Teacher’s Edition
March 17, 2008
Vol. 70 No. 19
ISSN 0736-0592
Students can keep up with
current events by reading
our daily top news story at
www.scholastic.com/news.
@JJL< J\gk% J\gk% J\gk% FZk% FZk%
;8K<J
*
('
(
/
(.
FZk%
))
This Week
Courage
at Work......... pp. 4-6
LANGUAGE ARTS STANDARD:
• Understanding
characters’ relationships
and constructing
meaning from classroom
dramatizations.
News Zone...pp. 2-3
• Pakistan’s people vote in
a historic election.
• Astronaut Sally Ride
talks to Scholastic
News about being the
first American woman in
space.
what do
You think?.......... p. 7
• Sticky Situation
• Book Review
• Debate
show What
You Know........... p. 8
• Reading Comprehension
• Vocabulary
• Mystery Photo
• Research Activity
Skills Pages in This
Teacher’s Edition
• Graphic Organizer:
Comparing Characters
• Sequencing Skill:
String of Events
FZk% Efm%
)0
()
Efm%
(0
;\Z%
*
www.scholastic.com/sn4
;\Z% AXe%
(.
.
AXe%
(+
AXe%
)/
=\Y% =\Y%
+
(/
=\Y%
),
DXi%
('
DXi%
(.
DXi%
*(
8gi%
(+
8gi%
)(
DXp
,()
Teaching the Cover Story
Courage at Work
Standard
Fine Arts Standard—
Students should learn how to
analyze, evaluate, and construct meaning from improvised and scripted scenes in
theater, film, and television.
Summary
Girls and young women worked in
harsh conditions in Massachusetts
mills beginning in the 1820s. They
fought bravely for fair wages and
better workplace conditions. But
women’s low social status and
lack of political rights at the time
hampered their efforts.
Background
● The Industrial Revolution
gave many women in the U.S. an
alternative to their traditional roles.
For the first time, they found work
outside their homes or farms. But
according to laws then on the books,
money earned by a married woman
belonged to her husband. It was not
until the late 1840s and 1850s that
many states began passing laws
granting women property rights.
● U.S. law now bars children from
working in industry, mining, and other
kinds of hard labor. But many kids are
allowed to do agricultural work. That
provision remained so kids could help
on family-owned farms.
● International labor organizations
distinguish child labor from child
work. Child work is light work done
by kids 12 or older that does not
interfere with schooling or pose a
threat to life or health.
● For about 246 million kids aged
5 to 14 worldwide, child labor is
still a harsh fact of life. The United
Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
estimates that at least 75 percent of
those kids do tasks that put them in
great peril.
Critical Thinking
● Sarah Bagley and the other
Lowell Mill Girls used the political
system to try to better their working
conditions. But it wasn’t until
1920—75 years after Sarah’s first trip
to the Massachusetts Legislature—
that women were granted the right
to vote. Do you think Sarah would
have had an easier time fighting for
change in the Lowell mills if women
had been able to vote? What does
her experience tell you about the
importance of democracy?
Resources
● For information on visiting the
preserved textile mills at Lowell
National Historic Park, visit www
.nps.gov/lowe/.
● The Lowell Mill Girls (We The
People: Industrial America Series)
by Alice K. Flanagan (Compass
Point Books, 2006).
We are committed to your satisfaction. You can contact us at 1-800-724-6527.
A supplement to Scholastic News
SCHOLASTIC NEWS / Edition 4 / MARCH 17, 2008
T1
Space First���������������� p. 3
Standard
Social studies standard—
Students should understand
the major discoveries and
contributions of those who
have advanced humans’
understanding or science and
technology.
Summary
For Women’s History Month,
Scholastic News talks to astronaut
Sally Ride, the first American woman
to travel into space. This year
marks the 25th anniversary of her
historic mission in the space shuttle
Challenger.
Background
● Sally Ride earned a doctorate in
astrophysics from Stanford University
in California before she applied for
a job as a mission specialist at the
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA). She noticed
the job advertisement in a newspaper
and was one of 8,000 applicants. Ride
had to undergo intense training to
become an astronaut.
● Sally Ride is a big admirer of aviator
Amelia Earhart. Earhart was the first
U.S. woman to fly solo across the
Atlantic Ocean.
Critical Thinking
● What kind of profession have you
dreamed about being a part of? What
kind of skills and training would you
need to succeed in that field?
Resource
● Space (Kingfisher Voyages) by
Mike Goldsmith and Sally Ride
(Kingfisher, 2005).
This Week Online
www.scholastic.com/news
Interactive Election
SCHOLASTIC NEWS • Edition 4
EDITORIAL
• Editor: Stephanie Smith
• associate Editor: Elizabeth Carney
• assistant Editor: Natalie Smith
• Copy Chief: Renee Glaser
art
• Design Director: Doreen Walsh
• Art Director: Jimmy Sarfati
• Associate Art Director: Winnifred Whipple
• Senior Cartographer: Jim McMahon
• Photo Editor: Larry Schwartz
Production, IMAGING AND systems
Production Editor: Anthony Giammanco
• Digital Imaging Group: Marc Stern,
• Technical Coordinator: Elliott Hill
Scholastic News Online
• Executive Editor: Suzanne Freeman
• Associate Editors: Dante Ciampaglia,
Laura Leigh Davidson • Photo Research: Jessica Moon
SCHOLASTIC Classroom Magazines
President, Scholastic Classroom & Library
Publishing: greg worrell • VP, Editor in Chief:
Rebecca Bondor • Associate Editorial Director:
Lee Baier • Creative Director: Judith Christ-Lafond
Executive Production Director: Barbara Schwartz
• Executive Editorial Director, copy Desk: Craig
Moskowitz • Publishing System Director: David
Hendrickson • Executive Director of Photography:
Steven Diamond • Manager, Library Services: Kerry
Prendergast • reference Librarian: Karen Van rossem
• Business Manager: Karen Lo; Associate Business
Manager: Jasmine Rosa • Director, Manufacturing
& Distribution: Mimi Esguerra • Senior Maufacturing
Manager: Elyse Hart • Manufacturing Coordinator:
Georgiana Deen
Circulation and Marketing
• VP Marketing: Jocelyn Forman
• Marketing Manager: Dayna DeSimone
Corporate
• President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman
of the Board of Scholastic Inc.: Richard Robinson.
Make learning about the election
fun with Scholastic News Online’s
interactive election Web site.
Students can vote in polls, discuss
political issues on message boards,
and ask Kid Reporters questions
SJN Ad 2 9/19/07 2:49 PM Page 1
about their experiences on the campaign trail.
That’s not all. Coming soon: Kid
T2 SCHOLASTIC NEWS / Edition 4 / MARCH 17, 2008
Reporter blogs! Find out what really
happened when a Kid Reporter tried
to interview Chelsea Clinton. And
get to know the candidates’ families
as Kid Reporters interview spouses
and children about life on the campaign trail with Mom and Dad.
It’s all online at www.scholastic
.com/election2008.
Sequencing Skill
S k i l l s Pa g e
Name: _____________________________________________________
String of Events
DIRECTIONS: In the boxes below, number the events from the play in the
order in which they happened in history. Remember, the sequence won’t
always be the same as the events’ positions in the story.
Sarah Bagley and other mill workers start a permanent labor group for women in
the United States.
Lawmakers in Massachusetts pass a law limiting the workday in the state to
10 hours.
Sarah Bagley tries to organize a second strike among the mill girls. Harriet Hanson
explains to her that the first strike attempt was unsuccessful.
The owners of the Merrimack Mill say they will cut their workers’ wages for the
second time.
Sarah Bagley speaks before Massachusetts Representatives. Sarah argues that
working conditions are dangerous and that the state needs a 10-hour-workday law.
Eleanor McDonnell starts work at the Merrimack Mill.
Harriet Hanson and other girls of the Merrimack Mill decide to go on strike.
Textile mills are built in New England.
T4 SCHOLASTIC NEWS / Edition 4 / MARCH 17, 2008
©2008 by Scholastic Inc. Teachers may make copies of this page to distribute to their students.
Reproducible
Skills
pa g e
In the play The Lowell Mill Girls, you read about a group of girls who fought to improve
working conditions during the Industrial Revolution in America. There were many names,
dates, and facts in the piece. It’s important to understand how all of them fit together. In
this activity, you’ll put events in the play in the order in which they happened in history.
Graphic Organizer
S k i l l s Pa g e
Name: _____________________________________________________
Comparing Characters
Characters are a key part of any book or play. Think about the characters presented
in the play from this week’s Scholastic News. In the diagram below, write about each of
the characters on the lines below their name. List their characteristics (such as brave
or caring). Give an example of how the characters displayed these traits. Then, decide
which of these characters is your favorite. On a separate piece of paper, write a
paragraph in which you explain your choice. What did you like about the character?
Reproducible
Sarah Bagley
Josephine Baker
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
Lucy Larcom
Eleanor McDonnell
Edward Stodge
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
SCHOLASTIC NEWS / Edition 4 / MARCH 17, 2008
pa g e
Harriet Hanson
Skills
©2008 by Scholastic Inc. Teachers may make copies of this page to distribute to their students.
Lowell miLL characters
T3