October 11, 2010

SCOPE ONLINE
Skill-based reading and writing activities for each Scope article

Jump directly to an article's resources:

NONFICTION/PERSONAL NARRATIVE:
Great White Terror
READERS THEATER MINI-PLAY:
The Lion and the Mouse
THEN AND NOW: Tom Sawyer and Bart Simpson
DEBATE/ESSAY KIT:
Is Reality TV Making You Stupid?
GRAMMAR MISTAKES of the Rich and Famous
VOCABULARY: Mouthwatering Words

HIGHLIGHTS
A taste of some of our fabulous digital offerings

INTERACTIVE BUBBLE TESTS
By popular demand, we now have self-scoring interactive quizzes. Students complete them on-screen and e-mail them to you or print and hand them in. Click here for the "Great White Terror" quiz. Click here for the "The Lion and the Mouse" quiz.

THE SCOPE 100
Our vocabulary program is a proven way to use Scope to build your students' word power. Click here for details.

DEBATE/ESSAY KIT: PERSUASIVE WRITING

Persuasive writing was never this painless! Students use our step-by-step, scaffolded guide to write a well-organized, persuasive essay. PLUS: transition-words tip sheet and a checklist for self-editing.

CONTEST CENTRAL
This is your students' chance to be in Scope! Click here to read about all of our current contests, including the ongoing Fabulous First-Line Contest with Pam Muñoz Ryan. (Don't forget the deadline: October 15.)

DIGITAL VERSIONS OF ARTICLES

Scroll down for PDFs of Scope stories to project on your whiteboard.

"Great White Terror"

SUMMARY: Jaws author Peter Benchley's terrifying true story of his close encounter with a great white shark. Excellent for identifying sensory details. Don't miss the follow-up writing contest.

GET A PDF OF THIS ARTICLE TO PROJECT.

DOWNLOAD THE TEACHER'S EDITION LESSON PLAN .

VOCABULARY: SCOPE 100

*Click here to read more about the SCOPE 100.

SENSORY-DETAILS GRAPHIC ORGANIZER
Students fill in this graphic organizer with sensory details from the article.

IDENTIFYING NONFICTION ELEMENTS: READ, THINK, EXPLAIN
Use our teacher-vetted scaffolded reading activity to help students improve their nonfiction reading-comprehension skills and strategies. Includes text structure questions!

INTERACTIVE READING-COMPREHENSION QUIZ
A test-prep essential! We based the questions on state tests and Common Core standards.
*Get the noninteractive version here.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE: READING-COMPREHENSION
A fun twist on reading-comp activities.

CRITICAL THINKING
Short-answer questions for independent completion or group discussion.
(These are also listed in our T.E. and can be projected on your whiteboard.)

"The Lion and
the Mouse"

SUMMARY: Our version of Aesop's famous fable reimagines the story in a modern-day high school. A fun twist on a curriculum staple!

GET A PDF OF THIS ARTICLE TO PROJECT.

DOWNLOAD THE TEACHER'S EDITION LESSON PLAN .

VOCABULARY
Project or print these challenging words from the article. On page 2, you'll find vocabulary practice to reinforce your students' understanding.

INTERACTIVE READING-COMPREHENSION QUIZ
A test-prep essential! We formed these questions based on state tests.
*Get the noninteractive version here.

CRITICAL THINKING
Short-answer questions for independent completion or group discussion.
(These are also listed in our T.E. and can be projected on your whiteboard.)

NEWSPAPER WRITING
This scaffolded worksheet prepares students to write a news article about the events in the play.

UNDERSTANDING CHARACTER
To demonstrate their understanding of the characters, students write an e-mail exchange between Mike and Miranda about what takes place in the play.

TRADITIONAL VERSION
Check out the original fable here.

"Bart Simpson
& Tom Sawyer"

SUMMARY: Who knew Bart Simpson had so much in common with Tom Sawyer? This article is designed as an excellent compare-and-contrast writing activity.

GET A PDF OF THIS ARTICLE TO PROJECT.

GUIDED COMPARE-AND-CONTRAST ESSAY
A self-guided, step-by-step worksheet that helps students to write a compare-and-contrast essay.

"Is Reality TV Making You Stupid?"

SUMMARY: Gossiping. Lying. Acting dumb. Reality TV makes bad behavior seem like a good time. After reading this fun passage, students will form an opinion and identify details to support their argument.

GET A PDF OF THIS ARTICLE TO PROJECT.

GUIDED PERSUASIVE ESSAY
Our self-guided worksheet makes essay writing a painless, step-by-step process. When your students finish this activity, they will have a well-organized, persuasive essay. Includes two bonus handouts: transition words and a checklist for self-editing.

Grammar Mistakes of the Rich and Famous

SUMMARY: Turn your students into grammar gods and goddesses with our delightful editing activity.

GET A PDF OF THIS ARTICLE TO PROJECT.

EDITING ACTIVITY
This silly story is chock-full of errors in desperate need of correcting.

"Mouthwatering Words"

SUMMARY: Enrich your students' vocabulary mastery with this visually driven—and totally fun—activity. A caption-writing contest follows.

GET A PDF OF THIS ARTICLE TO PROJECT.

VOCABULARY ACTIVITY
A two-page activity that reviews the vocabulary words from the article. Includes definitions, parts of speech, antonyms, and fill-in-the-blank sentences.

HELPFUL DOWNLOADS

ANSWER KEY
Looking for answers? Visit our top-secret Web site for answers to all online reproducibles and quizzes. The URL is listed on page T-2 of your printed Teacher’s Edition.

TEACHER'S EDITION
Misplaced your T.E.? No worries! Download it directly here. Note: This online version does NOT include the answer key or the URL for the answer key.

Click here to see all reproducibles for this issue.