A fix for the minimum wage

This article is one editor's opinion about why the national minimum wage should be increased. Read the article by clicking on the link. Then, summarize the article or comment on the question below.

Does your country have a minimum wage? What are the advantages and disadvantages of a national minimum wage?

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/56929334-82/minimum-wage-federal-level.html.csp

Knowing when to let kids quit

This article gives advice to parents to help them understand when parents should let children opt out of activities they may have started (such as piano playing, soccer teams, etc.). Read the article by clicking on the link. Then, summarize the article or comment on the question below.

Do you agree with the authors suggestions? Why or why not? Have you had any experiences with this?

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865587348/Its-complicated-Knowing-when-to-let-kids-quit-an-activity.html

British Police issue alert for Terror Widow

This article describes what is being done in a search to find a woman believed to be connected with Kenyan bombings in 2011. Read the article by clicking on the link. Then, summarize the article or comment on the question below.

What do you think of this woman's actions? Do you think her perspective has changed over the years? Why or why not?

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765638571/Interpol-issues-alert-for-British-terror-widow.html

Number of Uninsured Utahns

This article describes how many people in Utah are without health insurance and what will happen that may change this number. Read the article by clicking on the link. Then, summarize the article or comment on the question below.

Do you think the Affordable Care Act, including the insurance marketplace, will decrease the number of uninsured residents? Why or why not? 

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/56940576-78/uninsured-health-state-utah.html.csp

NBA drafts BYU's moneyballers

This article describes how BYU statistics students are being hired by the NBA (National Basketball Association) to do calculations for teams and players. Read the article by clicking on the link. Then, summarize the article or comment on the question below.

Why do sports teams need statistics experts?

http://news.byu.edu/archive13-sep-moneyball.aspx

U.S. sues North Carolina over voter laws

This article describes how the federal government is sueing the state of North Carolina because it believes that NC's voter laws discriminate against minority populations. Read the article by clicking on the link. Then, summarize the article or comment on the question below.

Do you think that North Carolina's laws are discriminatory? Why or why not?

http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-justice-sues-north-carolina-voter-rights-20130930,0,7052136.story

Erin Brockovich Leads Anti-Pollution Protest

This article describes a protest held in North Salt Lake on Saturday, Sept. 28th against the company Stericycle. Read the article by clicking on the link. Then, summarize the article or comment on the questions below.

What is Stericycle and what problems does Brockovich have with their business? 

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865587315/Erin-Brockovitch-to-Stericycle-protesters-Stay-strong.html

Results of Government Shutdown

Go to New York Times (www.nytimes.com) on Tuesday and find out the results of the discussion of a U.S. Government Shutdown. Read an article that explains what the government decided. In your comments write the title of the article you read and summarize the article.

10 Ways a Government Shutdown Could Affect Your Life

This article explains the consequences of the federal government not reaching a decision of how to handle U.S. debt. Read the article by clicking on the link. Then, summarize the article or comment on the questions below.

This article contains several idiomatic expressions. Were there new expressions that you learned from reading this article? What were they?

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/23/politics/government-shutdown-daily-life/

Boom Time Over for Illegal Immigration

This article explains how the numbers of illegal immigrants entering the U.S. declined during the years of recession, and these numbers have not since increased. Read the article by clicking on the link. Then, summarize the article or comment on the questions below.

Do you think the author of the article sees illegal immigration as a positive movement or not? Give examples to support your opinion.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303983904579092190903995668.html

Kenya mall attack

This article tells of current events in Kenya where al Shabab terrorists are holding civilians hostage in a shopping center. Read the article by clicking on the link. Then, summarize the article or comment on the question below.

Do you think it likely that this same terrorist group (al Shabab) would target the United States or Europe? Why or why not? 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-kenya-mall-attack-20130923,0,4701268.story

Carrying a little extra weight may not be a problem

This article tells about a recent study that shows that those who are mildly overweight may live longer than those who are at an ideal weight or thinner. Read the article by clicking on the link. Then, summarize the article or comment on the question below.

Do you agree or disagree with the results of this study? Why? How should a society address problems of obesity?

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865586892/Carrying-a-little-extra-weight-That-may-not-be-a--bad-thing-study-says.html?pg=1

UpFront Magazine Week 3

UpFront Magazine Week 3

Read and summarize one or two of the articles in the Upfront publication given to you by Mrs. Recinos. Write your summary as your comment below. Remember, the summary must be in your own words.

How to catch a texting liar

This article describes a study conducted at BYU that showed how people who are lying via text messages respond differently. Read the article by clicking on the link above (or follow the url). Then, summarize the article or comment on the question below.

Do you think that the results of this study are accurate? What complications could make these results invalid?

http://healthland.time.com/2013/09/05/how-to-catch-a-texting-liar/

Bilingual Speakers Develop Mental Flexibility

This article talks about some of the advantages of speaking more than one language. Read the article by clicking on the above link. Then, summarize the article or comment on the question below.

How have views of bilingualism changed over the years? Will you encourage your children to be bilingual? Why?

5 College Admissions Mistakes International Students Can Avoid

This article contains informal information about the important steps that international students should take as the apply to college in the U.S. Read the article by clicking on the above link. Then, summarize the article or comment on the question below.

Which piece of advice from this article was most helpful for you? Have you already taken these steps?

Bullying leads to suicide

This article tells how a 12 year old girl was driven to suicide after being bullied online for over a year. Read the article by clicking on the above link. Then, summarize the article or comment on the question below.

How can people (especially teenagers) be deterred from cyber-bullying? What can be done to prevent such suicides?

U.N. Report confirms rockets loaded with Sarin.

This article explains that the United Nations Report finally confirms that Syria used chemical weapons against its people. Read the article by clicking on the above link. Then, summarize the article or comment on the question below.

Whose responsibility is it to enact consequences to breaking international law? What should the consequences be for Syria for using chemical weapons?

UpFront Magazine Week 2

UpFront Magazine Week 2

Read and summarize one or two of the articles in the Upfront publication given to you by Mrs. Recinos. Write your summary as your comment below. Remember, the summary must be in your own words.

News Blog Intro

Hello Academic B!

This blog gives our class the focus we need in our news reading. One of the objectives of AB Reading is to read one hour of news each week. In the past, it was difficult to discuss this reading as a class because students were all reading different articles, perhaps at inappropriate levels. With this blog as a reading resource, we will have a platform for discussion of a bank of appropriate news articles.

Each week, you will be required to read four articles from the eight that are posted. After reading each article, you will post on the blog. This post can either be a general summary of the article in your own words or it can be an answer to the question posed on the blog. You have until Sunday at midnight to make your comments. Then, we will discuss the articles you read in class each Monday.

If you wish to request topics for the news articles that will be chosen, please comment on this post. Leave your suggestions for topics here.