READING AND WRITING MAGAZINE Vol. 35, No. 1 ISSN 0163-3570 Teaching guide Action gives you HIGH-interest articles for teen students, all at an accessible LOW reading level. ALL NEW WEB SITE! Digital flipbook of the entire issue interactive quizzes and games Exciting embedded videos Differentiated articles and audio Go to: scholastic.com/actionmag Click To Play Video! September 5, 2011 ISSUE DATES 2011-2012 September 5 September 19 October 3 October 24 NOVEMbER 7 & 21 December 5 January 9 It s easy to register and log in! Just flip to page T8 of this Teaching Guide for directions. Issue-at-a-Glance: Reading levels, skills, and standards page Article Reading Level Skills 2 4 6 IN THE NEWS Real-Life Transformer; Tomato Fight!; Surfing Mice Celebrity Scoop: Beyoncé READERS THEATER PLAY Romeo and Juliet Lexile 620/ Grade 3.5 Lexile 580/ Grade 3 Lexile 520/ Grade 3 Reading Comprehension Synonyms Fluency/Main Idea & Details common core Standards* Reading: 1, 2, 5, 7, 10; Speaking/Listening: 1, 2; Language: 4, 6 Reading: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 10; Speaking/Listening: 1, 2; Language: 4, 6 Reading: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10; Language: 4, 5, 6 January 30 FEBRUARY 13 12 TRUE TEEN STORY In Memory of Dad Lexile 610/ Grade 3.5 Reading- Comprehension Test Prep Reading: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10; Language: 4, 5, 6 MARCH 5 16 NONFICTION The World s Deadliest Animals Lexile 700/ Grade 4 Writing a Persuasive Paragraph Reading: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10; Language: 4, 5, 6 march 26 April 16 May 7 Question about your subscription? Phone: 1-800-Scholastic E-mail: www.scholastic.com/custsupport A Supplement to Scholastic Action 20 22 24 debate No Tunes, No Texts SHORT NONFICTION When the Towers Fell VISUAL TEXT What Teens Text About in Class Lexile 740/ Grade 4.5 Lexile 770/ Grade 5 N/A Vocabulary/ Context Clues Writing Test Prep Reading a Pie Chart Reading: 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 10; Writing: 1, 4; Speaking/Listening: 3; Language: 1, 2, 4, 6 Reading: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10; Language: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 Reading: 5, 7 *See p. T7
Lesson Plan: Understanding Text Features: Headlines Use with In the News, pages 2-3 Common core Standards for this lesson (See p. T7): Reading: 2, 5, 7; Speaking/Listening: 1, 2 Time Allotment: 30 minutes objective: Students will be able to identify headlines and explain their importance as text features. Materials: Scholastic Action magazine September 5, 2011, issue Highlighters Reproducible, page T3 chalkboard or interactive whiteboard PrEPARATION Photocopy the reproducible from page T3. Procedure 5 minutes: Have students turn to pages 2-3 in their magazines. Instruct them to point to the words Real-Life Transformer. Ask students if they know what this text feature is. (headline) Have students use a highlighter to highlight this headline. Explain that a headline tells you what a story is mostly about. It s usually written in big letters at the beginning of an article. Ask students to think about what else the headline might do. (grab readers attention, get readers interested in reading the article) 5 minutes: Have students turn to a partner and make predictions about what the article might be about based on the headline. (You might also encourage students to use another text feature, the photo, to help make predictions.) Invite pairs of students to share their predictions with the class. Then read the article together and confirm or deny predictions. 10 minutes: Repeat this procedure with Tomato Fight! and Surfing Mice on page 3. Read and highlight the headline, make predictions, read the articles, then reassess the predictions. Afterward, allow students time to browse through the magazine to highlight the headlines throughout. Assessment 10 minutes: Distribute the reproducible from page T3 of this Teaching Guide to assess students understanding of the purpose of headlines. Extension Make a book of text features to add to throughout the year. Dedicate the first page in the book to headlines. Have students cut out headlines from local or national newspapers, then glue the headlines on that page. Dedicate other pages in the book to other text features, such as photos and captions, subheadings, bylines, maps, and diagrams. Join the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Teach 9/11 in a constructive way. http://www.scholastic.com/mygooddeed INFORMATION SCHOLASTIC ACTION (ISSN 0163-3570; in Canada, 2-c no. 9320) is published 14 times during the school year; monthly December, February, April, May; bi-weekly September, October, November, January, March, with the November issues published as a double issue by Scholastic Inc., 2931 E. McCarty St., P.O. Box 3710, Jefferson City, MO 65102-3710. Periodical postage paid at Jefferson City, MO 65101 and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTERS: Send notice of address changes to SCHOLASTIC ACTION, 2931 East McCarty St., P.O. Box 3710, Jefferson City, MO 65102-3710. PUBLISHING INFORMATION U.S. prices: $8.15 each per year for 10 or more subscriptions to the same address. For other subscriptions information, call 1-800-SCHOLASTIC. (For Canadian pricing, write our Canadian office, address below). Communications relating to subscriptions should be addressed to SCHOLASTIC ACTION, SCHOLASTIC INC., 2931 East McCarty Street, P.O. Box 3710, Jefferson City, MO 65102-3710. Communications relating to editorial matter should be addressed to EDITOR, SCHOLASTIC ACTION, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012-3999. Canadian address: Scholastic Canada Ltd., 175 Hillmount Rd., Markham, Ontario, Canada L6C 1Z7. Copyright 2011 by Scholastic Inc. All Rights Reserved. Material in this issue may not be reproduced in whole or in part in any form or format without special permission from the publisher. SCHOLASTIC, ACTION, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc. Printed in the U.S.A. T2 Action Teaching Guide September 5, 2011
Name: You Choose the Headline A headline tells readers what an article is about. Read the descriptions of articles below, and then choose the best headline for each one. We ve done one for you. READING AND WRITING POWER FOR TEENS skill: Headlines MAGAZINE use with: In the News, pp. 2-3 lesson plan: Understanding Text Features: Headlines, p. T2 1. Your school newspaper has an article about David Lowy, a student who won a contest by chewing 37 sticks of gum at the same time. Which of these is the best headline? A Dangerous David B Chewing Champion C The Great Gum Drop D Lowy Gets Lost 2. In a textbook, you read a story about search-and-rescue dogs. These dogs can find people who are lost in the woods or buried under snow. They use their powerful sense of smell to find people. Which of these is the best headline? A Four-Legged Farmers B Snow Day C Hero Hounds D A Nose for News 3. in your local newspaper, there s an article about a tanning salon that won t let teens tan. Some experts say that tanning is dangerous, and that only adults should be allowed to do it. Which of these is the best headline? A No Tans for Teens B Fun in the Sun C A Sunny September D When It Rains, It Pours 4. in a music magazine, you read about Nick Alba, a famous guitarist who was bullied as a teen. He says that playing music helped him get over being bullied and make friends. Which of these is the best headline? A Noisy Nick B Nick Alba s Happy Childhood C Nick Quits the Band D The Power of Music 5. In a magazine that your class reads, there s a story about a girl who built her own car. She used only things she found around her house. Which of these is the best headline? A Homemade Car B A New House for Isabel C House Race D The World s Fastest Car 6 Action Teaching Guide September 5, 2011 T3
Lesson Plan: Character Traits Use with Romeo and Juliet, pages 6-11 Common core Standards for this lesson (See p. T7): Reading: 1, 2, 3, 7; Speaking/Listening: 1, 2 Time Allotment: 35 minutes objective: Students will be able to analyze traits of characters from the play. Materials: Scholastic Action magazine September 5, 2011, issue Chalkboard or interactive whiteboard Reproducible, page T5 PrEPARATION 1. Photocopy the reproducible on page T5. 2. copy the chart below onto the board. On separate pieces of paper, write evil, curious, afraid, forgetful, and unhappy. Then tape the pieces of paper onto the board (outside of the chart). character Dorothy Lion Tin man Scarecrow Wicked witch character trait Procedure 5 minutes: Introduce the concept of character traits. Explain that traits are ways to describe how people look or act. Have students think of traits to describe themselves, such as loyal, loving, and athletic. Challenge students to think of character traits that provide alliteration with their names, such as Caring Cara or Helpful Hank. 5 minutes: Tell students these same traits also apply to characters in books, stories, and plays. Use the example of The Wizard of Oz and refer to the chart on the board. Show that characters from the movie are listed in the left-hand column. The character traits need to be taped into the right-hand column to match the correct characters. Think about each character s traits (before they are transformed, of course). Then invite students up to the board to match the appropriate trait to each character. 15 minutes: Explain that you ll read this issue s Readers Theater, Romeo and Juliet, and find traits for the characters in the play. Assign roles to students and begin to read. Pause after Scene 2 and discuss what an appropriate trait for Tybalt might be. (hateful, aggressive) Ask students how they came to this conclusion. (He started the fight.) Repeat this procedure as necessary throughout the play. Assessment 10 minutes: Hand out the reproducible on page T5 of this Teaching Guide. Show that it s a chart just like the one on the board, but that it contains characters from the play Romeo and Juliet. T4 Action Teaching Guide September 5, 2011
Name: They ve Got Character READING AND WRITING POWER FOR TEENS skill: Character Traits MAGAZINE use with: Romeo and Juliet, p. 6 Lesson Plan: Character Traits, p. T4 Character traits are ways to describe a character. From the Word Bank below, choose one or more words to describe each character listed in the chart. brave hateful loyal Word Bank passionate pushy romantic rude understanding violent Character Trait Romeo Juliet 2011 by Scholastic Inc. Teachers may make copies of this page to distribute to their students. Tybalt Mercutio Mrs. Capulet Juliet s aunt Action Teaching Guide September 5, 2011 T5
Lesson Plan: Ending Punctuation Use with Celebrity Scoop: Beyoncé, pages 4-5 Common core Standards for this lesson (See p. T7): Reading: 2, 5, 7; Speaking/Listening: 1, 2; Language: 1, 2 Time Allotment: 35 minutes objective: Students will be able to determine the correct ending punctuation for sentences. Materials: Scholastic Action magazine September 5, 2011, issue chalkboard or interactive whiteboard Optional reproducible, End It! available at scholastic.com /actionmag PrEPARATION 1. If desired, photocopy the reproducible End It! which can be found at: scholastic.com/actionmag 2. Write the following three sentences on the board: Jamie and Eric played basketball at the park Did you see Eric make that shot Jamie s team won the game by just one point Procedure 5 minutes: Introduce or review the three types of ending punctuation period, question mark, and exclamation mark. Explain that a sentence stating something ends with a period. A sentence that asks a question ends with a question mark. A sentence that is exciting, scary, or shouted ends with an exclamation mark. Invite students to make up their own examples of sentences with each punctuation mark. 5 minutes: Direct students attention to the three sentences on the board. Tell them they have to decide the ending punctuation for each sentence. Instead of simply writing it in, use movements to denote each punctuation mark. Have students stand up and show the following movements: For a period, have students crouch down into a ball. For an exclamation mark, have them jump straight up. For a question mark, have them bend their bodies into question marks. Then read the sentences on the board. Have students do the appropriate movement. When the class comes to a consensus, write in the punctuation mark on the board. 15 minutes: Turn to pages 4-5 to read Celebrity Scoop: Beyoncé. Tell students to be on the lookout for sentences with these punctuation marks, because they will be quizzed after reading. Pause where necessary to discuss the appropriate punctuation marks. Assessment 10 minutes: Repeat the movement activity from earlier in the lesson, this time reading aloud sentences from the article. Be sure to incorporate the exclamatory sentences in sections 1, 4, and 6 and the question in section 5. Extension Use the reproducible End It! found on our Web site, scholastic.com/actionmag, to reinforce ending punctuation skills. T6 Action Teaching Guide September 5, 2011
common core STANDARDS ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS Grades 6-12 These standards have been condensed. For the complete anchor standards, go to www.scholastic.com/actionmag. READING key Ideas and Details: 1. Determine what text says; make inferences; cite textual evidence; 2. Determine central ideas; summarize key details; 3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact in a text craft and Structure: 4. Interpret words and phrases and how they shape meaning and tone; 5. Analyze the structure of texts; 6. Assess point of view and purpose integration of Knowledge and Ideas: 7. Integrate content in diverse formats and media; 8. Evaluate arguments and claims; 9. Analyze texts with similar themes range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity: 10. Read and comprehend complex texts WRITING Text Types and Purposes: 1. Write arguments to support claims, using reasoning and evidence; 2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey ideas and information; 3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences production and Distribution of Writing: 4. Produce coherent writing in which development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience; 5. Develop writing by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach; 6. Use technology to produce and publish writing and to interact with others research to Build and Present Knowledge: 7. Conduct both short and sustained research projects; 8. Gather information from print and digital sources, assessing their credibility and integrating information while avoiding plagiarism; 9. Draw evidence from text to support research range of Writing: 10. Write routinely over extended and shorter time frames, depending on task SPEAKING AND LISTENING comprehension and Collaboration: 1. Prepare for and participate in conversations and collaborations with partners; 2. Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats; 3. Evaluate a speaker s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence presentation of Knowledge and Ideas: 4. Present information, findings, and supporting evidence so listeners can follow reasoning; 5. Make use of digital media and visual displays; 6. Adapt speech to appropriate contexts and communicative tasks LANGUAGE conventions of Standard English: 1. Demonstrate command of conventions of standard English grammar and usage when speaking or writing; 2. Demonstrate command of conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing knowledge of Language: 3. Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts vocabulary Acquisition and Use: 4. Determine meaning of unknown words and phrases using context clues, word parts, and references; 5. Show understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings; 6. Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases action solutions Answers to skills activities News Quiz, p. 3 1. A town in Spain holds a tomato festival each year. 2. Getting splattered with tomatoes sounds gross. 3. Huge trucks bring the tomatoes for the festival. Synonyms, p. 4 1. made: created 2. named: called 3. pals: friends 4. pretty: beautiful 5. tasty: delicious 6. enjoyable: fun Shakespeare s Main Idea, p. 11 Answers may vary. Accept answers similar to those below. * Juliet s mother wants Juliet to date Paris. * Romeo kills Juliet s cousin Tybalt. * Romeo and Juliet kill themselves at the thought of not being together. Show What You Know, p. 15 1. b 2. c 3. c 4. a 5. a 6. c 7. a 8. b 9. c 10. a Beware of Poison! P. 19 1. d 2. c 3. b 4. a Make Your Point, p. 21. Answers will vary. A Story to Tell, p. 23 * Brook wanted to make a film. * The experiences of students and teachers on 9/11 was a topic he knew about. * He thought most people didn t realize what kids and teachers had gone through that day. What Teens Text About in Class, p. 24 1. a 2. d 3. Answers will vary. 4. Answers will vary. Acceptable answers include: Texting distracts from learning and Texting can be a way to cheat on tests. You Choose the Headline, p. T3 1. b 2. c 3. a 4. d 5. a They ve Got Character, p. T5 Answers may vary. Acceptable answers include: Romeo: passionate/ romantic Juliet: passionate/romantic Tybalt: hateful/rude/violent Mercutio: brave/loyal Mrs. Capulet: pushy Juliet s aunt: understanding For answers to our online-only reproducibles, go to: www.scholastic.com/actionkey Action Teaching Guide September 5, 2011 T7
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