1. sports
2. football

Teacher’s
Guide
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APRIL 1–7, 2015 | VOL. 63, NO. 13
NFL Takes a Hit Over Players’ Brain Injuries
READING LEVEL 4–6 | NATIONAL | PG. 1
Content Learning Objective
Learners will answer questions about the story’s graphic.
Before Reading
Ask learners if they know anyone who plays football.
Check Comprehension
Encourage learners to answer in complete sentences.
1. What team did Chris Borland play for? How many years had
he played with the team? (He played for the San Francisco
49ers. He was a rookie. He had played for one year.)
2. What is a concussion? What causes it? (It is a brain injury.
It is caused by a hit to the head. It can also happen when the
body and head are shaken.)
3. Who was Dave Duerson? (He played for three NFL teams in
the 1980s and 1990s. He shot himself and died in 2011.)
4. What is the deal that the NFL is close to now? (It could pay
$1 billion to about 22,000 retired players over their lifetimes.
The money would help players who have suffered brain
injuries.)
Discussion Questions
1. Do you think pro football is too dangerous? Why or why not?
Do you watch any sports that are dangerous?
2. Do you know anyone who has had a concussion?
3. How do you think this news affects football for children and
teenagers?
Understanding the Graphic
The football story has a graphic to help explain concussions
in football. Give learners a chance to fully understand the
graphic with the following information.
First, ask learners to take a look at the graphic. Have them
focus on the images first. Ask them to describe the images.
Then ask them to look at the headers (the words in bold).
Have them read the headers as well as the graphic’s title (“Head
Games: Concussions in Football”) out loud.
Give learners time to review the graphic silently. Ask for
volunteers to read portions of the graphic out loud, or read it to
them. See if there are any new words. Here are some definitions
for words that might be new:
slurred – adj. said in an unclear way
drowsiness – n. feeling of sleepiness
seizures – n. abnormal states where you become unconscious
and your body moves in an uncontrolled way
nausea – n. feeling you have in your stomach when you think
you will vomit
Then have learners answer the following questions about the
graphic. You can encourage learners to write their answers or
discuss them with a partner.
1. What are two symptoms of a concussion? (Possible answers:
confusion, slurred speech, drowsiness, bleeding nose or ears,
seizures, nausea)
2. When can concussions occur? (They can occur when the
brain moves inside the skull from a hard hit.)
3. What was the source of information for this graphic?
Hint: Look in the bottom right corner. (It was the National
Institutes of Health and AP.)
4. How does the brain move during a concussion? (It moves
inside the skull. Physical force causes the brain to strike the
inner surface of the skull. It can then bounce back against the
opposite side.)
5. What is something new you learned from this graphic?
(Answers will vary.)
For additional practice, have learners write sentences with
any new vocabulary from the graphic.
ANSWER KEY
Vanuatu Must Start Over After ‘Monster’ Cyclone (3–4)
1. Vanuatu 2. people 3. survivors 4. January 5. change
Puerto Rico Bill Would Fine Parents of Obese Children (3–4)
Accept reasonable, grammatically correct responses.
World Dumps Much More Plastic Into the Oceans, Study Finds (4–6)
1. 170 million tons 2. 2.4 million tons 3. 2,000 pounds 4. 20th
5. 8.8 million tons
After Mosul Museum Is Attacked, Baghdad Museum Reopens (4–6)
Answers will vary. Accept reasonable responses with the correct use
of the words.
NYC Public Schools Will Close for Two Major Muslim Holidays (3–4)
1. False. New York City has just announced it will close for two Muslim
holidays. 2. True 3. True 4. False. On Eid al-Adha, some Muslims
sacrifice a camel, cow, goat, or sheep. 5. False. With the holidays,
New York City schools will have 182 school days.
Deadly Germ Kills Eagles, Water Birds in U.S. (4–6)
1. a 2. b 3. c 4. a 5. c 6. b
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Name:
Vanuatu Must Start Over After ‘Monster’ Cyclone
Pg. 1
Use the correct word to complete each sentence. The words for your answers are in the box
below, but the letters for each word are out of order! Finally, talk about the discussion questions.
unaJray
uanuaVt
1. Cyclone Pam hit
2. Most of those 265,000
3. Getting food and clean water to
4. Cyclones can hit any time between
5. Climate
usosrvivr
peleop
eanhcg
in the middle of March.
make their living from the land.
has been hard.
and April.
may be Vanuatu’s biggest worry.
Discussion Questions: Would you ever want to visit a small island country like Vanuatu? Why or why not?
Puerto Rico Bill Would Fine Parents of Obese Children
Pg. 2
Discussion Questions: What do you eat to try and stay healthy? Have you ever struggled with your weight?
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Your Opinion! Do you think Puerto Rico should fine parents of obese children? Write a
paragraph expressing your opinion. Give three reasons to support your answer. Then talk about
the discussion questions.
Name:
World Dumps Much More Plastic Into the Oceans, Study Finds
Pp. 2-3
Write the correct number from the story for each statement. Then talk about the discussion
question.
1. This is how much plastic the oceans could hold by 2025.
2. This is how much plastic in the seas comes from China each year.
3. This is about how many pounds are in 1 ton.
4. This is the U.S.’s ranking on the top-20 list of plastic polluters.
5. This is how many additional tons of plastic end up in the sea every year.
Discussion Question: What do you think the world can do to reduce plastic in the ocean?
After Mosul Museum Is Attacked, Baghdad Museum Reopens
Pp. 2-3
Write a sentence for each vocabulary word below. Read your sentences to a partner. Then talk
about the discussion questions.
1. artifacts:
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2. long-standing:
3. looters:
4. fate:
5. militants:
Discussion Questions: Do you have something that is priceless to you? What is it? What do you think Qassim Sudani
meant when he said the museum “will be a lung that allows the Iraqi people to breathe again”?
Name:
NYC Public Schools Will Close for Two Major Muslim Holidays
Pg. 3
True or False? Write True or False for each statement. Correct the false information. Then talk
about the discussion questions.
1. New York City has just announced it will close for two Jewish holidays.
2. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg would not make the change.
3. Eid al-Adha is the Festival of Sacrifice.
4. On Eid al-Fitr, some Muslims sacrifice a camel, cow, goat, or sheep.
5. With the holidays, New York City schools will have 180 school days.
Discussion Questions: On what days of the year does your school close? What do you do when you do not have class?
Deadly Germ Kills Eagles, Water Birds in U.S.
Pg. 4
Decide what each sentence is describing. Write the correct letter. Then talk about the
discussion questions.
1. It is from Asia.
a. hydrilla plant
2. It was once on the endangered list.
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3. It attacks water birds in the U.S.
b. bald eagle
4. It came into the U.S. in Florida.
5. It has been found in six states.
c. the germ that kills eagles
6. It eats coots.
Discussion Questions: Do you see bald eagles where you live? Have you seen bald eagles in other places?