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The Teaching Center for each issue will be available two weeks before the issue date.
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Go to the Teaching Center for "Go, Cars, Go!," February 17.
Click here for the answer key.
In This Issue
In this issue, your class will read about an ancient route known as the Dinosaur Freeway, and the animal footprints experts recently found along the path. Students will also learn about the creatures that make the tracks millions of years ago.
News Brief: Scientists identify a plant that eats roundworms.
News Brief: WR News chats with the star of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax.
Brain Builders: Cool Creatures (Read a Chart)
Click here to download the third of four reading assessments to share with students. Download the tracking guide here.
Encourage students to enter Weekly Reader’s Student Publishing Contest for a chance to win $500 and a trip to Washington, D.C. Click here for more information.
Common Core State Standard
Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
Concepts of Comprehension©
DRAWING CONCLUSIONS
Drawing Conclusions is when you figure out what a text means by using what you already know and information from the text. Reinforce this skill with the work sheet on page 3.
National Standards
SCIENCE (NSES)
Cover: Dino Drive
• Organisms and environments
• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
Page 2: Watch Out, Worms!
• Characteristics of organisms
SOCIAL STUDIES (NCSS)
Page 2: Lorax on the Lookout
• Culture
• Individual development and identity
LANGUAGE ARTS (NCTE/IRA)
Teacher’s Guide (page 5)
• Students use strategies to comprehend text.
Motivate Reluctant Readers
In this issue, the story written for reluctant readers is “Lorax on the Lookout.” Ask: What is your favorite Dr. Seuss story? Why? What might a movie based on that book be like?
Online Exclusives
Digital Edition: an exciting multimedia version of the cover story, with videos, slide shows, and interactive features
Coming in the Next Issue: March 9, 2012
Soggy City: Experts have a plan to keep a famous city from sinking.
TEACHING THE COVER STORY
Dino Drive
Experts discover dinosaur footprints along an ancient route.
Before You Read
Ask: When did dinosaurs live? Where on Earth did the creatures roam? What might dinosaurs have left behind that could help scientists study them today?
Vocabulary
lumber: to walk heavily
migrate: to move from one area to another
paleontologist: a scientist who studies dinosaurs
Background
• Where is the Dinosaur Freeway? The ancient route dinosaurs once traveled spans what is now four U.S. states. The pathway of footprints runs from northeast Colorado, near Boulder, to east-central New Mexico, near Tucumcari. Parts of the freeway run into western Kansas and the Oklahoma Panhandle. Scientist Martin Lockley and his team recently discovered an additional 350 footprints at the John Martin Reservoir in Bent County, Colo.
• What else do researchers know about the Dinosaur Freeway? The migration route has thousands of footprints from about 1,400 individual animals. Scientists say the dinosaurs may have traveled the path in herds by age.
• Where did the crocodiles live? They lived in the Western Interior Seaway. That was a shallow sea that covered the central United States during the Cretaceous Period. The body of water ran from north to south, splitting what is now North America into two sections of land. The Dinosaur Freeway was along a coastal plain on the seaway’s west side. A coastal plain is an area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a seacoast. It was a perfect place for giant crocs to attack the plant-eating dinosaurs that walked by.
Think Critically
What else might scientists want to learn about dinosaurs? Why?
Extend the Lesson
Write a letter. Have students imagine they are paleontologists who just helped discover more footprints along the Dinosaur Freeway. Ask: What did you find? What do the tracks look like? How do you feel? Then have each student write a letter to his or her family back home describing the experience.
Web Resource
Find kid-friendly facts and games about dinosaurs at www.kidsdinos.com.
Lexile rating: 710L
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TEACHING THE NEWS BRIEF
Watch out, Worms!
Scientists identify a plant that eats roundworms.
Before You Read
Ask: How do most plants get energy? Have you ever heard of plants that eat worms?
Vocabulary
absorb: to take in
carnivorous: meat-eating
Background
• Where do Philcoxia minensis plants grow? The plants grow in sandy areas of Brazil where few nutrients are available in the ground.
• Is it unusual for a plant to have leaves underground? Yes. Leaves usually absorb sunlight to make food by photosynthesis. The energy from the sunlight helps the plant combine water and minerals with carbon dioxide. That creates food the plant can use to grow bigger.
Think Critically
In what types of environments might scientists discover similar meat-eating plants? Why?
Extend the Lesson
Study meat-eating plants. Have each student research a type of carnivorous plant, such as the tropical pitcher plant or the Venus flytrap. Then have each student create a written report or a poster describing his or her plant. The projects should include how the plants catch their prey.
Web Resource
Find carnivorous plant facts at tinyurl.com/meateatingplant.
TEACHING THE NEWS BRIEF
Lorax on the Lookout
WR News chats with the star of Dr. Seuss' The Lorax.
Before You Read
Ask students: What might it be like to live in a town that does not have any plants? Why?
Vocabulary
concentrate: to pay attention
Background
Is Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax based on a book? Yes. The movie is based on a children’s story written in 1971 by Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. The Lorax is one of several Dr. Seuss stories that have been made into feature films, including Horton Hears a Who! and How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Dr. Seuss wrote The Lorax to inspire kids to care about the environment. In November 1971, the anti-pollution group Keep America Beautiful gave Dr. Seuss an award for his efforts.
Think Critically
Why should people care about protecting the environment?
Extend the Lesson
Take a stand. Have students brainstorm causes they would stand up for, such as childhood hunger, endangered animals, or homelessness. Then ask each student to write two paragraphs explaining his or her cause and why it is important.
Web Resource
For teaching resources about Dr. Seuss’s book The Lorax, visit tinyurl.com/teachthelorax.
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Click on each image to download a PDF of that activity. Click here for the answer key.
Use this activity to help students learn how to draw conclusions.
Help students learn how to use prefixes by sharing this activity.
Use this activity to test reading comprehension.
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Grade 3 Teaching Centers and Issue Dates, 2011-2012
Senior Managing Editor: Clara Colbert
Senior Editor: Brooke Ross
Senior Associate Editor: Rebecca Zissou
Contributing Editor: Laura McClure Anastasia
Senior Group Art Director: Jeff Talbot
Senior Art Director: Claudia Ramirez
Associate Art Director: Raquel Hernandez
Designer: Nicole Hocutt
Manager, Copy Editing: Kim Paras
Senior Copy Editor: Sarah Chassé
Copy Editor: Troy Reynolds
Manager, Photo Department: Julie Alissi
Multimedia Researcher: Carrin Ackerman
Production Designer: Richard Gore
Operations Manager, Manufacturing: Christine DiLauro
Vice President, Operations: Marcia Smith
Senior Vice President, Editorial: Ira Wolfman
The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc., President and Chief Executive Officer: Robert E. Guth
Executive Vice President, RDA: Lisa Sharples
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