Vale Middle School Reading Article
What’s a Penny Made of? (1080L)
Instructions: COMPLETE ALL QUESTIONS AND MARGIN NOTES using the CLOSE reading
strategies practiced in class. This requires reading of the article three times.
Step 1: Skim the article using these symbols as you read:
(+) agree, (-) disagree, (*) important, (!) surprising, (?) wondering
Step 2: Number the paragraphs. Read the article carefully and make notes in the margin.
Notes should include:
o Comments that show that you understand the article. (A summary or statement of the main
idea of important sections may serve this purpose.)
o Questions you have that show what you are wondering about as you read.
o Notes that differentiate between fact and opinion.
o Observations about how the writer’s strategies (organization, word choice, perspective,
support) and choices affect the article.
Step 3: A final quick read noting anything you may have missed during the first two reads.
Your margin notes are part of your score for this assessment. Answer the questions carefully in complete
sentences unless otherwise instructed.
Student ____________________________Class Period__________________
What's a Penny Made Of?
A penny is not what you think. Indeed, from 1793 to 1837, a cent was pure
copper. But newer pennies are made mostly of zinc.
Here's the history, according to the U.S. Mint:




From 1837 to 1857, the cent was made of bronze (95 percent copper, and
five percent tin and zinc).
From 1857, the cent was 88 percent copper and 12 percent nickel, giving the
coin a whitish appearance.
The cent was again bronze (95 percent copper, and five percent tin and zinc)
from 1864 to 1962, except: In 1943, the coin's composition was changed to
zinc-coated steel. This change was only for the year 1943 and was due to
the critical use of copper for the war effort. However, a limited number of
copper pennies were minted that year.
In 1962, the cent's tin content, which was quite small, was removed. That
made the metal composition of the cent 95 percent copper and 5 percent
zinc.
Live Science Staff. What’s a Penny Made Of? www.livescience.com 21 June 2016. 21 Feb. 2017.
Notes on my thoughts,
reactions and questions as I
read:
Vale Middle School Reading Article
What’s a Penny Made of? (1080L)
The alloy remained 95 percent copper and 5 percent zinc until 1982, when the
composition was changed to 97.5 percent zinc and 2.5 percent copper (copperplated zinc). Cents of both compositions appeared in that year.
Notes on my thoughts,
reactions and questions as I
read:
The penny's original design was suggested by Ben Franklin. The word "penny"
comes from the British "pence." More than 300 billion pennies have been minted
since 1787, according to pennies.org.
Here's a neat fact. The faces on all coins currently in circulation face left, except
for Abe Lincoln on the penny. Lincoln's likeness is an adaptation of a plaque
done by sculptor Victor David Brenner. The direction that Lincoln faces on the
cent was not mandated but was simply the choice of the designer.
What's more, it costs more than a cent to make a penny. In 2011, it cost 2.4
cents to manufacture a penny, but production costs fell to 1.7 cents in 2014,
according to a report by the United States Mint. The nickel also costs more than
its face value to make (about 8 cents), according to the report. But other coins
make money for the mint, including the dime (just 3.9 cents) and the quarter (9
cents), the report said. Overall, in 2014 the mint made $289.1 million on
seigniorage (the difference it takes to make a coin versus the coin's worth), even
though pennies and nickels cost it $90.5 million to make, according to the Wall
Street Journal.
This article was originally published on Jan. 13, 2013. Original article on Live
Science.
This article addresses the
following CCSS ELA Standards
in addition to those noted.
7/8.W.1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10
7/8.L.1,2,3,4,5,6,
7/8.SL.1,2,3,4,5,6
Live Science Staff. What’s a Penny Made Of? www.livescience.com 21 June 2016. 21 Feb. 2017.
Vale Middle School Reading Article
What’s a Penny Made of? (1080L)
Comprehension questions – answers may be in phrases.
1. What is the U.S. Mint?
2. In what year were pennies made from two different compositions?
3. Define minted as used in the article.
4. What elements are required to create bronze? List the specific percentages.
5. Define circulation as used in the text.
7/8.RI.4,5,6
Answer each question in one or more complete sentences and by providing complete explanations.
1. Explain
ing why the U.S. government doesn’t lose money making money based on the information in
text.
7/8.RI.1,2,3,4,5
the
2. Explain the use of parentheses ( ) throughout the text. Do the parentheses serve more than one
purpose?
Of the
Rachel Feltman September 18 Rachel Feltman September 18
7/8.RI.1,2,3,4
Live Science Staff. What’s a Penny Made Of? www.livescience.com 21 June 2016. 21 Feb. 2017.
Vale Middle School Reading Article
What’s a Penny Made of? (1080L)
3. Which of the following sources, listed in the text, is likely the least reliable. Explain fully in a paragraph
citing evidence from the text to support your response.
Sources: www.pennies.org , Wall Street Journal, U.S. Mint
(
7/8.RI.8
4. Based on the data from 2014, which would cost more to produce: a dollar’s worth of dimes or a dollar’s
worth of pennies? Show your work; answer in a complete sentence.
by AMANDA SAKUMA and EMMANUELLE SALIBA by AMANDA SAKUMA and EMMANUELLE
SALIBA
7/8.RI.5,8
Live Science Staff. What’s a Penny Made Of? www.livescience.com 21 June 2016. 21 Feb. 2017.