AOW due 2/25/13 Name: ___________

Malia And Sasha Enjoy The (Rare) Perks Of Being America's 'First Kids'By Meera Dolasia on January 25, 2013

While spending eight years in the White House may sound glamorous, life for Malia and Sasha Obama cannot be that much fun. After all, which teen/tween likes to sit through long boring speeches, be constantly hounded by the media and worst of all, have some secret service agent constantly watching all their movements? But, every now and again the job of being America's 'first girls' does bring some perks - One of which happens to be the 'Kid's Inauguration Ball', a

tradition started by President Obama, where the girls get to invite and hobnob with music stars of their choice.

The star-studded event that took place on Saturday January 19th, 2013 is also a way to honor America's military families, which meant that a number of other lucky kids also got to rock out at the giant Washington Convention Center, where it was held.

And rock out they did! Katy Perry donned in a stars and stripes ensemble, belted out four of her latest hits - 'Teenage Dream', 'Part of Me', 'Wide Awake' and 'Firework'. Pop star Usher in his signature black leather, sang 'Yeah!', 'OMG' and 'Without You' to a crowd of hysterical tweens and teens. Also performing, were the stars of Glee, which at last check was Michelle Obama's favorite television show, American boy band, Mindless Behavior and Asian hip-hop quartet, Far East Movement

Missing from the list of entertainers were Miley Cyrus and The Jonas Brothers - The stars that the girls had picked for the 2008 Kids Inaugural Ball! The girls have obviously have grown up a lot, in the last four years!

In between the performances, the kids also got to participate in dance-offs and cheer for their favorite mascot in a race that starred oversized versions of many former US presidents, including George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt.

For the fashionistas curious about what the stylish Obama girls were wearing, here is the scoop. The ever-elegant First Lady came in a pair of shiny black pants, a long crisp white shirt and a neon yellow rhinestone belt that accentuated her slim waist. 14-year old Malia looked as hip in her mint green sweater, blue skirt, red-ribbed tights and stylish ankle boots. 11-year old Sasha did not disappoint either, with a purple cardigan that featured pink polka dots, a subtle plaid skirt and of course, knee-high suede boots!

All in all, it was a fun evening for everyone. As Dylan Garvin, a 12-year old who was lucky enough to be invited succinctly put it, "It's a great way to celebrate" - Who, can argue with that!

Resources: Huffingtonpost.com, news.yahoo.com

Tuesday, Feb 19, 2013

1. What tradition did President Obama start at his first inauguration? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. The event not only gave Malia and Sasha their own event, but it also honored a group of people. What group of people did it honor? _________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Complete the table below:

Katy Perry

‘YEAH!’ ‘OMG’ and ‘Without You’

4. What other artists performed at the 2013 Kids Inaugural Ball? ________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. If you were on the guest list for this event, who would you have liked to invite as a performer and why? _____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Engineering: The route to problem-solving

Young researchers learn how math and science are used in the real world, from protecting eggs to delivering tap water

By Helen Fields / February 6, 2013 (downloaded from http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2013/02/engineering-the-route-to-problem-solving/Scienceforkids.com 2/16/13)

Teams of young researchers brainstormed ways to protect a raw egg — sometimes using bubble wrap — so that it could be dropped from various heights without breaking at a major competition in Washington, D.C., last fall. Students from around the country came together to work on engineering challenges. (Credit: iStockphoto)

The delicate egg hatched some heavy discussion among the five young scientists inspecting a pile of squishy packing materials. “So, bubble wrap?” asked Samuel Coulson, 14, of West Platte High School in Weston, Mo.

The team, working with only the materials at hand, had to devise a way of protecting a raw egg from a series of increasingly higher drops. The challenge pit these students against five other teams at the second annual Broadcom MASTERS competition. It was  held in Washington, D.C., from Sept. 28 through Oct. 3.

As the team pondered its options, some plastic wrap burst with a satisfying sound. “Stop popping it,” said Maria Elena Grimmett, 13, from Oxbridge Academy of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Fla.

The 7th- to 9th-graders qualified as finalists in the competition based on a science fair project from the previous academic year. But that project would count for only one-quarter of each contestant’s score here at the finals. The majority of each score would reflect how well a student performed in a series of group challenges — including the egg drop.

“Guys, I seriously think packing peanuts, due to the fact that they actually slide against each other,” suggested Chase Lewis, 13, who is home-schooled in Chapel Hill, N.C.

The team events would award creativity and cooperation as the students spent a long weekend together brainstorming solutions to various challenges. At stake: national bragging rights and a top educational award of $25,000. Additional awards would go to participants who demonstrated great innovation and outstanding performance in applying science, technology, engineering and mathematics (or STEM).

“We’re just going to have bubble wrap as the outer layer,” declared Daniel Lu, 13, from Concord-Carlisle Regional High School in Concord, Mass. “Then we can fill the rest up with packing peanuts.”

 Students on the White Team — one of six at the 2012 Broadcom MASTERS competition — participate in the egg drop challenge. This group used packing peanuts and bubble wrap to try to protect a raw egg in a brown paper bag from cracking when dropped. (Photo Credit: Laura Buitrago/SSP)

And in the end, that’s what the White Team did. On Monday, Oct. 1, the four, along with Anna Lou, 12, from Oxford Academy in Cypress,

Calif., layered the inside of a brown paper lunch bag with packing peanuts and bubble wrap. The layers cocooned a zippered plastic bag filled with more packing peanuts — and a single egg. The team then dropped the egg from waist-height. Would it survive the fall?

E is for engineering

This year’s Broadcom competition focused on engineering. Engineering means using math and science to design new things or to solve practical problems — such as cushioning a dropped egg.

As Samuel held out the White Team’s egg and let it drop, his teammates timed its fall. The students all remained confident the egg would land intact. Later, the team would use the time and the distance the egg fell to calculate how fast it was traveling when it hit the floor.

The competition gave the students a sense of the many different types of engineers. Software engineers, for instance, design computer programs. Structural engineers may design a bridge to handle heavy loads, to span especially long distances or to withstand harsh conditions. Chemical engineers create new foods or fuels. And civil engineers design sewers, tunnels, buildings and other structures that we reply upon in everyday life.

“Thunk!” The White Team’s egg hit the bottom of a plastic bin on the carpeted floor of the hotel where the competition was taking place. The five expectantly peered inside: The egg had survived!

Among the many problems that engineers tackle, protecting eggs is one that most consider pretty much solved. Egg cartons work well, and most people take care not to drop eggs anyway. Still, the egg drop provides a good challenge for young engineers — especially as the height increases.

For the second drop, the White Team had to release its egg from a height of about 6 feet (1.8 meters). Chase climbed onto a chair, held out the egg and let go. Would the egg survive this time?

The Broadcom finals challenged the competitors to think of the egg drop as analogous, or similar, to a car crash. Engineers design automobiles to protect the people inside, just like a paper bag filled with packing peanuts and bubble wrap can protect an egg.

Unfortunately, the White Team’s second drop didn’t end so well for the egg: “It broke into so many pieces!” Chase moaned. On the next try, the students added more bubble wrap, which solved the problem.

To reinforce the crash analogy, the six teams started the egg drop challenge by watching two videos from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. This organization studies how to keep people safe during car crashes. The videos showed crashes created under laboratory conditions. The vehicles contained no real drivers or passengers.

In the first video, a car ran into the back of a truck, but the crash wasn’t too bad. In the second video, the same type of car ran into the same type of truck. This time, the car was nearly destroyed as a portion of the truck pierced the car’s windshield — right where the driver’s head would have been.

Just like that second crash, not every egg drop turned out well. Eventually, the White Team figured out how to protect an egg enough to allow it to survive a drop from nearly 8 feet (2.4 meters) above the ground. All the other teams protected their eggs too — although not always on the first try.

To help the Broadcom MASTERS finalists understand how apparently similar crashes could turn out so differently, the Insurance Institute provided detailed measurements from the collisions it had conducted. The finalists then used these data to understand some critical differences. For instance, in the second crash, the car was traveling 10 miles (16 kilometers) an hour faster. Using this information, the students calculated how much harder the car struck the truck in the second crash. Then, each team applied the same principles to calculate how dropping their eggs from different heights would affect their speed. (Photo: Students participate in a wind tunnel challenge at the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore. Engineers on site helped walk Broadcom MASTERS finalists through several activities. (photo credit: Patrick Thornton/SSP)

Engineering safer conditions

Probing the dynamics of crashes (or drops) and how to limit damage is a good example of engineering. On the Sunday of the Broadcom finals weekend, engineer Julio Vargas offered others.

Vargas is president of the Washington, D.C., chapter of Engineers Without Borders. His group helps people in developing countries. In the last few years, his chapter has worked with people in Santa Clara, a rural town in the Central American country of El Salvador. Together, they are helping to bring clean drinking water to homes there.

The simple goal required some complicated engineering. The engineers first had to decide how to clean the water they retrieved from a well. Then they had to pump it uphill into a water tank. The engineers also had to design a system to distribute the stored water to about 400 separate households. Vargas and his coworkers spoke to the Broadcom finalists during a field trip to the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore. The engineers reviewed some of the math they used in figuring out how to distribute the water from the elevated holding tank to all of those homes.

Water leaving the holding tower runs downhill. But if the tower isn’t high enough, the water won’t leave it with enough energy to reach each home. So the engineers used a gauge to measure the water pressure at different heights. During the Broadcom MASTERS competition, student researchers simulated the problem using two buckets, some tubing and a stepladder.

Julio Vargas, president of the Washington, D.C., chapter of Engineers Without Borders, speaks to members of the Red Team. He and his colleagues walked Broadcom MASTERS finalists through some of the math required in getting water from an elevated holding tank to homes. Credit: Jessica Kirsh (IML Photography) / SSP

“I had no idea that giving water to a city involved so much math,” said Varun Iyer, 14, a Purple Team member from

Springfield High School in Illinois. Through this exercise, he noted, “I learned how you can use math in the real world.”

STEM’s least understood component

Varun is already well on his way to becoming an engineer — you could say it is a family tradition. His parents are software engineers, an uncle is a mechanical engineer and his grandfather was a civil engineer. Young Varun is interested in biomedical engineering. One day, he mused, he might design robots that help surgeons make precise cuts on delicate organs. He suspects even his little sister might join the profession. “She’s pretty good at math,” he said, and “likes science a lot.”

The Broadcom MASTERS focused on engineering in part because many young people don’t know what it is. Vargas explained to the finalists how he became interested in engineering when he happened to take a drafting class in high school.

Drafting involves the precise drawing of very detailed plans that others can use to build things, such as machines or buildings. Vargas began drafting using pencils and paper. Today, most engineers use computers. His early start in drafting inspired him to study engineering in college.

“Engineering is the ability to decipher a problem or need and come up with a solution,” Vargas explained. For example, Vargas works at IBM, where he makes sure that the computers people

use to check in at airports are safe. Those computers may not seem dangerous, but that’s because of people like Vargas. A computer “could fall on you, it could shock you, it could have a sharp edge. It could fail and start a fire,” he said. So Vargas anticipates every possible way a computer might hurt you. He then designs ways to reduce the chance that any of those might happen.

Elizabeth Hubler, a student at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., also attended the Sunday event to share the joys of engineering with the finalists. Hubler is in her third year of college and majoring in mechanical engineering. Mechanical engineers design, build and run all types of machines. Hubler got interested in engineering in high school while competing with other young people to build robots that met certain challenges. “I was like, oh, this exists? That would be really cool to study in college!” Hubler said. Now she and a professor study how air flows when you talk — and how that changes when there’s a problem with your vocal cords.

Engineer Shane Lansing lives in California, but flew across the country to tell the young researchers about careers in engineering. Lansing works at Broadcom, the company that sponsors the MASTERS competition. There, he directs a team that designs the computer chips used in all types of communications devices, including the Wii video game console and iPhone.

“I loved being the kid that was always solving the math problems that none of the other kids could solve,” Lansing said. Work still offers that kind of competitive excitement, he said. In fact, most of his coworkers have held onto their childhood enthusiasm for problem solving, Lansing explained. Even as grownups, the Broadcom employees still tinker with things and play video games.

Engineers Shane Lansing and Rozi Roufoogaran flew across the country to talk with young researchers in Washington, D.C., about careers in engineering. Both work at Broadcom, the company that sponsors the MASTERS competition. Credit: Jessica Kirsh (IML Photography) / SSP

If you’re interested in engineering, play can be a great place to begin, Vargas said. “Buy a Lego set and just start experimenting,” he recommended. “That’s what I did.” Vargas would start by following the instructions. “Then I’d take it all apart and build it the way I wanted to build it.” Eventually, he would build something better — just as an engineer would.

Power Words

biomedical engineer An expert who uses science and math to find solutions to problems in biology and medicine; for example, they might create medical devices such as artificial knees.

civil engineer An engineer who creates buildings, tunnels, water systems and other large projects that improve everyday life.

computer chip (also integrated circuit) The computer component that processes and stores information.

developing country A poorer country with relatively little industry and a lower standard of living than industrial countries, such as the United States and Canada.

drafting The creation of detailed plans or drawings that others can use to build something.

engineering The use of math and science to solve practical problems.

mechanical engineer An engineer who designs, builds or operates machines.

modem An electronic device that connects your computer to the Internet.

pressure gauge A device that measures pressure.

software engineer An engineer who designs and works with computer programs.

vocal cords Two folds in the human throat that vibrate to produce your voice.

Tuesday

6. What was one of the problems that students had to solve in the Broadcom MASTERS competition? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. Did the students on the team know each other before the completion? How do you know (use examples from the text to support your answer). ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. How did the students qualify for the completion?

a. They wrote an essay

b. They did a science fair project the previous academic year

c. They applied to Broadcom and were selected based on their grades

d. They had to complete a series of experiments.

9. What prizes could the students win? (Be sure to list them all) ______________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. What does STEM stand for? __________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Wednesday

11. For the first egg drop how did the students solve the problem of protecting the egg? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12. Why did the students time the fall of the egg? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

13. Complete the table

Type of Engineer What they doSoftware Engineer

May design bridges to handle heavy loads, span long distances, or withstand harsh conditions

Chemical Engineers

Design tunnels, buildings and other structures

Biomedical Engineers

14. What does the word analogous mean?

a. different from

b. similar

c. opposite

d. heavy

15. What were the competitors challenged to compare the egg drop to? How are these two things similar? ________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Wednesday

16. Read the following paragraphs from the selection, use them to answer questions 16.

The simple goal required some complicated engineering. The engineers first had to decide how to clean the water they retrieved from a well. Then they had to pump it uphill into a water tank. The engineers also had to design a system to distribute the stored water to about 400 separate households. Vargas and his coworkers spoke to the Broadcom finalists during a field trip to the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore. The engineers reviewed some of the math they used in figuring out how to distribute the water from the elevated holding tank to all of those homes.

Water leaving the holding tower runs downhill. But if the tower isn’t high enough, the water won’t leave it with enough energy to reach each home. So the engineers used a gauge to measure the water pressure at different heights.

These paragraphs are written in a particular text structure. What is the text structure? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

17. The White Team’s second egg drop did not work, how did they solve the problem? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

18. What does the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study? How did this Institute help students solve the egg drop challenge? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thursday

19. What is drafting? ___________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

20. What is engineering? (use a quotation from the story to explain what engineering is and then tell who said it.) ____________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

21. Complete the chart

Guest Speaker Where he/she is from What they spoke aboutJulio Vargas

Elizabeth Hubler

Shane Lansing

22. Under which subheading might you find a paragraph about the jobs that various engineers do?

a. Engineering safer conditions

b. E is for engineering

c. STEM’s least understood component

d. You wouldn’t find it in this article at all

Friday

22. What are some examples of how the contestants used math to solve their problem? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

23. What is the topic of this article? _______________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

24. Complete the graphic organizer about the main idea and supporting details. Then write a summary of the article using your graphic organizer. The summary must be at least 5 paragraphs long. THIS IS A WRITING GRADE. Here is the rubric:

Paragraph What you should include Possible PointsIntroduction The name of the article, who

wrote it, the topic and the main idea

4

Paragraph 1 Restate the main idea, give one supporting detail, tell about the detail and why it is important

4

Paragraph 2 Restate the main idea again and then give another supporting detail, tell why this detail is important

4

Paragraph 3 Restate the main idea again and then give your final supporting detail and tell why this detail is important

4

Concluding paragraph Restate the title and author, the topic and the main idea.

4

Mechanics Each paragraph is indented, each paragraph is about only one supporting detail, words are spelled correctly, punctuation is correct, handwriting is neat

5

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________