Comprehension
Reading comprehension questions are tied to articles and graphs from Science News.
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
Sluggish regeneration
Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “A sea slug’s detached head can crawl around and grow a whole new body,” which explores how some sea slugs regenerate. A version of the story, “No body is no problem for detached sea slug heads,” appears in the April 10, 2021 issue of Science News.
- Health & Medicine
Counting on COVID-19 vaccines
Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “Global inequity in COVID-19 vaccination is more than a moral problem,” which explores the scientific and economic impacts of the failure to fairly distribute vaccines globally. A version of the story, “Vaccine inequity will prolong pandemic,” appears in the March 27, 2021 issue of Science News.
- Health & Medicine
Neuroscience fiction and fact
Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “Three visions of the future, inspired by neuroscience’s past and present,” which explores how advances in the field of neuroscience are bringing scientists closer to expanding, linking and healing human brains. A version of the story, “Our brains, our futures,” can be found in the March 13, 2021 issue of Science News.
- Health & Medicine
COVID-19 goes to college
Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “How 5 universities tried to handle COVID-19 on campus,” which explores five universities’ strategies for monitoring and stemming the spread of the coronavirus on campuses. A version of the story, “COVID-19 on campus,” appears in the February 27, 2021 issue of Science News.
- Oceans
In hot water
Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “Earth’s oceans are storing record-breaking amounts of heat,” which explores how the upper oceans’ heat storage capacity has changed over time. A version of the story, “Earth’s oceans broke heat records in 2020,” appears in the February 13, 2021 issue of Science News.
- Chemistry
Bonds in limbo
Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “This weird chemical bond acts like a mash-up of hydrogen and covalent bonds,” which explores new research that suggests chemical bonds exist on a continuum. A version of the story, “Chemical bond acts like a mash-up,” can be found in the January 30, 2021 issue of Science News.
- Earth
Earth on the move
Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “How the Earth-shaking theory of plate tectonics was born,” which explores how scientists formed the theory of plate tectonics. A version of the story, “Shaking up Earth,” can be found in the January 16, 2021 issue of Science News.
- Life
The joy of science
Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “From Elvis worms to the Milky Way’s edge, these science stories sparked joy in 2020,” which summarizes Science News stories from 2020 that provided a happy distraction from the world’s worries. A version of the story, “Stories that sparked joy,” can be found in the December 19, 2020 & January 2, 2021 issue of Science News.
- Humans
Ancient women hunted big game too
Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “Female big-game hunters may have been surprisingly common in the ancient Americas,” which describes how a woman buried with hunting tools thousands of years ago is challenging scientists’ ideas of ancient gender roles. A version of the story, “Early American women hunted game,” can be found in the December 5, 2020 issue of Science News.
- Animals
Gibbons learn the ropes
Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “A rope bridge restored a highway through the trees for endangered gibbons,” which describes how researchers helped critically endangered Hainan gibbons in China navigate a gully after a landslide. A version of the story, “A rope bridge restored an ape highway,” can be found in the November 21, 2020 issue of Science News.
- Animals
Getting deep with the ocean’s master divers
Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “A beaked whale’s nearly 4-hour-long dive sets a new record,” which describes a new record for longest dive by a marine mammal, set by the Cuvier’s beaked whale. A version of the story, “Whale’s breathtaking dive impresses,” can be found in the November 7, 2020 issue of Science News.
- Science & Society
Get to know the SN 10
Students will answer questions about a scientist featured on Science News’ SN 10: Scientists to Watch list, which explores the work of 10 early- and mid-career researchers who are tackling some of science’s biggest questions.
