March 12, 2012
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SUMMARY: The Dust Bowl of the 1930s comes to life through the suspenseful story of 17-year-old Isaac “Ike” Osteen. We’ve paired the article with an excerpt from Karen Hesse’s award-winning novel-in-verse Out of the Dust. Essential question: What is the relationship between humans and the Earth? Or, take your lesson further with our exciting DIGITAL LESSON PLAN, which incorporates an original Scope video. SCOPE VIDEO: “Life in the Dust Bowl” Transport your students to the Dust Bowl with our new video, featuring background information and evocative images from the time. (Ideal for use with our Digital Lesson Plan.) FULL TEXT OF KAREN HESSE’S POEM “HOPE” We excerpted this poem from Out of the Dust to pair with the nonfiction article. Read the complete version here. GRAPHIC ORGANIZER: Central Idea Students are prompted to take notes on the relationship between humans and the land before, during, and after the Dust Bowl. INTERACTIVE READING-COMPREHENSION QUIZ A test-prep essential! We formed these questions based on state tests. (Need help with your interactive PDF? Visit our FAQ page.) Get the noninteractive version here. CRITICAL THINKING Short-answer questions for independent completion (great for your above-level readers!) or group discussion. These are also listed in our T.E. and can be projected on your whiteboard. IDENTIFYING NONFICTION ELEMENTS: READ, THINK, EXPLAIN Use our teacher-vetted, scaffolded reading activity to help students improve their nonfiction reading skills and strategies. Includes text-structure questions. VOCABULARY A list of tricky words, including definitions and example sentences, that appear in the article. Includes a practice activity to reinforce understanding. Read more about Scope Vocabulary here. CONTEST ENTRY FORM How does the suffering of the Earth during the Dust Bowl mirror the suffering of those who lived through it? Students write a paragraph answering this question, drawing on the article and poem. Read more about our contests here. | |
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SUMMARY: An article about the search for the mysterious giant squid is paired with a gripping excerpt from Jules Verne’s novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Skill focus: comparing and contrasting; making connections between texts COMPARE-AND-CONTRAST QUIZ Students analyze and compare the two texts through a series of multiple-choice questions. Makes excellent test prep. COMPARE-AND-CONTRAST GRAPHIC ORGANIZER This worksheet helps students identify the similarities and differences between the mythical sea monsters and the real-life giant squid. AUDIO: Dramatic Reading of Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “The Kraken” Use this recitation of the classic poem as an additional source for the writing activity on page 14. Great for above-level students. Also makes wonderful listening-comprehension practice! Click here for a printable annotated version of the poem. ANNOTATED TEXT OF “THE KRAKEN” | |
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SUMMARY: This classic tale by Hans Christian Andersen is all about the perils of vanity and the importance of speaking up. It gets the “star treatment” in our hilarious adaptation. Skill focus: theme ANALYZING CHARACTER AND THEME: “Dear Diary” INTERACTIVE READING-COMPREHENSION QUIZ Students explore characters from the play by writing diary entries from each character’s perspective. A test-prep essential! We formed these questions based on state tests. (Need help with your interactive PDF? Visit our FAQ page.) Get the noninteractive version here. CRITICAL THINKING Short-answer questions for independent completion (great for your above-level readers!) or group discussion. These are also listed in our T.E. IDENTIFYING LITERARY ELEMENTS AND DEVICES: “Back to Basics” This self-guided activity helps students explore character, elements of plot, imagery, and more. Includes higher-level thinking questions. VOCABULARY A list of tricky words, including definitions and example sentences, that appear in the play. Includes a practice activity to reinforce understanding. Read more about Scope Vocabulary here. CONTEST ENTRY FORM Using textual evidence from the play and sidebar, students explain the consequences of not speaking up and decide whether they would have told the Emperor the truth. Read more about our contests here. EXTRA RESOURCE ORIGINAL TEXT: “The Emperor’s New Clothes” The complete text of an English translation of Hans Christian Andersen’s 1837 short story. Have advanced readers compare the original story with the Scope adaptation. | |
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SUMMARY: This editorial lays out how and why it is important for students to take action when they witness bullying. Skill focus: supporting an argument; identifying main ideas and details GET A PDF OF THIS ARTICLE TO PROJECT. | |
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SUMMARY: Students correct grammar mistakes in a nonfiction article about the medical use of maggots. (It’s gross—in a good way.) Skill focus: conventions of standard English; revision SEE HOW THIS ACTIVITY SUPPORTS THE COMMON CORE STANDARDS. CONSISTENCY OF VERB TENSE Help students avoid unnecessary tense shifts in their writing. CORRECT USE OF COMMAS Students review the rules, then practice using commas. ACTIVE VS. PASSIVE VOICE Passive sentences are rewritten by students—er, students write active sentences! USING DASHES Teach students the ins and outs of the em dash—one of our favorite punctuation marks. AVOIDING AMBIGUOUS PRONOUNS More practice to prevent making this common mistake. | |
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SUMMARY: Students write a short article based on our interview with Katie Davidson, a star kicker on her school’s football team. Skill focus: identifying main idea and details; summarizing GUIDE TO “YOU WRITE IT” ACTIVITY This step-by-step worksheet helps students use our interview to craft an article. Includes guidance for identifying the main idea, organizing, and using direct quotations. “YOU WRITE IT” MODEL TEXT Our annotated example of a completed You Write It activity is a great way to help students understand how to turn an interview into an article. PUNCTUATING QUOTATIONS Use this activity from our archive to help students correctly punctuate the direct quotes they include in their articles. CONTEST ENTRY FORM Use our handy form to enter students’ work in our You Write It contest. Read more about our contests here. | |
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SUMMARY: Students practice the correct use of imply and infer while reading fun facts about three famous protagonist/antagonist pairs. Skill focus: imply and infer More practice with these commonly confused words. | |
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| READING-COMPREHENSION CROSSWORD PUZZLE This is a fun way to test students’ understanding of the whole issue. | |
SKILLS AND GRAPHIC-ORGANIZERS LIBRARY Visit our library for a list of basic skills activities for just about any Scope feature. ANSWER KEY Looking for answers? Visit our top-secret Web site for answers to all reproducibles, quizzes, and activities. The URL is listed on page T-3 of your printed Teacher’s Edition. DOWNLOAD ALL PRINTABLES FOR THIS ISSUE MORE HELPFUL LINKS & DOWNLOADS COMMON CORE, NCTE, AND IRA STANDARDS FAQs ABOUT INTERACTIVE PDFS Having trouble downloading our materials? Try using a different browser. |
