1. ATHLETICS MOVING OUT

The Oakland A’s played their last game at the Coliseum on September 26, 2024, beating the Texas Rangers 3-2. After the final out, the team celebrated with fans while “Celebration” by Kool and the Gang played. The crowd of over 46,000 cheered, and the players and coaches, including manager Mark Kotsay, thanked them for their support over the years. It was an emotional day because the team is moving to Sacramento next season and eventually to Las Vegas. Players like Mason Miller, who closed out the game, and Max Schuemann, who made the final throw, felt honored to be part of this historic moment. After the win, Kotsay led the crowd in the cheer, “Let’s go Oakland,” as a final tribute to the team's long history in the city. Fans stayed for over an hour after the game, soaking in the special atmosphere one last time. Summarize this story in your own words through either writing or drawing. Include at least 3 facts or details you learned from the story.

2. MOON MINI-ME

In September 2024, Earth is getting a temporary "mini moon." This mini moon is actually a small asteroid about the size of a school bus (33 feet). The asteroid, named 2024 PT5, was first spotted by scientists in Spain in August. When it comes close to Earth, the planet's gravity will pull it into orbit, but only for about two months. It won’t be visible without special telescopes, and on November 25, it will leave Earth's orbit and continue its journey through space. Scientists think this is more common than we realize, but the mini moons are hard to detect because they’re so small. The next time this asteroid will pass by Earth is in 2055. Imagine you’re a news reporter talking about this story on TV. Write a script that includes details from the story you think people would want or need to know, then take turns presenting the story to your classmates as if you’re on a news show.

3. ROBOT P.D.

New York City is trying out a 400-pound robot called the K5 in the busy Times Square subway station. The robot, which looks a bit like R2-D2 from Star Wars, is designed to help the police by recording video (but no sound) with its four cameras. It will patrol the mezzanine level of the station, not the platforms, and won’t use facial recognition. The K5 costs about $9 an hour to use, which is cheaper than paying a human officer. Some people think it could help make the subway safer, while others are worried it’s just adding more surveillance. The robot will be tested for two weeks, during which it will have a police officer with it at night. Look closely at the information in this story and write down which are facts and which are opinions.

4. ON THE HUNT

On St. Paul Island, Alaska, people are on high alert because they think a rat might have arrived. This is a big problem because the island has lots of rare wildlife, like birds and fur seals, and a rat could harm the delicate balance of the ecosystem. Rats eat almost anything, including birds, which could cause a chain reaction of problems for other animals. Back in 2018, it took almost a year to catch a single rat on the island, so now experts and the island’s 400 residents are doing everything they can to find this one quickly. They’ve set traps with peanut butter and called in a special "rat strike team." Even the island’s school is teaching kids how to protect the environment from invasive species like rats. Rats are a big threat because they can sneak onto ships and survive in warmer weather, which is happening more often due to climate change. If a rat is found, it could be the start of bigger issues for the island’s wildlife, so everyone is working hard to find it before it’s too late. In groups, write a script for a skit that illustrates the issue on St. Paul, Alaska shared in this story. Then, act out your skits for the other groups.

5. COOKIE POLL

Lochel’s Bakery in Pennsylvania has a fun tradition called the "election cookie poll." It started as a joke during the 2008 election, but now it’s really popular! The bakery makes cookies with blue sprinkles for Kamala Harris and red sprinkles for Donald Trump. Every cookie sold counts as a “vote” for that person. People from all over the U.S. are buying these cookies, and the bakery is so busy with orders that they’re even back-ordered! The poll has predicted the election winner a few times, but it’s just for fun. Right now, Trump is leading by a lot in the cookie poll. If you were going to do an election poll in a fun, creative way like these cookies, what would you do? How would your idea attract people to participate in your poll? Write down your ideas.