Blog Posting for 3/20/2015
This week news4kids.org aired the following stories:
Horses Get Relief in Mexico K-3
Deadly Avalanches in Afghanistan 4-8
Skijoring in Colorado K-3
Largest Man Made Diamond4-8
Newscast: Horses Get Relief in Mexico K-3
Essential Question: Why are horse-carts being replaced by motorcycle-powered wagons in Mexico?
Vocabulary: disappear, horse-drawn, asphalt, paved, motorized, welfare, haul, rubbish
Learning Objectives:
– Identify at least two reasons why the horse and donkey-drawn carts are being replaced by motorcycle-powered wagons in Neza, Mexico.
– Note that before motorized vehicles, carts were pulled by horses and donkeys, and still are in many places.
Summary: Over the next two months, 457 horse and donkey-drawn carts will disappear from the streets of Nezahualcoyotl or commonly known as Neza, a suburb of Mexico City. The animal drawn carts and their drivers have been collecting household garbage in Neza for the past 45 years. The horse-carts will be replaced by motorcycle-powered wagons.
Newscast: Deadly Avalanches in Afghanistan 4-8
Essential Question: What happened as a result of the many avalanches in northern Afghanistan?
Vocabulary: avalanche, accumulating, sector, stranded, steep
Learning Objectives:
– Name at least three environmental causes of avalanches.
– Explain what is being done to help those stranded by the avalanches in northern Afghanistan.
Summary: More than 280 people have died in northern Afghanistan in one of the worst series of avalanches in the region in decades. Unfortunately, hundreds more people are currently missing. The avalanche is a result of a sudden onset of heavy snow that fell continuously for two days.
Newscast: Skijoring in Colorado K-3
Essential Question: What is skijoring?
Vocabulary: skijoring, horsepower, harness, migrate
Learning Objectives:
– Define skijoring as a sport and its meaning in Norwegian.
– Explain the origins of skijoring as a sport, as well as the unique twist in Silverton, Colorado.
Summary: Skiers and winter sports fans recently gathered in Silverton, Colorado for an annual competition of skijoring, a sport which combines skiing with horse power. Traditionally, skijoring involves a skier who is attached by a harness to a dog, such as a Siberian Husky or a Malamute. The dog pulls the skier along a course of hills and jumps. The Silverton version of skijoring, however, replaces the dog with a horse. The participants compete in teams of two: one person rides and controls the horse while the other one wears skis and is attached to the horse by a harness. The horses pull the skiers across a frozen track, and the skiers have to jump to pick up rings along the course.
Newscast: Largest Man Made Diamond4-8
Essential Question: How is a man-made diamond different from a traditional diamond?
Vocabulary: carat, laboratory, mined, pressure, carbon, microwave, hydrogen, methane, plasma, crystallization
Learning Objectives:
– Identify key differences between a man-made and traditionally mined diamond.
– Provide at least two reasons to explain why traditional diamonds are controversial purchases.
– Explain the processes by which man-made diamonds and naturally formed diamonds are made.
Summary: Pure Grown Diamonds, a laboratory based diamond company in New York City, has recently created a 3.04 carat diamond, making it the world’s largest man-made diamond.
