ArticleoftheWeek

Weekof9/199/23

Directions:Completeallstepsbelow,whichincludesannotating,answeringquestions,andmargin
notes.YoushouldreadthisarticlemultipletimesbeforeFriday.Bepreparedtoshareyourthoughts,
ideas,andopinionsonFriday!

Step1:Readthearticle.Usethecodingwepracticedinclasstoannotatethearticle.Youcanuse
thefollowingoptions:

*importantidea +youagree

Xyoudisagree

!surprisingidea

__Underlineaspecificlinethat Circleawordyoudont
youfoundinteresting
knowtrytoguessthemeaning
usingcontextclues

?youarewonderingaboutthat

idea

Step2:Readthearticleasecondtime.Numbertheparagraphs.Readthearticlecarefullyand
makenotesinthemargin.Notesshouldinclude:
The5Ws:
Whoisinvolvedinthetext?
Whatisthemainsubjectofthetext?
Whenistheeventofthetexthappening?
Whereistheeventofthetexttakingplace?
Whyisthistextwritten?Whatisthepoint?
Commentsthatshowthatyouunderstandthearticle.(Asummaryorstatementofthemain
ideaofimportantsectionsmayservethispurpose.)
Questionsyouhavethatshowwhatyouarewonderingaboutasyouread.
Notesthatdifferentiatebetweenfactandopinion.
Observationsabouthowthewritersstrategies(organization,wordchoice,perspective,
support)andchoicesaffectthearticle.

Step3:Readthearticleagainnotinganythingyoumighthavemissedduringtheotherreadsofthe
text.
Step4:Answerthequestionsthatfollowthearticle.Besuretouseevidencefromthearticlewhen
necessary.

Teensgiveboyahelpinghand
Use3Dprintertobuildprosthetic

Notesonmythoughts,
reactionsand
questionsasIread:

Asmallboyhasanewhand,thankstoagroupofbrainyNorthShoreteens.
The13eighthgradersandonehighschoolseniorbuiltaprosthetichandfor
3yearoldMaxLehrer,whohasamnioticbandsyndromeandwasbornwithout
fingersonhisrighthand.Hetriedonthenewrobohandlastweek.Forthefirst
timeinhislife,heusedhisrighthandtopickupaballandtossit.
Itwasamazing,becausehewasdoingsomethinghecouldntdobefore,
saidhismother,NicoleLehrer.Asamom,youjustwanthimtohavethesame
opportunitiesotherkidshavetorideabicycle,topickupaball,toshake
someoneshand.
MaxsparentsbothworkatBrookwoodSchoolinManchester.RichLehreris
ascienceteacherthere.Lastsummerhestartedresearchinghowtomakea
prosthetichandforhisson.Hedecidedtoinvolvehiseighthgradestudents,
thinkingitwouldbeagoodlearningexperience.
Acoupleofmonthslater,LehrerlearnedthatGovernorsAcademyinByfield
hada3Dprinter,andastudentnamedArjunBhatnagar,17,knewhowtowork
it.HeaskedBhatnagartohelp.
Iwasallupforit,saidBhatnagar,ofNorthAndover.Ithoughtitwasa
supercoolproject.
Ivealwayslovedbuildingthings,addedBhatnagar,whoknows15
computerprogramminglanguagesandhasbuiltwebsitesandappsinthepast.
Usingafreedesignavailableonline,Bhatnagarlearnedhowtoprintthe
dozensofplasticpiecesneededforthehand,withfingersthatgriporreleaseas
Maxmoveshiswrist.Lehrersstudentsworkedonthemetalcomponentsand
assembly.
Theyspentlessthan$150onsuppliesandreceivedadonationofonekey
material,thermoplastic,fromaBostonprostheticscompany.Theprojecttook
months,butthefinishedproductwasabargaincomparedtothetensof
thousandsofdollarsthatprofessionallymadeprostheticscancost.
WhenlittleMaxsawthecompletedhandlastweek,heshrieked,Wow,thats
cool!
Andhisparentschokedupwithemotion.Andthestudentsfeltasatisfaction
theydontgetfrommostschoolwork.
Thestuffyoudoatschool,sometimesitseemslikeitsfornoreason,said
ChristianBlake,14,oneofthemembersofLehrersRobohandClub.This
actuallymadeadifference.
Bhatnagar,whograduatesinMayandiscollegeboundthisfall,wantsto
startatechcompanysomedaymaybe,hesaid,acompanythatmakes
robotichandsforneedypeopleinimpoverishedcountries.
Adaptedfrom:McKluskey,P.Teensgiveboyahelpinghand.BostonHerald.25Apr.2014.Web13Sept.2016.

Directions:Forthesecomprehensionquestions,respondincompletesentences.

1.Whatmedicalconditionresultedintheneedfortheprostheticinthefirstplace?

2.Whatisthepurposeofa3Dprinter?

3.Defineopensourceasusedinthearticle.

4.Fromwhatcountriesdotheoriginalcreatorsoftheprosthetichail?

5.Defineprostheticasusedinthetext.

Directions:Answereachquestioninoneormorecompletesentencesandbyprovidingcomplete
explanations.

6.Whatisthetextmostlyabout?

7.Howdidperseveranceplayapartincreatingtheprosthetic?Citeevidencefromthetexttosupport
yourresponse.

8.Explaintheauthorsuseofquotationsinthethirdparagraph.

AdaptedfromValleMiddleSchool