Vol. 34, No. 12 • ISSN 0163-3570

MAGAZINE

READING AND WRITING POWER FOR TEENS

Teaching guide

Action gives you HIGH-interest articles for teen students, all at an accessible LOW reading level. What’s New on the Web for March 28, 2011? Go to www.scholastic.com/actionmag for these great resources and more!

ISSUE DATES 2010-2011

Ruslan Kokarev/iStockphoto

March 28, 2011

Multimedia: Watch a slide show of edible bugs, see a video preview of the movie Megamind, and more!

5 bonus skills pages

September 6

Listen & Read podcasts go with each differentiated article.

September 20 October 4 October 25

Lexile 510 / Lexile 640 / Lexile 880

Differentiated articles

NOVEMbER 8 & 22

E-mail me at [email protected] to let me know what you think! Warm regards, Sarah Jane Brian, Editor

December 6 January 10 January 31

Issue-at-a-Glance: reading levels, skills, and standards page

Article

Reading Level

Skills

common core Standards*

FEBRUARY 14 Lexile 600/ Dale-Chall Grade 3

Plurals and Possessives

Reading: 1, 2, 5, 7, 10; Speaking/Listening: 1, 2; Language: 4, 6

Lexile 320/ Dale-Chall Grade 2.5

Fluency/ Creative Writing

Reading: 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10; Writing: 3, 9; Speaking/Listening: 1, 2, 6; Language: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6

Saving Dogs in Danger

Lexile 640/ Dale-Chall Grade 3.5

ReadingComp Test Prep

Reading: 1, 2, 3, 5, 10; Language: 4, 6

Vocabulary Puzzle

N/A

Vocabulary/ Context Clues

Reading: 1, 2, 10; Language: 4, 5, 6

Celebrity scoop

MARCH 7

4

march 28 April 18

Readers Theater play

6

May 9 Question about your subscription? Phone: 1-800-Scholastic E-mail: www.scholastic .com/custsupport A Supplement to Scholastic Action

Miranda Cosgrove Megamind

Teen Spotlight

12

16

Willow Smith

*See p. T8

Lesson Plan: Prefixes Use with “In the News,” pages 2-3

Common core Standards for this lesson (See p. T8):

Reading: 1, 4; Speaking/Listening: 1 Time Allotment:

25 minutes objective:

Students will identify prefixes and use them to determine word meanings. Materials:

•Scholastic Action magazine—March 28, 2011, issue •Index cards •Chalkboard or interactive whiteboard

PrEPARATION Write the prefix un- on an index card and hang it on one side of the chalkboard. Then write each of the following root words on index cards: happy, safe, perfect, lucky, mature, and helpful. Hang these on the other side of the board.

Procedure 5 minutes: Introduce or review prefixes. Explain that prefixes are word parts that are added to the beginning of words. They change the meaning of the word. For example, unis a prefix. It means not. The word kind means nice, but when you add the prefix un-, unkind means not nice. 10 minutes: Tell students you’ll read the news shorts on pages 2 and 3 and look for words with the prefix un-. Find the word unbelievable in “Real-Life Jetpack.” Ask students what believable means (something that is easy to believe). Then prompt students to define what unbelievable means (something that is not easy to believe). Repeat this procedure with the word unusual in “Bugs for Lunch” and unable in “Mama Bear.”

Assessment 10 minutes: Direct students’ attention to the index cards on the board. Point to the prefix un-. That card will stay where it is. The other cards are root words. As a class, you will match up the root words with the prefix. First have students define the root words. Next, have student volunteers come to the board to move the index cards to match the root words with the prefix, then define the newly formed words. Provide the hint that some of these words do not belong with un-; they form only nonsense words.

modification Provide personal sets of index cards for struggling readers and tactile learners.

Extension Have students complete the activity “Spring Prefixes,” found on page T3.

INFORMATION SCHOLASTIC ACTION® (ISSN 0163-3570; in Canada, 2-c no. 9320) is published 14 times during the school year; monthly December, February, April, May; bi-weekly September, October, November, January, March, with the November issues published as a double issue by Scholastic Inc., 2931 E. McCarty St., P.O. Box 3710, Jefferson City, MO 65102-3710. Periodical postage paid at Jefferson City, MO 65101 and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTERS: Send notice of address changes to SCHOLASTIC ACTION, 2931 East McCarty St., P.O. Box 3710, Jefferson City, MO 65102-3710. PUBLISHING INFORMATION U.S. prices: $8.15 each per year for 10 or more subscriptions to the same address. For other subscriptions information, call 1-800-SCHOLASTIC. (For Canadian pricing, write our Canadian office, address below). Communications relating to subscriptions should be addressed to SCHOLASTIC ACTION, SCHOLASTIC INC., 2931 East McCarty Street, P.O. Box 3710, Jefferson City, MO 65102-3710. Communications relating to editorial matter should be addressed to EDITOR, SCHOLASTIC ACTION, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012-3999. Canadian address: Scholastic Canada Ltd., 175 Hillmount Rd., Markham, Ontario, Canada L6C 1Z7. Copyright ©2011 by Scholastic Inc. All Rights Reserved. Material in this issue may not be reproduced in whole or in part in any form or format without special permission from the publisher. SCHOLASTIC, ACTION, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc. Printed in the U.S.A.

T2 • Action Teaching Guide •March 28, 2011

Name: _______________________________

READING AND WRITING POWER FOR TEENS

MAGAZINE

skill:

Spring Prefixes

Prefixes use with:

Lesson plan: Prefixes, page T2

A prefix is added to the beginning of a word to change the word’s meaning. Check out the prefixes and their meanings in the Prefix Bank. Then use them to fill in the blanks and make the correct new words.

Prefix Bank

mis- = badly, wrongly over- = too much re- = again un- = not

  1. I’m so glad spring is here—the leaves on the trees have finally ___appeared. (appeared again)

  2. I usually like winter, but this year I felt ___lucky because my town got so much snow. (not lucky)

  3. Because of the ___usual amount of snow, my whole family had to shovel every day. (not usual)

  4. One morning, I ___slept and was late for school. (slept too much)

  5. My mom offered to drive me—but with all the snow, she ___judged where to turn and drove right into a mailbox.

(judged wrongly)

  6. After the mailbox accident, my parents had to have the car ___painted, which was expensive.

(painted again)

  7. The next day, school was closed because the roads were ___safe. (not safe)

  8. That gave me extra time to do my homework, but I ___understood the assignment and did it wrong.

(understood wrongly)

  9. No wonder I’m so grumpy—for weeks, I’ve just been sitting around ___eating and waiting for warmer weather.

(eating too much)

10. I’m ready for a fresh start. Now that spring is finally here, I’m going to ___fill the tires on my bike with air and head for the park!

(fill again)

Action Teaching Guide • March 28, 2011 • T3

Lesson Plan: Making Predictions Use with “Megamind,” pages 6-11

Common core Standards for this lesson (See p. T8):

Reading: 1, 2, 3, 5, 7; Writing: 9; Speaking/ Listening: 1; Language: 1, 2 Time Allotment:

40 minutes objective:

Students will make predictions while reading the play “Megamind.” Materials:

•Scholastic Action magazine—March 28, 2011, issue •Page T5 from this Teaching Guide

PrEPARATION Copy and distribute page T5 from this Teaching Guide.

Procedure 5 minutes: Using the example of weather forecasters, discuss what it means to make predictions. Elicit that predictions are good guesses based on clues; they tell what might happen in the future. When you read a text, you can make predictions about what will happen next. This can help you think more critically about what’s happening in the story. 5 minutes: Tell students to open their magazines to page 6. As you read the play, you will pause to make predictions. Assign parts for the play and begin to read. Pause after reading Hal’s line in Scene 1 that starts with “I’d like Metro Man a lot more . . .” The author left readers a clue that Megamind is always kidnapping Roxanne. Refer to the graphic organizer on page T5, where the clue has already been filled in for Scene 1. Ask students what they think might happen next. Then have students write their own predictions on their graphic organizers. (Leave the third column blank for now.) 10 minutes: Continue reading until the end of Scene 4. What clue has the author left here about an upcoming event? (Megamind is looking to give superpowers to a regular person.) Have students make predictions about which regular person Megamind might pick, then record them in the second column of the graphic organizer. 10 minutes: Repeat this procedure at the end of Scene 8. Discuss the clue (Megamind loses his gun) and brainstorm predictions of what Megamind will do.

Assessment 10 minutes: After reading the play, draw students’ attention to the third column on the graphic organizer. Here, students will record what really happened in the play and determine if their predictions were correct, somewhat correct, or incorrect. Explain to students that incorrect predictions are expected; you can’t always know exactly what is going to happen in a story. Sometimes authors even try to fool you. What matters is that you’re making predictions as you’re reading.

Extension Encourage students to pause and make predictions with fiction and nonfiction texts in your language arts curriculum. Have students write their predictions on sticky notes and adhere them to pages in their books.

T4

• Action Teaching Guide • March 28, 2011

Name: _______________________________

MAGAZINE

READING AND WRITING POWER FOR TEENS

My “Megamind” Predictions

skill:

Making Predictions use with:

“Megamind,” p. 6

Read “Megamind” on pages 6-11. As you read, stop at Scene 1, Scene 4, and Scene 8 to make predictions about what will happen next. After you’ve finished the play, check your predictions and write what really happened.

Clue

Scene 1 Megamind is always kidnapping Roxanne.

What’s Your Prediction?

What Really Happened?

_______________________

_______________________

_______________________

_______________________

_______________________

_______________________

_______________________

© 2011 by Scholastic Inc. Teachers may make copies of this page to distribute to their students.

Scene 4 Megamind wants to give superpowers to a regular person.

Megamind loses his gun.

Yes

❏

No

❏

Somewhat

❏

_______________________

_______________________

_______________________

_______________________

_______________________

_______________________

_______________________

Scene 8

Were you correct?

Were you correct? Yes

No

Somewhat

❏

❏

❏

_______________________

_______________________

_______________________

_______________________

_______________________

_______________________

_______________________

Were you correct? Yes

No

Somewhat

❏

❏

❏

Action Teaching Guide • March 28, 2011 • T5

Lesson Plan: Nonfiction-Text Features Use with “Saving Dogs in Danger,” pages 12-15

Common core Standards for this lesson (See p. T8):

Reading: 1, 5; Speaking/Listening: 1, 2; Language: 1 Time Allotment:

30 minutes objective:

Students will identify nonfiction-text features and discuss their relevance to the article. Materials:

•Scholastic Action magazine—March 28, 2011, issue •Chalkboard or interactive whiteboard •Page T7 from this Teaching Guide

PrEPARATION Copy and distribute page T5 from this Teaching Guide.

Procedure 5 minutes: Review features of nonfiction text. Ask a student volunteer to explain what a headline is (a few words that tell what the article is about), then to identify the headline of this article (Saving Dogs in Danger). Next, have a volunteer find the subtitle below the headline and explain the purpose of the subtitle (summarizes the article in a sentence or two). Repeat this procedure with subheadings (organize the article into parts), captions (give information about a picture), and the byline (names the writer of the article). 15 minutes: Read the article as a class, pausing to point out the text features as you read.

Assessment 10 minutes: Do a jigsaw activity by breaking the class into 4 groups. Assign to each group one of the following text features: headline, subtitle, subheadings, and caption. Write the following tasks on the board. Have each group complete the tasks, referring to their assigned text feature. Then have students report back to the class. •Re-write your text feature from this article in your own words. •Find your text feature in other articles in the magazine. •Imagine that your text feature were not in the article. What might readers not understand?

Differentiated Extension: For above-level readers, do a “scavenger hunt” to identify features of nonfiction text throughout the magazine. Provide clues and have students search for the appropriate text feature, such as “Find Tara Welty’s byline” (“Megamind,” page 10) and “Find an article with six subheadings” (“Celebrity Scoop: Miranda Cosgrove,” pages 4-5).

T6 • Action Teaching Guide • March 28, 2011

Name: _______________________________

READING AND WRITING POWER FOR TEENS

Write the Text

MAGAZINE

skill:

Nonfiction Text Features use with:

Lesson plan, page T6

The article below is missing some text features. Read the article. Then fill in the blanks.

____________________________________ (write a TITLE for this story)

© 2011 by Scholastic Inc. Teachers may make copies of this page to distribute to their students.

Anastasia is a Jack Russell terrier. She’s also a champion. According to Guinness World Records, Anastasia can pop 100 balloons faster than any other dog. Her fastest time is 44.49 seconds!. ____________________________________ (write a SUBHEADING for this section of the story)  Anastasia’s owner, Doree Sitterly, discovered the dog’s talent on their first New Year’s Eve together. Balloons were brought out at midnight, and Anastasia went crazy. A star was born! Anastasia likes acting and modeling. She has appeared in ads for Target Stores and Mighty Dog. But popping balloons is her favorite activity. She likes balloons so much that she even barks at every blimp she sees in the sky. ____________________________________ (write a SUBHEADING for this section of the story)

Guinness World Records keeps track of many types of records. In this book, you can find the world’s tallest man, the most tattooed person in the world, the largest monkey—and yes, the fastest balloon-popping dog, Anastasia. If you’d like to see Anastasia pop balloons on video, check out her Web site, www. balloonpoppingdog.com. —by Christy Damio and ____________________________ (write your BYLINE here, since you helped complete the story)

____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ (Write a CAPTION for this picture)

Action Teaching Guide • March 28, 2011 • T 7

common core STANDARDS ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS Grades 6 -12 These standards have been condensed. For the complete anchor standards, go to www.scholastic.com/actionmag. READING • Key Ideas and Details: 1. Determine what text says; make inferences; cite textual evidence; 2. Determine central ideas; summarize key details; 3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact in a text • Craft and Structure: 4. Interpret words and phrases and how they shape meaning and tone; 5. Analyze the structure of texts; 6. Assess point of view and purpose • Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: 7. Integrate content in diverse formats and media; 8. Evaluate arguments and claims; 9. Analyze texts with similar themes • Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity: 10. Read and comprehend complex texts WRITING • Text Types and Purposes: 1. Write arguments to support claims, using reasoning and evidence; 2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey ideas and information; 3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences • Production and Distribution of Writing: 4. Produce coherent writing in which development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience; 5. Develop writing by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach; 6. Use technology to produce and publish writing and to interact with others • Research to Build and Present Knowledge: 7. Conduct both short and sustained research projects; 8. Gather information from print and digital sources, assessing their credibility and integrating information while avoiding plagiarism; 9. Draw evidence from text to support research • Range of Writing: 10. Write routinely over extended and shorter time frames, depending on task SPEAKING AND LISTENING • Comprehension and Collaboration: 1. Prepare for and participate in conversations and collaborations with partners; 2. Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats; 3. Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence • Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas: 4. Present information, findings, and supporting evidence so ­listeners can follow reasoning; 5. Make use of digital media and visual displays; 6. Adapt speech to appropriate contexts and communicative tasks LANGUAGE • Conventions of Standard English: 1. Demonstrate command of conventions of standard English grammar and usage when speaking or writing; 2. Demonstrate command of conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing • Knowledge of Language: 3. Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts • Vocabulary Acquisition and Use: 4. Determine meaning of unknown words and phrases using context clues, word parts, and references; 5. Show understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings; 6. Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases

T8 • Action Teaching Guide • March 28, 2011

action solutions Answers to skills activities *Teachers: See the print edition for answers to the skills activites