Monday, August 2, 2021

The new school year approaches

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8/2/2021

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Coming Soon

Stores are full of back-to-school sales. Parents are stocking up on school supplies. Kids are excitedly (or not-so-excitedly) trying on new clothes. Teachers are decorating classrooms and preparing lesson plans.

Yes, it’s almost time for school to start.

And so it seems like a good time to remind you how Science News for Students can help you out. Here’s a sampling of some of the great education resources we have on our site (and check out the full list here).

Further readings: Each article includes three further readings on the topic, located to the right of the story text. These links lead to other articles about similar topics, allowing teens to dig into a topic more deeply, following their scientific curiosity.

Power words: Each article comes with a set of “Power words” located beneath the text. These glossary terms help students understand the scientific words they may encounter in the news. Power words support Common Core English Language Arts standards for reading informational text.

Citations: Most articles will include a citation to any scientific research paper, report or meeting presentation referred to in the piece. The citation also includes a link, where available, so that educators and students can check out the primary sources of data and analyses that serve as the basis of news.

Readability level: Each article includes a readability score, indicated by a Flesch-Kincaid grade-level score of 6.0 to 9.0, which corresponds roughly to grade/year in school. You can also search for stories within a specified readability range.

Classroom/discussion questions: As of fall 2020, most articles contain a link to a series of classroom questions. The questions are broken into groups to be answered before, during and after reading to enhance reading comprehension. Some questions also can be used to stimulate classroom discussions. You can easily find these questions by searching for a topic plus “questions.”

Have a suggestion for what else we can do? Can’t find what you’re looking for? Send an email to sns@sciencenews.org and we’ll help you out.

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Catch up with the latest from Science News for Students

Dinosaur families appear to have lived in the Arctic year-round: Fossils of baby dinosaurs in northern Alaska challenge the idea that northern dinosaurs only spent their summers in the high Arctic. Readability: 7.9. Resources: Power words, alternate version at Science News

Spiders can take down and feast on surprisingly big snakes: Snared in sticky webs and subdued by poison, even venomous snakes can become a spider’s soup. Readability: 6.8. Resources: Power words, classroom questions

Moon-sized white dwarf is the smallest ever found: This dead star is also spinning very fast and has an amazingly powerful magnetic field. Readability: 6.7. Resources: Power words, classroom questions, alternate version at Science News

Some beetles walk along the underside of the water’s surface: Fossils from sediments deep beneath the Pacific Ocean reveal a massive shark die-off some 19 million years ago. Readability: 7.8. Resources: Power words, alternate version at Science News

Find out more about the resources available for using Science News for Students stories for learning. And if you like this newsletter, please share it with a friend or colleague. Did someone share this with you? Subscribe to this newsletter here. If you’ve got questions, suggestions or comments, email us at sns@sciencenews.org. Thank you for reading!