ST. LOUIS AMERICAN • APRIL 30 - MAY 6, 2015 A11

MAP CORNER

DID YOU KNOW?

Use the newspaper to

complete the following

activities.

Activity One — Writing to

Persuade: Newspapers

are a great source for

persuasive writing. There are

advertisements persuading you

to try a product or service. There are opinion columns

challenging your beliefs on a topic. There are letters to

the editors about a variety of issues. Find an example of

persuasion in the newspaper. Who is the author? What are

they trying to persuade you to do? What techniques do

they use? Are they effective? Why or why not?

Activity Two — Area and Perimeter: Locate three

pictures in the newspaper. What is the area of the

pictures (length x width), what is the perimeter (the

length of all sides added together)? Are the pictures on

the front page the same size as the pictures found in

other sections of the paper?

Learning Standards: I can use the newspaper to

locate information. I can identify point of view. I can

identify examples of healthy choices.

The St. Louis American’s award winning NIE program provides

newspapers and resources to more than 7,000 teachers and

students each week throughout the school year, at no charge.

AFRICAN AMERICAN CIVIL ENGINEER & EDUCATOR:

Oliver McGee Oliver G. McGee III grew up in

Cincinnati, Ohio. He graduated

from Ohio State University with

a bachelor’s degree in civil

engineering, in 1981. McGee

then went to the University of

Arizona to earn his master’s

degree in civil engineering

and his doctorate degree in

engineering mechanics and

aerospace engineering. While at

the University of Arizona, he worked as a graduate teaching

associate in the civil engineering department. In 2004, he

earned an MBA degree in business administration and finance

from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

McGee worked in many different positions. He was an

assistant professor at Ohio State University, teaching civil

engineering, where he was the first African American to be

promoted as a teacher with tenure. He taught at MIT and was

a special assistant to the President at the Georgia Institute

of Technology. He also worked at Howard University as the

school’s first vice principal for research and compliance.

McGee served the Executive Office of U.S. President as

a senior policy analyst and the U.S. deputy assistant

secretary of transportation for technology policy at the U.S.

Department of Transportation.

McGee earned more than 8 million dollars in grants for

research. His research has been published in many academic

journals, such as ASME Journal of Turbomachinery, ASME

Journal of Fluids Engineering, ASME Journal of Applied

Mechanics, International Journal for Numerical Methods in

Engineering, International Journal of Solids and Structures,

ASCE Journal of Engineering Mechanics, and Civil Engineering

Systems. McGee is also the author of the book Bridging

the Black Research Gap. He founded the consulting firm

Partnership Possibilities for America, which focuses on

education, economics, and politics. For his contributions to

the field of civil engineering, McGee has received awards from

many organizations, including American Council on Education,

American Association of State Colleges and Universities,

Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching,

Council for the Advancement and Support of Education,

National Science Foundation, and National Aeronautics &

Space Administration.

For More Information About Civil Engineers, Visit: http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-engineering-

careers/engineering/civil-engineers and http://www.ice.org.

uk/What-is-civil-engineering.

To View Videos of Dr. McGee Speaking About the Missing Malaysia Flight 370 Mystery Story, Visit: http://greatblackspeakers.com/author/olivermcgee/.

Learning Standards: I can read a biography about a

person who has made contributions in the fields

of science, technology, engineering, and

mathematics.

Teachers, if you are using the St. Louis American’s NIE program and would like to nominate your class for a Classroom Spotlight, please email: nie@stlamerican.com.

SCIENCE CORNER

CLASSROOM SPOTLIGHT SCIENCE STARS

Cont

ent—

Jenn

ifer

Wirt

hwei

n •

Desi

gn—

Beth

Sha

rpe

MATH CONNECTION

This special Newspaper In Education initiative is made possible, and delivered to classrooms, through The St. Louis American Foundation and its NIE Corporate Partners:

Airport Elementary 5th grade teacher, Juanita Shaw, works

with students Darius Pointer,

Kasiim Weaver, Kristian Nelson,

Brandon Dorris, and Camia

Lee on the effects of Sickle

Cell Anemia using the STEM

page in the newspaper. Airport

Elementary is in the Ferguson-

Florissant School District.

Photo by Wiley Price/ St. Louis

American.

What Is Civil Engineering?

A civil engineer created the slippery

part of the water slide. A civil

engineer designed a pumping system

to circulate just the right amount

of water to support the weight of

people, the water, and even the force

of the wind blowing on it.

The word

engineer comes

from a Latin word

meaning ‘cleverness,’

which is appropriate

because engineers

solve problems by

applying mathematical

and scientific knowledge.

The Ferris Wheel, created by

engineer George W. Ferris, is

considered one of the greatest

engineering wonders in the world.

Theme park engineers

are involved in designing,

building, lighting, and even

controlling the crowd flow in

theme parks around the world.

Engineers use a variety of

math in their jobs. A common

math formula that is used

is area. Area is calculated by

multiplying length times width. Try

your hand at these area word problems.

z A square has an area of 36 inches.

What is the length of each side?

__________

x Your classroom has a length of

25 feet and a width of 38 feet. Your

teacher decides that new tiles will look

good in the class. If each tile has a

length of 24 inches and a width of 36

inches, how many tiles are needed to

fill the

classroom?

__________

c A room

whose area is

24 feet squared

has a length that is 2 feet longer than

the width. What are the dimensions of

the room?__________

v The area of a rectangular rug is 60

yards squared. If the width of the rug is

10 yards, what is the length of the rug?

__________

b Terrence is making a display board

for the school play. The display board

is a 9 feet by 9 feet square. If ribbon

costs $1 per foot, how much will it

cost to add a ribbon border around the

entire display board? __________

n Patricia has a rectangular flower

garden that is 10 feet long and 2

feet wide. One bag of soil can cover

10 feet squared. How many bags will

she need to cover the entire garden?

__________

Learning Standards: I can

calculate area. I can add, subtract,

multiply, and divide to solve a problem.

Calculating Area!

SCIENCE EXPERIMENT Build A GumDrop Dome!

Background Information: In this experiment, you will build a geodesic

dome. You will then decide a variable to

change—such as changing the number of

sides in the base or the shape of walls—

and predict what you think will happen.

This prediction is your hypothesis. You

will then test your hypothesis.

Materials Needed: • 25 toothpicks • 11 gum drops

Process:

q Use gumdrops to connect five toothpicks as your base.

w Use two toothpicks and one gumdrop to create a

triangle from one side of the base.

e Repeat step two until you have created five triangles

around the base.

r Use toothpicks to connect the gumdrops

at the tops of the five triangles.

t Push 1 toothpick into each of the

top gumdrops.

y Use the last gumdrop to connect

these toothpicks at the top. You have

created a geodesic dome.

u Create a variable to change—such

as the number of sides in the base or the

shape used in the walls. How will this change

your structure? Write your hypothesis. Create your new

structure to test your hypothesis.

Analyze: Why are triangles used in building structures?

Learning Standards: I can follow directions to complete

an experiment. I can create and test a hypothesis.

Civil engineers design and create

a variety of structures — not only

buildings, but tunnels, dams,

highways, water and sewer systems.

They use computer programs and

a variety of materials to create

designs to meet the needs of a

specific population. Civil engineers

must be sure that their designs

protect against environmental

elements, like wind and sun, as well as storms.

Examples of projects for civil engineers include managing

a community’s water reservoir to be sure there is clean

drinking water, designing skyscrapers, building shelters

for victims of floods and hurricanes, building the Olympic

stadium, and constructing roadways.

Civil engineers must obtain a

college degree and specialize

in structural, hydraulic, water

resources, environmental,

transportation, or management.

A good civil engineer is strong

in physics and math. They have

visual strengths and understand

the logistics of how a structure will

affect the flow of daily activities,

such as the layout of an airport. Civil engineers need to be

good listeners to understand the needs of their clients.

Visit Engineer Girl’s Website Here: http://www.engineergirl.org/.

Learning Standards: I can read nonfiction text for main

idea and supporting details