1. Glacial Ice Is Melting

The ice in glaciers in the Andes Mountains of South America, which took at least 1,600 years to form, has melted in just 25 years, scientists report. And they worry that the glacier melt is another sign that global warming is unbalancing the natural world. Rapid melting in the Andes at the margins of the Quelccaya ice cap in Peru — the world’s largest tropical ice sheet — is uncovering plants that were locked in a deep freeze when the glacier advanced many thousands of years ago. Some of these plants, glaciologists report in the journal Science, may be 6,300 years old. Throughout the Andes, glaciers are melting so rapidly that scientists are concerned about water supplies for people living in areas where communities depend on glacial melt-water to get through the dry season. As a class, discuss ways that warmer temperatures can affect the lives of humans, plants and animals. Then draw an editorial cartoon for the newspaper showing someone living near a glacier dealing with the effects of the melting ice.

Common Core/National Standards: Integrating information presented in different media or formats to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue; using drawings or visual displays when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or points.

2. News Sleuth

As a class, look at a story in today’s newspaper for one minute. Based on what you read and see, write on your own a description of what the story is about. Then discuss ways to figure out the basic content of a story, including skimming text and scanning headlines, captions and pictures.

Common Core/National Standards: Integrating information presented in different media or formats to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue; developing strategies and skills for information gathering and problem solving.

3. Chickenpox Doomed?

The disease known as chickenpox once affected about 90 percent of the population, especially children. Now a scientific study has found that a widely used chickenpox vaccine is highly effective after just one dose, and even more effective after two doses. Chickenpox is one of the so-called “children’s diseases” that used to hit students hard in elementary schools, leading to thousands of hospitalizations and even some deaths. Now the “varicella” chickenpox vaccine “totally prevent[s]” it, a researcher reports in the medical journal Pediatrics. The study, which involved more than 7,500 children over several years, investigated occurrences of chickenpox and shingles, a painful rash that can occur after recovery from chickenpox, even many years later. As a class, talk about health issues or problems that affect children. Together, find a story in the newspaper or online about a children’s health issue. Discuss the issue and design a poster that would educate people about the issue.

Common Core/National Standards: Engaging effectively in a range of collaborative discussions; using drawings or visual displays when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or points.

4. Tourists Avoiding Egypt

Tourism is big business in the northern African nation of Egypt. With the Sphinx, the Pyramids and other ancient attractions, it provides direct jobs for more than 3 million Egyptians, income for more than 70 industries and 20 percent of the money Egypt earns from foreign countries. But not this winter. Because of the political squabbles and street violence in Cairo and other cities, tourists have been staying away from Egypt. The economy is hurting, and hotel occupancy in Cairo has fallen to below 15 percent. Also affected are taxi and horse carriage drivers, boat operators, tour guides and vendors. In the city of Luxor, cruise ships are idle, the gardens and restaurants deserted. As a class, talk about ways that tourism helps communities or countries where tourists go. Then use the newspaper to find photos or stories about places or events that people might like to visit in your community. Write a paragraph describing one place and why people would enjoy visiting it.

Common Core/National Standards: Engaging effectively in a range of collaborative discussions; producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience.

5. Unglamorous, but Effective

An Indiana dairy farm has been hailed by the U.S. Department of Energy for a pace-setting — if unglamorous — program that saves energy. The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy has been converting its endless supply of cow manure into fuel for its delivery trucks, powering 42 tractor-trailers that run daily to and from Tennessee. A $12 million “digester” at the farm processes the manure into a fuel that is used to run everything from milking equipment to the farm’s gift shop. “It doesn’t really catch your eye, like wind and solar,” an official of the dairy center acknowledged, but it’s effective. In the newspaper find photos and stories that show people using energy. Write a paragraph describing one way the people in the story or photo could use less energy. In your writing use evidence that you found in the newspaper.

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.