Thursday, October 28, 2010

Toronto gets new subway trains

Toronto's new trains will be in service
starting this December or January.
Image: www.ttc.ca.
NEW SUBWAY TRAINS IN TORONTO

Toronto is getting some new subway trains.

Not only do they look a lot snazzier, but the new trains will be quite a bit roomier than the old ones. They also have many new features such as light-up subway maps that will display the current stop.

There will be 70 new trains, with six cars each. They will cost about $1-billion. The governments of Canada, Ontario and Toronto are all chipping in money to buy the new trains.

Another neat thing about the new trains is that, although there are six cars in each one, they will all be connected inside. So whichever car you get on, you’ll be able to see (or walk) all the way from the front to the back of the entire six-car train. Between the cars is a flexible strip of floor that you can walk on, which connects the cars but still lets them turn independently.

Toronto's old subway trains will continue
to run on the Bloor line.
Image: spacingtoronto.ca
And, there won’t be poles in the middle of the cars any more. That will also give passengers more room to move around. There will still be lots of poles along the sides to hold onto.

The new trains will begin running, on the Yonge (north-south) line, in December or January, although riders may see them being tested in the tunnels before then. The old cars will be moved to the Bloor (east-west) line or retired.

Curriculum Connection
The new subway trains will cost 1 billion dollars. That is a lot of money! Do you think this is money well-spent? Explain your answer using evidence from the text and your own ideas.

Primary
express personal opinions about ideas presented in texts (OME, Reading: 1.8)

Junior
make judgments and draw conclusions about ideas in texts and cite stated or implied evidence from the text to support their views (OME, Reading: 1.8)

Grammar Feature
A noun is a part of speech. It can be a person, place or thing. Some nouns that are in the article are: subway (thing), Toronto (place), floor (thing).

Ask your students to circle all of the nouns in the article.

Toronto's subway line - this map shows
the Yonge line and the Bloor line.
As a class, discuss which nouns are proper and which are common. Explain that proper nouns must always start with a capital letter.

Extensions
Why do you think it is important for a city to have a public transit system?
If you were on the planning committee for the new subway, are there any other features that you would add to improve the new subway cars?
How much is 1 billion? Use drawings, numbers or manipulatives to show this amount.

Toronto gets new subway trains

Note to teachers:
This version of the article, “New Subway Trains in Toronto,” is a shorter version of the same article, and it contains simpler words. Similarly, the curriculum connection, grammar and extension activities are simplified.

This version of the article could be used by ESL students, early readers or students on modified reading programs.
We created a second article so that you can more easily differentiate in your class. With this article, students can access the same article content but at a level that is appropriate for early readers.

NEW SUBWAY TRAINS IN TORONTO

Toronto is getting some new subway trains.

The new subway trains will look a lot nicer.
Image: www.ttc.ca.
The new ones look nicer. They will also have more room inside. And they will have new, light-up signs that tell you what stop you’re at.

There will be 70 new trains, with six cars each. They will cost about $1-billion.

In every train, all six cars will be open inside. So you will be able to see (or walk) all the way from the front of the train, to the back. The cars will be joined by a flexible strip of floor that you can walk on.

The old trains used to have poles in the middle of each car. The new cars do not. That will give riders more room to move around. There will still be lots of poles on the sides to hold onto.

Many of the old subway trains will still
run on the Bloor subway line.
Image: spacingtoronto.ca.
The new trains will begin running on the Yonge line in December of January. Riders may see some trains being tested in the tunnels before then. The old cars will be moved to the Bloor line.

Curriculum Connection
When we read, we often make pictures in our minds in order to understand. This is called visualization.

After reading the article, draw a picture of what you think the new subway car will look like. Label your picture to show all of the new parts of the subway car.

Primary:
identify a few reading comprehension strategies and use them before, during, and after reading to understand texts, initially with support and direction (OME, Reading: 1.8)

Grammar Feature
A noun is a part of speech. It can be a person, place or thing. Some nouns that are in the article are: subway (thing), Toronto (place), floor (thing).
Toronto's subway map, showing the
Yonge and Bloor lines.
Ask your students to circle all of the nouns in the article.

Extensions
Why do you think it is important for a city to have a public transit system?
If you were in charge, is there anything else you would add to make the new subway cars better?
How much is 1 billion? Use drawings, numbers or manipulatives to show this amount.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

New health guidelines: five and 15

FIVE AND 15

Canada’s Health Minister wants everyone to remember two simple numbers: “five” and “15.”

You’ll hear a lot about five and 15 in the coming months. They’ll be in ads, on websites, on posters in the grocery store and on foods themselves.

What does five and 15 mean? It has to do with how nutritious food is. Five means “a little” and 15 means “a lot.”

When you look at the list of “Nutrition Facts” printed on food items in the grocery store, you’ll see that each nutrient is given a percentage. It tells you how much of that nutrient is in a product, compared to how much you should have of that nutrient for the entire day.

For instance, if it says a product contains 4% Fat, it means it contains four per cent of the fat you should have in a whole day.

According to the new five and 15 rules, if a nutrient is five per cent or under, the food contains “a little.” If it’s 15 per cent or more, the food contains “a lot.”

So if you want more fibre in your diet, look for foods containing more than 15 per cent of the daily allowance of fibre.

On the other hand, if you’re trying to cut down on sodium, look for foods that have less than five per cent of the daily allowance of sodium.

The new guidelines will help consumers better understand how the foods they buy can affect their health. A new ad campaign about “five and 15” will begin in December.

Curriculum Connection
“What questions do you ask yourself to make sure you understand what you are reading?”

“How do you know if you are on the right track?” “When you come to a word or phrase you don’t understand, how do you solve it?” “How do you figure out what information is important to remember?” “What do you do when you get confused during reading?”

Primary
Identify, initially with some support and direction, what strategies they found most helpful before, during, and after reading and how they can use these and other strategies to improve as readers (OME, Reading: 4.1).

Junior
Identify the strategies they found most helpful before, during, and after reading and explain, in conversation with the teacher and/or peers, or in a reader’s notebook, how they can use these and other strategies to improve as readers (OME, Reading: 4.1).

Grammar Feature
Number words. When writing, how do you know when to write the word for a number or the digits? The rule that most writers follow is: numbers less than 10 are written as words and numbers 10 or over are written as digits.

“What does five and 15 mean?”

“… four per cent of the fat you should have in a whole day.”

Extensions
Do you think the new ad campaign will be effective and help people eat better? Why do you think so? Where should these advertisements be shown in order to be as effective as possible?

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Brave Canadians honoured

The Medal of Bravery.

(Image: Wikimedia
Commons, Dreamafter.)
AWARDS FOR BRAVERY

Last week, 52 Canadians received awards for bravery. They were given the medals by our new Governor-General, David Johnston, at a special ceremony in Ottawa.

Here are some of the people who were given awards:

* Thomas Manuel won the Medal of Bravery for protecting his wife and three grandchildren from an intruder. He made a rope out of bedsheets and shirts and got everyone out of the house safely. Once outside, Manuel was shot several times by the burglar, who was later caught and arrested. Manuel is from Fort Good Hope, Northwest Territories.

* Sergeant Bryant Wood of the Port Hope police force received the Star of Courage and the Medal of Bravery for saving people in two separate house fires. Last year, Sgt. Wood was sent to an apartment building, where he found the first and second floors in flames. He and another officer opened a window and through the thick, black smoke they pulled a man and two women to safety. Another woman refused to leave because she was searching for her cat. Wood climbed inside and carried the woman to safety. The smoke was so thick he couldn’t see, but his partner called to him from the window and he followed his partner’s voice until he got outside.

* Deborah Chiborak of Winnipeg rescued an elderly woman trapped under her motorized scooter in the path of a train.

* Casey Pierce of Calgary won a Star of Courage for rescuing a couple whose canoe tipped on a lake in the Rockies.

The Governor-General offered the medal winners, “the thanks of a grateful nation. We are fortunate to have such heroes in our midst.”

Related links:
Article on the CBC website about the medals ceremony.
Canada Gets a new Governor-General.

Curriculum Connection
The people who received the medals of bravery were described as “heroes.”

As a class, write a list of characteristics/adjectives that describe a hero.

Identify heroes that you know from books, magazines, movies and the media. Describe these heroes and explain whether you think they are heroes based on the list created by the class.

Primary
extend understanding of texts by connecting the ideas in them to their own knowledge and experience, to other familiar texts, and to the world around them (OME, Reading: 1.6)

Junior
extend understanding of texts by connecting, comparing, and contrasting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insights, to other familiar texts, and to the world around them (OME, Reading: 1.6)

Grammar Feature
Bullet points are used throughout the article. Bullet points are generally found in non-fiction, rather than fiction writing. They help to make writing clear, easy-to-read and organized.

Help your students identify bullet points in the article, and discuss why they are used.

Encourage students to find non-fiction resources in your class that contain bullet points.

Extensions for Primary and Junior
When Johnston gave the heroes their medals, he explained that they are special because not everyone would have done what they did.
Do you think this is true? Use examples from your own life to explain your answer.
Why do you think people don’t always help other people in need?

Friday, October 22, 2010

Stonehenge an ancient tourist destination


"WEALTHY TEENAGER" HELPS SCIENTISTS LEARN ABOUT STONEHENGE

Scientists have figured out that the bones of an ancient teenager, buried near Britain’s mysterious Stonehenge monument, came from hundreds of kilometers away.

The wealthy teen was buried with a string of amber beads around his neck. He is known to researchers as “the boy with the amber necklace.”

He originally came from The Mediterranean, and was likely a tourist, visiting Stonehenge much as people do today—as a tourist destination.

The exact purpose of Stonehenge—an ancient ring of giant stones—is unknown and still puzzles scientists and entices tourists today.


Scientists still don't know exactly why, or how,
Stonehenge was created.
Image: Wikimedia Commons, Daveahern.
 The discovery of “the boy with the amber necklace” reinforces the idea that visitors travelled long distances to visit Stonehenge.

Scientists knew that he had travelled far, because amber is not normally found near Britain. They used “isotope analysis” to measure certain elements in the boy’s teeth, which helped them conclude that he was from the Mediterranean.

His necklace suggests that the boy came from a rich family.

His skeleton is one of several “foreign” sets of remains. The “Amesbury Archer” is thought to have come from the foothills of central Europe, and others are thought to have come from Wales or Brittany.

Curriculum Connection
Today’s article includes a lot of words that young readers will not be familiar with. Ask your children to use semantic, syntactic, and graphophonic clues to read and understand these words.

Primary and Junior
Predict the meaning of and rapidly solve unfamiliar words using different types of cues, including:

• semantic (meaning) cues (e.g., prefixes, suffixes, base words, phrases, sentences, and visuals that activate existing knowledge of oral and written language);

• syntactic (language structure) cues (e.g., word order, language patterns, punctuation);

• graphophonic (phonological and graphic) cues (e.g., onset and rime; syllables; similarities between words with common spelling patterns and unknown words; words within words)

(OME, Reading: 3.2)

Grammar Feature
The long dash: A long dash can be used around parenthetical expressions. If the parenthetical information is in the middle, both sides of the clause have long dashes.

“The exact purpose of Stonehenge—an ancient ring of giant stones—is unknown and still puzzles scientists and entices tourists today.”

If the parenthetical information is at the end of the sentence, the long dash precedes the clause and is followed by a period.

“He originally came from The Mediterranean, and was likely a tourist, visiting Stonehenge much as people do today—as a tourist destination.”

Extensions
“The boy with the amber necklace” travelled very far to see Stonehenge—especially since he lived about 3,500 years ago. Why do you think people make such an effort to travel? Why is travelling important (or not so important) to you?

Thursday, October 21, 2010

A "silver lining" to the mining disaster

DISASTER PUTS COPIAPO ON THE MAP

When a copper mine collapses trapping 33 miners, it’s a terrible tragedy.

However, in the case of the recent Chilean mine collapse, there is a silver lining. In fact, the mayor of Copiapo, Chile, calls the incident “a blessing from heaven” for his town.

Before Aug. 5, not very many people from outside of Chile knew about Copiapo. Then the tragedy struck. The miners were trapped underground for two months while millions of people around the world watched and waited, and thousands of reporters descended on Copiapo.

Now the small town is very well known. And that has improved its economy. All of the reporters and mining experts who spent months in Copiapo spent a lot of money there, on things like hotels, rental cars and food. The city’s mayor estimates that more than $20-million has been spent there since the mine collapse.

Now, tourists are visiting the city that the miners made famous. The city’s tourism board is talking about building a museum about local miners, with a focus on “los 33,” which would feature the rescue capsule.

“Copiapo is not the same place it was on Aug. 5,” the mayor said.

Curriculum Connection
The tourism board and the mayor of Copiapo are very excited about the attention and money the town has received in the months surrounding the mining tragedy. Do you think residents of the town and the miners who were trapped feel the same way? If so, why do you think they would have a similar point of view? If you think they may feel differently, support your answer using evidence from the article and your own ideas.

Primary:
identify the point of view presented in a text and suggest some possible alternative perspectives (OME, Reading: 1.9)

Junior:
identify the point of view presented in texts; determine whether they can agree with the view, in whole or in part; and suggest some other possible perspectives (OME, Reading: 1.9).

Grammar Feature
An idiom is an expression that cannot be understood when someone just looks at the words that make it up. For example, if someone has a chip on their shoulder, it means that they are upset; and if something is a piece of cake, it means that it is easy.
There are three idioms in this article (“on the map”; “is not the same place it was on Aug. 5.”; “silver lining”). Help your students to identify these idioms and infer what they mean.

Extensions for Primary and Junior
If you were in charge of designing the museum in Copiapo, what would you include in it to make it appealing for children to visit?

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Customers prefer "old" Gap logo

The Gap won't be changing
its logo any time soon.

Image: Dorsetdude, Wikimedia Commons
The Gap is a popular clothing store. It sells clothes for babies, kids and adults.

Have you ever seen The Gap’s logo? Millions of people have and they obviously like it, because when the retailer decided to change its logo, its customers revolted.

The Gap posted its proposed new logo on its website. It said the new logo was more modern than its old logo.

But before it could replace the old logo with its new one, customers started complaining. They complained on Facebook and Twitter and they sent e-mails to the company.

Within a few days, they knew they had made a huge mistake. Customers liked the old logo and didn’t want it to change. So they changed their mind, and withdrew the new logo.

On their website they posted a note to customers: “OK. We’ve heard loud and clear that you don’t like the new logo. We’re bringing back the Blue Box tonight.” The “blue box” refers to the fact that the old logo is the word GAP inside a blue box.

Some people are wondering if the “new logo introduction” was just a way to sell more clothing. Even though it looks like The Gap made a huge error, in fact they received a lot of attention from millions of people—and it didn’t cost them a cent.

And it turns out, they needed the publicity. Sales at Gap stores in North America have been falling this year.

Whatever the reason, there is no doubt that The Gap won’t be changing its logo any time soon. Its customers have spoken.

Related Links
The Gap's statement about the logo change.

Curriculum Connection

“What questions do you ask yourself to make sure you are understanding what you are reading?” “How do you know if you are on the right track?” “When you come to a word or phrase you don’t understand, how do you solve it?” “How do you figure out what information is important to remember?” “What do you do when you get confused during reading?”

Primary
Identify, initially with some support and direction, what strategies they found most helpful before, during, and after reading and how they can use these and other strategies to improve as readers (OME, Reading: 4.1).

Junior
Identify the strategies they found most helpful before, during, and after reading and explain, in conversation with the teacher and/or peers, or in a reader’s notebook, how they can use these and other strategies to improve as readers (OME, Reading: 4.1).

Grammar Feature
Today’s article uses quotation marks in an “interesting” way. Twice, words are in quotation marks but no one is speaking. This is because quotation marks can also be used to show sarcasm or irony.
“blue box” - The Gap logo is not actually a blue box.
“new logo introduction” - The new logo introduction may have been a trick to get people talking about the Gap.
Extensions
Why is a logo such a powerful image? Why do you think customers were upset about the logo of the Gap changing? Is there a logo or a business that you feel strongly attached to?

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Little boy ties up 911 line

Image: Sug, Wikimedia
Commons.
TODDLER MAKES HUNDREDS OF CALLS TO 911

Did you know that old cell phones, even if they’re no longer connected to a network, can often still dial 911? Alex’s parents know it… now.

That’s because Alex used his “play” cell phone to dial 911. Four hundred times.

People can dial 911 in an emergency, when they need the police or an ambulance or the fire department.

So when four-year-old Alex called 911, the operator thought there was an emergency. At least, the first few times.

Alex’s parents had given him an old cell phone to play with, and he was probably very excited to find out that there was a number he could dial to actually get a real person on the other end of the line.

So he kept calling. Again and again and again.

He tied up the 911 line for hours. He ignored the operator’s repeated requests to stop calling 911 or to put his parents on the phone.

The operator shouted into the phone, hoping that Alex’s parents would hear him and take the phone away from the child.

During one call, the operator heard an adult asking Alex if he wanted some pie.

The police think the calls were coming from the area of Highway 21, five kilometers south of Port Elgin, Ont.

Curriculum Connection

In order to understand new information, we use schema. Schema is a person’s background knowledge.

Before your students read the article, have them use their schema to brainstorm everything they know about 911.

Have your students read the article. Ask them to identify how their schema/background knowledge of 911 helped them to better understand the article.

Primary:
identify a variety of reading comprehension strategies and use them appropriately before, during, and after reading to understand texts (OME, Reading: 1.3)

Junior:
identify a variety of reading comprehension strategies and use them appropriately before, during, and after reading to understand increasingly complex texts (OME, Reading: 1.3)

Grammar Feature
Capital letters are used throughout the article for the following purposes:

1. At the beginning of a sentence

2. Proper nouns – ex. Port Elgin, Alex, Highway 21

Discuss the different uses of capital letters.

Extensions
Alex made serious mistakes by calling 911 so many times. Do you think he was old enough to know better? Do you think Alex should be punished? If so, how do you think he should be punished?

Do you think Alex’s parents were at fault? Do you think his parents should face consequences? If so, what punishment should Alex’s parents face?
Many children now have cell phones. Some children have them for safety reasons, while others use them to call their friends and socialize. At what age do you think a child is responsible enough to have a cell phone?

Monday, October 18, 2010

All 33 miners rescued

Mario Gomez, 59, was the oldest of the
33 miners trapped in the Chilean mine.

Image: Hugo Infante/Government of
Chile via Wikimedia Commons.
CHILEAN MINERS SAFE

All of the 33 Chilean miners are safely back home now. The miners, had been trapped 600 metres underground for two months when a tunnel in their mine collapsed.

Millions of people around the world were glued to their television sets last week, watching each of the miners surface as they were pulled, one by one, from the mine.

While the miners were underground for two months, teams of people on the surface helped ensure they stayed healthy. Good nutrition was particularly important and trickier than you might think.

When the mine first collapsed on Aug. 5, two weeks went by before anyone on the surface could get food to them. The men lived on two mouthfuls of tuna and a sip of milk a day, and a few bites of cracker every other day. Remember, these are large, strong men used to eating a lot of food!

Each miner lost about 20 pounds during that time, and became very dehydrated, meaning their bodies didn’t have enough water. Seventeen days later, the first food arrived down in the mine: a type of medical milkshake called “Supportan.” They were also given water and vitamins.

For five days, Supportan was the only thing they were allowed to consume. That’s because eating too much, too soon, after you’ve been literally starving could bring on a seizure or a heart attack.

After that, the miners’ diets were carefully crafted so they got all the nutrients they needed, but didn’t get too fat which might prevent them from fitting in the rescue capsule. They were given 2,300 calories a day and told to exercise an hour each day.

Here’s a sample daily menu for the miners.
Breakfast: liquid yogurt, toast and jam.
Morning snack: four protein cookies.
Lunch: baked salmon with mashed potatoes, pineapple, Gatorade.
Afternoon snack: bread with dulce-de-leche (a caramel-milk treat).
Dinner: baked pork with corn, tangerine.

When the miners got out, they all looked forward to eating their favourite foods again. Most of them said they wanted to have a big barbeque with their families.

One man, Pablo Villacorta, wanted his mother-in-law to make him spaghetti with sauce because, according to his wife, “he thinks she is a better cook than me.”

Related Links
Miners to be out tomorrow

Curriculum Connections
“What is the purpose of a list in this article? How could you use it to help you understand the text?” Why did the writer of this article include a list?

Primary and Junior
Identify a variety of text features and explain how they help readers understand texts (e.g., table of contents, charts and chart titles, headings, an index, a glossary, graphs, illustrations, pictures, diagrams, hyperlinks, a menu) (OME, Reading: 2.3).

Grammar Feature
Colon: The list in this article uses colons after each heading. Point out to your students that colons are used to separate headings from the sentence or sentences that are linked to them.

Breakfast: liquid yogurt, toast and jam.
Morning snack: four protein cookies.
Lunch: baked salmon with mashed potatoes, pineapple, Gatorade.
Afternoon snack: bread with dulce-de-leche (a caramel-milk treat).
Dinner: baked pork with corn, tangerine.

Extensions
If you were trapped with the miners in the mine, how would you have kept your spirits up? What types of things would you have said to the miners who were trapped with you?

Friday, October 15, 2010

Actor Johnny Depp helps avert a mutiny

JACK SPARROW SHOWS UP AT PRIMARY SCHOOL

A group of schoolchildren in Britain got the surprise of their lives recently, when actor Johnny Depp showed up at the school, dressed as the character Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean.

Actor Johnny Depp surprised
students at Meridian
Primary School in London.
Image: Edward Scissorhands,
Wikimedia Commons
Grade-four student Beatrice Delap had written Depp a letter, telling him that she wanted to mutiny against the teachers at Meridian Primary School in Greenwich, and that she needed his help.

She got the letter into Depp’s hands by giving it to a security guard where Depp was filming Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides at a location nearby.

She never dreamed he would actually show up at her school!

Not only did he show up, but he brought with him a cast of four pirates in full costume. They performed pirate songs and dances at a quickly arranged assembly.

Depp called Delap out of the audience and gave her a hug, joking that, “maybe we shouldn’t mutiny ‘cause there are police outside monitoring me.” Instead, he suggested that they eat candy every day and not brush their teeth until they turn green and fall out.

He pulled out Beatrice’s letter, which read:

“We are a bunch of budding young pirates. Normally we’re a right handful, but we’re having trouble mutinying against the teachers. We’d love it if you could come and help.”

He said he plans to frame the letter.

Related Links
Someone (presumably a teacher) took a video of the visit. View the two-minute YouTube video here.

Curriculum Connection
Questioning:
Before students begin reading, encourage them to formulate questions about the article after reading the title: “Jack Sparrow Shows up at Primary School.” Then have students pose questions while they read and after they are finished reading the article. 

Discuss these questions as a class and encourage students to use inference and prediction to answer the questions. 

As a class, indentify why questioning is useful as a reading comprehension strategy (for people to focus their reading and to clarify their understanding of a text). 

Primary
identify a variety of reading comprehension strategies and use them appropriately before, during, and after reading to understand texts (OME, Reading: 1.3)

Junior
identify a variety of reading comprehension strategies and use them appropriately before, during, and after reading to understand increasingly complex texts (OME, Reading: 1.3). 

Grammar Feature
Quotation marks are used twice in the article for the following purposes: to indicate speech and to quote the student’s letter to Johnny Depp. 

Discuss when and how quotation marks are used in writing. 

Extensions for Primary and Junior 
Johnny Depp’s unexpected visit would have been a wonderful surprise for the students at Meridian Primary School. If you could choose any famous person to come and visit your school, who would you pick and why?

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Peace Prize winner in Chinese jail

Liu Xiao Bo is the winner of the
2010 Nobel Peace Prize.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
NOBEL PEACE PRIZE AWARDED TO LIU XIAO BO

Each year, the person who has done the most to help world peace is given what is perhaps the globe's highest honour: The Nobel Peace Prize. Last year's winner was U.S. President Barack Obama.

The winner receives not only the respect and admiration of people around the world, but also a cash prize of over $1-million.

Last week, the winner for 2010 was announced. His name is Liu Xiao Bo and he was chosen because of his long history of non-violent protests for peace.

Unfortunately, Liu Xiao Bo may not even know he has won one of the world's most important awards. That's because he is in a prison in China.

Liu is serving an 11-year prison sentence for speaking out against the Chinese government. As the prize was being read out, Liu was likely sitting in the prison cell he shares with five other prisoners, reading a book.

The Chinese government blocked the news of the award on the Internet from the country's 1.3 billion citizens. In China, anyone who searched for "nobel peace prize," for instance, would get an error message saying the page could not be found. Any television station that mentioned his name or the prize was blacked out in China.

What did Liu do to deserve such treatment? He wrote documents saying that China should become a democracy and respect human rights. In some countries, such as China, speaking out against the government in this way can force you to be imprisoned or even tortured.

Shortly after the announcement, Liu's wife visited him in prison. She said she was going to tell him that he'd won the prize, but that has not been confirmed: right after her visit she was put under "house arrest" -- meaning she cannot leave her home -- and her telephone has been cut off.

Here are some official facts about the Nobel Peace Prize.

Curriculum Connection
How does hearing a similar article read aloud help you when you read a new article independently?
How does knowing specific words or phrases from speaking or listening help you as a reader?
How do discussions with the teachers or classmates in conferences help you as a reader?
What do you know about writing that helps you as a reader?

Primary
Explain, initially with some support and direction, how their skills in listening, speaking, writing, viewing, and representing help them make sense of what they read (OME, Reading: 4.2).

Junior
Explain, in conversation with the teacher and/or peers or in a reader’s notebook, how their skills in listening, speaking, writing, viewing, and representing help them make sense of what they read (e.g., using a particular form when writing enhances understanding when reading texts of a similar form) (OME, Reading: 4.2).

Grammar Feature
Use a comma to show introductory material. In this article several sentences begin with introductory material that is separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma. Read each sentence to your students, first with the introductory material and then without. Highlight the sentences that still make sense without the introductory material but now have less detail.

“Each year, the person who has done the most to help world peace is given what is perhaps the globe's highest honour: The Nobel Peace Prize.”

“Last week, the winner for 2010 was announced.”

“Shortly after the announcement, Liu's wife visited him in prison.”

Extension
Liu Xiao Bo has peacefully fought to spread democracy throughout China for a long time. Democracy is the belief that each person should be able to vote, and that there should be fair courts of law and basic human rights. What is a right? What rights do you think people should have? What should someone do if they are not being given those rights?

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Does Ronald McDonald really smell bad?

FUN WAYS TO GET KIDS TO EAT BETTER

Everyone knows that it’s healthier to eat fruits and veggies than it is to eat fast foods and junk food.

But how do you get kids to eat the healthy stuff and avoid the foods that are bad for them?

It’s especially difficult today when fast food firms like McDonald’s offer toys with their hamburgers, when fast food is packaged to attract kids, and when ads make junk food seem healthy and fun.

Parents, chefs and farmers are fighting back in some pretty unusual ways.

For instance, celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain tells his three-year-old daughter that Ronald McDonald kidnaps children, has cooties and that he smells like pooh.

He says he young children don’t care about calories and nutrition. But cooties, they understand, he says.
Bolthouse Farms, which sells carrots and other healthy foods, has created new packaging that makes their baby carrots look like bags of chips. And their website has a commercial that’s a lot like a Cheetos ad.
Are these chips? Nope - they're baby carrots, dressed up like
junk food to make them more appealing to kids.
Parents also need to help in the battle to get kids eating healthy food, say nutritionists. Simple things like making breakfasts more nutritious or cutting back on juice can really go a long way towards helping kids eat more healthy.

It’s also good to get kids in the kitchen, cooking their own meals. They’re more likely to eat healthy food if they cook it themselves. Toronto’s The Stop Community Food Centre offers a cooking program for kids aged 8 to 12. Kids are 20 times more likely to eat vegetables they’ve prepared themselves than ones that are just served to them, says The Stop’s co-ordinator.

This article was adapted from an article in the Globe and Mail by Wency Leung.

Curriculum Connection

This article contains many high frequency words and words that are relevent to kids’ lives. Ensure that these words are read fluently and that they do not interfere with comprehension.

Primary
Automatically read and understand most high-frequency words, many regularly used words, and words of personal interest or significance, in a variety of reading contexts (OME, Reading: 3.1).

Junior
Automatically read and understand most words in a range of reading contexts (OME, Reading: 3.1).

Grammar Feature
Never say never! Children often start sentences with the words, “but” or “and.” This is generally a problem. However, in today’s article, the author starts three different sentences with these words. Explore and investigate why it works and why it shouldn’t be done all the time.

“But how do you get kids to eat the healthy stuff and avoid the foods that are bad for them?”

“But cooties, they understand, he says.”

“And their website has a commercial that’s a lot like a Cheetos ad.”

Extensions
Eating healthy foods is a huge problem in our city and country. What would you do to help people make healthy choices? What problems do you think you would have?

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Miners to be out tomorrow

Chile, in South America, is where 33
miners have been trapped for
two months. Image: Wikimedia.
CHILEAN MINER RESCUE

Tomorrow, 33 miners in San Jose, Chile are expected to see their families for the first time in two months.

That’s because they have been trapped, 600 metres below ground, in a mine shaft. They became stuck underground when some tunnels in the gold and copper mine they were working in collapsed.

After the accident, the Chilean government quickly drilled two small tunnels down to the miners to give them fresh air, water and food. However, they knew that it would take much longer to drill tunnels big enough to lift them out of the hard rock ground.

In the meantime, their families along with government officials and more than 1,200 reporters from around the world, built a camp aboveground to give the miners daily supplies and to communicate with them.

The miners had to co-operate to live in the small underground space. They set up daily routines for exercise, work (taking away rock debris from the tunnels) and recreation such as playing chess and cards.

It was originally thought that the miners wouldn’t be out in time for Christmas. However, the drilling has been quicker than expected. The first miners will be lifted out of the mine today.

The miners will have “new lives” when they come out. The whole world is interested in hearing the story of how they survived underground for so long. The Chilean government, and some newspapers and TV stations, will pay them a lot of money to tell their story. They will have to deal with reporters taking their pictures and asking them a lot of questions.

Their story is almost certain to be made into a movie. In fact, the miners have already started writing a book about what they have been going through. It began as a journal, in which they logged their meals and activities. It will have some interesting characters, including "the athlete," Edison, who jogs several kms a day in the tunnels, and "the electrician," Alex, who found a way to hook the miners' lamps to truck batteries to keep them charged.

The miners have also been watching videos on how to deal with reporters and avoid questions they don't want to answer. Most of the miners have already been offered plane tickets around the world to tell their story on TV shows.

The miners are expected to reach the surface around noon tomorrow.

Curriculum Connection
When we read, we are constantly working to understand what is written. One of the strategies that we use when we are reading is to determine what information is important. Use a highlighter or a pencil crayon to identify the most important pieces of information in the article.

How do you know that this information is the most important?

How do you think this strategy helps us as readers?

Primary
identify, initially with some support and direction, what strategies they found most helpful before, during, and after reading and how they can use these and other strategies to improve as readers (OME, Reading: 4.1)

Junior
identify the strategies they found most helpful before, during, and after reading and explain, in conversation with the teacher and/or peers, or in a reader’s notebook, how they can use these and other strategies to improve as readers (OME, Reading: 4.1).

Grammar Feature
Homophones are words that sound the same, but are spelled differently and have different meanings. An example of a homophone is: miner and minor. A miner is a person who works in a mine. A minor is someone who is (in Canada) less than 18 or 19 years old, depending on the province.

As a class, think of some examples of homophones and discuss their different spellings and meanings.

Extensions
In order to survive, humans need food, water, air and shelter. But, is this enough? The miners who were trapped had all of their basic needs met, but they also required exercise, daily work, communication with the outside world and recreation in order to keep their minds and bodies healthy. What do you think you need in order to survive and to be happy in your own life?

Before the mine collapsed on the 33 men, they were ordinary people who were working hard to make a living. When they come out of the mine, they will be emerging as celebrities. If you were one of the miners who was trapped, how would you react to this drastic change in your life?

Friday, October 8, 2010

"Doc" Halladay pitches a no-hitter

FORMER JAYS PITCHER MAKES HISTORY

Baseball pitcher Roy Halladay has done something no other pitcher has done since 1956. The pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies pitched a no-hitter in the playoffs.

A no-hitter means that Halladay, whose nickname is “Doc,” pitched to 28 batters, and not one of them was able to hit their way to first base. It may not sound that hard, but it is -- and it doesn’t happen very often. Most pitchers go their whole careers without ever pitching a no-hitter.

And to do it in the playoffs is even rarer.

And here’s something even more incredible. This is Halladay’s second no-hitter this season. There haven’t been two no-hitters in one season since 1973. In fact, there have only been five pitchers ever in the history of the game to do that.

No wonder Phillies fans are calling this month, “Doc-tober.”

To get his no-hitter, Halladay threw 104 pitches. The main pitches he used were a fastball, a changeup and a curve ball.

Halladay used to be a Toronto Blue Jay. He pitched for the Jays from 1998 until 2009, when he was traded to the Phillies.

He got the nickname “Doc” from a Blue Jays announcer, who borrowed it from famous wild west gunslinger Doc Holliday.

Curriculum Connection
Today’s article states: “Most pitchers go their whole careers without ever pitching a no-hitter. And to do it in the playoffs is even rarer.”

Why do you think it would be more difficult to pitch a no-hitter during the playoffs?

Primary and Junior
make inferences about texts using stated and implied ideas from the texts as evidence (OME, Reading: 1.5).

Grammar Feature
In school, students are often taught that they need to write in paragraphs, which should be about five sentences long. This article (and most articles in newpapers, magazines and journals) doesn’t follow that rule. For example, in this article, some paragraphs are one or two sentences long.

Why do you think journalists write in this style? Do you think it is effective?

Extensions
Roy Halladay played for the Toronto Blue Jays between 1998 and 2009. Even though he was an excellent pitcher, many Americans had never even heard of him until he left Toronto and played for the Phillies.

If you were a professional athlete, would you choose to stay in Canada and play for a Canadian team, or would you choose to play in the United States?

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Stink bugs in Mississauga?

Image: Lildobe, Wikimedia Commons
THIS BUG REALLY STINKS

Don’t accidentally step on a bug called the Halyomorpha halys. If you do, your running shoes will smell awful. When crushed, the bug emits an odour even worse than a skunk’s!

That’s probably why the bug is more commonly known as the “stink bug.”

There are more problems with the stink bug than just its odour. It also eats fruit and vegetable crops. In fact, it’s such a problem for farmers that researchers in the United States have spent nearly a million dollars to figure out what to do about it.

Until recently, the stink bug has been living – and bothering farmers – on the east coast of the U.S.

However, last week someone spotted a stink bug in the Greater Toronto Area. Square One shopping mall in Mississauga, to be exact.

A Western Ontario University student, who has been studying plants and animals that live in southern Ontario, noticed the stink bug at the mall. He said he also saw one last year around this time.

Mississauga’s pest control office says they haven’t had any other complaints about stink bugs, so it’s not likely that the bugs are going to pose a big problem any time soon in Toronto. But it’s something that farmers may want to keep an eye on.

In the meantime, people in Mississauga may want to consider this: in some parts of the world, the stink bug is considered delicious. It’s pounded together with spices, chillies and herbs and eaten as a side dish with rice. Yum.

Curriculum Connection

According to this article, workers at the pest control office in Mississauga and farmers in America and Canada dislike stink bugs because they ruin vegetable and fruit crops and they smell bad.

Retell this story from the point of view of the stink bug. Try to convince your audience that you are not a threat.

Primary
identify the point of view presented in a text and suggest some possible alternative perspectives (OME, Reading: 1.9).

Junior
identify the point of view presented in texts; determine whether they can agree with the view, in whole or in part; and suggest some other possible perspectives (OME, Reading: 1.9).
Grammar Feature
Draw students’ attention to the use of dashes in the following sentence: “Until recently, the stink bug has been living – and bothering farmers – on the east coast of the U.S.” Discuss why the dash is used in this sentence.
Extensions for Primary and Junior
Create a recipe featuring the stink bug as the main ingredient.
Craft the journey that the stink bug could have taken from the east coast of the United States to Mississauga.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Rowlings hints at possible new HP book

ANOTHER HARRY POTTER ADVENTURE?

Might Harry Potter be called into service again, to keep the wizarding (and Muggle) world safe from the likes of Voldemort and his accomplices?

The answer is: "maybe."

It's not much, but as anyone who's ever asked his parents for a new video game knows, it's better than "no."

Author J. K. Rowlings is open to the possibility that she may write another Harry Potter book. Or maybe even a few more.

That's what she told talk show host Oprah Winfrey in an interview recently.

The characters are still in her head, Rowlings said, and she "could definitely" write more books in the series.

The Harry Potter series, beginning with Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone and ending with the seventh novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, brought Rowling international fame. More than 400 million books have been sold worldwide. The series also made her one of the richest women in Britain, according to Forbes magazine.

With wealth have also come pressures, such as reporters searching through her trash and constant pestering from the paparazzi.

So will we see another Harry Potter novel in the very near future? Probably not very soon. Rowling says she's moved on to a new phase in her writing.

In the meantime, kids can always close their eyes, wave a wand... and make a wish.

Curriculum Connection
Today’s article contains several words and names that may be difficult for a young speller to pronounce. Identify and examine these words.

Primary and Junior
Predict the meaning of and rapidly solve unfamiliar words using different types of cues, including: semantic cues, syntactic cues, and graphophonic cues (OME, Reading: 3.2).

Grammar Feature
Alert students to the quotations around one and two word statements. Why does the author do this? What affect does it have?

"maybe."

"no."

"could definitely"

Extensions
Primary
The Harry Potter series is very famous. The author of this series has made a lot of money making these books and they have helped her become famous. After writing seven books, J.K. Rowling decided to stop writing these books.
If you are a fan of these books, what would you tell her to convince her to keep writing them?
If you do not like the Harry Potter series, what would you tell her to convince her that she should be writing different types of books?
Lastly, if you are unfamiliar with these books, why do you think someone would stop doing something that they are very good at?

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Canada gets a new Governor-General

Canada's new Governor-
General, David Johnston.
DAVID JOHNSTON APPOINTED GOVERNOR-GENERAL


Canada and the United States originally left England on very different terms. The United States broke ties with England completely, whereas Canada continued to be an English colony, accepting the British king or queen as its own.

Canada’s connection to Britain is maintained by a special head of state known as the Governor-General.

The Governor-General is the link between Canada’s Prime Minister and Britain’s Queen. To this day, when certain Acts of Parliament are passed, it is the Governor-General who obtains the Queen's signature. The Governor-General is also the Queen’s representative at official events such as military ceremonies.

The Governor-General is appointed by Queen Elizabeth II, on a recommendation from Prime Minister Stephen Harper. In reality, Stephen Harper chooses the person and Queen Elizabeth signs off on the appointment—and although it is unlikely that she would say no, technically she does hold that power.

There is no set time limit for a person to hold the office of Governor-General, but it’s usually about five years. There is a Canadian tradition of alternating between French-Canadian and English-Canadian Governors-General.

Since 2005, Canada’s Governor-General has been Michaelle Jean. However, she recently stepped down. Last Friday, Canada appointed its 28th Governor-General: David Johnston.
The former university professor said that his priorities as Governor-General will be supporting families and children; learning and innovation; and encouraging philanthropy and volunteerism. He said that we need to “cherish our teachers.” Johnston has a wife, Sharon, and five children, all of them girls.

Related Links
Here is the Governor-General's official website. On the site, notice the "coat of arms" that has been created specifically for  him.

Curriculum Connection

A previous Governor-General, the Marquess of Lorne, believed that the position of Governor-General was very difficult. He explained: "It is no easy thing to be a Governor-General of Canada. You must have the patience of a saint, the smile of a cherub, the generosity of an Indian prince, and the back of a camel."

Explain what the Marquess of Lorne means by his statement. Discuss what characteristics you think are important for Governors-General to have.

Primary
Express personal opinions about ideas presented in texts (OME, Reading: 1.8).

Junior
Make judgments and draw conclusions about ideas in texts and cite stated or implied evidence from the text to support their views (OME, Reading: 1.8).

Grammar Feature
Discuss the different ways in which words are made plural.

“To this day, when certain laws are passed, it is the Governor-General who goes to the Queen for her signature.” (add an ‘s’)

“The former university professor said that his priorities as Governor-General will be supporting families and children; learning and innovation; and encouraging philanthropy and volunteerism.” (change the ‘y’ to an ‘i’ and add ‘es’)

“There is a Canadian tradition of alternating between French-Canadian and English-Canadian Governors-General.” (exceptions to the common rules)

Extensions
Primary
Many previous Governors-General have backgrounds in politics. Michaelle Jean, who was the former Governor-General, was a journalist and broadcaster who did not have experience in politics. Do you think it is important for the Governor-General to be a politician?

Junior
One of the main roles of the Governor-General is to be “the link between Canada’s Prime Minister and Britain’s Queen.” This role is controversial because some people believe that Canada should separate itself from Britain; whereas other people think Canada should maintain its ties to the commonwealth. What is your opinion? Do you think the role of Governor-General is important, or do you think it is irrelevant?

Monday, October 4, 2010

21,000 free Metropasses

Image: Wikimedia Commons,
Adam E. Moreira
SHOULD THESE PEOPLE HAVE TO PAY TO RIDE THE BUS?

Recently, Toronto Mayoral candidate Rob Ford complained that more than 21,000 people in Toronto receive free TTC Metropasses. He said this was a case of wasted money and that these people should have to pay for their own bus and subway tickets.

At first, this number sounds shocking. It seems terribly unfair that more than 21,000 people in Toronto get to ride the buses and subway for free when the rest of us have to pay. But waitlooking at the individual numbers, we can see that there may be some grey areas.

Thirteen thousand (more than half) of those free Metropasses are given to TTC workers who fix and maintain the subway, streetcars and buses. Drivers use them to get to the appropriate stations to start and end their shifts. Without the free Metropasses, the TTC would have to pay for these people to take the TTC anyway.

Another 4,700 Metropasses are given to TTC retirees who have worked more than 10 years for the company. It's in their contract when they began working for the TTC that they would get this benefit. If the TTC didn't give them these passes, they would be sued.

Next, 3,700 passes are given to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) to give to its clients who are sight-impaired.

Eighteen Metropasses are given to war amputeespeople who have lost limbs during wartime, fighting for Canada.

And 45 are given to the Mayor and City Councillors of Toronto. Those passes are in their contract as part of their pay.

There are some other passes given out to similar workers and employees of the TTC as well as a group that investigates the safety of the TTC and advises the Mayor about accessibility issues for physically challenged riders.

So while at first sight 21,000 free Metropasses seems like a waste of money... is it, really?

This article was based on an editorial by Carol Goar in the Toronto Star. Here is a link to her editorial, which has more information about the free passes.

Curriculum Connection
1. Is Councillor Ford treating Torontonians fairly by making everyone pay for the bus and subway? Or, is he treating many Torontonians unfairly by taking away important access to buses and subways for the people who need it most?

Primary
Express personal opinions about ideas presented in texts (e.g., identify traits they admire in the characters; comment on actions taken by characters) (OME, Reading: 1.8).

Junior
Make judgments and draw conclusions about ideas in texts and cite stated or implied evidence from the text to support their views (OME, Reading: 1.8).

Grammar Feature
The long dash (or "em-dash"): Highlight the use of the long dash throughout the story.

“But waitlooking at the individual numbers, we can see that there may be some grey areas.”

“Eighteen Metropasses are given to war amputeespeople who have lost limbs during wartime, fighting for Canada.”

Extensions
1. Do you think the author of this article agrees with Councillor Ford, why or why not?

Primary
Express personal opinions about ideas presented in media texts (OME, Media Literacy: 1.3)
Junior
Evaluate the effectiveness of the presentation and treatment of ideas, information, themes, opinions, issues, and/or experiences in media texts (OME. Media Literacy:1.3)

Friday, October 1, 2010

Mystery lottery winner in Burlington

WHO RIGHTFULLY OWNS $12.5-MILLION TICKET?
Someone in Burlington, Ontario may be $12.5 million dollars richer – and not even know it.

In 2003, someone from Burlington or St. Catherines bought a lottery ticket. After the lottery draw, they went to a store called Variety Plus in Burlington to see if they’d won anything.

They had – they’d won a free ticket. But they never received that ticket, presumably because the employee at Variety Plus lied and kept the ticket for herself.

That free ticket went on to win the jackpot - $12.5 million dollars.

The store manager’s sister claimed the prize, and in December 2003 was given $12.5 million.

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) is the organization that collects the money people pay for lottery tickets, and gives out the prizes. They had no idea that the woman was not the true owner of the ticket.

She would never have gotten caught, except that in 2007 there were a lot of these kinds of thefts, with people who sell lottery tickets keeping the winnings for themselves.

That prompted the OLG to take a closer look at ticket sellers, and to put safeguards in place to stop such thefts. It also made them take another look at past winnings, and the OLG became suspicious about the 2003 case.

The woman, and two of her relatives, have been charged with fraud and money laundering and if they are convicted, may go to jail.

In the meantime, there’s someone out there who is the rightful owner of the $12.5 million lottery ticket. Who is it? Police are using sophisticated computer programs to figure that out. They’ll look at where the person bought other tickets in the past to figure out where he or she might work and live. They also have some other clues they’re not telling the public, which might help them find the person.

But it’s likely the person will never be found. So in the meantime… did you or your parents visit Variety Plus in Burlington in 2003?

Curriculum Connection
Why do writers use different types of sentences in their writing?

Short sentences: “They had – they’d won a free ticket.” (to make exact, clear points)

Long sentences: “The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) is the organization that collects the money people pay for lottery tickets, and gives out the prizes.” (to provide detailed information)

Questions: “So in the meantime… did you or your parents visit Variety Plus in Burlington in 2003?” (to create curiosity and interest in the reader)

Primary
Identify some elements of style, including voice, word choice, and different types of sentences, and explain how they help readers understand texts (OME, Reading: 2.4).

Junior
Identify various elements of style – including voice, word choice, and the use of hyperbole, strong verbs, dialogue, and complex sentences – and explain how they help communicate meaning (OME, Reading: 2.4)

Grammar Feature
Apostrophe: Highlight the different use of the apostrophe in the article.

“After the lottery draw, they went to a store called Variety Plus in Burlington to see if they’d won anything.” (contraction)

“The store manager’s sister claimed the prize, and in December 2003 was given $12.5 million.” (shows possession)

Discussion Topics
What could The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) do to prevent this type of fraud from happening again?

If you won 12.5 million dollars, what would you do with it?