Literature, Literacy and Current Events

July 16, 1969: Apollo 11 launches
July 16, 1969: Apollo 11 launches

July 17, 2019 - It was a mission people intricately involved in NASA's space program only gave about a 50 percent chance of success. Jettison the Eagle lunar lander from its command module orbiting the Moon, land on the Moon, have two astronauts explore the Moon on foot for about 24 hours, blast off from the Moon, and dock back with the command module for the return trip to Earth. It seemed like science fiction at the time but thousands of engineers and scientists made the mission an amazing success.

Word of the Day
fascinated: verb;amazed, very interested in, engaged; Find it in blue in today's top story!

Writing Practice

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Writing Progress

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Featured Text Set (with Audio)

Pathfinder pilot recalls D-DayPathfinder pilot recalls D-Day
May 24, 2019 - David Hamilton was 21 years old when he was one of 20 pilots flying the first missions on D-Day.

Extra! Extra! Feature Article

  1. Why is Rosa Parks called the 'Mother of the Civil Rights Movement?
  2. What prepared Rosa for the action she took on Montgomery City Bus #2857 on Dec. 1, 1955?
  3. Why was the life Rosa led such a courageous one?

Douglas Brinkley, author of Rosa Parks: A Life, speaks at the Student News Net Symposium on Sept. 14, 2018..

Weekly VOCAB

Week of July 15

aggresion: noun; actions that dominate or are forceful with an intention to conquer;
WWII 'Gooney Birds' depart for Normandy

chlorophyll: noun; green pigment needed to capture sunlight for plant photosynthesis;
It's National Pollinator Week

deployment: noun; the process, usually a military one or in response to an emergency, of being deployed, sent to a location to serve;
People of D-Day: Vito and Geraldine Pedone (Part 1)

Today In History

July 18

1947: President Harry S. Truman signed into law the Presidential Succession Act. It outlined the line of succession should a president be incapacitated or die in office.

1927: Library of Congress: Ty Cobb recorded his 4,000th career hit. Cobb finished out his Major League Baseball career in 1928 with a grand total of 4,191 hits. Cobb stood as the all-time hit leader until his total was surpassed by Pete Rose in 1985. Cobb began his professional career at the age of eighteen with the Detroit Tigers with which he played twenty-two of his twenty-four seasons. Like the careers of baseball greats Pete Rose and "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, Cobb's was marred by scandal. He was allowed to resign in 1926 in lieu of being banned for alleged gambling violations. However, Cobb was subsequently exonerated and reinstated by baseball's first commissioner, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. In 1936, Ty Cobb was one of the first five players elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, in 1936, along with Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth, and Honus Wagner.

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Extra! Extra! Writing Practice 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 either print or email your document.
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