For Grades K-4 THE WEEK OF Apr 05, 2021

1. A Poetic Hero

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes, and they inspire people in all kinds of ways. When a 7-year-old boy from California was asked to pick a hero to be for Dress as Your Idol Day, Jeremy Rowan didn’t choose an athlete or music star. The second grader picked 23-year-old poet Amanda Gorman, who had wowed the nation with her poem “The Hill We Climb” at President Biden’s inauguration ceremony in January. Jeremy had watched Gorman deliver her poem for the President and was inspired to create a costume like the outfit she wore that day — including a bright yellow jacket and a bright red headband. Jeremy’s mom shared a picture of his costume on the Twitter Internet site, and the family was stunned to get a response from Gorman herself. She asked if she could post the photo on social media for World Poetry Day on March 21, adding the message “When I dress up as my idol, I have to dress up as him!” And what does Jeremy like most about Gorman? “He has said she recites her poetry like it's a song and uses her hands like she is translating it into sign language,” his mom said. There are many kinds of heroes. In the newspaper or online, find and closely read a story about someone you would consider a hero. Use what you read to write a letter to this person, telling why you consider him or her a hero and how that makes you want to do something heroic yourself.

Common Core State Standards: Writing informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly; citing specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions.

2. Flying on Mars

When the Perseverance space craft landed on the planet Mars, it made history by delivering a first-of-its-kind helicopter to the so-called Red Planet. This month the helicopter named Ingenuity will make history itself when it attempts its first flight in the thin atmosphere of Mars. And it will carry a bit of history while doing it. America’s NASA space agency has announced that aboard Ingenuity will be a tiny piece of fabric from the wing of the airplane the Wright Brothers used when making the first powered and controlled flight on Earth. The fabric, which came from the bottom left wing of the Wright Brothers’ plane, is taped to a cable beneath the helicopter’s solar panel. The Wright Brothers first flight took place 117 years ago and traveled 120 feet. Ingenuity’s first flight is scheduled to rise 10 feet into the Mars atmosphere. The Perseverance/Ingenuity mission to Mars is gathering new information and doing new things on the planet next out from Earth in the solar system. In the newspaper or online, find and closely read a story detailing something Perseverance or Ingenuity is doing. Use what you read to write a letter to the editor telling why this is important to space scientists.

Common Core State Standards: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task; reading closely what written and visual texts say and to making logical inferences from them.

3. Close to Home

A day of deadly tornadoes in the state of Alabama really hit home for a popular TV weatherman. While James Spann was on the air, he learned a twister had damaged his own house. Remarkably, after checking with his wife to make sure she was all right, Spann went back on camera to continue delivering news and updates about the violent weather. “We had major damage at my house,” Spann said. “I had to be sure — my wife is okay, but the tornado came right through there and it’s not good. It’s bad. It’s bad.” Later he reminded Internet followers on Twitter that “As I often say, tornadoes happen to real people, at a real place, at a real time.” James Spann continued doing his job after facing a personal challenge. In the newspaper or online, find and closely read a story about another person who has done this. Pretend you are going to do a TV interview with this person. Write out five questions you would ask, and explain why.

Common Core State Standards: Conducting short research projects that build knowledge about a topic; citing specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions.

In the following activity, please hotlink the word “here” to this url: https://mymodernmet.com/roger-brendhagen-white-moose/

4. Rare Moose

Moose are familiar forest creatures in many parts of the world. But one spotted in the European nation of Sweden recently was not familiar at all. Instead of being brown, the moose was white from its antlers to its back to its legs and feet. The moose was not an albino, according to wildlife photographer Roger Brendhagen, who discovered the massive plant eater near Sweden’s border with Norway. Instead, he said, the moose has a genetic defect called leucism (LEW-siz-em), which means it cannot store color pigments in its coat and other features. Moose live in northern climates in Europe and North America and can grow to more than 6 feet in height and weigh up to 1,500 pounds. To see pictures of the Swedish white moose, click here. Unusual animals are often in the news. In the newspaper or online, find and closely read a story about an unusual animal, or an animal doing something that is unusual. Use what you read and other resources to write a paragraph explaining why this animal is unusual, according to scientists.

Common Core State Standards: Writing informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly; citing specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions.

5. A Live Cannonball

The U.S. Civil War may have ended more than 150 years ago, but some of its weapons are still alive and well. Very alive, in fact. In the state of Maryland, a cannonball discovered near a Civil War battlefield was found to still be able to pack a punch when a bomb squad was called in to check it out. The bomb squad was called to a home in the community of Jefferson by a resident who had been given the cannonball by a relative, UPI News reported. The relative had found it near the Monocacy Battlefield, and officials said its fuse mechanism was still intact. That meant it could still be dangerous, so the bomb experts carefully removed it and took it to a nearby stone quarry. There, it was safely set off, proving that even at 156 years old it could still deliver a charge. The 1864 Battle of Monocacy was the northernmost victory for the Confederate army in the Civil War. Bomb squads and other public safety teams do many things to help communities. In the newspaper or online, find and closely read a story about one team. Create a detailed drawing showing the different things this team does to keep the community safe. Write a paragraph explaining what your drawing shows. Then color your drawing to make it more dramatic.

Core State Standards: Using drawings or visual displays when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or points; reading closely what written and visual texts say and to making logical inferences from them.