Innholdsfortegnelse for 246 i The Week Junior

29 August 2005 Hurricane Katrina causes chaos in the US Hurricane Katrina hit the state of Louisiana, in the US, on 29 August 2005. A hurricane is a severe type of storm that forms over tropical waters, with winds blowing at over 74 miles per hour for at least one minute. Katrina caused chaos in the city of New Orleans, where around 80% of the city ended up under water. It affected other states too, such as Mississippi. The US government spent more than £121 billion to repair the damage and support the victims. It is the most expensive natural disaster in US history.…

Join The Week Junior’s Summer of Reading challenge. Read any three books you like and then rate and review them for the chance to win a book bundle worth more than £200. Visit theweekjunior.co.uk/ summerofreading for more information. Here is a selection of environment-themed books that might interest you... Be Plastic Clever By Amy and Ella Meek A practical guide by two teenage sisters to help others realise the dangers of plastic pollution, and fight for a better future for the environment. They hope to inspire others to talk about the issues that matter to them. Running Wild By Michael Morpurgo On holiday in Indonesia, Will Roberts is riding an elephant on the beach when a tsunami hits. With Will on her back, the elephant charges into the jungle, where…

Scientists have employed southern elephant seals to go where technology fails: to the edge of the Southern Ocean ice cover and beneath it, where the seals dive for food. Experts monitor the seals using trackers on the animals’ heads and bodies. The data helps the study of climate change by mapping water currents under the ice. ● LIFESPAN IN THE WILD: Southern elephant seals live for up to 22 years. ● HABITAT: The freezing cold waters and land of the Antarctic. ● DIET: Fish, squid and other seafood. ● FUN FACT: Male southern elephant seals can weigh three times as much as the heaviest recorded male polar bear.…

A robotic boat controlled using satellite technology has successfully mapped an unexplored part of the Atlantic Ocean. The Maxlimer is an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) made by the company SEA-KIT. Instead of having people on board, Maxlimer used satellites to observe and steer the boat out to sea from a base in the village of Tollesbury in Essex, England. The 12-metre-long Maxlimer was initially designed for a competition looking for new technologies to help map the ocean floor. Maxlimer’s Atlantic trip was an experiment to see how robotic boats could be used in this way. So far, only one fifth of the world’s sea bed has been mapped in detail. Mapping is carried out using a method called echo sounding. This is when boats send sound waves down through the…

If you could only keep five possessions what would they be? My dog, Maggie; a home movie of my daughters when they were little; my hammock; my wedding ring; and my favourite mug. If you could be a mythical creature, which one would you choose? A dragon (one that didn’t eat people). If you could try out one dream job for a day, what would it be? I’d like to be in a musical in the West End. Any musical would do, but Matilda or Mary Poppins would be the dream. Can you speak any other languages? Yes, French. Your favourite teacher? My sixth-form English teacher, Mr Hobbs. He made me feel l ke my opinions really mattered.…

Learning to manage your money is an important part of growing older, and it doesn’t have to be boring. A group of apps and debit cards designed for young people are helping with tasks such as saving, spending money online and donating to charities. Gohenry, RoosterMoney, Osper, Nimbl and Gimi are five examples here in the UK that have been used by parents and young people. All of them offer similar ways for managing pocket money – and sometimes earning more of it. Gohenry started in 2012 and signed up its millionth young customer in April this year, having added nearly 250,000 in 2019 alone. Its card can be used in shops, online and at cash machines, and there’s an app for parents to pay in pocket money, set spending…

You may not have heard of Lookout, but it is Google’s smartphone app for people who are blind or partially sighted. It helps them with daily tasks such as scanning and reading out letters and cards or identifying banknotes. Now the app, which is available for Android smartphones, has been updated with some important new features, including a clever “food label” mode. It allows people to point their phone’s camera at the labels on food and drink packaging to read out what it is. Google says this could help people when they’re putting away their food shopping at home when items are the same shape – like tin cans. The UK is one of 20 countries where this new feature works. Also new is a “scan document” mode, which uses…

What can I do during the day to help me sleep? Outdoor exercise is important for sleep – the more physically active you are in the daytime, the more tired you are likely to be and the easier it will be to get to sleep. How can adults help? Encourage parents and guardians to help when it comes to reducing screen time before bed. Ask them to join you in removing devices from their bedrooms and not use them in the hour before sleep. The devices should be charged outside the bedrooms, not inside. What if I can’t get a thought out of my head? Dr Farquhar says distracting techniques can help. “If you’ve been in bed for 20 minutes and don’t feel sleepy, it’s usually better to get out…

Growing up, this time of year just meant one thing to me: the dreaded return to school. It wasn’t that I didn’t like school – quite the opposite – it was just that I enjoyed the summer break so much that the idea of getting up early and sitting in a classroom just didn’t seem appealing. Once the big day arrived, however, I was thrilled to catch up with friends I’d not seen in weeks and start learning exciting new things. Fast-forward to 2020 and I now have a daughter who is about to start in Year 5 after the biggest break from school anyone could have ever imagined. She simply cannot wait to work with teachers in person, be surrounded by people her own age and feel like things…

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Follow The Week Junior on PopJam@TheWeekJunior. You can download the PopJam app from the App Store or Google Play. Last week, we asked you if summer is better than winter... “Winter because you don’t have to worry about wasps ruining your picnic.” “I love both because in winter it snows and in summer you can play outside.” “No, winter is better than summer because we can all celebrate Christmas!” “In winter, it’s colder and there can be snow storms so you can’t see friends.” Tell us what you think of this week’s issue and we’ll print some of the best comments here.…

Almost one billion students around the world have had their education interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. Kim Hyun-soo, a 12-year-old girl at a school in Seoul, South Korea, says, “We have to sit alone in classes and at lunch.” Joseph, a 13-year-old Scottish student, says, “I am back at school and things are strange, but it brings normality to these strange times.” Maia, a 12-year-old pupil in France, felt the same: “Going back to school is exciting, as it’s like things are back to normal again.” However, “I’m upset as I won’t be able to hug my friends.”…

A GOLFING SUPERSTAR Sophia Popov has won the AIG Women’s Open in Scotland – her first major golf tournament. Popov, from Germany, is the lowest-ranked player to win a major women’s golfing title, and her victory came as a surprise. She said, “I was uber nervous... I was glad I could get it done.” FINDING GOLD A pair of Australian gold miners hit the jackpot when they discovered two nuggets worth £190,000 in the state of Victoria. Ethan West and Brent Shannon used metal detectors to unearth the nuggets, which have a combined weight of 3.5 kilograms. West said, “These are definitely one of the most significant finds” and described the event as “quite amazing”. A BRILLIANT RESCUE A rare albino (white) hedgehog has been saved by a six-year-old boy,…

● To celebrate its 25th anniversary, the Women’s Prize for Fiction has unveiled the Reclaim Her Name project. ● The project has taken 25 famous books that were all written by women but originally released with male pen names, and republished them with the authors’ real names instead. ● A pen name is a name that someone uses instead of their own on a piece of written work. ● Throughout history, female writers have often used male pen names in order to get their work published. This is usually because of prejudice (treating people unfairly) against women.…

Teague Stubbington Assistant curator of mammals, ZSL London Zoo All animals have immense value because they are part of the living world, which supports human life. The most precious animals in our zoos are those that are the last of their kind, for example the extinct-in-the-wild partula snails and pupfish, or the critically endangered Sumatran tigers. Without zoos and aquariums, there would be fewer numbers of some species or they would be extinct. Enjoy unlimited visits to ZSL London and Whipsnade Zoos, plus a host of other benefits with ZSL Membership. Find out more at zsl.org/membership/zsl-membership…

A10,500-year-old settlement containing the UK’s oldest known house is still surprising researchers exactly 10 years after it was discovered. Located at Star Carr, in North Yorkshire, England, the round house was about 3.5 metres across and part of a settlement that dates back to the Mesolithic period (also known as the Middle Stone Age) – a period that lasted from around 12,000 years ago to around 6,000 years ago in Britain. Archaeologists (experts who study ancient man-made objects to help us understand history) first uncovered the circular structure in 2010. Since then they have been impressed by many more discoveries at Star Carr, including the oldest known British jewellery and hunting bows. Long wooden planks have been found by the edge of a now dried-up lake, which are the oldest…

Amazing Muslims Who Changed the World by Burhana Islam (Random House Children’s Books) Find out about scientist Hasan Ibn Al-Haytham, fearsome female ruler Sultan Razia and princess-turned-spy Noor Inayat Khan in this fascinating book about amazing Muslim men and women. From athletes to mathematicians, comic-book artists to pirate queens, there’s a hero for everyone. Health Heroes by Emily Sharratt. Illustrated by Juanita Londono (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books) Explore the inspiring true stories of healthcare workers from all around the world. There are historical heroes such as Florence Nightingale and Alexander Fleming, as well as the midwives, doctors, paramedics and carers of today. From the sale of each copy, £1 will be donated to NHS Charities Together. I Am Not a Label by Cerrie Burnell. Illustrated by Lauren Baldo (Wide…

The British Museum, in London, is the UK’s most popular museum and it has just undergone one of its biggest deep cleans in decades. For three weeks, 30 members of staff carefully cleaned and dusted the museum’s priceless wonders and historical artefacts so that it was ready to reopen on 27 August. The museum closed in March as part of the lockdown. The reopening will mark the end of the longest peacetime closure of the museum in its 261-year history. The museum first opened its doors in 1759 and was the first national public museum in the world. Today, it has around eight million items in its collection, including ancient Egyptian mummies, Roman jewellery, a Japanese tea house, modern-day African art and an Anglo-Saxon helmet from about the 7th century.…

If you’re starting secondary school this term, congratulations – you’re about to become a lot more independent. You’ll certainly be expected to be organised and prepared for each day’s lessons. The school day is usually divided into five or six subject sessions. You may be moving between classrooms during the day or staying put while different teachers come to you. Although some schools have lockers where you can leave things, you won’t always have time to visit it between lessons. If you pack your bag well, you won’t be carrying any more than you have to. What you need ● School timetable ● Bag or backpack ● Textbooks ● Folders ● PE kit ● Deodorant ● Pencil case ● Bus pass ● Snacks ● Water bottle Instructions Every evening before…

In the summer of 1990, when the evening sky was dusky, Sam Heath saw a glorious thing. “I was mesmerised by this floating ball of colour and light,” Heath told The Week Junior, “then all of a sudden, it disappeared.” This experience gave him a passion for bubbles – and 30 years later, he remains mesmerised. “When you create a bubble, you are creating art,” says Heath, also known as Samsam Bubbleman, “like painting the sky”. Heath has tested and developed his own bubble toys and a bubble liquid called Supapop. The recipe, he says, is top secret. Its name is meant to celebrate the fact that bubbles burst. “It’s not sad that they pop,” he says, “it’s part of the beauty.” Heath has used this liquid to achieve a…

Kenyan elephants The number of elephants in Kenya has doubled in the past 20 years. In 1989, there were only 16,000 left but by 2018, that number had risen to more than 34,000. Officials say this is because there have been greater efforts made to stop poaching, which is the illegal hunting of wild animals. The Welsh golden eagle The last golden eagle flying free in Wales has died. She was found by a walker in the Abergwesyn Valley, Powys. At 15 or 16 years old, she was “an old girl”, said Welsh nature observer Iolo Williams, who called it a “big loss”. There is talk about reintroducing the eagles.…

In 1670, two Scottish doctors established a garden in the city of Edinburgh to explore links between plants and medicine. That first garden wasn’t very big – about the size of a tennis court. Fast-forward 350 years, and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) now covers an area bigger than 1,000 tennis courts. It also owns three gardens around Scotland. It is home to one of the richest plant collections in the world, with around 13,500 species from 157 countries. The RBGE’s mission is to “explore, conserve and explain the world of plants for a better future”. How it started After doctors – and distant cousins – Robert Sibbald and Andrew Balfour graduated from university in the mid-17th century, they shared the goal of improving Scottish medicine by looking into…

In the Mesolithic period there were big changes to how people lived. Previously, groups of humans would hunt large animals for food, but by the Mesolithic, people were becoming hunter-gatherers. They still hunted but more skilfully and they collected a wider range of plants to eat. By the end of the Mesolithic, people began to settle down and produce their own food. Some Mesolithic civilisations made advanced tools, improvements on earlier versions, and they developed basic pottery and textiles. People also began to set up permanent homes near lakes and rivers for water and food.…

Scientists at the University of California San Diego, in the US, have made a pair of algae-based flip-flops. Algae are small plant-like organisms that grow in water. Standard flip-flops use plastics that take many years to break down, but these algae flip-flops naturally degrade within 16 weeks. After testing hundreds of different materials, the scientists eventually decided on a blend that would work in a shoe and was environmentally friendly. They are now working on how to mass-produce the flip-flops. Enjoy these stories? Find more in this month’s The Week Junior Science+Naturemagazinesciencenature.theweekjunior.co.uk…

After their adventures in The Land of Roar, Arthur and his twin sister Rose can’t wait to go back to the amazing fantasy land that they reach through their grandad’s attic. Roar is a world of castles, dragons, mermaids and unicorns, where anything the twins imagine can come true. When they finally arrive back in Roar and are reunited with their ninja wizard friend Win, they discover something sinister waiting for them. Their old enemy, Crowky, has left a message painted on a wall: “WHAT’S IN THE BOX?” Arthur knows that if Crowky gets hold of the box, Roar will be in terrible danger. Can they get to it before Crowky does? With lots of illustrations to bring the story to life, this is an imaginative and exciting fantasy adventure.…

“Myy sleep has been affected as I didn’t have to wake at 7am for school. A better routine will help me to sleep better, and then I will be able to learn more and I’ll be more alert. This includes exercising more – like going for a bike ride – and reading or listening to calming music. I will stop using devices by 6pm. A good night’s sleep is important as it helps me to relieve stress and learn.”…

Getting to know people isn’t always easy, but according to author Jenny Alexander, you can improve your chances of making friends by doing what likeable people do. Here are their seven secrets: 1 They smile. It’s a scientifi c fact that when you smile, people are inclined to like you. Saying “hi” is an optional extra, but basically, why not? The worst thing that could happen is that the person might blank you and that’s a) not likely, and b) not fatal. 2 They expect other people to like them. Expecting other people not to like you is actually a way of rejecting their friendship. 3 They are interesting, because they can talk about themselves without boasting or grumbling. 4 They are interested in other people. 5 They know the…

Get ready, get set, go! Sign up for the RBC Race for the Kids and complete your own “race” during the weekend of 17–18 October to raise funds for Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). Last year, 10,000 people took part at the five-kilometre course in London’s Hyde Park. The Covid-19 pandemic means that the hospital needs more support than ever, so this year GOSH is urging even more people to sign up for the first ever virtual RBC Race for the Kids. The event is open to all ages and abilities, with participants encouraged to choose somewhere in the local neighbourhood, a park or even a garden. From 14 September you can sign up for free. Take part and you’ll receive a digital medal and reward. For more information, visit…

Teacher’s name: Miss Miller School: Hartford Primary School, Cheshire “Through her passion for books, Miss Miller has inspired my whole class to read more, by sharing her own recommended books. She looked after me and my sister during lockdown school as children of key workers. She has been using her time, even during the school summer holidays, to voice-record the whole of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone for our class to listen to. This has helped me to relax before going to bed. Thank you Miss Miller.” Bethany If we pick your teacher as Teacher of the Week, we’ll sendyourschoolthreefreeissuesof The Week Junior. Send your nominations, along with a picture of your teacher and your school’s full name and address, to hello@theweekjunior.co.uk…

Tokyo’s transparent toilets In Tokyo, Japan, some public toilet cubicles have been installed that are entirely see-through. The transparent toilets have been created so that people can check how clean the facilities are before they go in. Once someone is inside and the door is locked, the special high-tech glass becomes opaque (you can’t see through it). Each of the toilets has been made using different coloured glass. Nippon Foundation, the company that made them, says that at night the toilets “light up the parks like a beautiful lantern”. Swiss town coated in cocoa snow Residents in the town of Olten, in Switzerland, were shocked when cocoa powder started to fall from the sky. It turns out the cocoa snow came from a nearby chocolate factory after something went wrong…

1 In which city in India is the world’s largest school? a) Lucknow b) Jaipur c) Deli a □ b □ c □ 2 True or false? The earliest known piece of art in the British Isles was found in Jersey. 3 To which British artist did the citizens of Bethlehem say thank you? 4 What was Mary Ann Evans’s pen name? a) George Eliot b) Graham Eliot c) Gary Eliot a □ b □ c □ 5 True or false? Samsam Bubbleman managed to fit 50 people into one bubble. 6 How many species of elephant shrew can be found in Africa? 7 What is the oldest tree in the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh’s collection? a) The Fortingall yew b) The Sabal palm c) The giant redwood a □…