1. A Massive Moving Challenge

The Fermi Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, needs a 50-foot-wide electromagnet, and the Brookhaven, New York, National Laboratory has one it doesn’t need. Since both labs are run by the U.S. Department of Energy, it should be no problem to share, right? Easier said than done. The 60-ton device, used to store subatomic particles called muons, will take a circuitous, two-month, 3,200-mile journey to get from New York to Illinois — floating from New York Harbor, down the East Coast, around Florida, up the Gulf Coast into the Mississippi River and up to Illinois. Why can’t someone just drive it over? Because it cannot tilt or twist more than a few degrees or its complex wiring will be irreparably damaged. It will be used in an experiment called Muon g-2 that will look at odd properties of matter in the subatomic world. Science makes news in many fields. Find a science story in the newspaper or online. Read it closely to understand its key points. Then write a summary of it so that non-scientists can understand its significance.

Common Core/National Standards: Conducting short research projects that build knowledge about a topic; citing specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions; writing informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

2. A Frog Surprise

The Hula painted frog, declared extinct in 1996, has turned out to be very much alive. Since 2011, a total of 14 have been discovered in the Hula Valley wetlands of the Middle East nation of Israel. The frog was declared extinct after nearly 60 years in which none had been spotted. The amphibian, which has a distinctive black-and-white spotted belly, is “a living fossil,” one scientist observed, because it is the only one of its kind and is related to amphibians that lived more than 15,000 years ago. Scientists now are looking for ways to bring these frogs back from the brink of extinction, once again. Endangered species often make news. As a class, find a story about one in the newspaper or online. Write a paragraph describing why it is endangered and what steps might be taken to protect it. Use evidence from what you read in your writing.

Common Core/National Standards: Reading closely what a text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; citing specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions; writing informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

3. Scroll Pieces for Sale

Nearly 70 years after discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the world’s oldest biblical manuscripts, the Palestinian family who originally sold them to scholars and institutions is marketing the leftovers. Fragments the family says it has kept in a Swiss bank safety deposit box — many of them tiny and some blank — are being offered for sale to evangelical Christian collectors and American institutions. Israel’s government, however, has threatened to seize any pieces that hit the market. That Middle East nation’s antiquities authority holds most of the scrolls, which are the earliest copies of the Hebrew Bible ever found and the oldest written evidence of the roots of Judaism and Christianity. The scrolls were originally discovered in a cave by a shepherd. They are an important piece of history for Israel, which was founded as a Jewish state. As class, discuss whether private individuals should be allowed to buy and sell items of broad historical significance. Then do some research and write a newspaper editorial giving your opinion about the proposed sale.

Common Core/National Standards: Reading closely what a text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; citing specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions; writing opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.

4. Ill from the Pool

People love to cool off in public swimming pools, but they are not always safe. More than half in a recent study were found to contain E. coli, a bacterium from the digestive tracts of humans and warm-blooded animals. Researchers also note that cases of recreational water illness have risen nationally. Medical authorities offer these tips for swimmers: Stay out of the water if you have a digestive illness; shower off with soap before entering the pool; and take bathroom breaks every 60 minutes. Illnesses caused by bacteria and other health issues often make news. Find a story in the newspaper about a health issue or illness. Write a summary of the story and detail whom the news will affect most.

Common Core/National Standards: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience; integrating information presented in different media or formats to develop a coherent understanding of a topic.

5. Anti-Polio Volunteers in Peril

Thanks to vaccination programs, the disease polio has been virtually eradicated just about everywhere. A major exception is the southern Asian nation of Pakistan, where volunteering to give oral anti-polio drops to children can be dangerous. That’s because the Taliban militant group has claimed that vaccination efforts are a cover for western spying, and some religious extremists claim that the anti-polio campaign’s real aim is to sterilize the Muslim population. Volunteers actually have been attacked, so most are now accompanied by police escorts. Near Peshawar recently, two women who had asked not to be accompanied by security were shot recently — and one of them died. Pakistan is one of three countries in the world where polio is widespread, so 1,803 teams have been participating in door-to-door anti-polio work. As a class, read up on other effects of Taliban beliefs in Pakistan. Then find a story online and write an essay as if you were a Pakistani dealing with these beliefs.

Common Core/National Standards: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience; integrating information presented in different media or formats to develop a coherent understanding of a topic.