Missing Bees
Before Reading: Honeybees have disappearing across the country, and scientists can't figure out why. This phenomenon is called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).  Some theories about why the bees are dying include the Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV), a change in climate, and a new strain of fungus. A permanent loss of honeybees can be devastating to many crops, such as almonds, peaches, onions, and many others.
Tap Prior Knowledge: Ask students to list some positive aspects of bees.
Background Information:
-A colony usually consists of one female queen bee and thousands of male drones.
-Drone bees die during the act of mating.
-CCD has resulted in killing off 90 percent of bee colonies in some parts of the country.
-Honeybees pollinate $15 billion worth of crops a year.

Debate It!-I'll Do the Crime; You Do the Time
Before Reading: In some areas, parents are getting penalized for their children's crimes.
Tap Prior Knowledge: Why should parents be punished if their kids do something wrong? Why should they not be punished?

Readers' Theater-Get the Present!
Before Reading: The Readers' Theater is modern retelling of O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi." In this version, Maggie and Austin are dating. They both want to get each other a meaningful anniversary gift; however, neither can afford to. Will they sacrifice the things they love so that the other can be happy?
Tap Prior Knowledge: Why would someone want to give up something for someone else? What does irony mean?
Background Information:
-O. Henry is a pen name for William Sydney Porter.
-O. Henry's stories were known for their twist endings.
-In "The Gift of the Magi," Jim sells his watch to get Della new hair combs, and Della sells her hair to buy Jim a new watch chain.

Reality Check-Save a Life!
Before Reading: When someone is choking, no time should be wasted. It is important for students to learn the Heimlich maneuver, so that if someone is choking, they can save the person.
Tap Prior Knowledge: What happens when someone chokes? How do people get items stuck in their throats? Why is it important to stop someone from choking as soon as possible?
Background Information:
-To perform the maneuver, stand behind the person and put your arms around his waist. Make a fist and and hold it with the other hand. Thrust upward until the object is dislodged.
-If someone is choking, he cannot speak, might turn blue, or become unconscious.
-To signal you are choking, put your hands around your throat.

What's So Funny
In issue 6, we showed you some winners of our What's So Funny page, which showed Elvis standing in front of burning cars. Here are more of our favorite entries:

• "Well, there's a bright side to everything. I get to make an exploding appearance. And a cone too!" India B., Augusta County, VA 
• "I got in a wreck and my car's on fire. But I got me some peanut butter and banana ice cream. Thank you very much." Daniel R., Fort Defiance, VA
• "Burn, baby, burn! Oh, wait, that's not my song!" Ashlee R., Copeland, KS
• "Ice cream can be dangerous!" Dustin B., Van Buren, AR
• "This ice cream advertisement is the hottest!" Jason S., Van Buren, AR

Check back next month for new What's So Funny entries!

Extra Activities
Our teacher's guide offers activities to enhance the articles in the issue. Click here and here for additional activities. Don't forget the answers!

Your opinions matter! Is there something you want to see on the Web site? Do you have any questions or comments about the issue? E-mail us at kyw@weeklyreader.com. We want to hear from your students too. In every issue, we'll publish letters to the editor.