It may sound like a story from a horror movie, but Lake Tahoe is in danger — from giant goldfish! Biologists have discovered a growing number of huge goldfish in the crystal-clear lake on the California-Nevada border, which threatens the lake’s ecology. The fish — some growing as long as 18 inches — excrete a high volume of nutrients, which stimulate algae growth. How did the creatures get there? They are believed to have been introduced into the lake by people dumping their aquariums. They are a problem because too much algae can choke out life in lakes. As a class, talk about other risks to the environment. Then find a photo of an outdoor scene from nature in the eEdition or online. Make a list of the types of wildlife that could live in this outdoor habitat. Then write a list of possible threats to the wildlife living there.

Watch Out!Goldfish Alert!

Hushpuppy to Be Annie

Pretty Picture

Call It ‘Vulcan’

She’ll Ski Again

A new “Annie” movie will be on theater screens across the world in 2014, and the star will be Quvenzhané Wallis. She’s the 9-year-old who was nominated for an Oscar award in the best actress category for her performance as the girl Hush-puppy in “Beasts of the Southern Wild” — the youngest Oscar nominee ever. A Columbia Pictures executive said Quvenzhané has “an amazing range, not only as an actress but as a singer and dancer.” The story of “Annie,” which has been both a Broadway musical play and a hit movie, is adapted from the comic strip “Little Orphan Annie.” Movies are often based on other kinds of stories, including books, plays and even comic strips. Find a comic strip in the eEdition that interests you. Write a paragraph describing an idea for a movie adventure, based on the characters in the strip. Give your comic-strip movie a creative title that would make kids want to see it.

One of Pluto’s newly discovered moons will be named “Vulcan,” as a result of a worldwide vote on the Internet. The name had been suggested by actor William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk in the “Star Wars” TV series. Vulcan, the Roman god of lava and smoke, was the home planet of Mr. Spock’s pointy-eared species on the “Star Wars” shows. Rules of the online vote were that the names had to be

chosen from Roman or Greek mythology. Placing second was Cerebrus, the three-headed dog that guarded the gates to the underworld. As a class find a story about a space discovery in the eEdition or on the website www.nasa.gov. Discuss one discovery and why it is important. Then team up with a part-ner and look at a map of the Earth’s solar system. Pretend you have just discovered the solar system and are naming the planets. What names would you pick that would fit each planet? Write out your reasons in complete sentences.

The eEdition allows users to easily print articles and photos. Click on the “clip and save” or similar button. Using your mouse, click and hold the left button to drag the borders around the article, photo or other item you’d like to print. Once the borders completely outline the item to be printed, click print. Find a photo in today’s eEdition that you like. Following the instructions above, print the photo. Then write a short, creative story about the person, place, animal or object in the photo.

Lindsey Vonn insists she will be able to defend her downhill ski title at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia, despite her tumbling crash early in February that required her right knee to be rebuilt with surgery. Since the surgery on February 10, Vonn has thrown herself into rehabilitation, doing physical therapy twice a day. Doctors tell her she should be walking without crutches in a few weeks and skiing by November. In the eEdition or online, find a story about an athlete who has been injured. Write a paragraph describing the biggest challenge for the athlete making his/her recovery. For added fun, write a note of encouragement to the athlete and mail it.

Common Core/National Standards: Engaging effectively in a range of collaborative discussions; producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience.

Common Core/National Standard: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are ap-propriate to the task, purpose and audience.

Common Core/National Standards: Using technology tools to enhance learning and increase creativity; becoming proficient with the use of technology; writing creatively.

Common Core/National Standard: Using technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relation-ships between information and ideas efficiently, as well as to interact and collaborate with others.

Common Core/National Standard: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience.

You’d think that Yahoo!, whose customers operate online, would look favorably on employees working at home. Not so. The company has abolished its work-at-home policy and ordered everyone into the office. A memo from the company’s Human Resources Department says face-to-face interaction among employees fosters a more collaborative culture. Despite the national trend to greater workplace flexibility — with employees (especially younger ones) preferring to work remotely — many companies are rethinking the policy. As a class discuss the pros and cons of working at home or working in an office. Then use the eEdition or Internet to find stories about the benefits of working at home or in an office. Write a short letter to the editor, supporting the Yahoo! move or opposing it. Be sure to give reasons for your position.

Come Back to the Office

Historic Weekend at Daytona 500

Teddy Bears! Duck!

Can’t Bid on Banksy

Quick Classifieds

Five-time NASCAR champion Jerry Johnson won his second Daytona 500 victory this month, but his feat was overshadowed by another performer. The other performer was Danica Patrick. She was the first woman driver to win the pole position for the start of the auto race and the first woman to lead the race, running inside the top 10 most of the time before fading to eighth place at the end. Patrick has made racing history before. She was the first woman to lead the famous Indianapolis 500 when she was a rookie in 2005. “She’s going to make history all year long,” predicted Dale Earnhardt Jr., who placed second in this year’s Daytona 500. Women have achieved success in many new ways in sports over the last generation. Find a story about a female athlete who is suc-cessful today. Write a paragraph describ-ing how her competitive career would have been different 25 or 50 years ago.

A stenciled mural by a London graffiti artist known as Banksy appeared last May on a wall in a suburb of the English city. But recently it disappeared, leaving only a patch of brick. Just as mysteriously, it reappeared a short time later as an item up for auction in Miami, Florida. The mural, titled “Slave Labor (Bunting Boy),” was removed from auction after the council that governs the English borough of

Haringey sent an open letter to Fine Auctions Miami requesting its return. The piece — expected to fetch from $500,000 to $700,000 at auction — shows a young boy using an old-fashioned sewing machine to create English Union Jack flags. The mystery remains unsolved. As a class, talk about different kinds of art and how outdoor art like murals or statues adds interest or beauty to communities. Then find a picture of an outdoor scene in your city or state in the eEdition. Brainstorm an idea for a mural or artwork to install in that space. Draw a sketch of your work and write a paragraph describing how it would benefit the community.

A border guard has been sentenced to two years in prison for not protecting the eastern European nation of Belarus from foreign teddy bears. Belarus is a tightly-controlled dictatorship, and two Swedish rights activists recently piloted a light plane into Belarus’s heavily guarded air space and dropped hundreds of teddy bears decked out in slogans support-ing human rights. Human rights issues often make news in countries around the world. Find an example in your eEdition or online. Write a paragraph describing the human rights issues in one nation, the history of the issues and what actions could improve the situation.

When you’re looking for a job, an apart-ment to rent or a used car to buy, it’s easy to save or print the classified ads in the eEdition. Click on a classified ad to select it and make it larger. Click on the “clip and save” button or similar feature in your eEdition. Use your mouse to drag the outline box to the four borders of the ad you want. Click the download/print button or similar feature. You can now save the ad to your computer or print it. Search the classified ads in the eEdition to find two similar products or items, such as apartments for rent or used cars for sale. Print or save the ads. Which product or item is the better value? Why?

Common Core/National Standards: Engaging effectively in a range of collaborative discussions; producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience.

Common Core/National Standards: Integrating information presented in different media or formats to develop a coherent under-standing of a topic or issue; producing coherent writing in which the organization and style are appropriate to the task.

Common Core/National Standards: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience; responding thoughtfully to diverse perspectives.

Common Core/National Standards: Using a variety of technology tools for data collection; using economic reasoning when comparing price, quality and features of goods and services.

Common Core/National Standards: Using drawings or visual displays when appropri-ate to enhance the development of main ideas or points; responding thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarizing points of agreement engaging and disagreement.

Using drones means less risk for pilots than sending manned planes into combat, but surprisingly, drone pilots experience mental health problems at the same rate as those who fly into harm’s way. They may work thousands of miles from the battlefield, but drone pilots apparent-ly have the same rate of depression, anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder, the U.S. Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center reports. One possible explanation is that unlike fliers who drop bombs and then get out of an area quickly, drone pilots actually witness the destruction they have caused. The U.S. drone program has been in the news a lot in the last year, and by 2015, the Air Force expects to have more drone pilots than fighter pilots. With the eEdition or Internet, find a story about U.S. drones. Write a summary of the story and discuss why it is important.

Pilots Stress from Afar

‘Negro’ Now a No-No

No More Trib

Playing Under Stress

Jumping Around

The Negro will no longer exist in future U.S. censuses. The U.S. Census Bureau is replacing the term “Negro,” starting next year, with “black” or “African American.” First used in the 1900 Census, “Negro” replaced “colored.” During the 1960s civil rights movement, black activists began to reject “Negro” in favor of “African American.” The change will take effect next year in the annual American Community Survey mailed to more than 3.5 million households. As a class, talk about how changes in attitudes are reflected in changes in language. Then talk about words or descriptions that are either more accepted or less accepted today than they were in the past. With your teacher’s guidance, use the eEdition or Internet to find words used today that may not have been used in the past. Pick one and write a paragraph or two describing why you think attitudes have changed about the word.

An hour-long psychological assessment has been added to the battery of tests facing college football players who take part each year in the National Foot-ball League’s scouting combine. This is in addition to having their strength tested, their speed timed and their intelligence measured through a special quiz. Expanding the tests is designed to determine and quantify the qualities that coaches are looking for

— such as motivation, competitiveness, passion and mental toughness. Many consider the Wonderlic Personnel Test, a 50-minute quiz that has been administered for several years, to be highly useful in evaluating the potential ability of quarterbacks and offensive linemen to decipher complex defenses. Now it is hoped that the new test will provide clearer insight into a broader range of players. As a class, talk about the qualities you would look for if you were an NFL team leader drafting college players. Write a sports column for the eEdition giving your views on using testing to determine the potential of players.

More change is coming to the newspaper world. The International Herald Tribune newspaper will become the International New York Times later this year. Since 2003, The Times has been sole owner of the newspaper based in Paris, France, after purchasing the 50 percent share owned by the Washington Post. Daily newspapers are undergoing change all over the world as more and more people get their news from the Internet or mobile devices. As a class, discuss how you and your family get news about your community, your interests or the world. Then draw a comic strip for the eEdition showing how you think families will get their news 10 years from now.

When an eEdition article starts on one page and continues on another page, it’s called a “jump.” With the eEdition, it’s easy to go to the rest of the story. At the bottom of the first part of the article, there will be a line telling readers what page the story continues on. It may look something like “See ENVIRONMENT, Page C6.” Click on the page number or on the slug and you’ll be taken to the rest of the article. Choose an article from the eEdition that continues on another page. Read the first part and then click on the jump to continue reading the rest of the article. On a piece of paper or computer, write the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How of the article.

Common Core/National Standards: Using technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently, as well as to interact and collaborate with others; integrating information presented in different media or formats to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.

Common Core/National Standards: Engaging effectively in a range of collaborative discussions; producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience.

Common Core/National Standard: Using drawings or visual displays when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or points; engaging effectively in a range of collaborative discussions.

Common Core/National Standards: Using technology tools to enhance learning; becoming proficient with the use of technology; using reading for multiple purposes, such as enjoyment, clarifying information and learning complex procedures.

Common Core/National Standards: Integrating information presented in different media or formats to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue; producing clear and coherent writing appropriate to the task, purpose and audience.