1. CAUGHT ON VIDEO

Babe Ruth set many records in his career as a baseball player. By the time he retired in 1935, he had hit 714 home runs. That record was broken in 1974 by Hank Aaron while playing for the Atlanta Braves. While at the game in Atlanta, a fan named Charlie Russo snuck onto the field with Hank’s family and caught the moment he broke the record on video—but he kept that video a secret until now. The video shows him just feet from Hank as he celebrates breaking the record, surrounded by his family and teammates. Now 81 years old, Russo has finally shared the video with the media, bringing footage of the historic day to a new generation. If you were able to get a picture or video of something so exciting and historic, would you want to share it with everyone or keep it to yourself? Why? Write at least 5 sentences about your opinion and then discuss your answer with your classmates.

2. LEANING TOWER OF BOLOGNA

You may have heard of Italy’s famous landmark “the Leaning Tower of Pisa.” The famous tower was built in the 1170s (more than 800 years ago!) but soon after it was finished, part of its base sank into the soft ground and caused it to lean to one side. Now, another town in Italy is looking to Pisa for help with its own leaning tower to keep it from falling over. Experts say the Garisenda Tower in Bologna (spelled like the lunch meat but pronounced “Bo-LO-nya”) is at risk of falling over soon. It started leaning during its construction in the 1300s, but it wasn’t until 25 years ago that people started to worry about it falling over. Now, visitors can’t get close to the base of the tower and experts are using sensors to keep an eye on any movement. Based on a recent trip to Pisa to look at how that tower has been protected, the experts plan to attach big metal cables to the tower that would keep it stable so workers can make the foundation stronger. Write a short summary of this story, including at least 5 facts that you learned, and draw a picture to go along with it.

3. SILVER LINING FOR SALMON

A recent truck crash could’ve ended in disaster, but it ended up better than expected. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife was moving thousands of young salmon from a hatchery, where fish are bred, to a nearby river. They were doing this because the salmon population in some areas is low because of dams that were built to change the flow of the water. They were being moved in a tanker truck full of water when the driver made a sharp turn and dew on the road caused the truck to slide, flipping it onto its side as it fell down a rocky hill. Tens of thousands of the fish were thrown from the truck and luckily landed in a creek at the bottom of the hill! They were able to swim away and join the salmon migration down the Grand Ronde River to the Pacific Ocean. Write a summary of this story including at least 5 facts you learned.

4. MOON TIME

NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, wants to come up with a different way of telling time on the moon. Because there is less gravity on the moon than there is here on Earth, time moves faster there than here. It’s only a small difference, 58.7 microseconds every day (there are 1,000,000 microseconds in one second) but even that little amount can eventually add up. Also, if there were astronauts on the moon, a difference of microseconds could be important when working with the very high-tech instruments and equipment they have. The European Space Agency also suggested creating a time zone for the moon. Right now, space missions operate on the time zone of the country operating the space craft, but that can become complicated as countries and private companies collaborate to send astronauts to the moon again. They suggested the moon have its own “lunar time zone.” Think about all the ways that your day depends on knowing what time it is. It helps you know when to get up in the morning, when to get to school, when to eat dinner, and so on. How would that change if you didn’t know what time it was or if the time you saw didn’t match what’s happening around you, like if it’s dark at noon and bright and sunny and midnight? Write a paragraph about what that would be like.

5. THE UNKNOWN GETS NOTICED

Earlier this year, kids and parents alike were very disappointed when a Willy Wonka-themed event in Glasgow, Scotland, turned out to not be what they expected. One of the problems with the event was that the script for the actors was generated by artificial intelligence and didn’t make much sense. It introduced a new character called The Unknown, an evil chocolate maker who lives in the walls of Willy Wonka’s factory. The character was played by sixteen-year-old Felicia Dawkins, who got millions of followers on TikTok after she revealed that she was the actor in a widely shared video from the event. Felicia has now gotten several action jobs because of the event and her publicity after it, helping her fulfill her dream of being a professional actress. Write a paragraph about a time in your life where something bad happened, but something positive ended up coming from it.