Teachers and homeschool parents, please share this with your classes. Using this guide will make your subjects more relevant and interesting to your students and will encourage creative thought. If you or your students have any suggestions or ideas for these teacher guides, please email Sarah Nachin – [email protected]
This guide is based on the newest Florida Standards for grade school through high school.
Activities and Questions based on the Dec. 6- 12, 2024 issue
Critical Thinking Activity for High School: (ELA.9.C.4.1) – Conduct research to answer a question, drawing on multiple reliable and valid sources and refining the scope of the question to align with findings.
Read the article on page A-1 and A-2 entitled “Hillsborough Sheriff Withdraws from Consideration for DEA Chief.” Then, write an essay of at least 450 words explaining the duties of the DEA administrator and what qualifications you would look for in the person you would appoint if you were the president. Use at least two sources in writing your essay and list those sources.
Social Studies Activity for High School: (SS.912.E.1.5) Compare different forms of business organizations, such as sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, limited liability corporation.)
Read the article about Small Business Saturday on pages A-1, A-6 and A-7. Choose three of the businesses mentioned in the article and compare them in such ways as how large a business is it; what industry is it in (restaurant/hospitality, retail, wholesale, manufacturing); what types of good and/or services does it sell or manufacture, etc. Find out if that business is a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or limited liability corporation and put that in your essay. You can find this information by searching on the state website: https://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/CorporationSearch/ByName
Your essay should be at least 450 words.
Extra Credit: Write an essay of at least 400 words explaining what each type of business is (sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, limited liability corporation) and give an example of each type of business.
Comprehension Activity for Middle School: (ELA.K12.EE.2.1) Read and comprehend grade-level complex texts proficiently.
Read the article on pages B-1 and B-7 about the camera club. Then answer the following questions in complete sentences:
1. What does the saying “A picture is worth a thousand words” mean to you?
2. What is one of the purposes of the camera club?
3. On what qualities of their photographs are the competitors judged?
4. Why do people join the camera club?
5. Besides photography, what other activity does Jim Sykes participate in?
Vocabulary activity for Middle School: (ELA.6.V.1.3) Apply knowledge of context clues, figurative language, word relationships, reference materials, and/or background knowledge to determine the connotative and denotative meaning of words and phrases, appropriate to grade level.
Read the article on page B-5 about the play “Candy Cane Chaos.” Based on how the word is used, choose the best meaning for each word in the article. Then, tell what part of speech the word is and use each word in a sentence, demonstrating that you know the meaning of the word. Try not to use a dictionary.
1. frantic: a) a funny act; b) highly excited; c) calm
2. aspect: a) person accused of committing a crime; b) a poisonous snake c) a characteristic of something
3. chaos: a) calm; b) confusion; c) a dessert
4. diminutive: a) small; b) the number below the line in a fraction; c) quiet
5. hapless: a) joyful; b) occurring; c) unlucky
6. crucial: a) very important; b) having to do with the pilot, co-pilot and other members of the crew on an airplane; c) a type of haircut
7. myriad: a) magical; b) many different kinds; c) reflection in a mirror
8. ambiance: a) a special mood; b) style of singing popularized by Beyoncé; c) a vehicle for transporting injured people to the hospital
9. nemesis: a) type of insect; b) something difficult for someone to overcome; c) a friend
10. predominantly: a) hardly; b) preparing for something; c) mostly
Comprehension activity for Elementary School: (ELA.3.R.3.2) Summarize a text to enhance comprehension. Use the central idea and relevant details for an informational text.
Read the article on pages A-1 and A-5 about the girl who rescued the animals. Then, write a summary of the article in at least 200 words (in your own words). Be sure and include a topic sentence introducing the subject of the article, at least 2 – 3 sentences filling in the details, and a concluding sentence.
Math activity for Elementary School: (MA.3.AR.1.2) Solve one and two-step real-world problems involving any of four operations with whole numbers.
Study the Calendar of Events on pages B-2 and B-3. Then, calculate the answers to the following questions:
1. What percentage of events are Christmas-related?
2. What percentage are outdoor activities? (Remember, an event can fall into more than one category. For example, it can be Christmas-related and be held outdoors.)
3. How many more events featuring musicals are there than sports-type events?
4. How many events feature food, and how many educational events are there together?
5. How many more religious events are there than events featuring games?
If you wish to submit any of your students’ compositions from this week to the newspaper for us to consider publishing, please email to [email protected]. Be sure and include the student’s name, age, grade level and school.