1 ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS READING STANDARDS FOR INFORMATIONAL TEXT STANDARD NUMBER WHAT THE STANDARD SAYS HOW SCHOLASTIC NEWS EDITION 4 MEETS THIS STANDARD RI.4.1 Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text. • Tasks in the Teacher’s Guide focus on essential nonfiction reading skills, including making inferences. • Questions in the magazine require students to answer text-based questions by drawing on information from the articles. • Skills sheets in the Teacher’s Guide and online reinforce comprehension of student text. • Questions on page 8 of the magazine and close-reading questions in the Teacher’s Guide ask text-dependent questions about articles. RI.4.2 Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text. • Tasks in the Teacher’s Guide focus on essential nonfiction reading skills, including determining the main idea and details of a text and summarizing. • Graphic organizers on skills sheets reinforce skills, such as identifying main idea and details. RI.4.3 Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text. • Tasks in the Teacher’s Guide focus on nonfiction reading skills such as explaining the connections between ideas. These connections include cause/effect, problem/solution, chronology, etc. • Articles in the magazine cover curricular topics in history/social studies and science. RI.4.4 Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area. (See grade 4 Language standards 4–6 for additional expectations.) • Academic and domain-specific vocabulary words are boldfaced in magazine articles. Words are defined in Words to Know boxes and are supported by context clues. • Tasks in the Teacher’s Guide focus on important nonfiction reading skills, such as using context clues to determine word meaning. • Each digital edition features clickable Words to Know. Each vocabulary word is defined, used in a sentence, and supported by a photograph. Additionally, an audio option is available to hear the word and its definition. Scholastic News ® Meets California Content Standards for Grade 4 Scholastic News Edition 4 brings engaging nonfiction to young readers and supports California standards in three key content areas. Throughout the school year, the magazine and its accompanying resources meet multiple strands in English Language Arts, History- Social Science, and Science. 377-WB-F17-SN4
Transcript
1
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
READING STANDARDS FOR INFORMATIONAL TEXT
STANDARD NUMBER
WHAT THE STANDARD SAYSHOW SCHOLASTIC NEWS EDITION 4
MEETS THIS STANDARD
RI.4.1 Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
• Tasks in the Teacher’s Guide focus on essential nonfiction reading skills, including making inferences.
• Questions in the magazine require students to answer text-based questions by drawing on information from the articles.
• Skills sheets in the Teacher’s Guide and online reinforce comprehension of student text.
• Questions on page 8 of the magazine and close-reading questions in the Teacher’s Guide ask text-dependent questions about articles.
RI.4.2 Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.
• Tasks in the Teacher’s Guide focus on essential nonfiction reading skills, including determining the main idea and details of a text and summarizing.
• Graphic organizers on skills sheets reinforce skills, such as identifying main idea and details.
RI.4.3 Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.
• Tasks in the Teacher’s Guide focus on nonfiction reading skills such as explaining the connections between ideas. These connections include cause/effect, problem/solution, chronology, etc.
• Articles in the magazine cover curricular topics in history/social studies and science.
RI.4.4 Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area. (See grade 4 Language standards 4–6 for additional expectations.)
• Academic and domain-specific vocabulary words are boldfaced in magazine articles. Words are defined in Words to Know boxes and are supported by context clues.
• Tasks in the Teacher’s Guide focus on important nonfiction reading skills, such as using context clues to determine word meaning.
• Each digital edition features clickable Words to Know. Each vocabulary word is defined, used in a sentence, and supported by a photograph. Additionally, an audio option is available to hear the word and its definition.
Scholastic News® Meets California Content Standards for Grade 4Scholastic News Edition 4 brings engaging nonfiction to young readers and supports California standards in three key content areas. Throughout the school year, the magazine and its accompanying resources meet multiple strands in English Language Arts, History-Social Science, and Science.
377-WB-F17-SN4
2
READING STANDARDS FOR INFORMATIONAL TEXT
STANDARD NUMBER
WHAT THE STANDARD SAYSHOW SCHOLASTIC NEWS EDITION 4
MEETS THIS STANDARD
RI.4.5 Describe the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in a text or part of a text.
• Magazine articles offer varying text structures, including sequence, cause/effect, problem/solution, and compare/contrast.
• Tasks in the Teacher’s Guide focus on important nonfiction reading skills, such as identifying text structures.
RI.4.6 Compare and contrast a firsthand and secondhand account of the same event or topic; describe the differences in focus and the information provided.
• Magazine articles often contain interviews and firsthand accounts.
• Paired-text activities are offered in the Teacher’s Guide and online. In these activities, an additional text, such as a firsthand or secondhand account, complements a magazine article. Students can read the texts and answer questions to compare and contrast the two.
• Readers can compare and contrast articles written throughout the school year on similar topics. Digital editions of back issues from current and previous school years are accessible on the Scholastic News website (e.g., articles on civil rights might profile Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964).
RI.4.7 Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on web pages) and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which it appears.
• Magazine articles feature photographs and infographics to support and enhance the text. Infographics include maps, charts, and graphs—often with accompanying comprehension questions.
• Additional maps, charts, and graphs are included on skills sheets in the Teacher’s Guide and are accompanied by higher-order thinking questions.
• Magazines contain deliberate placement of nonfiction text features, including headlines, subheadings, photos, captions, sidebars, boldfaced vocabulary words, and more.
• Tasks in the Teacher’s Guide focus on important nonfiction reading skills, such as identifying and interpreting nonfiction text features.
RI.4.8 Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text.
• Tasks in the Teacher’s Guide focus on important nonfiction reading skills, such as analyzing an author’s reasons and evidence.
• A debate feature in each issue encourages students to see two sides of a given issue and analyze how each argument is supported with reasons.
3
READING STANDARDS FOR INFORMATIONAL TEXT
STANDARD NUMBER
WHAT THE STANDARD SAYSHOW SCHOLASTIC NEWS EDITION 4
MEETS THIS STANDARD
RI.4.9 Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
• Paired-text activities are offered in the Teacher’s Guide and online. In these activities, an additional text complements an article in the magazine. Students can read the texts and answer questions to integrate information from two sources.
• Graphic organizers, such as Venn diagrams and T-charts, are provided in the Teacher’s Guide and online to help students analyze texts.
• Readers can compare and contrast articles written throughout the school year on similar topics. Digital editions of back issues from current and previous school years are accessible on the Scholastic News website (e.g., articles on civil rights might profile Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964).
RI.4.10 By the end of year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, in the grades 4–5 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
• Scholastic News covers a wide range of social studies and science topics. Texts fall in the grades 4–5 text complexity band.
• The Teacher’s Guide provides ideas for scaffolding and differentiation to help students access complex texts.
READING STANDARDS FOR FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS
RF.4.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
a. Use combined knowledge of all letter-sound correspondences, syllabication patterns, and morphology (e.g., roots and affixes) to read accurately unfamiliar multisyllabic words in context and out of context.
• Issues are written with considerate text in mind. Articles contain grade-appropriate, multisyllabic words so the text is accessible to fourth graders.
• Some irregularly spelled words appear in the digital issue in pop-up Words to Know. These words are pronounced, defined, and illustrated to facilitate understanding for all learners.
• Reading-skills practice tests are available online. These tests assess reading comprehension and word knowledge.
RF.4.4 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
a. Read on-level text with purpose and understanding.
b. Read on-level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.
c. Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.
• Magazine articles provide opportunities for instructional-level and independent-level reading.
• Text length is appropriate to grade-level expectations and is conducive to repeated readings for fluency practice.
• Vocabulary words are defined and/or supported by context clues.
• Each digital edition includes an alternative, lower-level version of the cover story that makes the article accessible to below-level readers.
• The enhanced Text-to-Speech read-aloud feature online models fluent reading.
4
WRITING STANDARDS
STANDARD NUMBER
WHAT THE STANDARD SAYSHOW SCHOLASTIC NEWS EDITION 4
MEETS THIS STANDARD
W.4.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.
a. Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure in which related ideas are grouped to support the writer’s purpose.
b. Provide reasons that are supported by facts and details.
c. Link opinion and reasons using words and phrases (e.g., for instance, in order to, in addition).
d. Provide a concluding statement or section related to the opinion presented.
• The Debate feature in the magazine asks students to contemplate two sides of an issue. Skills sheets provided online enable students to write their own responses to debate questions.
• Skills sheets include graphic organizers and scaffolds to support students in writing opinion pieces based on articles in the magazine.
• Writing tasks in the Teacher’s Guide often include opinion-writing prompts.
W.4.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
a. Introduce a topic clearly and group related information in paragraphs and sections; include formatting (e.g., headings), illustrations, and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
b. Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples related to the topic.
c. Link ideas within categories of information using words and phrases (e.g., another, for example, also, because).
d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
e. Provide a concluding statement or section related to the information or explanation presented.
• Tasks in the Teacher’s Guide incorporate writing skills such as writing informative/explanatory pieces. Accompanying skills pages offered in the Teacher’s Guide and online help students to plan and write their pieces across several nonfiction genres, including reports, news articles, etc.
5
WRITING STANDARDS
STANDARD NUMBER
WHAT THE STANDARD SAYSHOW SCHOLASTIC NEWS EDITION 4
MEETS THIS STANDARD
W.4.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
a. Orient the reader by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.
b. Use dialogue and description to develop experiences and events or show the responses of characters to situations.
c. Use a variety of transitional words and phrases to manage the sequence of events.
d. Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey experiences and events precisely.
e. Provide a conclusion that follows from the narrated experiences or events.
• Tasks in the Teacher’s Guide incorporate writing skills such as composing narrative pieces based on the magazine articles. Accompanying skills sheets offered in the Teacher’s Guide and online help students to plan and write their pieces.
W.4.4 Produce clear and coherent writing (including multiple-paragraph texts) in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)
• Some writing skills sheets provide a structure to help students produce writing. For example, a skills sheet about a persuasive letter will include a letter’s format and directions.
W.4.5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language Standards 1–3 up to and including grade 4.)
• Writing activities on the skills sheets can be further developed by following the steps of the writing process.
• Magazine articles can be used as exemplar texts of published writing.
W.4.6 With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting.
• The digital editions include interactive PDF files of the skills sheets in which students can type their written pieces. This can be especially useful to students with graphomotor difficulties.
W.4.7 Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
• Tasks in the Teacher’s Guide prompt students to undertake short research projects about topics featured in the magazine.
• After reading an issue of Scholastic News, students can identify research questions related to one of the articles. Students should gather information from both books and reliable internet sources to answer their research questions.
W.4.8 Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; take notes, paraphrase, and categorize information, and provide a list of sources.
• Students can take notes on the information they gathered from the print magazine, digital edition, videos, and other multimedia sources.
6
WRITING STANDARDS
STANDARD NUMBER
WHAT THE STANDARD SAYSHOW SCHOLASTIC NEWS EDITION 4
MEETS THIS STANDARD
W.4.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
a. Apply grade 4 Reading Standards to literature (e.g., “Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text [e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions].”).
b. Apply grade 4 Reading Standards to informational texts (e.g., “Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text”).
• Students can draw evidence from articles to craft written pieces about topics featured in the magazine.
W.4.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
• The writing prompts suggested in the Teacher’s Guide can be used during instruction to write for a wide variety of purposes and over various time frames.
SPEAKING AND LISTENING STANDARDS
SL.4.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
a. Come to discussions prepared, having read or studied required material; explicitly draw on that preparation and other information known about the topic to explore ideas under discussion.
b. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions and carry out assigned roles.
c. Pose and respond to specific questions to clarify or follow up on information, and make comments that contribute to the discussion and link to the remarks of others.
d. Review the key ideas expressed and explain their own ideas and understanding in light of the discussion.
• Think and Discuss tasks in the Teacher’s Guide provide collaborative discussion prompts for both small- and large-group formats.
• Magazine articles lend themselves to discussions, which can be held as a class, in small groups, or in partnerships.
• The Debate feature in each issue can be used to stage a classroom debate or informal conversations in various group formats.
SL.4.2 Paraphrase portions of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
• Students must understand the main idea and supporting details of articles read aloud either in class or using the audio feature in the digital edition.
• Students must understand information presented in the videos available with each digital edition. Media-literacy tasks in the Teacher’s Guide provide active listening tasks.
7
SPEAKING AND LISTENING STANDARDS
STANDARD NUMBER
WHAT THE STANDARD SAYSHOW SCHOLASTIC NEWS EDITION 4
MEETS THIS STANDARD
SL.4.3 Identify the reasons and evidence a speaker or media source provides to support particular points.
• The Debate feature in each issue can be used to stage a classroom debate or informal conversations in various group formats. Listeners can identify a speaker’s reasons and evidence for his/her argument.
SL.4.4 Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.
a. Plan and deliver a narrative presentation that: relates ideas, observations, or recollections; provides a clear context; and includes clear insight into why the event or experience is memorable.
• Topics covered in the magazine and questions asked on skills sheets can be used as springboards for reports about specific topics.
SL.4.5 Add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.
• The videos with the digital editions can be used as examples for production of audio recordings and visual displays.
SL.4.6 Differentiate between contexts that call for formal English (e.g., presenting ideas) and situations where informal discourse is appropriate (e.g., small-group discussion); use formal English when appropriate to task and situation. (See grade 4 Language standards 1 and 3 for specific expectations.)
• Writing prompts, research projects, and questions on skills sheets can be used for oral responses in formal and informal settings.
• Magazine articles can be used to stimulate discussions about given topics.
8
LANGUAGE STANDARDS
STANDARD NUMBER
WHAT THE STANDARD SAYSHOW SCHOLASTIC NEWS EDITION 4
MEETS THIS STANDARD
L.4.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
a. Use interrogative, relative pronouns (who, whose, whom, which, that) and relative adverbs (where, when, why).
b. Form and use the progressive (e.g., I was walking; I am walking; I will be walking) verb tenses.
c. Use modal auxiliaries (e.g., can, may, must) to convey various conditions.
d. Order adjectives within sentences according to conventional patterns (e.g., a small red bag rather than a red small bag).
e. Form and use prepositional phrases.
f. Produce complete sentences, recognizing and correcting inappropriate fragments and run-ons.
g. Correctly use frequently confused words (e.g., to, too, two; there, their).
h. Write fluidly and legibly in cursive or joined italics.
• Writing prompts on skills sheets provide students ample opportunities for writing and speaking using standard conventions.
• The videos, magazine, and other print materials serve as models for usage of standard English grammar in speaking and writing.
• Reading-skills practice tests available online assess students’ ability to follow writing conventions.
L.4.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
a. Use correct capitalization.
b. Use commas and quotation marks to mark direct speech and quotations from a text.
c. Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence.
d. Spell grade-appropriate words correctly, consulting references as needed.
• The magazine and other print materials serve as models for correct usage of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.
• Scholastic News contains many examples of spelling patterns and is a great resource to supplement word study programs.
• The writing prompts on skills sheets provide students ample opportunities for writing using standard conventions.
• Reading-skills practice tests available online assess students’ ability to follow writing conventions.
• You Be the Editor skills sheets challenge students to correct errors in capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.
9
LANGUAGE STANDARDS
STANDARD NUMBER
WHAT THE STANDARD SAYSHOW SCHOLASTIC NEWS EDITION 4
MEETS THIS STANDARD
L.4.3 Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
a. Choose words and phrases to convey ideas precisely.
b. Choose punctuation for effect.
c. Differentiate between contexts that call for formal English (e.g., presenting ideas) and situations where informal discourse is appropriate (e.g., small-group discussion).
• Magazine articles can be used as a basis for writing and speaking activities in both formal and informal settings.
L.4.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 4 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
a. Use context (e.g., definitions, examples, or restatements in text) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
b. Use common, grade-appropriate Greek and Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., telegraph, photograph, autograph).
c. Consult reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation and determine or clarify the precise meaning of key word and phrases and to identify alternate word choices in all content areas.
• Vocabulary words are boldfaced in the magazine. Words are defined in Words to Know boxes. Boldfaced vocabulary words are supported by embedded context clues.
• Tasks in the Teacher’s Guide focus on important nonfiction reading skills, such as using context clues to determine word meaning.
• Each digital edition features clickable Words to Know. Each vocabulary word is defined, used in a sentence, and supported by a photograph. Additionally, an audio option is available to hear the word and its definition.
L.4.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
a. Explain the meaning of simple similes and metaphors (e.g., as pretty as a picture) in context.
b. Recognize and explain the meaning of common idioms, adages, and proverbs.
c. Demonstrate understanding of words by relating them to their opposites (antonyms) and to words with similar but not identical meanings (synonyms).
• Vocabulary words used in the magazine are defined, supported by context clues, and included as clickable Words to Know online.
• Some articles contain idioms, puns, similes, metaphors and other turns of phrase, which can be used for language instruction.
L.4.6 Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal precise actions, emotions, or states of being (e.g., quizzed, whined, stammered) and that are basic to a particular topic (e.g., wildlife, conservation, and endangered when discussing animal preservation).
• Articles contain academic and topic-specific vocabulary words that are often part of social studies and science curricula. The words are supported by definitions and context clues. Students must use the words in the activities featured in the magazine, Teacher’s Guide, and online.
10
HISTORY-SOCIAL SCIENCE
CHRONOLOGICAL AND SPATIAL THINKING
STANDARD NUMBER
WHAT THE STANDARD SAYSHOW SCHOLASTIC NEWS EDITION 4
MEETS THIS STANDARD
1 Students place key events and people of the historical era they are studying in a chronological sequence and within a spatial context; they interpret time lines.
• Sequencing and timeline lesson activities help students understand the concept of chronology and how to place important historical events and people in a spatial context.
• Timeline text features allow students to follow along with event chronology while they read.
• Timeline skills sheets give students an opportunity to analyze historical events and people using a visual tool.
2 Students correctly apply terms related to time, including past, present, future, decade, century, and generation.
• History-focused articles employ academic and domain-specific vocabulary related to time, and skills sheets can provide opportunities to apply the meaning of these terms.
• Words to Know features highlight and provide definitions for key vocabulary terms.
3 Students explain how the present is connected to the past, identifying both similarities and differences between the two, and how some things change over time and some things stay the same.
• Students have opportunities to read historical primary and secondary sources and then compare how life was lived during a historical time period with how we currently live. Students are encouraged to make personal connections to what they read. They can then use graphic organizers, such as Venn diagrams, to compare and contrast a historical time period with the present day and see how the two periods are connected.
4 Students use map and globe skills to determine the absolute locations of places and interpret information available through a map’s or globe’s legend, scale, and symbolic representations.
• Geography-focused articles often include maps to provide visual representations for students.
• Page 8 of the magazine often features a map activity to further students’ understanding of geography and provide more context for the article. These activities can also further students’ understanding of a historical event by incorporating geographical background information.
5 Students judge the significance of the relative location of a place (e.g., proximity to a harbor, on trade routes) and analyze how relative advantages or disadvantages can change over time.
• Students can use the maps in the magazine to discuss relative locations and how far apart or close together two locations are. This discussion can also be extended to include critical-thinking questions about these places and the advantages or disadvantages of their locations.
11
HISTORY-SOCIAL SCIENCE
RESEARCH, EVIDENCE, AND POINT OF VIEW
STANDARD NUMBER
WHAT THE STANDARD SAYSHOW SCHOLASTIC NEWS EDITION 4
MEETS THIS STANDARD
1 Students differentiate between primary and secondary sources.
• Most magazine articles are informational secondary sources. However, these are often paired with primary sources in the Teacher’s Guide or digital editions.
• Students complete a wide variety of lesson activities and skills sheets to analyze and further their understanding of these texts, including ones that focus on main idea and key details, close-reading questions, inferencing, chronology, and compare/contrast.
2 Students pose relevant questions about events they encounter in historical documents, eyewitness accounts, oral histories, letters, diaries, artifacts, photographs, maps, artworks, and architecture.
• Class discussions encourage students to think critically and pose questions about events in the magazine. Media-literacy activities and writing tasks in the Teacher’s Guide help students learn how to pose relevant questions.
3 Students distinguish fact from fiction by comparing documentary sources on historical figures and events with fictionalized characters and events.
• Classes are encouraged to pair historical articles in the magazine with relevant fiction from classroom or school libraries to compare and contrast actual time periods and events with how they are portrayed in fictionalized versions of the past.
HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION
1 Students summarize the key events of the era they are studying and explain the historical contexts of those events.
• Lesson activities and skills sheets often ask students to locate and summarize the main ideas presented in historical articles.
• Class discussions can help students take their understanding of these events a step further and explain why context is important to consider during these events.
• Research and writing tasks give students opportunities to practice constructing concise and relevant summaries.
2 Students identify the human and physical characteristics of the places they are studying and explain how those features form the unique character of those places.
• Articles, photographs, maps, charts, and other text features in the magazine help students develop a full picture of a location. Lesson activities allow students to focus on the important features of each place, and students are encouraged to explain how these features are unique through compare/contrast skills sheets and other writing tasks.
3 Students identify and interpret the multiple causes and effects of historical events.
• The Teacher’s Guide provides suggestions for focusing on cause and effect, along with other relevant informational text structures. Skills sheets reinforce those skills and ask students to identify and interpret events from specific time periods.
12
HISTORY-SOCIAL SCIENCE
CALIFORNIA: A CHANGING STATE
STANDARD NUMBER
WHAT THE STANDARD SAYSHOW SCHOLASTIC NEWS EDITION 4
MEETS THIS STANDARD
4.1 Students demonstrate an understanding of the physical and human geographic features that define places and regions in California.
1. Explain and use the coordinate grid system of latitude and longitude to determine the absolute locations of places in California and on Earth.
2. Distinguish between the North and South Poles; the equator and the prime meridian; the tropics; and the hemispheres, using coordinates to plot locations.
3. Identify the state capital and describe the various regions of California, including how their characteristics and physical environments (e.g., water, landforms, vegetation, climate) affect human activity.
4. Identify the locations of the Pacific Ocean, rivers, valleys, and mountain passes and explain their effects on the growth of towns.
5. Use maps, charts, and pictures to describe how communities in California vary in land use, vegetation, wildlife, climate, population density, architecture, services, and transportation.
• Geography-focused articles often describe physical as well as human geography. These articles include a map of the area being discussed, as well as additional text features, to provide visual representations for students and to further their understanding of the topic at hand.
• Page 8 of the magazine often features a map activity to further students’ understanding of geography and provide more context for the article. These activities frequently ask students to identify geographical features of an area and how these features may have changed over time due to modifications to the environment.
4.5 Students understand the structures, functions, and powers of the local, state, and federal governments as described in the U.S. Constitution.
1. Discuss what the U.S. Constitution is and why it is important (i.e., a written document that defines the structure and purpose of the U.S. government and describes the shared powers of federal, state, and local governments).
2. Understand the purpose of the California Constitution, its key principles, and its relationship to the U.S. Constitution.
3. Describe the similarities (e.g., written documents, rule of law, consent of the governed, three separate branches) and differences (e.g., scope of jurisdiction, limits on government powers, use of the military) among federal, state, and local governments.
4. Explain the structures and functions of state governments, including the roles and responsibilities of their elected officials.
5. Describe the components of California’s governance structure (e.g., cities and towns, Indian rancherias and reservations, counties, school districts).
• Magazine articles often focus on governments at the federal, state, and local levels—how they are created, their purposes and structures, and the governments’ shared powers. Lesson activities in the Teacher’s Guide further this understanding for students.
• U.S. history-focused articles frequently include information on the formation of the country, such as the importance of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. Lesson activities and online videos help to further students’ understanding of the significance of these documents as well as how these documents influence state and local governments.
13
SCIENCE
STRUCTURE, FUNCTION, AND INFORMATION PROCESSING
STANDARD NUMBER
WHAT THE STANDARD SAYSHOW SCHOLASTIC NEWS EDITION 4
MEETS THIS STANDARD
4-LS1-1 Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
• Many science-based articles feature information about animal species located around the world. Compare-and-contrast activities along with diagram text features can help students better understand the internal and external structures of animals.
EARTH’S SYSTEMS: PROCESSES THE SHAPE THE EARTH
4-ESS2-2 Analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth’s features.
• Science-related articles can help students learn about grade-appropriate science skills, such as how to interpret data for the purpose of describing phenomena. Maps that support the articles as well as map activities in the magazine and Teacher’s Guide provide opportunities for students to analyze parts of the world for their unique features.
4-ESS3-2 Generate and compare multiple solutions to reduce the impacts of natural Earth processes on humans.
• Science-focused articles often feature up-to-date information about the Earth’s changing environment and the impact these changes can have on humans. Problem/solution as well as compare/contrast skills sheets help students classify potential solutions and determine which options may be the best to pursue. These activities can then be used to springboard conducting more research or writing a longer essay on the topic.
ENERGY
4-ESS3-1 Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and their uses affect the environment.
• Articles feature up-to-date information about different forms of energy and fuels in the world and how using these forms of energy affects the environment. Students can use these articles as credible secondary sources when gathering information for writing tasks or research projects.
To order Scholastic News Edition 4, for additional editorial information, or to receive product samples:
