Weekly Reader, Senior Edition (including Science Spin) articles from September 2004

Weekly Reader, Senior Edition (including Science Spin) archives from September 2004

Not-so-loony toons: making sense of editorial cartoons.(FEATURE STORY)
September 24, 2004... What is your favorite newspaper cartoon? "Peanuts"? "Garfield"? "Dilbert"? Although those cartoons might make you laugh, another kind of cartoon will make you laugh and think. It's called an editorial cartoon. Artists draw editorial...

Who will win?(presidential candidates)(Cover Story)
September 24, 2004... When John F. Kerry was a boy, he had a simple dream. He wanted to make a fortune selling tasty chocolate chip cookies. When George W. Bush was a boy, he also had a simple dream. He wanted to play professional baseball. The two boys'...

The great moon rock caper.
September 24, 2004... It's a mystery only Sherlock Holmes might be able to solve--if he had a spacesuit, that is. Call it the Case of the Missing Moon Rocks. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the United States sent several missions to the moon. Once on the...

History Buffy.(NEWS SHORTS)(ex-presidents)
September 24, 2004... "No wonder this president had the nickname 'Old Hickory,'" Buffy says. "He was as tough as an old hickory tree." This president's toughness started when he was young. He fought in the American Revolution (1775-1783) when he was just 13...

The election zone: this week: health care.(NEWS SHORTS)
September 24, 2004... Each week until Election Day, Weekly Reader Senior will look at where the two major candidates for president stand on important issues. This week: health care. Background: The costs of health care and prescription drugs in the United...

Kid advocate.(THE BUZZ)(Kids Campaign)
September 24, 2004... Lily Thorpe spends her days making speeches, accepting awards, and quizzing top politicians--all in the name of kids everywhere. Lily, age 10, started her own political action committee (PAC) called Kids Campaign. Political action committees...

Brain teaser.(NEWS SHORTS)
September 24, 2004... What gets wetter as it dries?

Know the news.(presidential candidates)
September 24, 2004... Fill in the oval in front of the correct answer. 1. What job did George W. Bush hold before becoming president? (A) governor of Arizona (B) governor of Texas (C) U.S. senator 2. John Kerry served in the U.S. during the...

Word search.
September 24, 2004... Fill in the words in this issue that have the following meanings. We have given you some clues in parentheses. 1. producing a wanted result (nine letters, adjective, page 2) 2. entering another country by force (eight letters, noun,...

Polling the people.(public opinion polls)(Illustration)
September 24, 2004... Question: If the 2004 presidential election were being held today, who would you vote for? Registered Voters March April May June George W. Bush 44% 48% 46% 44% John Kerry...

Read the graph.(presidential elections)
September 24, 2004... Fill in the oval in front of the correct answer. 1. According to the chart, what percentage of voters would have voted for George. W. Bush in June? (A) 44 percent (B) 48 percent (C) 67 percent 2. How much of a lead did...

The dawn of the Mayas.
September 17, 2004... Francisco Estrada-Belli loves crawling around the dark, damp tunnels of ancient cities. He hopes to find some long-forgotten treasure. He especially likes the tunnels in Guatemala, where an ancient people called the Mayas ruled. ...

Going deep: can coral form on deep-sea wrecks?(Cover Story)
September 17, 2004... On July 30, 1942, at the height of World War II (1939-1945), the American freighter SS Robert E. Lee was cruising along in the Gulf of Mexico with 400 passengers and crew. The ship's destination was New Orleans. However, the Robert E. Lee...

History Buffy.(NEWS SHORTS)(ex-vice presidents)
September 17, 2004... "When I'm president, I hope I don't have a vice president like Thomas Jefferson did," Buffy says. In 1801, the person pictured at the right ran for president against Thomas Jefferson. Both candidates received 73 electoral votes, throwing...

All aboard the frozen ark.(NEWS SHORTS)(endangered species)
September 17, 2004... Pandas, rhinos, elephants. Some scientists fear that those and other endangered species may one day be gone forever. Scientists in Great Britain, however, now think they can save some animals from extinction. They want to build a...

The election zone: this week: the economy.(NEWS SHORTS)(presidential candidates)
September 17, 2004... Editor's note: Each week until Election Day, Senior! Edition will look at the presidential candidates' positions on the issues. This week's issue is economy. The economy refers to the making selling of products. Background: During the...

Master of misfortune.(THE BUZZ)(Brief Article)(Children's Review)(Book Review)
September 17, 2004... Harry Potter, you have company. Meet the Baudelaire children--three unlucky orphans who are pursued for their fortune by the villain Count Olaf. The mastermind behind the orphans' misery is the mysterious author Lemony Snicket (also...

Mystery photo.(NEWS SHORTS)
September 17, 2004... This mystery photo might throw you a curve. What does this photograph show?

Know the news.(archeology)
September 17, 2004... Fill in the oval in front of the correct answer. 1. In which country is the ancient Mayan city of Cival located? (A) Belize (B) Guatemala (C) Mexico 2. An archaeologist studies--. (A) dinosaurs (B) politics ...

What's the word?
September 17, 2004... Fill in the oval in front of the word or words that mean about the same as each numbered word below. The page number indicates where the word is used in this issue. 1. well-preserved (page 2) (A) destroyed (B) conserved (C)...

Read the map.(geography)
September 17, 2004... Fill in the oval in front of the correct answer. 1. According to the map, which country is north of Panama and south of Nicaragua? (A) Costa Rica (B) Guatemala (C) Guatemala 2. Which body of water borders Panama to the...

Mechanical pencils presents ... mathtoons: a cartoon that "ex-planes" geometry!
September 17, 2004... If points leave you puzzled, diagonals get you dizzy, and shapes get you "bent-out-of-shape," then read this cartoon-and your problems will be solved! STARRING: Will AN average student studying for his geometry test Captain...

Dear Mr. President ...(FEATURE STORY)(beauty tips by a girl to Abraham Lincoln)
September 10, 2004... In 1860, 11-year-old Grace Bedell saw a picture of Abraham Lincoln and didn't like the way he looked. Grace wrote Lincoln a letter: "If you will let whiskers grow... you would look so much better for your face is thin." Lincoln took Grace's...

Don't draft my dad.(FEATURE STORY)(childrens' letters to the presidents)
September 10, 2004... In 1943, at the height of World War II (1939-1945), 10-year-old Carolyn Weatherhogg wrote a letter (shown at left) to President Franklin D. Roosevelt: "I am sending in a suggestion, that is draft fathers alphabetically." The government...

Rock 'n' roll haircut.(FEATURE STORY)
September 10, 2004... In the 1950s, Elvis Presley, a young singer from Memphis, Tenn., rocked the music world. In 1957, the U.S. government had other plans for Presley--it drafted him into the U.S. Army. That decision did not sit well with many of his fans. For...

Disaster relief.(FEATURE STORY)(kids room cleaning)
September 10, 2004... When Ronald Reagan (below) was president (1981-1988), he believed that the government should not solve all of the nation's problems. But that didn't stop seventh grader Andy Smith of Irmo, S.C., from asking Reagan for "federal funds to hire a...

Lord of the rings: Cassini visits Saturn.(Cover Story)
September 10, 2004... A spacecraft launched from Earth seven years ago played a daring game of dodgeball with Saturn this summer. The ship survived to tell scientists--and the world--about its amazing journey. As Saturn's gravity began to pull it in, the...

History Buffy.(NEWS SHORTS)
September 10, 2004... History Buffy is an American history buff. (A buff is someone who is devoted to a particular sport, hobby, or interest.) Buffy also loves politics. She's running for a second term as president of her school's student body. Moreover, she's...

Spider-Man in India.(NEWS SHORTS)
September 10, 2004... You're used to seeing Spider-Man swinging through the streets of Manhattan. Soon he'll be spinning his webs in India. If your Spidey sense tells you something is going on, you're right. Marvel Comics plans to publish a new series of...

Playgrounds for peace.(THE BUZZ)(playground for Afghan children)
September 10, 2004... It wasn't that long ago when 15-year-old John Dark enjoyed going to the playground with his friends. When the Jackson, Miss., teen found out that kids in war-torn Afghanistan were in need of school playgrounds he decided to do something. With...

Brain teaser.
September 10, 2004... A glass of tea and a glass of cider sit on a table. If Mary Kate takes a measure from the tea and pours it into the cider, and then takes a measure from the cider and pours it into the tea, does the tea now contain more cider than the cider...

The election zone.
September 10, 2004... Editor's note: Each week until Election Day, Senior Edition will look at what the candidates for president are saying about major campaign issues. This week's issue: the war in Iraq. BACKGROUND: President George W. Bush wanted to go to...

Ask professor Paul E. Tics.
September 10, 2004... Hey, kids! If you don't know the difference between a Republican and a Democrat, or you have another question about the 2004 election, just e-mail me, Professor Paul E. Tics, at election@weeklyreader.com. I'll answer you election-related...

Know the news.(BRAIN BUILDERS)
September 10, 2004... Fill in the oval in front of the correct answer. 1. Andy Smith once asked President Ronald Reagan for federal disaster money to --. (A) clean up his room (B) help hurricane victims (C) help flood victims 2. Which rock...

Read the chart.(BRAIN BUILDERS)(planets)
September 10, 2004... CHART OF THE PLANETS Planet Distance From Rotation Revolution the Sun (in Earth hours) (in Earth years) (in millions of miles) Mercury 36 1,408...