And Another Thing CURRENT EVENTS, School Supplies (ANNUAL)

🔒 Annual Member Version If you can see it but can’t click it, it’s a VIP thing. Login if you are a member or UPGRADE to join the club. - - - ABOUT THIS WEEK'S CURRENT EVENT ARTICLE ⤵ ✏️ Where Your School Supplies Come From An eraser is named after rubber, yet the pink nub on your pencil usually is not rubber at all. This issue traces two everyday questions, why erasers stopped being real rubber and where the rest of a backpack actually comes from, and helps students see the global journey packed inside their school supplies. Students will explore where their school supplies come from through: Why erasers were once natural rubber, how they got the name, and why vinyl and factice replaced it after concerns over cost and latex allergies How natural rubber is tapped from tropical trees, why almost all of it grows in Southeast Asia, and how leaf fall disease and climate now strain the supply Why a single pencil combines a forest, a mine, and a metal, from softwood and graphite to its aluminum band Where common supplies begin, including colored pencils grown in Brazil, graphite mined in China, and backpacks spun from petroleum A great tie-in for: agriculture, plant science, earth science, global supply chains, and materials science. Utilizing current events in agriculture is always just another thing to do that you probably don't have time for. We got you. Hitting those literacy standards just another thing to do? We got you. The Student Handouts consist of reading passage, an informational graphic, associated vocabulary, comprehension questions, and a word puzzle. All answer keys included. Use it as a Bellringer Activity, Class Finisher, or save it for a Sub or on those interrupted/shortened schedule days that inevitably come up.