Blog Posting for 2/6/2015
This week news4kids.org aired the following stories:
Puppy Bowl K-3
Saudi Arabian King Dies 4-8
Dancing Japanese Robots K-3
Self Driving Cars 4-8
Newscast: Puppy Bowl K-3
Essential Question: What is the Puppy Bowl?
Vocabulary: shelters, halftime, awareness
Learning Objectives:
– Identify the Puppy Bowl as an annual Animal Planet special that takes place on Super Bowl Sunday and features puppies that live in shelters.
Summary: On Super Bowl Sunday, for lots of people who aren’t interested in football, the 11th annual Animal Planet Puppy Bowl provides a fluffy alternative to the big game. Puppies from shelters all around the US played with each other and lots of fun toys in a small-scale replica of a Super Bowl football stadium.
Newscast: Saudi Arabian King Dies 4-8
Essential Question: What is the history of the Saudi Arabian monarchy?
Vocabulary: Ibn Saud, King Abdullah, King Salman, monarchy, Mecca, hajj
Learning Objectives:
-Identify Ibn Saud as the founder of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and King Abdullah as the late king who died at age 90.
– Explain that under the Saudi Arabian monarchy, the king has absolute power.
– Identify Mecca as the holiest Islamic city.
Summary: Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has died at age 90. The Saudi King ruled the Arab nation for 10 years. His 79-year-old half-brother, Salman, has been named the new King. Within hours of Salman being named king of the oil-rich country he vowed to maintain the same domestic and foreign policies as the former King, much to the relief of many worldwide.
Newscast: Dancing Japanese Robots K-3
Essential Question: What is significant about Robi the robot?
Vocabulary: Robi, assemble, Kirobo, industrial
Learning Objectives:
– Identify Japan as the country with the world’s largest robotics industry
– Identify Robi as a new robot that recognizes more than 250 commands and must be assembled after purchase.
Summary: One hundred little robots danced in unison to music at an event in Tokyo. The new robot, named “Robi”, was designed by Tomotaka Takahashi, a manager of the robotics company Robo Garage. The dancing robots stand at only 13.4 inches tall and weigh about 2.2 pounds each. They can perform lots of actions besides dancing. Robi recognizes more than 250 commands and can do things like play games, take quizzes, and change the channel on your TV.
Newscast: Self Driving Cars 4-8
Essential Question: How can a car drive by itself?
Vocabulary: autonomous, convenience, accessible, Google
Learning Objectives:
– Identify Google as the company leading the self-driving car project.
– Define the word “autonomous” in their own words.
– Explain what purpose the car aims to serve in society.
Summary: This week, the internet company Google began discussions with the many of the world’s top automakers in an effort to accelerate the process of bringing self driving cars to market by the year 2020. The company has also assembled a team of traditional and non-traditional suppliers to enhance their efforts.
