□ Eddie does not like cleaning,

□ but over the past few days

□ he has had to stuff his old
toys into garbage bags
□ and the new ones into
boxes.
□ He tossed out old, dried-up
Silly Putty,
□ puzzles he once glued
together,
□ plush animals and more.
□ Eddie’s family is about to
move
□ to a new house,
□ and they need their home
clean
□ for the next family who will
live in it.
□ “Won’t they want our stuff?”
□ Eddie asked his mother.
□ “Who wouldn’t want toys?”
□ “They’ll bring their own
toys,” she answered.
□ “Come on, Eddie. We’re
nearly done. All that’s left to
clean is the attic.”
□ Eddie looked around his
home.
□ Without any furniture, the
house looked big, empty, and
strange.
□ It made Eddie feel a little
sad.
□ He liked this house and his
friends, and he did not
really want to move.
□ Eddie followed his mother
to the foot of the rickety
ladder that led to the attic.
□ Eddie’s father was already
up there, looking through
boxes of old photographs.
□ “One step at a time, please.
This ladder is older than me,”
Eddie’s mother warned.
□ Eddie carefully climbed up
the ladder.
□ At the top,
□ Eddie was surprised to find
a big, dark and dusty room.
□ The ceiling was slanted,
and the floor was made of
rows of wooden planks
□ with strange pink fluff in
between the planks.
□ “You’ll have to walk on the
wooden beams” Eddie’s father
said from deep in the room.
□ “The pink stuff between the
beams is called insulation.
□ If you step on that, you’ll fall
through the floor and wind up
in the kitchen!”
□ With the help of his mother,
Eddie balanced on a wooden
beam and slowly walked
through the attic.
□ He reached his father, who
handed Eddie a small and
dusty picture.
□ It did not have much color
left, but showed a young boy
playing baseball in his
backyard.
□ “Is this me when I was
younger?” Eddie asked.
□ “That is me, Eddie, when I
was your age,” his father
replied.
□ “I found it in one of these
old boxes.”
□ “Look, here’s one of me,”
Eddie’s mother said, handing
Eddie another photograph.
□ This picture showed a
young girl playing hopscotch
on a sidewalk.
□ Eddie put the two pictures
side by side on the wooden
beam he was balanced on.
□ “You guys were kids?”
Eddie asked.
□ “We weren’t born this old,”
Eddie’s mother said, laughing.
□ Eddie looked at the pictures
some more.
□ He had never seen his dad
or mom playing baseball or
hopscotch or other games.
□ They were always working,
cooking, cleaning, driving and
doing other adult things.
□ It was hard to imagine them
as kids playing in their
backyards.
□ Eddie followed his mother
to the corner of their attic
where a dusty window was
notched into the wall .
□ Looking out, Eddie could
see his back yard with a swing
set,
□ a tiny tricycle and a
machine that made giant
bubbles.
□ Eddie had been playing with
those toys for as long as he
could remember.
□ “Soon, a new family is going
to make this house their own,”
□ Eddie’s mother whispered
from over Eddie’s shoulder.
□ “And we’re goi ng to have a
new yard to make our own,
too.”
□ Eddie looked back out the
dusty window.
□ He liked the swing set, and
he did have a lot of fun in that
back yard,
□ but he was not a little kid
anymore.
□ At the new house, he would
be going to a new school .
□ He wanted to try out for the
school soccer team and
maybe join the drama club.
□ Maybe it was a good time to
move after all.
□ Eddie and his parents
finished cleaning the attic
□ and climbed down the old
ladder, into their now almost -
empty house.
□ Eddie picked up their
camera, took it to his parents
and said,
□ “Mom, Dad, could you take
a picture of me playing in our
back yard?”
 □

□ Six blind men stood by the

roadside and waited for the
elephant parade.
□ They had often heard of
elephants, but they had never
seen one as they were blind.
□ A little later, an elephant
was driven down the road
where they stood.
□ When they were told that
the great beast was before
them,
□ they asked the driver to let
him stop so that they might
see him.
□ Of course, they could not
see him with their eyes,
□ but they thought that by
touching him they could learn
just what kind of animal he
was.
□ The first one happened to
put his hand on the elephant's
side.
□ “Well, well!” he said, “Now I
know all about this beast.
□ He is exactly like a wall.”
□ The second felt only of the
elephant's tusk.
□ “My brother,” he said, “You
are mistaken.
□ He is not at all like a wall.
□ He is round and smooth
and sharp.
□ He is more l ike a spear
than anything else.”
□ The third happened to take
hold of the elephant's trunk.
□ “Both of you are wrong,” he
said.
□ “Anybody who knows
anything can see that this
elephant is like a snake.”
□ The fourth reached out his
arms and grasped one of the
elephant's legs.
□ “Oh, how blind you are,” he
said.
□ “It is very plain to me that
he is round and tall like a
tree.”
□ The fifth was a very tall
man, and he chanced to take
hold of the elephant's ear.
□ “The blindest man ought to
know that this beast is not like
any of the things that you
name,” he said.
□ “He is exactly like a huge
fan.”
□ The sixth blind man seized
the animal's tail.
□ “Oh foolish fellows,” he
cried, “you surely have lost
your senses.
□ This elephant is not like a
wall or a spear or a snake or a
tree, nor is he like a fan.
□ Any man with any sense
can see that he is exactly like
a rope.”
□ Then the elephant moved
on, and the six blind men sat
 by the roadside all day and
quarreled about him.
□ Each believed that he knew
just how the animal looked,
□ and each called the others
unkind names because they
did not agree with each other.
□ People who have sight
sometimes act just as
foolishly.
 □

□ Imagine you’re going

bowling.
□ You roll the ball down the
lane, and it hits a bowling pin.
□ The bowling pin stays up.
□ Is that what you would
expect to happen?
□ Probably not, because the
bowling ball exerted force on
the bowling pin, so it should
have been knocked over!
□ Force is the push or pull
upon an object.
□ Since the bowling ball
moves and hits the bowling pin,
the force causes the bowling pin
to move, too.
□ Is force at work in other
sports?
□ Yes, it is! Think about
baseball.
□ The ball could not fly out of
the stadium by itself.
□ The pitcher uses the force
of his or her arm to make the
ball go.
□ The batter uses force to
make the bat hit the ball, so
the ball will move towards the
outfield.
 □ What about football? The
same force the pitchers use in
baseball works in football, too.
□ The ball cannot move by
itself,
□ the quarterback has to use
force to throw the ball to
another player.
□ Here’s a different situation:
□ what happens when two
football players who have the
same strength go to block
each other?
□ They have the same
strength and so they might
 have the same force on the
other player.
□ What happens if two objects
that have the same force
□ try to push from opposite
sides?
□ Nothing! They players
would stay in the same spot,
trying to force the other,
□ until the referee blows the
whistle.
□ Force is not just at work in
sports, either.
□ You can experiment with
force right now!
□ Get a block.
□ Use one hand to exert force
on the block by pushing it
along the surface of a table
□ (not too hard, you don’t
want to break anythi ng!).
□ What happens?
□ The force makes the block
slide.
□ Now try putting one hand on
each side of the block and
push your hands together.
□ Does the block move?
□ Probably not since you are
probably exerting the same
amount of force on each side
of the block.
□ I f there is more force on
one side of an object, it will
move.
□ I f there is the same amount
of force on all sides of the
object, it will stay still.
□ Have fun experimenting
with force!
 Ancient China: Travel Journal Part 5
630L 167 words

Today I visited the Forbidden City. How

could a city be off-limits? Well, in China
hundreds of years ago, common people were
not allowed in the home of the emperor. In the
capital city of Beijing, the emperor’s home was
so huge that it was the size of a small city.
I went to the Forbidden City, which was built
in 1420 A.D. The city is shaped like a rectangle.
Every time you walk through a building, you’re
amazed to find another one behind it. When you
walk through that building, there’s yet another
one behind it. It seems never-ending.
There are 9,999 rooms in the Forbidden City.
That’s a lot for one emperor. If you spent one
night in each room, it would take you over 27
years to sleep in each one! Twenty-four
emperors lived in the Forbidden City before it
was opened to the public. It is now a museum
for anyone in the world to see. And it is truly an
amazing sight!
 Ancient Greece - The Cyclopes
580L 124 words

Do you know any stories from Greek

mythology? Myths are the stories that the
ancient Greeks told about their gods. The
Cyclopes are famous figures in Greek
mythology. You may have heard of them.
The Cyclopes were giants. They only
had one huge eye, and it was in the middle
of their foreheads. The rulers of the
universe hated the Cyclopes. They threw
the one-eyed giants into the underworld. A
powerful god named Zeus decided that he
needed the Cyclopes’ help. Zeus freed the
Cyclopes from the underworld.
Out of gratitude, the Cyclopes gave
Zeus gifts. Zeus received powerful
thunderbolts that he could use as
weapons. Zeus used his new weapons to
overthrow the world’s rulers. Then Zeus
became the ruler of the universe.
 Art and Artists - Texture
610L 136 words

Sometimes artists use texture. Texture

is the way something feels. Texture, along
with lines and shapes, is another way that
artists communicate through their art.
When you are looking at a painting, is it
bumpy or smooth? In pottery, sometimes a
piece is smooth and shiny. Sometimes a
piece feels rough. Sculptures have all
kinds of textures. They may be soft, slimy,
or sharp.
When we look at art, we use our eyes to
see it. We use our sense of touch to feel it.
Often you can look at something and you
know what it will feel like. Many museums
will not allow you to touch the art. By
looking at the art, you can sometimes see
the texture that the artist was using.
Sometimes noticing the texture helps you
to better understand the art.
 Eva Perón
610L 290 words

Eva Perón was an important figure in

Argentina and around the world. She was
married to a president of Argentina. She was
the country’s first lady for seven years.
Before she became first lady, though,
Eva grew up poor. She lived with her mother
and three siblings. They struggled and
worked hard to get by. But all the while, Eva
dreamed… not of being a first lady, but of
being an actress!
When she was 15, Eva made moves to
achieve her dream. She moved to Buenos
Aires, the capital of Argentina. There, she
acted in lots of things. She performed on
stage, in film, and on the radio.
When she was 26, Eva married a man
named Juan Perón. He was a leader in the
army and worked in the government. In
1946, he became president of Argentina.
And Eva became the first lady.
 Eva was a powerful first lady. She used
her role to work for things she believed in.
She worked for women’s suffrage, or their
right to vote. She also worked to improve the
lives of the poor citizens of Argentina. Some
people criticized Eva. Some saw her as
hungry for power. But the poor people she
worked to help loved and admired her.
Some even saw her as a saint.
Eva ran for vice president of Argentina in
1951. But she pulled out of the race when
she became sick. She died of cancer in
1952. The entire country mourned, showing
how much people supported her at the time
of her death.
Even today, Eva’s story of rising from
poverty to power is fascinating. Books and
movies have been made about her. There is
even a musical, Evita, which tells the story
of her life!
 Famous African Americans - George
Washington Carver
600L 170 words

George Washington Carver was a distinguished

African-American scientist, inventor, and
researcher. He is best known for the many uses he
came up with for the peanut. George Washington
Carver performed scientific experiments on peanuts
and made many useful products from them,
including dyes, shampoo, and soap.
George Washington Carver was born a slave
during the Civil War. He never knew his parents.
When he was very young, Carver was freed from
slavery. He wanted to get an education. He decided
to work at lots of jobs so he could afford school. He
worked as a cook and a janitor. He even took in
laundry, washing clothes to make money.
In 1894, Carver received a degree in agriculture
from Iowa State University. He was very talented in
his field. He became a professor at the Tuskegee
Institute in Alabama. There, he was a leading expert
in agriculture. He conducted lots of experiments. He
also worked hard to improve race relations. Today,
he is remembered as an important inventor and
educator.
 Famous Scientists - Sir Isaac Newton
560L 143 words

Gravity is the force that pulls objects towards

the earth. There is a story that Sir Isaac Newton
discovered gravity one day when he was sitting
under a tree. An apple fell from the tree and hit
Newton on the head. He realized gravity was
the force that kept us on the ground. He also
discovered it kept the moon close to the earth.
The story of the apple is probably not true.
However, it is a good example of how gravity
affects things.
Newton was a genius. Unfortunately, people
of his time were not ready for his ideas. They
were critical of his discoveries. Newton was
afraid to publish his findings. They sat on his
shelf for over twenty years. Finally, in 1687, his
first book was published. Today, it is considered
one of the greatest works in the history of
science.
 Fossils and Dinosaurs - Meat-Eaters
560L 148 words

Theropods were the fierce meat eaters of the

dinosaur world. Unlike most plant eaters,
theropods walked on their back legs. They had
long powerful tails. These tails helped
theropods hunt, and kept them balanced.
The most famous of the theropods is the
Tyrannosaurus rex. When most people think of
dinosaurs, they think of the T. rex.
Tyrannosaurus rex means “king of the tyrant
lizards.” These dinosaurs were mean. At 12 feet
tall and 40 feet long with 6-inch razor-sharp
teeth, the T. rex was the most frightening of all
meat eaters. They had small forearms with two
“fingers” on each. These fingers were very
powerful. The T. rex had powerful legs that
helped the dinosaur run.
This dinosaur was fierce and strong for a
reason. It was a meat eater. It needed to be
fierce and strong in order to kill and eat other
dinosaurs. Watch out!
Mountains & Oceans - The Rocky Mountains
630L 132 words

The Rocky Mountains are the largest

mountain range in North America. They
span over 3,000 miles. The range stretches
through Canada and the western United
States. Its snow-peaked summits and deep
cavernous gorges attract thousands of
visitors a year.
Geologists are scientists who study the
Earth. They have been interested in the
Rockies for years. They study the ways it
changes from year to year. The mountains
were formed thousands of years ago. The
Earth’s crust was moving and changing
shapes. Liquid earth came up through the
crust and formed the Rockies. The
mountains are still changing today. Weather
and water have played a large role in
shaping the mountains. They are smooth in
some places and rough in others. The most
impressive thing about the Rockies though,
is their size.
 Native Americans - Totem Poles
630L 154 words

Northwestern Indigenous peoples

traditionally have placed totem poles in front of
their homes. Totem poles are tall wooden posts.
Some of the tallest totem poles are over one
hundred feet high. Totem poles are used to tell
the history of a family.
Totem poles are colorful. They have faces
carved and painted on them. The faces are
carved to look like people, animals, or plants.
Each face represents a special part of the
family’s past. When a totem pole is created and
raised, a potlatch is usually held.
Potlatches are ceremonies that are
important for many Indigenous peoples of the
Northwest. Sometimes people are invited from
near and far for a potlatch, and the hosts would
give out fine gifts to the guests. Potlatches may
include a time of feasting. The food might
include whale meat, salmon, or halibut. These
are all foods that Indigenous peoples in the
Northwest have hunted.
 Shooting Stars
590L 204 words

A "shooting star" is not actually a star. When

people see one, they are really seeing a meteor fall
toward Earth.
Meteors come from outer space. Frozen lumps
of dust, rocks, and gas move through our solar
system. They orbit the sun like planets do. The sun's
heat warms these lumps, causing pieces of dust and
rock to break away from them. These pieces can
enter the earth's atmosphere and catch on fire.
Once they do, they become meteors. As a meteor
burns, it leaves a trail of light behind it. That light is
what people see when there is a "shooting star" in
the sky. Sometimes there are a lot of shooting stars
at once. These events are known as meteor
showers. They happen when the earth moves
through an area of outer space with lots of dust and
rocks. Sometimes a meteor doesn't completely burn
up in the sky. It falls all the way to Earth. When it hits
the ground, it is known as a meteorite. Most
meteorites look a lot like rocks on Earth. They are
usually no bigger than your hand. One difference,
though, is that many meteorites have a burned look
on the outside. Can you guess why?
 The History of Juneteenth
800L 254 words

Have you heard of Juneteenth?

Juneteenth is a holiday celebrating the events
of June 19, 1865. Why is this date important?
The story begins years earlier.
On January 1, 1863, during the Civil War,
President Lincoln gave a speech called the
Emancipation Proclamation. In it, he said that
all enslaved people in the rebelling states
were now free.
However, news traveled very slowly in
those days. Plus, some slave owners knew
about the Emancipation Proclamation, but
kept it to themselves. They did not tell the
people they enslaved. It took Union soldiers
more than two years to share this important
news with enslaved people in Texas. The
Union soldiers finally arrived in Galveston,
Texas on June 19, 1865. The 250,000
enslaved people in Texas learned they were
free!
 Some of these freed people began
celebrating and leaving plantations after they
heard the news. They moved to northern
states to start a new life. They brought the
tradition of Juneteenth to other states around
the country.
Today, people across the nation celebrate
freedom from slavery on Juneteenth. People
have celebrated this holiday for 155 years!
Juneteenth is a day for African Americans to
honor their culture and history. Some people
honor this day through parades, games,
speeches, and more. Sometimes, people
even read The Emancipation Proclamation to
remember its message. Juneteenth inspires
all Americans to educate themselves on
African American stories of struggle and
success. Many people hope Juneteenth will
soon be recognized as a national holiday.
They want more people to know more about
this historic day!
 The Human Body - Hiccups
590L 193 words

Out of nowhere – in class, in the car, on the

phone, or watching television – at any moment, it
can happen. Hiccup. The dreaded hiccup. Has
anyone ever really found a cure for hiccups? Some
people believe that holding your breath, drinking
water, standing on your head, or doing all three at
the same time can help cure hiccups. Nothing ever
works. How do we even get hiccups?
Have you ever felt your eyebrow twitching? It
starts suddenly, just like hiccups. Both are caused
by the same thing, muscle spasms. When you get
the hiccups, a muscle in your chest starts
contracting. It rushes air into your lungs. After air
rushes in, the sudden closing of the valve at the top
of your lungs causes the “hic” sound. This happens
to us all throughout our bodies all the time. It is a
natural bodily function.
Luckily, most hiccups don’t last that long – only
a few minutes at the most. However, there once was
a man who had the hiccups for sixty-eight whole
years. Can you imagine? He had hiccups for sixty-
eight years, through work and sleep. I guess he
could have used a good scare.
The Human Body: You've Got Some Nerve!
550L 227 words

How can you tell if something is hot or cold? You

touch it. There are things in your fingers that help
you to know if something is hot or if something is
cold. They’re called nerves. You have them all over
your body. Nerves react to things we touch and send
a message through our bodies to our brains, telling
us how something feels. If you touched the edge of
a knife, how would that feel? It would hurt. If you
didn’t have nerves, you would still bleed, but it
wouldn’t hurt. You wouldn't be able to feel it. So, why
are nerves a good thing? We would hurt ourselves
a lot more without them.
Imagine that you’re making a snack in the
kitchen. You lean your hand down on the stove.
After a minute or two, you notice some smoke rising
in the air. It’s your hand! It’s burning! If you had no
nerves, you wouldn’t be able to feel the heat from
the stove. Then you would have to go to the hospital.
If we had no nerves, the weather wouldn’t affect
us, or would it? If it were below 40 degrees, you
wouldn’t feel how cold it was. But if you went outside
without protecting your body from the cold, you
could get very sick or die. Nerves help us stay safe
and healthy.
 Yakitori: Meat on a Stick
620L 201 words

Yakitori means “grilled chicken” in Japanese. It’s

a popular dish in Japan today, but a long time ago,
Japanese people did not eat meat. During that time,
most of Japan followed the religion of Buddhism.
Buddhists in Japan were not allowed to eat meat, so
Japanese rulers made a rule against eating meat.
This rule got looser as time went on. Then, chicken
became a popular meat to grill, especially in street
stands. Pieces of chicken were cooked on sticks
over a grill. This became known as yakitori.
Yakitori became very popular for Japanese
workers as a quick snack on their way home from
work. Now, yakitori can be found in restaurants all
over Japan. There are even restaurants that serve
mostly yakitori. Many yakitori restaurants even
serve other grilled items such as pork, beef, or
vegetables. The grilled pieces of meat often have a
sweet sauce brushed on top of them.
If you go to a yakitori restaurant, you may see
cooks with paper fans. They fan the fire under the
grill. They do this to control the temperature of the
fire. It must be at the right temperature to cook well.
Have you eaten food on a stick before?