Introduction

Introduction • What is Comprehension? • “Intentional thinking during which meaning is constructed through interactions between text and reader.” • Harris and Hodges, 1995

Leaving Tracks • Have you ever seen fresh animal tracks in the snow or on the beach? Active readers also leave tracks of their thinking, they jot down quick notes to hold and remember thoughts. Like on post-its.

T-S: Text to Self Connection This is a personal connection. T-W: Text to World This is a connection between you and the world around you. BK: Background Knowledge This is something you already know about the topic. R: It reminds me of This can be anything the text reminds you of as long as you can explain why and how. Making Connections

The Case Against Soda

Soda. Pop. Soda pop .Whatever you call it, those sugary, fizzy drinks that the world has come to love are not very good for you. Why not? First, they can cause you to put on the pounds. A typical can of soda (sixteen ounces) contains 207 calories. Drinks are often forgotten as a calorie source, and it’s easy to get 500 calories a day from a couple of cans of soda. That’s around one fourth of your daily caloric needs that you don’t even notice! And that doesn’t give you any nutrition. Then, they’re bad for your teeth. Sugar is known to cause tooth decay. So the more soda you drink, the more likely you’ll be spending a lot of quality time with your dentist. If that’s not enough, there are hidden dangers. Soda contains something called phosphoric acid— that’s what makes it fizzy. Too much phosphoric acid can cause an imbalance of the minerals calcium and phosphorus in your body. That imbalance is bad for the growth and strength of your bones. How are kids to make good decisions about what to drink when the soda companies pay their schools to put soda machines right in the hall? That practice may be coming to an end! Several states have passed laws limiting or eliminating vending machines in schools. Like everything related to food and drink, moderation is best. Having a soda now and then isn’t going to hurt you! But several cans of soda every day is not good for your health. ■ The Case Against Soda

Discussion Questions • Let’s use some of the Comprehension Strategies to create questions and a discussion. • T.S. • T.W. - • B.K.- • R. -

The Popularity of Pets

If all the people in America who have a dog or a cat raised their hand, there would be around seventy-six million hands in the air! And that’s just dogs and cats. Guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, sugar gliders, ferrets, and all sorts of reptiles are kept as house pets as well. Even though we love our pets, millions of them still end up in animal shelters all around the country. Sadly, millions are humanely put to sleep in these shelters because there are just too many unwanted dogs and cats. What is the first important thing pet owners can do to help reduce the number of animals in the shelters? Spay female and neuter male cats and dogs so that they can’t accidentally have kittens and puppies. Leave that to people who have learned to be responsible breeders. Track Practice: The Popularity of Pets

Pets contd. • Responsible breeders are careful to breed only those animals that have been tested and shown not to have diseases and conditions that can be genetically passed along to their offspring. They also take excellent care of the young animals. They make sure that the kittens and puppies get the right vaccinations and medical attention at the right times to help them grow up strong and healthy. For the person who will eventually own these pets, these things are really important! The animals will have a better chance of not needing lots of expensive veterinary care. • Most of the dogs available through pet shops are bought cheaply from what are known as puppy mills—places where female dogs are kept pregnant a lot. The puppy mills and the pet stores often seem to care more about making money than about the quality and wellbeing of the mother and father and the offspring. And they count on the fact that when you are looking at a cute little puppy it’s hard to worry about all of that! • So if you are going to get a pet it is best to go to a reputable breeder. Or you can always give a home to a great dog or cat waiting for you at the local animal shelter! ■

How Much is Enough?

How much is Enough? • Do you think your allowance is a fair amount? Do you have chores you have to do to get an allowance? What do you do with your money? These are the kinds of questions we ask about money for our entire lives! • Say you’re eight and your mom gives you a dollar every Saturday morning . You don’t have to do anything special for it (although it helps not to do anything bad during the week). How much will you have after and entire year of Saturdays? Fifty-two dollars! That is if you don’t spend any of it along the way. • But when you turn ten, is a dollar a week still fair? Maybe. What if you agreed to clean your room every Saturday morning? That’s probably something you should do regularly anyway, but maybe that would convince your mom to double your allowance. That would be two dollars every week! You can figure out how much that would be after a year (remember, no spending).

Enough Contd. • But maybe you would like to get an even bigger allowance. Now you begin the process that business people call negotiating. You suggest to your mom that you not only clean your room but also take out the trash every Tuesday morning for a five-dollar-a-week allowance. • Your mom doesn’t think that’s enough chores for five dollars. So she offers to give you five dollars every Saturday if you clean your room once a week, take the trash out on Tuesdays, and mow the lawn on Thursdays after school. But you hate to mow! So you offer to wash the car instead of mowing. It’s a deal! • And if you save all your money in the bank, the bank will pay you money (called interest) to use your money-and you don’t have to do a thing! By saving and investing, you can earn money while you lie on your bed and listen to music!

The First Olympics

The Olympics we know include many athletic events—basketball, swimming, sprinting, skating, and javelin throwing to name just a few. Athletes compete from all over the world. But what if the Olympics had just one event and all of the athletes were from one country? That’s exactly what is was like at the first ever Olympics, held in Olympia, Greece, in 776 B.C., more than 2,700 years ago. The only event was a foot race, called a stade, and all of the athletes were from Greece. At the completion of the race cheering spectators threw flowers, and the judge placed an olive-branch wreath on the head of the proud winner. For nearly 1,200 years after these first Olympics, the games took place every four years. The period between games was called an Olympiad. But in 393 A.D., Byzantine Emperor Theodosius I abolished them, along with all festivals. Student Practice:The First Olympics

Olympics contd. • Fifteen hundred years passed before the Olympic games returned, in 1896. They were still held in Greece and featured competitors from fourteen countries, including the United States. • New events such as cycling, fencing, swimming, and weightlifting were added. These were the first modern Olympics. • The Olympics continue today, summer and winter, every four years, in different countries around the world. They still combine the traditions of the ancient games, like the proud march into the stadium • but have incorporated traditions established during the modern games, like awarding medals to the winners. ■

Discussion • Turn and talk with your neighbor about what you wrote down. Anything similar? • Now discuss as a class similarities and differences in notes you took. • Questions, connections, reminders?

Introduction

Introduction

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Introduction to introduction to introduction to … Optimization

INTRODUCTION/ INTRODUCTION

Introduction

INTRODUCTION

Introduction

Introduction