Weekly Reader, Edition 4 (including Science Spin) articles from September 2003

Weekly Reader, Edition 4 (including Science Spin) archives from September 2003

A chance for freedom.(Special Report)(two brothers flee North Korea and settle in South Korea)
September 26, 2003... Two brothers crept carefully Through the mountains in China. The boys, along with their mother, sister, and aunt, had fled their home in North Korea. They hoped to find a better life in South Korea. Like China, North and South Korea are...

On the prowl: 'camera trapping' helps scientists count jaguars.
September 26, 2003... A sleek, spotted jaguar sneaks along the thick forest floor. As it passes a fig tree, there is a whirring noise. A flashing light and click follow. A camera has just snapped the cat's photograph. No person was behind the camera's lens....

Crossing America.(News Clips; family visits all 50 U.S. capitol buildings )
September 26, 2003... One Missouri family finished a yearlong history lesson. The family visited all 50 capitol buildings in the United States. Fred and Ginger Gall and their three sons--ages 13, 11, and 6--wrapped up their adventure in early August. Their...

A bright idea.(News clips)(elephants are fitted with safety reflectors to make them visible at night, New Delhi, India)
September 26, 2003... The size of an elephant should make it easy to spot, right? That is not the case for some elephants in India. Several elephants in New Delhi--the capital of that Asian country--have been hit by cars and killed. So a wildlife group has begun...

The popcorn state.(News Clips)(popcorn named the state snack food of Illinois)
September 26, 2003... Popcorn has made a name for itself in the state where Abraham Lincoln lived before he became president. In August, popcorn was made the official state snack food of Illinois. The popular movie snack food joins the cardinal, which is the...

How heavy is Delete?(Cyberchase)
September 26, 2003... Jackie, Matt, and Inez solve lots of problems to help me. Now here's a CYBERCHASE problem For you to solve! Each bag has a number that tells how many cyber-units it weighs. How many cyber-units does Delete weigh? HINT: Because the...

Study the map.(Brain Builders)(Central America)
September 26, 2003... Study the map of Central America and its surrounding areas. Then fill in the oval in front of the best answer to each question. 1. What is the capital of Belize? (A) San Salvador (B) San Jose (C) Belmopan 2. Which...

Know the news.(Brain Builders)
September 26, 2003... How much did you learn from this issue? Fill in the oval that best answers each question. 1. From which country did two brothers escape? (A) Belize (B) North Korea (C) South Korea 2. What are scientists using to...

What's the main idea?(Brain Builders)
September 26, 2003... The sentences below refer to the cover story on jaguars. Circle the sentence that best describes the main idea of the story. 1. There are many jaguars living in Belize. 2. The jaguars' mysterious nature and the jungle they live in...

Endangered animal crossword puzzle.(from the desk of)
September 26, 2003... In this issue, you read a story about jaguars. Jaguars are one of thousands of endangered animals around the world. An animal is endangered if it is danger of dying out. The word bank contains a list of some endangered animals. Use the clues...

Your state facts.(from the desk of)
September 26, 2003... In this issue, you read a story about a family who traveled to all 50 state capitol buildings. You also read a story about how popcorn was recently selected as the official state snack food of Illinois. How much do you know about your home...

In the dark.(Social Studies News)
September 19, 2003... One 11-year-old girl from New York City won't forget where she was when the lights went out one late afternoon in mid-August. She was trapped for three hours in an elevator until firefighters rescued her. Neither will one Pennsylvania...

Make way for rubber ducks.(Science News)
September 19, 2003... Some people may find more than shells along the northeast coast of the United States. Rubber ducks could wash ashore any time soon. Lost at Sea About ten years ago, 29,000 yellow rubber ducks that were headed for bathtubs around the...

In ruins: as experts weigh the damage, the world mourns the loss of Iraq's historical treasures.
September 19, 2003... In June, a small car pulled up outside the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad. Three men unloaded a wrapped object from the trunk, handed it to museum officials, and sped off in the midafternoon heat. No questions asked. Museum officials...

The Terminator for Governor?(News Clips)(Brief Article)
September 19, 2003... Arnold Schwarzenegger is starring in a new scene, but this one isn't in a movie. The actor recently announced that he is running for governor of California in the state's recall election on October 7. The recall is a special election...

Veggie-mobile.(News Clips)(Brief Article)
September 19, 2003... A group of college students has given new meaning to the words road trip. Beginning in mid-May, the students traveled from the East Coast to the West Coast aboard a bus that left the smell of fries and onion rings in its wake. They weren't...

Whales head home.(News Clips)(Brief Article)
September 19, 2003... A happy ending took place off the southern coast of Florida in August. Five pilot whales were released back into the ocean. Pilot whales are members of the dolphin family. Rescue workers had nursed the whales back to health after the...

Fun facts from the World Almanac for kids.(News Clips)(Brief Article)
September 19, 2003... With one swipe of its powerful trunk, an elephant can kill a lion It uses the same trunk to give itself a shower or to pick up the tiniest leaf from the ground.

What a taste test!(News Clips)(Brief Article)
September 19, 2003... What do you get when you cross blueberries with meat? Sometimes you get a blueberry hamburger! Some scientists hope that blueberry burgers will soon be on your school cafeteria's menu. Food scientist Al Bushway told Weekly Reader (WR)...

Study the map.(Brain Builders)
September 19, 2003... Study the map of Iraq and some of its neighboring countries. Then fill in the oval in front of the best answer to each question. 1. Which of these bodies of water does not border Iran? (A) Caspian Sea (B) Mediterranean Sea ...

Know the news.(Brain Builders)
September 19, 2003... How much did you learn from this issue? Fill in the oval in front of the best answer to each question. 1. About how many people found themselves without electricity during the recent blackout? (A) 20 million (B) 30 million ...

Digging up the past.(from the desk of)
September 19, 2003... An archaeologist is a person who digs up old objects and studies them in order to learn about the past. Imagine it's the year 4003 and you're an archaeologist. You have found an object from today that is going to be included in a museum...

To build or not to build?(Social Studies News)
September 12, 2003... One of New Hampshire's most famous faces recently became history. In May, the Old Man of the Mountain crumbled to the ground. The Old Man, of course, wasn't a person but a rock formation that nature carved out thousands of years ago. With...

Up close and personal.(Animal News)
September 12, 2003... Did you ever wonder what it's like to hug a beluga whale or pat its tongue? Some Weekly Reader editors--including me--found out firsthand. My name is Lisa Guidone. I'm the Managing Editor of Edition 4. In the photos, I'm wearing the striped...

39 million and counting! Hispanic Americans recently became the largest minority group in the United States.
September 12, 2003... What do Jennifer Lopez, Alex Rodriguez, and Cameron Diaz have in common? Not only are they all celebrities, but they are also all Hispanic Americans. Those celebrities are part of the rapidly growing Hispanic American population in the...

Soaring high.(News Clips)
September 12, 2003... It's a bird! It's a plane! It's "Fearless Felix"! Felix is not a fictional superhero like Superman. He's a stuntman from Austria, a country in Europe. At the end of July, Felix broke a world record. He became the first person to fly...

Masters of disguise.(News Clips)(Brief Article)
September 12, 2003... Imagine having the ability to appear still even while you're moving. Dragonflies have mastered that skill. Scientists recently discovered that male dragonflies use movement as a form of camouflage. Many animals use camouflage to blend...

Chew on this!(News Clip)
September 12, 2003... Gum chewing has been a sticky issue in Singapore. For the first time in 11 years, Singapore, an island in Asia, will allow the sale of gum. The change comes after recent trade talks between the United States and Singapore. The new policy...

How unbearable!(News Clips)
September 12, 2003... One polar bear spent part of the summer feeling a bit off-color. The 14-year-old bear's snowy white fur briefly turned purple after she was given medicine to treat a skin problem. The bear, named Pelusa, lives at a zoo in Argentina--a...

Read the graph.(Brain Builders)
September 12, 2003... Study the graph to see some of the areas from which today's Hispanic American families came. Then, fill in the oval that best answers the question. 1. Which number shows how many Hispanic families came from Puerto Rico? (A) 300,0000...

Know the news.(Brain Builders)
September 12, 2003... How much did you learn from this issue? Fill in the oval that best answers each question. 1. In which state did the Old Man of the Mountain crumble? (A) New Hampshire (B) Connecticut (C) Washington 2. What is a beluga...

Word wise.(Brain Builders)
September 12, 2003... The words below are from this issue. Write the word that best completes each sentence. pod census profile 1. A -- is an official count of people. 2. A -- is a side view of a face. 3. A small group of certain animals, such as...

Getting the words out.(10,000 new words and phrases enter Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary)
September 5, 2003... Bludge? Funplex? Phat? Do you know what these words mean? If not, you can now look them up in the dictionary (or check out our sidebar). An Updated Dictionary Those terms are among the 10,000 new words and phrases added to the latest...

Saving America's history.(National Trust for Historic Preservation saves most endangered historic sites in US)
September 5, 2003... Minute Man National Historical Park outside of Boston made history in 1775. It was the site where the Revolutionary War and America's battle for independence from British rule began. Today, it is the site of a different kind of struggle....

Weighed down! A new study shows that backpack bulk can put added stress on your spine.(Cover Story)(Cover Story)
September 5, 2003... IS YOUR BACKPACK weighing you down? If so, consider lightening your load. A recent study shows that lugging around a bulky backpack that doesn't fit correctly can lead to poor posture. If someone tells you that good posture is...

Heads up!(two-headed tortoise discovered in South Africa)
September 5, 2003... A recent find is giving new meaning to the phrase "two heads are better than one." A rare two-headed tortoise was discovered in South Africa in late spring. Noel Daniels found the strange-looking reptile in his backyard. It had hatched...

A treasured map.(first map to name America purchased by Library of Congress )
September 5, 2003... This map might not lead to a pot of gold, but officials at the Library of Congress consider it very valuable. The Library of Congress recently paid $10 million for the first map to name America. Printed in 1507, the map is the only copy of...

Oldest planet discovered.(News Clips)
September 5, 2003... Astronomers recently made an out-of-this-world discovery. They found what is believed to be the oldest known planet in the universe. The planet is about 13 billion years old. That is about three times the age of Earth and almost as old as...

A nation remembers.(terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001)
September 5, 2003... Many people around the world will mark the second anniversary of September 11. In the two years since the terrorist attacks on the United States, many Americans have found ways to honor the more than 3,000 people who lost their lives on that...

Fun facts from the world almanac for kids.(News Clips)
September 5, 2003... Now that you're back in school with your friends, here are some reasons to celebrate. Fortune Cookie Day is September 13. National Dog Week comes at the end of the month. And don't forget September 22--that's Elephant...

Study the graph?(backpacks)
September 5, 2003... The graph shows the average backpack weight of Weekly Reader fourth graders over the past five years. Take a look at the graph and answer the questions that follow. Average Backpack Weight for Weekly Reader Fourth Graders (#) = 1...

Know the news.(Brain Builders)
September 5, 2003... How much did you learn from this issue? Fill in the oval that best answers each question. 1. How many sites are on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's list this year? (A) 11 (B) 145 (C) 1,962 2. When was...

What's the main idea?(backpacks)
September 5, 2003... The sentences below refer to the cover story about backpacks. Circle the sentence that best describes the main idea of the story. 1. Millions of kids in the United States wear backpacks. 2. Wearing overloaded backpacks can lead to...

The five Ws.(who, what, where, when, and why)
September 5, 2003... Most news stories can be boiled down to five basic facts. They are called the five Ws: who, what, where, when, and why. You can write a basic news story if you know those five facts about a newsworthy subject. Before filling in the boxes...

Word puzzles.(from the desk of)
September 5, 2003... An idiom is like a word puzzle. An idiom is a phrase that says one thing but means something else. We've given you the meanings of some idioms below. Figure out what each idiom is and then use it in a sentence. We've done the first one for...

What did you say?(idioms)
September 5, 2003... Sometimes people use groups of words that say one thing but mean something else. Those sayings are called idioms. Idioms can often be confusing. Have you heard any of the idioms below? You might "get a kick out of" them! The last one has been...