Money Matters

    Parents should help their children understand money.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}So you may start talking about money when your child shows an interest in buying things, candy or toys, for example.

    ⒈ The basic function of money

    Begin explaining the basic function of money by showing how people trade money for goods or services. It is important to show your child how money is traded for the things he wants to have. If he wants to have a toy, give him the money and let him hand the money to the cashier(收银员).{#blank#}2{#/blank#} When your child grows a bit older and understands the basic function of money, you can start explaining more ways of using money.

    ⒉ Money lessons

    Approach money lessons with openness and honesty.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you must say no to a child's request to spend money, explain, “You have to make a choice between this and that toy.”

    ⒊{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Begin at the grocery store. Pick out two similar brands of a product –a name-brand butter and a generic(无商标产品), for example. You can show your child how to make choices between different brands of a product so that you can save money.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}  If he chooses the cheaper brand, allow him to make another purchase with the money saved. Later, you may explain how more expensive choice leaves less money for other purchases.

A. Wise decision

B. The value of money

C. Permit the child to choose between them.

D. Tell your child why he can –or cannot –have certain things.

E. The best time to teach a child anything about money is when he shows an interest.

F. Talk about how the money bought the thing after you leave the toy store.

G. Ask yourself what things that cost money are most important to you.

    It's not easy to talk with teens about their relationship with screens.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Open with a discussion of young children's tech use

    Rather than asking teens to put down iPads, introduce a discussion on babies' tech use. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}When I had my eighth graders read an article about banning iPads for children under two, the class were interested.

    Admit your tech problems

    One of my students wrote that she would like to prevent the whole family from using tech facilities. Clearly, someone in her home was having some tech use problems. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}We can't tell kids to put down their devices if we continue to use them.

Keep a balanced opinion

    We adults wouldn't be able to live in today's society without screens, so we shouldn't expect teenagers to do so either. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}It's improved our lives in many ways. Before we start talking about its challenges, we need to realize its opportunities, too.

    Deal with the topic like you would nutrition (营养)

    If children weren't making good food choices, we would never take their lunches away and make them stay hungry. We would teach them how to eat healthy and help them learn to set new habits: {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Instead of taking their devices away, we should help them keep a balance with technology.

A. The same should go for technology.

B. Technology isn't a bad habit to be got out of.

C. This will invite teens to talk about the subject.

D. Teens need face-to-face communication with adults.

E. One of teens' fears is that we'll take their devices away.

F. So we need to be open about our own tech habits as well.

G. Here are a few ways that will make the discussion easier and more productive.

Five Ways to Go Green and Save Green

    Climate change is in the news. It seems like everyone's "going green." We're glad you want to take action too. Luckily many of the steps we can take to stop climate change can make our lives better. Let's start now.

    Save energy to save money.

    Set your thermostat（恒温器）degrees lower in the winter and a few degrees higher in the summer to save on heating and cooling costs.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} As much as 85 percent of the energy used to machine-wash clothes goes to heat the water.

    Unplug (拔掉……的电源插头) electrical equipment when you're not using it.

    Save water to save money.

    Take shorter showers to reduce water use. This will lower your water and heating bills too.

    Plant drought-tolerant (耐旱的) native plants in your garden. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Find out about these plants in your area.

    Fix a low-flow showerhead. They don't cost much and the water and energy savings can quickly pay back your money.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Walk or bike to work. This saves on gas and parking costs while improving your health and reducing your risk of being fat.

    Eat smart.

    If you eat meat, add one meatless meal a week. Meat costs a lot at the store and it's even more expensive when you consider the related environmental and health costs.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Purchasing from local farmers keeps money in the local economy.

    Avoid bottled water.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Use a water filter (过滤器) to make drinking water instead of buying bottled water. Not only is bottled water expensive but it causes large amounts of container waste.

A. When speaking of something to eat, try local products whenever you can.

B. Our grandchildren and their children will thank us for living green.

C. Bring a reusable water bottle with you when traveling or at work.

D. Wash clothes in cold water whenever possible.

E. Less gas = more money and better health!

F. Move a little nearer to your work.

G. Many plants need little watering.

    Eating together as a family is a rare thing these days. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}, Once I start my own family, I'll definitely do anything possible to establish a tradition of eating together as a family. Here's why.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    When you eat together as a family each day, your children will learn to respect both parents. They know you two are busy, but still find time to share meals with them.

    Learn good table manners

    When you have small kids, eating together as a family is an easy way to show and teach them good table manners, of course, if yours are good. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}, how to be on time so that other family members don't starve, and how to behave at the table. You want to be proud of your grown-up kids, don't you?

    Create wonderful memories

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. They will know how important it is to eat together as a family, and will definitely teach their kids to do the same. Your family tradition of sharing meals together as a family will pass down from generation to generation.

    There are many benefits of eating together as a family that many of us didn't even think about. Teach your children to appreciate family time and food, and show them how to behave well at the table. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. hey will thank you down the road

B. Your children will learn when it's best to eat

C. Respect both Mom and Dad

D. Parents are always busy and kids have their own plans

E. When you eat together, you do eat those healthy meals too

F. When your children grow up, they will never forget those funny and precious family mealtimes

G. It's an excellent opportunity to become a family unit and improve your relationship with kids

    You may have heard that some plants and animals are endangered. What does that mean exactly?

    Endangered means there are very few of that kind still alive. Someday they might become extinct. You may wonder what people can do to help them.

    Plant trees

    As the date of Earth Day roughly coincides with U.S. Arbor Day, planting trees is a popular Earth Day activity. Trees helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, clean pollution, secure soil in place to prevent erosion, and provide homes for many birds, insects and other animals. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. And plant them in your garden or on nature strips where plants are usually grown. Restoring the local plant life will help attract native bird life, pollinators and local mammals.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Why not welcome these nonhuman neighbors into your yard？ Here is how to do it. Instead of mowing the entire yard, leave a few sections unmoved. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Provide a source of water, like a bird bath or a small pond. Don't try to get rid of snakes, lizards, frogs, moles, squirrels, and the other creatures, many of which are beneficial.

    Clean up litter in your community

    Many groups use the weekend of Earth Day to clear roadways, highways and neighborhood streets of litter that has accumulated since the last clean-up day. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Welcome animals into your yard

B. Choose flowers that are native to your area.

C. One way is to protect the animals' or plants' habitats

D. Bees, butterflies, and many other insects will find this inviting

E. It's a wonderful community project that you can do as an individual or with a group

F. So planting trees is a long -lasting act you can do to celebrate Earth Day

G. Encourage people to respect wild spaces by not damaging animal habitats, littering, and dumpling in the water.

    Today's students are surrounded by information. The ability to figure out exactly why authors write ­ and not accept every opinion as fact ­ is a key skill. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} The following strategies teach them how to figure out why authors really write.

    Start with why. "Why did the author write this piece?" is the key question asked to identify author's purpose. To help students expand their understanding of "why," post various types of nonfiction (an advertisement, opinion article, news article, etc.) around your classroom and have students quickly identify a purpose for each. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Talk about structure. Authors use different structures for different purposes. For example, one author may use time order to explain an event, while another author uses compare and contrast to put that event into context.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Often when authors write, they're trying to get readers to feel a certain way. Perhaps the author of an article about whale conservation wants readers to feel sad about the difficult situation of whales. Or the author of a letter may want to make the recipient feel better about a situation. After students read a text, stop and ask: How do you feel? And how did the author get you to feel this way?

    Connect it to students' own writing. It doesn't have to be said that writing and reading go hand in hand. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} When students are asked to write about a topic that they think everyone should know about, to explain a procedure or to share a personal memory, they'll become more conscious of how authors approach writing.

    Observe how purpose changes within a text. Author's purpose is often studied through the text as a whole, but authors have different reasons for writing within texts as well. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Then, they may launch into a list of facts that make the reader feel discouraged about the situation. And finally, they may conclude with an appeal. Take a short article and break it apart, identifying the different purposes so that students see how author's purpose changes as they read.

A. Get to the heart.

B. Identify the topic.

C. The readers may get more advanced in their work with informational text.

D. For example, an author may include a funny anecdote (轶事) to draw the reader in.

E. In particular, they'll need to figure out author's purpose and draw their own conclusions.

F. Expand students' awareness of why people write by having them write for different purposes.

G. Or keep a running Author's Purpose board with a list of the various reasons that authors write.