The winter Olympics are a time when countries come together to reach a goal. The goal is a gold medal! What does it take to make it to the Olympics? How does someone who has this goal work with other people to make it to the Olympics. Let's learn about the different events in the Olympics. Click here to find out where the Olympics are being held this year, 2014.
Exit Ticket Can you think of one event that I didn't include in the list above? This event requires people to work together to earn a gold medal.
0 Comments
While reading Gloria and Buckle this week you will understand that animals work with humans to help keep us safe. Sometimes keep us safe also means to help those who have disabilities. For years dogs have those who are physically handicapped, blind, or are in need of emotional support. Horses too have been used to keep people safe, but they are also used just like guide dogs! We are writing folktales this week BUT we are going to change things up by giving alternative endings or events. Watch these videos below of Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Jack and the Beanstalk. You will brainstorm, pre-write, and revise your alternative story this week. You may give the story a new title and new events, but the characters need to stay the same. Alvin Ailey was an American choreographer and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York in 1958. It was a hugely popular, multi-racial modern dance ensemble that popularized modern dance around the world thanks to extensive world tours. His most famous dance is Revelations, a celebratory study of religious spirit. Ailey received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1988. A year later, on December 1, 1989. Check out some of Alvin Ailey dancers on Sesame Street.
Alvin Ailey trained his dancers to use emotions in their dance moves. Below is one of his most famous emotional dances. Vocabulary & Amazing Words
High Frequency Words WASHINGTON -- Kenny Clark is a letter carrier in Maryland. But he brings
people more than just the mail. Clark greets nearly everyone he sees by name. He puts packages under overhangs on cloudy days to keep them dry. He reminds people to grab keys they might have left in keyholes. He shouts a quick “You OK?” at the doors of older people. He is a neighborhood landmark. But his future is in doubt. And so is the future of the U.S. Postal Service. The Postal Service has been around for more than 200 years. But these days it is losing a lot of money. It lost $15.9 billion last year. This means you may not see daily mail delivery much longer, officials say. Less Mail Means Less Money One reason is that Americans are sending a lot less mail. They go online to write letters and pay bills. They read magazines on the internet. The head of the postal service has cut jobs. He has closed some buildings. He has taken other steps to try to save money. But the savings have not been enough. Too little money is coming in. The post office is not selling enough stamps. “We are in real trouble, ” Mickey Barnett told Congress last month. He is the head of the Postal Service Board of Governors. The board selects the head of the postal service. The Postal Service is set up like a business. But it answers to Congress. This makes it hard to change, said Mike Schuyler. He studies postal issues. “It’s really in handcuffs” because of what Congress says it must do, Schuyler said. The Postal Service recently tried to end Saturday letter delivery. That could have saved $2 billion per year. Congress blocked it. Some lawmakers tried to replace doorstep delivery with curbside delivery. But that also was blocked. Officials wanted to close thousands of country post offices. That would have saved money. But it would have upset Congress, so it did not happen. Recent Law Caused Big Problems But one of the biggest problems has nothing to do with the mail. A 2006 law made the Postal Service start putting money away for postal workers who will retire. The money will go to pay for their health care when they stop working. This costs about $5.6 billion a year. But the people will not retire for 50 years. Some people say this means the money trouble is not really as bad as it seems. The law also says the Postal Service can only raise rates a certain amount. Meanwhile, the U.S. first class stamps are cheap when compared with stamps in other rich countries. The Postal Service and its workers agreed to the 2006 law. Back then it looked like the service could afford it. Then in 2008, money suddenly became tight for people and businesses. Banks that typically send lots of mail were hurting. Homeowners were not receiving a lot of mail either, said Jim Sauber, who represents letter. Two congressmen want to end the rule that the post office must pay ahead to care for retirees. They also want to allow the Postal Service to raise rates more easily. Postal workers support the bill, and it has some supporters in the Senate and the House. But some members of Congress disagree. Congress needs to correct basic problems, like a lack of flexibility, they say. The country's founders said there should be a Postal Service. The service has survived new technology before. Not all technology has hurt. Package delivery has increased by 14 percent in recent years as more people shop online. Postal workers are quick to point out what the service does well. It has been rated the most productive postal service in the world. Customers like the service. On Clark’s route, Ruth Hartmann made her position clear. She was concerned about Clark’s ability to pay for his daughter’s college. “If they reduce service, it seems to me they would have a pay cut, probably his benefits, and that is an absolute ‘no,’ ” Hartmann said.
Vocabulary & Amazing Words
High Frequency Words |
Important WebsitesFirst Grade Code.org Categories
All
Archives
May 2019
|