April 28, 20 08 

Vol. 110, No. 17 ISSN 0022-6688

TEACHER’S EDITION Issue Sept Sept Dates 3 17

Oct 1

Oct Oct&29 Nov 15 Nov 5 12

A supplement to Junior Scholastic

Nov Dec Jan Jan Feb Feb Mar Mar 26 10 7 21 11 25 10 31

Apr 14

Apr May 28 12

More Election Coverage Coming Next Year Our next issue will be the last one of the school year. Here are some special election features you can look forward to in JS next fall: h Three Election-Themed Posters with News Maps hElection skills manual: How Our Democracy Works

in this issue

n News, Debate.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . n News Special: Know Your

hJS Debates: What’s at Stake in Election 2008? 4, 7

Netiquette?.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 n USA: Your Guide to Election 2008...8 n Teen Scene: YouthPower!.. . . . . . 10 n World History: China’s First Emperor.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 n World: Olympic Fever.. . . . . . . . . . 14 n MapSearch: China .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 n American History Play: Were They Guilty? (the Rosenbergs).. . . . . 18 n GeoSkills: Olympic Torch Relay...22 n Some Fun .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 n What Do You Know?.. . . . . . . . . . . 24

TEACHER’S EDITION

n Lesson Plans.......... . . . . . T-2, T-3 n Answer Key........... . . . . . . . . . . . T-4 n Quick Quiz.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T-5 n Skills Reproducibles........ T-6, T-7 n Teacher to Teacher.. .............T-8

in our next issue May 12, 2008

JS Contest Winners World: Bosnia American History Play: Chicago ’68

hYou Decide: Kids Vote in Scholastic’s Mock Election h GEOSKILLS CONTEST: You Call the Electoral Vote!

F EA T URE

ncss standards • SKILLS reinforced

USA Your Guide to Election 2008, pp. 8-9

Power, authority, and governance • compare and contrast, forming supported opinions

WORLD HISTORY* The First Emperor, pp. 12-13

Time, continuity, and change • making connections, noting details

WORLD* Olympic Fever, pp. 14-17

People, places, and environments • cause and effect, making predictions

AMERICAN HISTORY* Were They Guilty? pp. 18-21

Individuals, groups, and institutions • using context clues, making inferences

SKILLS REPRODUCIBLES pp. T-6 & T-7

Individual development and identity (p. T-6); Science, technology, and society (p. T-7)

*For lesson plans and resources related to these major features, see pp. T-2 & T-3.

This Week Online www.scholastic.com/juniorscholastic Want to reinforce skills that your students learned this year in Junior Scholastic? Check out our “Test Prep” reproducibles. Go to: www.juniorscholastic.com and click on “Reproducibles.”

Teacher’s Edition Writer: Kathy Wilmore • Teacher’s Edition editor: Bryan Brown • contributing writer: Lisa Arce • Teacher’s Edition Production Editor: Kathleen Fallon Editorial address: Junior Scholastic, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012-3999 or [email protected] • Customerservice ­inquiries: 1-800-SCHOLASTIC (1-800-724-6527) or www.scholastic.com/custsupport 07 WINNE

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Lesson

1

world history The First Emperor, p. 12-13

n Objective

• Considering the massive effort and destruction that goes into making an empire. n Word to Know

Qin. The origins are much more complicated and come much later.

n After Reading

• On the march: What was the purpose

n Before Reading

of the Terra-cotta Army? (to protect the First Emperor in the afterlife) • Fired up: Why did Zheng have books in the empire burned? (to keep people from knowing about and glorifying their past)

Emperor “create” China?

n Keep It Going

• dynasty: a succession of rulers from the same family or bloodline. Reading prompt: How did the First n During Reading

Lesson

(1) By standardizing writing, currency, and weights and measures, Zheng made it easier to communicate with and control larger areas. (2) Qin’s Great Wall was added to, rebuilt, and moved by later dynasties. (3) The name China doesn’t come from

1

Olympic Fever, p. 14-17

• Seeing Olympics anticipation through the eyes of kids who live in the host city. • Considering problems that may affect this year’s Games. n Before Reading In our March 31, 2008, issue, we looked at the Beijing Summer Olympics with a focus on U.S. athletes who hope to compete. This issue's article looks at the Games from the point of view of young Chinese, and at China’s environmental and political problems that could threaten its success as host country. Reading prompt: What are some of the issues China is facing as the Summer Olympics approaches?

n After Reading

• Shame Name: Why have some activ-

• The First Emperor. Video gallery, quiz, and interactive feature on Qin’s burial site. dsc.discovery.com /convergence/firstemperor /firstemperor.html

n booksHELF • Ancient China, Arthur Cotterell (DK Publishing, 2005). A colorful overview. Grades 5-10. • Emperor Qin’s Terra-cotta Army, Michael Capek (Twenty-First Century Books, 2008). Covers the amazing discovery. Grades 6 & up.

The reign of China’s last emperor, Pu Yi, ended in 1912. Other great empires once existed—the British Empire, the n dvd/video • Ancient China: A Journey Roman Empire, the Songhai Empire, for Back in Time (DVD). Part instance. All eventually crumbled. What of the Lost Treasures of makes forging and maintaining control the Ancient World series. over huge areas more difficult today? (Kultur Video, 2006; 50 What might be some advantages and dismin.) NR (not rated). advantages of being part of an empire?

world

n Objectives

resources n internet

ists called this summer’s Games the “Genocide Olympics”? (to protest China’s support of the Sudan government, which is waging war on people of its Darfur region) • Who’s on top?: Which party has ruled China since 1949? (the Communist Party) • Air apparent: Can anything be done about China’s smog problem in time for the Olympics? Explain. What advice would you give to athletes who will compete in Beijing?

n Keep It Going “Human rights? I’ve seen this word, but I don’t know what it means,” said Li Xiang, one of the Chinese kids interviewed for the article. What does it mean to your students? How do human rights—or a lack of them—affect people’s quality of life?

T-2 April 28, 2008 • Teacher’s Edition • JUNIOR SCHOLASTIC

resources n internet • China’s Air Pollution. Video. youtube.com /watch?v=-1DNjJd2YfA • China. Overview includes facts, map, photo gallery, and videos. lonelyplanet.com /worldguide/china

n booksHELF • Beijing, Nicola Barber (Gareth Stevens Pub., 2003). Social, political, and environmental aspects. Grades 4-7. • The Encyclopedia of the Summer Olympics, David Fischer (Franklin Watts/ Scholastic, 2004). Facts on all the sports; info on athletes. Grades 6 & up.

n dvd/video • Discover China: Bodacious Beijing (DVD). Travelogue. (Tai Seng, 2007; 1:44) NR.

Lesson

2

american history play Were They Guilty? pp. 18-21

n Objectives

• Recognizing the effects that fear of Communism had on Americans in the mid-20th century. • Learning about a historic legal case still being debated today. n Word to Know

• Espionage Act: a law passed by Con-

gress in 1917, soon after the U.S. entered World War I. It set forth penalties for obtaining, copying, or sharing information that could “be used to the injury of the United States, or to the advantage of any foreign nation.”

n Before Reading What image comes into your mind when you think of a spy? You’re about to read about some of the most unusual spies in American history.

Reading prompt: Do the Rosenbergs seem guilty to you? Why or why not?

n After Reading

• In hiding: After David Greenglass

got out of prison, he and his wife lived under a different name. Why do you suppose they hid their identity? • Know or No?: If you were in Michael or Robert Meeropol’s shoes, would you want to know all the details of your parents’ case? Why or why not?

n Keep It Going The Rosenbergs were accused of spying during World War II, but their trial and execution took place during the Korean War (1950-1953), when fear of Communism ran high in the U.S. Discuss: Could that timing have affected the trial’s outcome? Why or why not?

Catch the

resources n internet • False Testimony. A 2001 article on David Greenglass. news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi /americas/1695240.stm • June 19, 1953. Brief news audio and video from the day the Rosenbergs died. history.com/media.do (Type “rosenberg execution” in search pane.)

n booksHELF • Cold War Spies, Tim O’Shei (Coughlan, 2008). How both sides fought the war of information. Grades 5-7. • The Rosenberg Cold War Spy Trial, Judy Monroe (Enslow, 2001). Cold War fears and the legal case. Grades 5 & up.

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JUNIOR SCHOLASTIC • Teacher’s Edition • April 28, 2008 T-3

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NAME: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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quiz

quick quiz

USA: Your Guide to Election 2008, PAGES 8-9

WORLD: OLYMPIC FEVER, PAGES 14-17

n Decide whether each sentence is true, false, or an opinion. Write your answer on the blank line provided. ___________________ 1. Two of the candidates are Senators; one is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. ___________________ 2. After graduating from law school, Barack Obama spent time in Indonesia as a community organizer. ___________________ 3. John McCain has a more effective economic plan than either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. ___________________ 4. Hillary Clinton would end No Child Left Behind and expand early-childhood education programs. ___________________ 5. Any of the candidates would make a fine President.

n Match each cause in the left column with its effect in the right column. _______ 11. city named A. severe air pollution Olympic host _______ 12. government B. nickname “Genocide censorship Olympics” _______ 13. more cars C. Olympic boycott and factories _______ 14. occupation of Tibet D. journalists in jail _______ 15. support of Sudan E. celebrations in Beijing

WORLD HISTORY: THE FIRST EMPEROR, PAGES 12-13 n Use a word from this list to correctly complete each sentence. archaeologists, cultural history, deathlessness, destroyed, education, established, explorers, farmers, Hu Jintao, invisibility, Li Su, Mao Zedong, memories, scientific knowledge, super strength, united, victory, Zhao Zheng

6. The Tiger of Qin’s real name was ________________________________________________________________________________ . 7. Under Qin Shi Huangdi, seven feudal states were _ ______________________________________________________________________________ . 8. The first Emperor ordered that books be burned in order to erase his enemies’ ________________________________________________________________________________ . 9. Qin was obsessed with finding herbs of ________________________________________________________________________________ . 10. Qin’s Terra-cotta Army was discovered by ________________________________________________________________________________ .

AMERICAN HISTORY: WERE THEY GUILTY?, PAGES 18-21 n Write the letter of the correct answer on the line before each question. _______ 16. Which was the first to use an atomic bomb? A. China C. Soviet Union B. Japan D. United States _______ 17. Ethel and Julius Rosenberg belonged to which organization? A. Communist C. Federal Bureau of Party Investigation B. Congress of D. Soviet Socialist Racial Equality Republics _______ 18. Who worked in Los Alamos, where the atomic bomb was developed? A. David Greenglass C. Ethel Rosenberg B. Ruth Greenglass D. Julius Rosenberg _______ 19. During the Korean War, the U.S. fought on the same side as which country? A. China C. South Korea B. North Korea D. Soviet Union _______ 20. Ethel and Julius Rosenberg both invoked their right not to testify against themselves, based on what? A. First Amendment C. Fifth Amendment B. Second Amendment D. Ninth Amendment

JUNIOR SCHOLASTIC • Teacher’s Edition • April 28, 2008 T-5

®

skills reproducible

CRITICAL THINKING/WRITING

You Rule!

Let’s say that you write an advice column for travelers along the information superhighway. Below are imaginary letters from people needing your help. Write a brief reply to each, referring to one or more of these rules. (You may need a separate sheet of paper to complete this exercise.)

RULES OF THE ROAD * • Person to person. Never forget that whoever reads the words you type is a fellow human being. This is the No. 1 rule of good netizenship: Always treat your readers with the same consideration you’d give them in person—and that you’d like to be given yourself.

• Fine-tune your tone. Words “sound” different online. In cyberspace, no one can see your face or hear your tone of voice, which usually add meaning to spoken words. Choose your written words carefully to be sure that they won’t be misunderstood. Emoticons were invented to help with this problem, and they’re OK to use with friends. But don’t rely on them. Not everyone knows what they mean, and they’re inappropriate in more formal communication.

• How RUDE! In Netspeak, writing in CAPITAL LETTERS means that you’re shouting. Not very nice. To emphasize a word or phrase, use an *asterisk* before and after it. Save all-caps for the rare times they’re really needed.

• Respect privacy. Always respect other people’s privacy, and take care of your own. Sitting alone at a keyboard, it’s easy to forget that you’re connected to the whole wide world. Never send anything over the Internet that you or anyone else would be embarrassed to have known by anyone other than your closest friends.

YOUR ADVICE, PLEASE! Dear Web-wise One, My friend and I are having a disagreement that we hope you can settle. She’s having trouble thinking of a good message to write in an e-card for her grandpa’s birthday. I say that she should include some happy-looking or funny emoticons to perk it up. She’s not so sure. What do you think? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ Dear Web-wise One, I AM SO TIRED OF PEOPLE ASKING IF THEY CAN BORROW MY LAPTOP TO SEND A FEW E-MAILS. I KNOW THAT NOT EVERYONE OWNS A LAPTOP, BUT CAN’T THEY USE A COMPUTER IN THE LIBRARY OR THE TECH ROOM FOR A CHANGE? I THINK IT’S VERY INCONSIDERATE OF THEM. HOW ABOUT YOU? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ O Great Web-wise One, Please help! Last week, I saw a really stupid video on YouTube. I didn’t recognize the user name of the person who submitted the video, but I recognized a couple of the kids who are in it, so I was pretty sure I knew who made it. I wrote some comments goofing on the video and its creator. Later I found out that I was wrong. It was submitted by someone I really like. He won’t know I wrote the comments—no one knows my user name—but I’m afraid I’ve hurt his feelings. Any advice for me? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

*For more kids’ rules of netiquette, see these sites: • www.bpl.org/kids/Netiquette.htm • www.kidsdomain.com/brain/computer/surfing/netiquette_kids.html

T-6 April 28, 2008 • Teacher’s Edition • JUNIOR SCHOLASTIC

Uses: copying machine, opaque projector, or transparency master for overhead projector. Scholastic Inc. grants teacher-subscribers to Junior Scholastic permission to reproduce this Skills Reproducible for use in their classrooms. Copyright © 2008 by Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved.

NAME: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Uses: copying machine, opaque projector, or transparency master for overhead projector. Scholastic Inc. grants teacher-subscribers to Junior Scholastic permission to reproduce this Skills Reproducible for use in their classrooms. Copyright © 2008 by Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved.

NAME: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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skills reproducible

CRITICAL THINKING

A TERRIBLE KNOWLEDGE The anti-Communist hysteria of the Cold War claimed many innocent victims. One of them was a physicist, J. Robert Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer was director of the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos, New Mexico, which developed the atomic bomb. But after the U.S. dropped bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945, the destruction and suffering that followed horrified the scientist. He turned against the use of nuclear weapons. When the U.S. began developing a hydrogen bomb, [A] I’m a little scared of what we built . . .

Oppenheimer opposed it. Rivals in the scientific community used his opposition as a reason to accuse him of Communist influence. Although Oppenheimer was cleared of that charge, he was still deemed a security risk. In 1954, the government stripped him of his post at the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). Many of Oppenheimer’s public statements show a deep unease over his role in developing the atomic bomb. Read these quotes, then answer the following questions. [C] It did not take atomic weapons to make war

[but]

a scientist cannot hold back progress because he

terrible. . . . But the atomic bomb was the last turn

fears what the world will do with his discoveries.

of the screw. . . . It has led us up those last few

(1946)

steps to the mountain pass; and beyond there is a different country. (1947)

[B] In some sort of crude sense . . .

the

physicists [of the Manhattan Project] have

[D] We [the U.S. and the Soviet Union] may be likened to

known sin; and this is a knowledge which they

two scorpions in a bottle, each capable of killing the other,

cannot lose. (1947)

but only at the risk of his own life. (1953)

questions 1. H  ow does Oppenheimer defend his work on the atomic bomb? _______________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. When Oppenheimer speaks of sin, what do you think he means? _ _________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Why does Oppenheimer liken the U.S. and the Soviet Union to scorpions in a bottle? Which does he think would win in a battle between them? _________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________

4. 5.

________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ What is Oppenheimer saying in quotation C? ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ Are we now in that “different country” of which Oppenheimer speaks? Explain. _ _________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________

JUNIOR SCHOLASTIC • Teacher’s Edition • April 28, 2008 T-7

tEACHER TO TEACHER

®

“You Have to Have a Fire”

A Conversation With Brian Williams

Q. How do you stay objective and focused when you’re questioning presidential candidates?

A. You have to balance everything. I don’t even discuss with members of my own family the way I feel about politics. . . . Everything I learn and ask about someone I try to balance out on the other side.

Q. What do you think of the fact that the Democratic nominee will be a woman or an African-American?

A. Here’s how I’d put it: [As a kid], I had a classroom that is probably like most of the classrooms you’ve had. There was a poster that [pictured] each of the American Presidents in an oval. . . . They’re all white males. But we’re not all-white-male as a country. If a Democrat wins, history will be made. Then, that last oval [will] look totally unlike the previous 43.

Q. Why haven’t reporters pressed candidates more on certain issues, such as education reform? A. Sometimes the conversations

in an election year take on a life of their own. . . . I will say this, though: With the Internet, there’s no short-

age of information. No one in this country can say, “Hey I can’t find out Obama’s stand on college loans. I can’t find out how Clinton stands on the draft.” It’s on their Web sites. . . . The Internet has made us all better researchers because we’re out there looking for the facts.

Q. Do you think a President can make a difference when Congress is really making the decisions?

Williams with our Kid Reporters.

PHOTO by jon whitney

A

s a young man, Brian Williams served as a White House intern. Today, he is better known as the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News. He has also lectured journalism students at Columbia University. Last month, Scholastic Kid Reporters Kajal Jani and Jack Greenberg, both 11, interviewed Williams at the Nightly News studios in New York City. Because this is a presidential election year, it is no surprise that politics was the main topic of conversation. Here are some excerpts. (A more complete interview is available at www.scholastic.com/juniorscholastic.)

it’s a tradition, not a law. Traditions are powerful and can be comforting. Some can be wrong. . . . It was [once] tradition in the South that black people and white people couldn’t use the same drinking fountain. With laws, we ended [it]. A lot of election practices are just traditions that can be [changed].

A. That’s the John F. Kennedy ques-

Q. What would you say to kids who

tion. . . . [He] sent out a challenge to the country that there’s nothing we can’t do. I would argue that ­Ronald Reagan was the next agent of change. . . . If he or she stands up and says, “I know where to take us, follow me,” the President can control Congress. The people will follow that President. Once in a while, [such] a President comes along.

plan on a career in journalism?

Q. Why do some states have primaries and others caucuses? A. History. Quirkiness. Weird

rules. . . . There’s [no law] that says our President should place his hand on a Bible to get sworn in. [George] Washington started it, and

T-8 April 28, 2008 • Teacher’s Edition • JUNIOR SCHOLASTIC

A. I want them to be able to say that there’s nothing they’d rather do. . . . You have to have a fire; there’s nothing you’d rather do. Like hoops of burning fire—you’ll walk right through them to get a job in journalism. I always tell people to remain true to your values. Don’t take a job with some company whose publication you wouldn’t buy or read yourself. . . . Hold out for a better job. If you’re good at journalism the good jobs will come to you, because your work will stand out. JS For a biography of Brian Williams, see:

msnbc.msn.com/id/3667173