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JANUARY 28–FEBRUARY 3, 2015 | VOL. 63, NO. 4
Obama’s Plan Would Mean Free Community College
READING LEVEL 3–4 | NATIONAL | PG. 1
Content Learning Objective
Learners will write a letter to say what they think about
President Obama’s plan for free community college.
Before Reading
Ask learners what a community college is. Explain the idea
to learners.
Check Comprehension
Encourage learners to answer in complete sentences.
1. What does President Obama want to do with community
colleges? (He wants to give tuition for two years of
community college to millions of students.)
2. How many people could be helped by the plan? (It could help
up to 9 million students go to college.)
3. What would students have to do under the plan? (They would
have to go to school at least half-time, keep a grade-point
average of 2.5 out of 4, and take classes toward a degree.)
4. How much would the plan cost? How much would the
federal government pay? (The plan would cost $60 billion
over 10 years. The federal government would pay 75 percent
under the plan.)
5. What are some states and cities with similar plans?
(Tennessee and the city of Chicago have similar plans.
Oregon is working on a similar plan.)
Discussion Questions
1. What do you think of President Obama’s plan?
2. Do you know anyone who might go to community college
under the plan?
3. Do you think the plan will pass in Congress? Why or why
not?
Expressing an Opinion to Local Lawmakers
Take a few minutes with the class to talk about the ﬁrst
discussion question, in which learners give their opinion on
President Obama’s plan. Ask them to write down their ideas
regarding President Obama’s plan and whether they agree or
disagree with it and why.
Explain to learners that when Congress is considering a new
law, people have the right to share their opinion to support or
oppose it. People can call the lawmakers’ ofﬁces or send a letter
or an e-mail. Learners will practice doing this, and can send the
e-mail or letter if they want.
If you have Internet access before class, ﬁnd out the name and
e-mail address for your local senators and House representative.
You can ﬁnd that information online at senate.gov and
house.gov. If your class is at an advanced level and particularly
web-savvy, learners can do these steps themselves.
Provide learners with the names of the local senators and
representative. Ask them to write a letter to say why they support
or oppose President Obama’s plan. Encourage learners who
are at a higher level to write more and give details to support
their ideas. Lower-level learners can express their opinions in a
couple of sentences.
Review learners’ letters and check for reasonable and
grammatically correct ideas. Have learners share their letter with
a partner or read it to the class.
If learners want to send their letter to a congressperson, work
with them to make necessary corrections and send the letter
via e-mail or in the regular mail. Make sure they add their own
contact information to the letter, so the lawmaker’s ofﬁce can
respond.
ANSWER KEY
Paris Attack Starts Debate on Limits of Free Speech (4–6)
1. b 2. c 3. c 4. a 5. b
Parents Open Orphanage in Haiti to Honor Daughter (4–6)
3, 5, 4, 1, 2
Hotel Offers Dog ‘Greeters’ That Guests Can Adopt (3–4)
1. ‘Welcome’ Pets 2. Dog’s Life 3. High Standards 4. One of a Kind
5. Dog’s Life
While Ebola Gets the Attention, Malaria Kills Thousands in West Africa
(4–6)
1. 1.5 million 2. About 14,000 3. More than 3,400 4. 40 percent
5. About 15,000
U.S. Cities and Towns Try to Limit Sledding (3–4)
Answers will vary. Accept reasonable, grammatically correct
responses.
Indian Wedding Bands Struggle Through Changing Times (4–6)
Hindu weddings: include young Indian couples, can last for days,
have people wanting to dance to pop music, include people who are
related
Indian wedding bands: have been necessary in the past, include
groups with many members, earn low wages, include trumpets and
trombones, include people who are related
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Name:
Paris Attack Starts Debate on Limits of Free Speech
Pg. 1
Select the correct answer for each question. Then talk about the discussion questions.
1. What is the name of the newspaper in the story?
a. Je suis Charlie
b. Charlie Hebdo
c. Charlie France
2. The newspaper made fun of someone with its cartoons.
Who was it?
a. the pope
b. the French president
c. the prophet Muhammad
4. How many copies does the French newspaper usually
print?
a. 60,000
b. 300,000
c. 3 million
5. How many people were killed at the newspaper?
a. 3
b. 12
c. 20
3. What did The Associated Press decide to do about the
newspaper’s cartoons?
a. It showed the cartoons.
b. It drew new cartoons like the ones in the French
paper.
c. It decided not to provide the cartoons.
Parents Open Orphanage in Haiti to Honor Daughter
Pg. 2
Put the events in the correct time order (1 = ﬁrst, 2 = second, etc.). Then talk about the
discussion questions.
Britney’s parents started a group called Be Like Brit.
Len Gengel installed 96 solar panels for energy at the orphanage.
The Gengels built the orphanage.
Britney went to Haiti to give meals to children.
Britney died in the Haiti earthquake.
Discussion Questions: Have you ever experienced an earthquake? What happened?
This page may be photocopied for classroom use only. All other rights reserved. © New Readers Press.
Discussion Questions: What is something new that you learned from this story? Do you think there should be limits on
free speech?
Name:
Hotel Offers Dog ‘Greeters’ That Guests Can Adopt
Pg. 2
The information in our stories is divided by subheads. The subheads in this story are
“‘Welcome’ Pets,” “One of a Kind,” “Dog’s Life,” and “High Standards.” Write the correct
subhead under which each piece of information is located. Finally, talk about the discussion
questions.
1.
tells how many dogs have found homes through Aloft Asheville Downtown Hotel.
2.
talks about where the rescue dog can visit in the hotel.
3.
tells what is required to adopt a dog.
4.
talks about how many Aloft hotels offer an adoption program.
5.
talks about a couple that fell in love with a 2-year-old Shih Tzu named Jackson.
Discussion Questions: Have you ever adopted a dog? Do you know someone who has? Would you ever want to adopt a
dog? Why or why not?
While Ebola Gets the Attention, Malaria Kills Thousands in West Africa
Pg. 3
Pair Work! Work with a partner. Write the correct number from the story for each item below.
Raise your hand to let your teacher know when you are ﬁnished. Then answer the discussion
questions.
This page may be photocopied for classroom use only. All other rights reserved. © New Readers Press.
1. Number of medicine doses handed out in Sierra Leone to treat and prevent malaria:
2. Malaria deaths in Guinea among children younger than 5:
3. Number of people killed by Ebola in Liberia:
4. Drop in reported malaria cases:
5. Number of Guineans killed by malaria in 2013:
Discussion Questions: Is there a mosquito problem where you live? What do you do to stop mosquitoes from biting?
Name:
U.S. Cities and Towns Try to Limit Sledding
Pg. 3
Your Opinion! Do you think cities and towns should try to limit sledding? Why or why not?
Give three reasons to support your opinion. Use the words risky and ban in your answer. Read
your answer to a classmate. Finally, talk about the discussion questions.
Discussion Questions: Have you gone sledding before? Would you like to try it? Why or why not?
Indian Wedding Bands Struggle Through Changing Times
Pg. 4
Place each piece of information in the correct column. (Note: There is one item you will write
in both columns.) Then talk about the discussion questions.
This page may be photocopied for classroom use only. All other rights reserved. © New Readers Press.
have been necessary in the past
include young Indian couples
include groups with many members
earn low wages
can last for days
have people wanting to dance to pop music
include trumpets and trombones
include people who are related
Hindu weddings
Indian wedding bands
Discussion Questions: Do you know how to play the trombone or trumpet? Do you know anyone who can play those
instruments?