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For Grades K-4 , week of Mar. 19, 2018

1. Lego Dream Job

Kids all over the world love to play with Legos, and one lucky person soon will get to turn their play skills into a career. In Birmingham England, the Legoland Discovery Center is looking for a "master model builder" to create elaborate Lego models of everything from cities to famous buildings to dragons and mythical creatures. When word got out about the job, people started applying from all over the world, even though the top 50 will have to compete in a public tryout that will involve very difficult challenges. The Legoland Discovery Centre is due to open this summer with displays featuring more than 2 million Lego bricks, a 4D movie theater and an interactive laser ride. What would be your dream job? In the newspaper or online, find a job you would like to have as an adult. Write a letter to the person who would hire you, explaining why you want the job and why you would be a good choice for it.

Common Core State Standards: Conducting short research projects that build knowledge about a topic; producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task.

2. Life Savers

It's often said that being in the right place at the right time can make all the difference. That certainly was the case recently for two nurses who made unplanned trips to a Walmart store in the city of Omaha, Nebraska. They were able to use their skills to help a mother save the life of an 8-month-old baby girl whose heart and breathing had suddenly stopped. The nurses, Deanna Berning and Mariah Thurman, had come to the Walmart separately when they came upon Jackie Nelson desperately trying to revive her baby Hazel. The nurses stepped in to provide emergency CPR treatment until the baby's heart and breathing returned. The baby was rushed to the hospital and released after further treatment. People often make news by responding to an emergency. In the newspaper or online, find and closely read a story of someone who helped others in an emergency situation. Use what you read to write a letter to the editor, thanking the person publicly for what he/she did and how the acitions can inspire others.

Common Core State Standards: Writing opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information; reading closely what a text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it.

3. Daylight Saving

For families, schools and businesses, spring and fall are the time to reset their clocks - forward in the spring and back in the fall. In the state of Florida, however, lawmakers want to do away with the headache of people having to change clocks twice a year. The state legislature has passed a law called the "Sunshine Protection Act" to keep the state on Daylight Saving Time all year. That will make it light longer in the evenings all year, as it is in spring and summer. The law still needs to be signed by Florida's governor and approved by the U.S. Congress to make Florida the third state that does not follow national rules for spring and fall time changes. Daylight Saving Time was first used in the United States in 1918 to allow people - especially farmers - to make "better use of daylight." As a class, discuss ways you and your family take advantage of the evening daylight provided by Daylight Saving Time. Then draw a series of comic strips showing you and your family enjoying some of these activities. Share with the class.

Common Core State Standards: Using drawings or visual displays when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or points; engaging effectively in a range of collaborative discussions.

4. Jogging Punishment

When his son was kicked off the school bus for being a bully three days in a row, a father in the state of Virginia took an unusual step to teach him a lesson. Since his 10-year-old son Hayden couldn't ride the bus, dad Bryan Thornhill made him jog back and forth to school in the city of Roanoke. On top of that, he filmed Hayden jogging the mile distance and posted it on Facebook. The video was watched by viewers more than 22 million times and caused a nationwide debate on whether the father was doing the right thing or whether he went too far. As a class, talk about different ways parents respond to bad behavior by their children. Then discuss whether the Virginia father was right to punish his son in the way he did. Use points from the discussion to write an editorial, giving your opinion on whether the father did the right thing or went too far.

Common Core State Standards: Responding thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarizing points of agreement and disagreement; writing opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.

5. Ancient Military Life

The history of Rome, Italy goes back thousands of years. And pieces of that history continue to be uncovered. Workers building a new subway, for example, have discovered an ancient military barracks and commander's house from nearly 2,000 years ago. The barracks and commander's house were found buried nearly 50 feet underground near a religious basilica and provide an "exceptional" look at ancient military life, archaeologists said. Further excavation has revealed the military site had 14 different rooms for soldiers, a courtyard with a fountain, well-preserved floor mosaics and a room fitted for underfloor heating. Discoveries from ancient times give scientists and historians a look at how people from the past lived and worked. In the newspaper or online, find and study a photo of a room where people live or work today. Pretend you are an archaeologist from the future and write a paragraph detailing what the room tells about how people live or work today. Use visual evidence from the photo to support your points.

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.