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aCTIvITy 3.3
continued
News article
Penny Problem:
by Yunji de Nies
1 The saying goes, “See a penny, pick it up, all day long you’ll have good luck.”
2 But these days, the penny itself isn’t having much luck. Not only is there
nothing you can buy with a penny, it’s literally not worth the metal it’s made of.
3 With the rising cost of metals like copper and zinc, that one red cent is literally putting us in the red.
4 “It costs almost 1.7 cents to make a penny,” said U.S. Mint director Ed Moy. A
5 Each year, the U.S. Mint makes 8 billion pennies, at a cost of $130 million.
American taxpayers lose nearly $50 million in the process. A
6 The penny’s not alone. It costs nearly 10 cents to make a nickel.
7 On Friday, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he thought the penny should
be eliminated, but he admitted that he didn’t think it was “politically doable,” and said he was not going to push the issue. F
8 Congress held a hearing last week on a proposal to make both coins out of cheaper metals, even steel. They say it would save taxpayers more than $100 million. A
9 But for now, tossing the penny altogether is not under consideration.
10 “One reason there is a lasting attachment to those coins is because they are a
part of our country’s history,” Moy said. F
11 The penny has plenty of history. It was the first U.S. coin to feature a president:
Abraham Lincoln. F
12 Next year, the mint plans to issue a new penny commemorating the
bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth.
13 That means more pennies for us to pocket.
process: series of steps that lead to a result
politics: related to government and its structure
my Notes
8. Craft and Structure (RI.6.4): What is
the meaning of the word commemorating in M 9781457304620_TCB_LAp_SaE_rLa6_gU3r_aP4p.inhdd11269? Use context clues to help you
determine the meaning. Have students reread paragraphs 10—12 to remind them of the history of the penny. Then ask them why the mint might issue a new penny on the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln. Scaffolding the Text-Dependent Questions
9. Key Ideas and Details (RI.6.3): What support does the author provide for the idea that eliminating the penny is not likely to happen?
Unit 3 • Changing Perspectives 169 Cite evidence in the text. Lead students to the
details about the historical value of the penny (paragraphs 10–12) and ask how they think s13o/0m4/1e5 4:33 PM people might react if the penny was eliminated.
10. Knowledge and Ideas (RI.6.9): In terms of presenting an argument and making a claim, how does this article differ from the editorial on peanuts in school? Ask students to think about the differences between an editorial and a news article. In which does the author make a claim? In which does the author present both sides of an issue objectively?
acTIVITY 3.3 continued
d Direct students to chunk the
text in half by drawing a line under paragraph 6, “The penny’s not alone. It costs nearly 10 cents to make a nickel.” Spend a moment addressing that this text is not an editorial but rather an informational news article that presents both sides.
e FIRST READ: Based on the complexity of the passage and your knowledge of your students, you may choose to conduct the first reading in a variety of ways:
• independent reading • paired reading
• small group reading • choral reading
• read aloud
f As students are reading, monitor their progress. Be sure they are engaged with the text and annotating reasons for and against keeping the penny. Evaluate whether the selected reading mode is effective.
Text Complexity Overall: Complex
Lexile: 850L
Qualitative: Moderate Difficulty Task: Moderate (Analyze)
g Based on the observations you made during the first reading, you may want to adjust your reading mode. For example, you may decide for the second reading to read aloud certain complex passages, or you may group students differently.
h SECOND READ: During the second reading, students will be returning to the text to answer the text-dependent comprehension questions. You may choose to have students reread and work on the questions in a variety of ways:
• independently
• in pairs
• in small groups
• together as a class
Unit 3 • Changing Perspectives 169
Not Worth Metal It’s Made Of
© 2017 College Board. All rights reserved.
© 2017 College Board. All rights reserved.