Literature, Literacy and Current Events

Jan. 27, 2021 - Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The Holocaust was part of Adolf Hitler's diabolical plan to change the world order in the early part of the 20th century. He committed genocide against European Jews. About six million Jews, including 1.5 million children, were murdered at concentration camps in Poland and Germany. The world must not only never forget this atrocity but also commit to actions that prevent such hatred and violence.

Word of the Day

culminated: verb;ended, usually after a long process or period of time; Find it in blue in today's top story!

Writing Practice

Practice your writing skills with the story above!

Complete this Writing Practice. Then print or email your document, or if available, save it to Google Drive.

Writing Progress

Track your progress all year. For your Student Summary Report Form:
Click Here (pdf)

Weekly VOCAB

Week of January 25

botanically: adverb; related to botany (noun form), the study of plants;
Lower temps, less sunshine brings harvest to an end

heroically: adverb; related to hero (noun form), a person who demonstrates bravery, courage and conviction;
Gen. Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier and sent America to space

occasionally: adverb; every now and then; not on a regular basis;
Miss Betty: Vintage plane named for WWII Rosie

strategically: adverb; with strategy, plans put into action to achieve a goal or desired outcome;
Thanksgiving travel projected to dramatically decline

Today In History

January 27

1973: The United States, North Vietnam, and South Vietnam signed an "Agreement on ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam." It was signed in Paris and took effect on January 28 at 8 a.m. thus ending U.S. involvement in the Vietnam war.

1967: Three American astronauts, Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee, died when a fire broke out during an Apollo 1 simulation test. They were trapped inside the capsule. Launch had been planned for Feb. 27th.

1945: Soviet troops liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland.

1756: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the world's greatest composers, was born in Salzburg, Austria. He was born into a musical family and began composing at age five.

Featured Unit

Chemical Elements "Off the Wall"

Studio glass art is a recent development but creating functional glass from silica sand is thousands of years old. Through this Student News Net video, tour the Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle, Washington to marvel at the beauty of glass and the chemical elements! Student News Net was there in 2017.

Read More: Seattle sights are simply stupendous

Pink diamonds are rare

Over 90 percent of the world's pink diamonds come from The Argyle Diamond Mine in Western Australia. Pink Diamonds are very rare and very expensive, but all diamonds are tetrahedrons of carbon atoms.

A rush for gold ended quickly

The story of the short-lived Klondike Gold Rush (1896-1899) is told at the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in downtown Seattle.

Glass: a hot and cool combo of art and science

Glassblowing is a red hot, totally cool combination of art and science.

Independent Practice and Activities for Printing

IP: Pink diamonds are rare
IP: Rush for gold ended quickly
Quiz: Rush for gold ended quickly
IP: Glass a hot and cool combo of art and science

In The News

View Student News Net articles with less than 800 words.

View Student News Net articles with less than 1000 words.


	Practice your writing skills by summarizing the information contained in the story at the left. What is the main point of the story? What are the key findings? Why is the story an important one? What are its implications? When finished, you can print or email your document or save it Google Drive.