1. TOY HALL OF FAME

The National Toy Hall of Fame has added three new toys: My Little Pony, Transformers, and the card game Phase 10. My Little Pony, known for its colorful ponies with unique "cutie marks," was first made in the 1980s. It has been loved for inspiring creativity and storytelling and has been a favorite for decades. Transformers, the famous robots that change into vehicles or other forms, became popular in the 1980s. They’ve stayed exciting thanks to new characters and movies, which make them fun to collect and play with. Phase 10, a card game like rummy, challenges players to finish 10 phases before their opponents. Invented in 1982, it’s now one of the world’s most popular card games, played in over 30 countries. Every year, toys are nominated for the Hall of Fame, and a group of experts and fans vote to pick the winners. This year, these three toys stood out for being fun and inspiring for people of all ages! If you were going to put a toy in the Toy Hall of Fame, what would you choose? Write a summary of your pick and why you think it should be in the hall of fame.

2. BEYONCÉ CLASS

Yale University is starting a new class all about Beyoncé, a famous singer with 99 Grammy nominations. The course, called “Beyoncé Makes History: Black Radical Tradition, Culture, Theory & Politics Through Music,” will study how her songs and performances from 2013 to now explore topics like race, gender, and social movements. The professor will use Beyoncé’s music to teach about important Black thinkers and activists. Beyoncé isn’t the first musician to inspire college classes—others like Taylor Swift and Bob Dylan have too—but her work stands out because she uses her music to highlight big issues like the Black Lives Matter movement and women’s rights. Students won’t get to meet Beyoncé, but the class will watch her performances and dive deep into her songs. The professor hopes this class will show how much impact Beyoncé has made beyond music. If you could have a class about any topic or celebrity, who would it be? What would you want to learn about them? Write at least 5 sentences about your idea.

3. WOMEN’S SPORTS NETWORK

Whoopi Goldberg, a famous comedian and TV host, is starting a new TV channel called the All Women’s Sports Network (AWSN). It will show women’s sports 24/7 and be available in 65 countries. The channel will feature sports like women’s basketball, tennis, and soccer. Right now, people in the Middle East, India, and the Philippines can watch it, and it’s coming to the U.S. soon. Whoopi said she got the idea 16 years ago because she wanted to support women in sports and show the world how amazing they are. She hopes the channel will inspire young female athletes and give women’s sports more attention. A U.S. launch announcement is expected soon! Write a summary of this story, including 3-5 facts you learned.

4. WOMEN IN PARLIAMENT

Hanako Okada, a mom and lawyer, did something amazing in Japan. She ran for a seat in Parliament against a man whose family had held the position for almost 40 years—and she won! This is a big deal because Japan doesn’t have many women in politics. Before this year’s election, only 10% of the seats in Japan’s Parliament were held by women, one of the lowest numbers in the world. Hanako wasn’t expected to win because she was new to politics and hadn’t lived in her hometown, Hirosaki, for a long time. But people were unhappy with the ruling party, which is mostly led by men. They voted for her because they wanted a fresh perspective and someone who understood real problems like raising kids, high food prices, and helping farmers. Now, Hanako wants to make Parliament more family-friendly, so parents like her can balance work and family. She also hopes to bring new jobs and hope to her hometown, which has a lot of older people and struggles with losing residents. Her win is inspiring more women in Japan to think about running for office, showing that change is possible! If you could talk to Hanako Okada, what would you want to ask her about? Write down at least 5 questions.

5. STUDYING PLANETS

Scientists have learned something surprising about Uranus, a big, icy planet far from Earth. Almost 40 years ago, NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft flew by Uranus for just five hours—the only visit we've made to this planet. What it saw was strange: Uranus's magnetic field was missing something called plasma, and its radiation belts were much stronger than expected. These discoveries didn’t match what scientists knew about other planets. Now, scientists think they know why. During Voyager 2's visit, the Sun had a big outburst of energy that squeezed Uranus’s magnetic field, making it smaller and changing its behavior. This rare event happens only about 4% of the time, so Voyager 2 got very lucky—or unlucky, depending on how you look at it! If the spacecraft had arrived a week earlier or later, we might have seen something completely different. NASA plans to send another spacecraft to Uranus in the 2030s to learn more. Scientists are excited because Uranus is so unusual—it spins on its side, has extreme seasons, and might even have oceans under the surfaces of its moons. Studying Uranus could also help us understand planets around other stars. There’s still a lot to discover about this mysterious world! Write a summary of this story with at least 5 facts you learned.