TIME for Kids G4 Student Reader

The Great Seal The seal shows our national bird,
You’ll find the Great Seal of the United the bald eagle. In front of the eagle is a
States on money, postage stamps, and shield with the colors of the American
official government documents such flag. The 13 red and white stripes
as passports. It’s also used on military represent the 13 original states. The
uniforms, national monuments, and lots blue band across the top of the shield
of other places. represents Congress. The eagle holds
a banner in its mouth with the motto,
In 1776, the Continental Congress E Pluribus Unum: “Out of many, one.”
assigned three people the job of The eagle clutches an olive branch in
designing a seal for the new United one claw and 13 arrows in the other.
States of America: Benjamin Franklin, These represent the power of peace and
John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson. war that is given to Congress. The stars
It turned out to be a bigger challenge above the eagle stand for the idea that
than expected. The design was finally the United States is taking its place in
approved six years later, in 1782. the world among other nations.

motto stars

shield arrows
olive branch
Issue 6 • 49
Bettmann/Corbis

The American Flag ImageState/Alamy
No symbol is more recognizable than
the American flag. In 1777, Congress ↑ The design of the American flag was
passed a law called the Flag Act in carefully chosen to symbolize aspects
order to establish an official flag for
the United States: “Resolved, That of our history.
the flag of the United States be made
of thirteen stripes, alternate red and
white; that the union be thirteen stars,
white in a blue field, representing a
new Constellation.” The 13 stars and
13 stripes stood for the 13 original
states. Over the years, the number of
stars has changed as new states were
admitted to the Union, but the number
of stripes has stayed the same at 13.

Our National Flower

In 1986, Congress passed a resolution making
the rose the national flower of the United States.
The resolution explained the choice this way:
“We grow roses in all our fifty States. We find
roses throughout our art, music, and literature.
We decorate our celebrations and parades with
roses. Most of all, we present roses to those
we love, and we lavish them on our altars, our
civil shrines, and the final resting places of our
honored dead.”

President Ronald Reagan signed the resolution
into law. Where was the ceremony held? Why in
the Rose Garden at the White House, of course!

Nik Keevil/Alamy

↑ Roses are grown in all 50 of
the United States.

50 • Time For Kids

Surprising Symbols
Each of the 50 United States has its own flag and official
seal. States have other symbols, too, including state birds
and state flowers. But they don’t stop there! Many states
have official songs, foods, and dances. Here’s just a small
sample of some of the dances that might surprise you.

State Dance Year Adopted
California West Coast Swing 1988
Kentucky Clogging 2006
North & South Carolina Shag 2005 & 1984
Texas Square dance 1991
Wisconsin Polka 1993

Six Flags Over Texas Question: Answer: Texas

Texas is called the Lone Star State because there is a sWnahcikcahinsdsttoasrattelis’lsala?ofcfhicipiasl

single star on its state flag. This flag first flew over Texas

in 1836, when Texas was a republic. Through its history,

six different national flags have flown over Texas.

Spain France Mexico
1519–1685; 1690–1821 1685–1690 1821–1836

Republic of Texas Confederate States United States
1836–1845 1861–1865 1845–1861; 1965–present

public domain

Issue 6 • 51

Where the Fuels

Are in the U.S.

Energy is an important resource
for the United States and the entire
world. It affects our national and local
economies. Two of the biggest sources
of energy are oil and natural gas.
Here’s how the top-producing states
for these energy sources stack up.

Top 5 Oil-Producing States

State Annual Production/Barrels

Texas 396,894,000

Alaska 263,595,000

California 216,778,000

Louisiana 76,651,000

Oklahoma 60,952,000

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2006

Royalty-Free/Corbis

Top 5 States in Number

of Producing Natural Gas Wells

State Number of Wells

Texas 83,218

West Virginia 53,003

Pennsylvania 49,750

New Mexico 41,634

Oklahoma 38,060

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2006

52

(c) Reuters/Kevin Lamarque; (tr) Corbis Madame
Governor

Women around the world are taking
powerful roles in government.

Women in the United States Senate, 2007

“Ma” Makes

History

One woman wants to clear Corbis Governor “Ma” Ferguson was an
her family’s name and ends up advocate for families and children.
playing a major role in history.

By Anna Prokos

On January 20, 1925, Miriam Amanda called, served as the first lady of Library of Congress/Texas View Company
Ferguson made Texas history. She the state. James Ferguson, or “Pa,”
became the first ever female governor of was impeached in 1917. He was not
Texas and the second female governor allowed to run for office again. Ma
to be elected in the United States. Two decided she could help Texas—and
weeks before Ferguson’s inauguration, clear her family’s name—by entering
Nellie Tayloe Ross had become the first the race for governor.
woman governor in the history of the
United States. Ross was elected governor The Texas State Capitol is located
of Wyoming. in Austin, Texas.

Unlike today, it was rare for females
to run for office in the 1920s. Women
did not have the same rights as men
back then. So why did Ferguson decide
to run for governor? Her husband,
James Edward Ferguson, was governor
of Texas from 1915 to 1917. Miriam
Ferguson, or “Ma” as she was often

54 • Time For Kids

Two For One Working for Texas
Miriam Ferguson had a unique Then, the first female governor of Texas
campaign slogan: “Two Governors for got to work. Ferguson looked for ways to
the Price of One.” She told Texans that cut back the cost of Texas’ government.
she would take her husband’s advice One way she lowered spending was to
if she became governor. Ferguson was reduce the number of prisoners in state
different from her opponent, Judge jails. During her first term as governor,
Felix Robertson. First, she did not Ferguson pardoned 2,000 prisoners.
agree with the Ku Klux Klan, a violent Many people didn’t agree with her ideas
and racist group. Second, Ferguson to let prisoners go free.
believed women should have equal
rights. She easily got the votes to defeat When she ran for office again in 1926,
her opponent. Ferguson lost the race. She was elected
governor again in 1932 and served from
Her inaugural speech was less than 1933 to 1935. When James Ferguson
seven minutes long, but it was an died in 1944, Ma retired from politics.
historical address in women’s history. She moved to Austin, Texas, where she
“By the decree of our Supreme Court we led a quiet life until she died in 1961.
women have been recognized
and admitted into all the Library of Congress
rights and privileges of
citizenship . . . Let us render
full service, not so much
because we are women,
but because we are citizens,
who are now equal to stand
side by side with men for
equal rights and equal justice
to all.”

A scene in Laredo, Texas,
during the time Miriam
Ferguson served as
governor. →

Issue 7 • 55

Fearless Getty Images
Females

These leaders paved the way Brooks Kraft/Corbis
for women to take lead roles
in government and beyond. ↑ Hillary Rodham Clinton became U.S. Secretary
of State in 2009. In 2008, Sarah Palin was
By Anna Prokos the Republican nominee for Vice President.

If you read a newspaper or news web Colonial America. Her demand, made
site today, you’ll probably find many in 1647, was denied. Still her actions
female leaders making headlines. encouraged women to seek a role in
But before Sarah Palin and Hillary government.
Rodham Clinton became popular
political figures, many other women More than 120 years later, in 1869,
blazed a path in leadership. women 21 years of age and older
were granted the right to vote in the
For much of history, women were Wyoming Territory. The first female
expected to tend to their homes and voter ever was Eliza A. “Grandma”
families. But there have always been Swain, in 1870. It would be another 50
women who challenged those ideas. years before all women in the United
They fought for equal rights and States were granted the right to vote.
dreamed of women holding the same
positions as men. Our female leaders Women did not gain equal voting
today have many women from the past rights in the U.S. until 1920. ↓
to thank for paving the way toward
equality. Here’s a look at the pioneers
of women in government—and how
their work helped future female leaders.

The Right to Vote Library of Congress
Attorney Margaret Brent was the first
woman in Maryland to own property.
She may also have been the first
woman to demand the right to vote in

56 • Time For Kids

In Charge of the State Nellie Tayloe Ross Papers, Box 19, Folder 1, American Heritage
It’s no wonder that Wyoming elected the first female Center, University of Wyoming
governor in U.S. history. In 1925, Nellie Tayloe Ross
became the 13th governor of the state. Ross accepted AP Photo/Karin Cooper ↑ Nellie Tayloe Ross
the role to continue the programs her husband started of Wyoming, first
as governor. She was nominated after he died in 1924. AP Photo/Alan Diaz female governor
in U.S. history
Fifteen days after Ross took office, Miriam Ferguson
stepped into the governor’s role in Texas. She was the ↑ Patsy Takemoto
state’s first female governor. Texas’ second elected female of Hawaii
governor was Ann Richards, serving from 1991 to 1995.
Richards had already made her mark on Texas politics. ↑ Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
In 1982, she was elected state treasurer—the first woman of Florida
elected to statewide office in Texas in 50 years!
Issue 7 • 57
Making Laws
Jeanette Rankin opened the doors of the U.S. House
of Representatives to women in 1916. Representing
the State of Washington, Rankin, sometimes called
the Lady of the House, voted against the entry of the
U.S. into World War I and World War II. That didn’t
make her very popular with other leaders, but Rankin
believed in peace.

In 1965, Patsy Takemoto became the first Asian-
American woman elected to Congress. She represented
Hawaii in the U.S. House of Representatives until
her death in 2002. Shirley Chisholm of New York
became the first African-American woman in Congress,
serving in the House from 1969 to 1983. And in 1989,
Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, of Florida, became
the first Hispanic woman elected to Congress.

As for the Senate, in 1932, Hattie Caraway, of
Arkansas, won a special election to finish her late
husband’s term. Later that year, she won the election
for a full term. In 1992, Carol Moseley-Braun, of
Illinois, became the first African-American woman
elected to the Senate.

Leaders at the Federal Level To the White House
When Condoleezza Rice accepted the When Sarah Palin was nominated to
position of National Security Adviser for run for the Vice Presidency in 2008,
President George W. Bush, she became she was following in the footsteps
the first female to hold this position. of women like Geraldine Ferraro.
On January 26, 2005, she also became Ferraro was the first female nominated
the first African-American woman to by a major political party for the
become U.S. Secretary of State. vice presidency. Ferraro ran with
Walter Mondale for president in 1984.
Rice wasn’t the first woman to Although their ticket lost, Ferraro
hold a powerful political position positively changed the way women
in the federal government. In 1977, would be viewed in politics.
Azie Taylor Morton became the first
African-American woman to serve as Hillary Rodham Clinton may have
U.S. Treasurer. In 1992, Janet Reno Victoria Clafin Woodhull to thank
accepted the position of U.S. Attorney for paving the way for women to run
General—the first time the role was for U.S. president. In 1872, Woodhull
filled by a female. Five years later, ran with Vice-President Frederick
Madeline Albright was sworn in as Douglass, an African-American. The
U.S. Secretary of State, becoming Equal Rights Party nominated her in
the highest-ranking woman in the order to send a message of change to
U.S. government. the U.S. government. Although neither
Woodhull nor Clinton made it to the
Jamal A. Wilson/AFP/Getty Images finish line, these women showed that
women have the strengths and smarts
to aspire to the highest office in
the land.

← Madeline Albright and Janet
Reno held high-ranking
positions in President Bill
Clinton’s administration.

58 • Time For Kids

International Leaders AP Photo/Pewee Flomoku Never Give Up
Around the world, women have forged
ahead with strong government leadership Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
roles. In 1969, Golda Meir was elected
Prime Minister of the State of Israel. She Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is the current
was sometimes called the “Iron Lady” of president of Liberia. She is also the first
Israeli politics. Ten years later, Margaret elected female president of any African
Thatcher became Europe’s first elected nation. Johnson-Sirleaf worked hard to
female head of state. Like Meir, she was obtain this position. Over the years, she
called the “Iron Lady” for her strength has been put under house arrest and kicked
as Britain’s prime minister from 1979 out of the country. But that didn’t stop her
to 1990. from running for president. In 2005 she
won the Liberian presidential election and
Into the Future has worked hard to keep peace and boost
Women have made major political her country’s economy.
contributions throughout history. No
doubt, more and more women will
continue to lead the way in the future.
Many states and countries have created
programs to promote women’s leadership
in the world.

In Their Own Words

“One thing is clear to me: We, as human beings, must be
willing to accept people who are different from ourselves.”

—Barbara Jordan, U.S. House of Representatives, 1972 to 1978

“I am, was, and always will be a catalyst for change.” —Shirley Chisholm

“There cannot be true democracy unless all citizens
are able to participate fully in the lives of their country.”

—Hillary Rodham Clinton

“I take a lot of inspiration from knowing that it was women... Trinity Mirror/Mirrorpix/Alamy
who stepped forward and helped bring down the dictatorship
[in Argentina].” —Cristina Fernandez, President of Argentina

“You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.” Indira Gandhi
—Indira Gandhi, India’s first and only female prime minister to date
Issue 7 • 59

A Time Line

for Progress

Here are some of the major dates in the history of women’s
right to vote in the United States, leading to the ratification
of the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution.

1840 Susan B. Anthony

1848 Women’s Rights Convention held in 1851 Former slave Sojourner Truth argues for The London Art Archive/Alamy
Seneca Falls, NY women’s rights and “Negroes’ rights”

1850 National Woman’s Rights Convention
held in Worcester, MA

1869 Wyoming Territory passes a law 1860 1870 Eliza A. “Grandma” Swain casts her vote
permitting women to vote 1880 in Wyoming, the first female vote in the U.S.

1872 Susan B. Anthony and others attempt 1878 The “Anthony Amendment” to extend
to vote; some are arrested the right to vote to women is introduced in
the United States Congress

1893 Colorado grants the right to vote 1900 1896 Utah and Idaho pass laws giving women
to women 1920 the right to vote

1910 Washington State establishes 1913 About 5,000 people march in favor of
women’s right to vote women’s suffrage in Washington, DC. Women
1918 The House of Representatives passes in Illinois are given restricted voting rights
the “Anthony Amendment” but the Senate
fails to pass it 1919 Both the House and the Senate approve
60 the “Anthony Amendment”

1920 The “Anthony Amendment,” now
known as the Nineteenth Amendment to the
Constitution, is signed into law

(c) Jerry Lofaro/NASA/JPL Space Science Institute; (tr) AP Photo/Gary C. Knapp Stars and
Satellites

The ninth planet from the sun
is no longer a planet.

Artist’s illustration of Pluto and its two moons

Explorers and
Technology

Seafaring explorers of the past used Gary C. Knapp/AP Photo
technology to guide them in their travels.
↑ A modern sailor uses
high-tech equipment.

The ocean is a huge place. It has no Some even sailed around the world (bkgd) Datacraft/Getty Images
landmarks—no trees, mountains, and found their way home again.
rivers, rocks, roads, or houses. Today’s How did explorers like Christopher
sailors use all kinds of technology to Columbus, Francisco Vásquez
figure out where they are and where de Coronado, James Cook, and
they’re going. Using global positioning Ferdinand Magellan know where they
systems, cell phones, satellite phones, were and where to go?
and radios, they can be sure they’re
headed in the right direction. Early explorers burned the
midnight oil. They used the stars
Before the invention of these to guide them. They also used
technologies, though, sailors still technology. Their technology relied
found ways to cross the ocean. not on electricity, but on mechanics
and the laws of physics. — Lisa Jo Rudy

Columbus used the stars to find
his way to the New World.

Bettmann/Corbis

62 • Time For Kids

The Astrolabe The Compass

Sailors often used A compass is
the North Star to get
their bearings. Even Werner Forman/Corbis a free-floating The Granger Collection, New York
though the North Star
(Polaris) is generally magnetized needle. The needle
in the northern part of the
sky, it can be seen only on clear floats above a circle that shows
nights. What’s more, it can only be
seen from certain parts of Earth. north, south, east, and west. The

needle always points north.

The first tool for celestial Before the invention of the

navigation—navigation using compass, sailors had to rely on

stars—came from the Middle East. the stars to steer their way.

The astrolabe is a tool used to The compass was extremely

locate and predict the positions of helpful to sailors in places

the sun, moon, planets, and stars. where the skies were cloudy.

To use an astrolabe, you need to No one knows who invented

know quite a bit about astronomy the compass. Some believe it

and math. was first used by native people

in South and Central America.

We know it was used in ancient

The Sextant China because it was described
in Chinese writing around

The sextant is a measuring instrument. 1000 A.D. The compass may have
Sailors use it to measure the height of traveled from China to Europe
a celestial object (like the sun or the with traders.

moon) above the horizon. The angle,

and the time when it is measured, help the

sailor to find his position on a nautical chart. (bkgd) Josh Westrich/zefa/Corbis

The first sextant was constructed in Iran in 994. It
came to Spain in the twelfth century and replaced the
astrolabe as the preferred navigation tool for sailors.

Today the sextant, along with the compass, is still The Granger Collection, New York

used by some sailors as a backup to modern technology.

Issue 8 • 63

Jerry LoFaro/NASA Astronomers decide Pluto
cannot be called a planet.

By Nellie Gonzalez Cutler

Poor, puny Pluto. After it was discovered in 1930,

it was named the ninth planet in our solar system.
But in the years since, astronomers have debated
about it. Is Pluto truly a planet? After all, it is
smaller than other planets. It has a strange tilt
and travels in an odd orbit. Finally, scientists met
in Prague, Czech Republic, in 2006 to decide.
The International Astronomical Union voted on
guidelines that define what is and is not a planet.
The final answer: Pluto is not a planet!

Planetariums, including the Hayden
Planetarium in New York City, are
no longer calling Pluto a planet. →

64 • Time For Kids

The Problem Planet Some of these chunks are pretty
big. One, Quaor, is about half the size
Pluto has always been an oddball in of Pluto. Another, Sedna, is bigger
the solar system. It is tiny (two thirds than Quaor. Some astronomers said
the size of our moon). It has a weird, that maybe Pluto is no more a planet
stretched-out orbit. Pluto is also very than those icy chunks. In 1999 the
far away from the sun. Because it is so International Astronomical Union
small and distant, it wasn’t discovered decided to term Pluto both a planet
until 1930, by astronomer Charles and an object of the Kuiper Belt. A
Tombaugh. He named the cold, dark year later the Hayden Planetarium in
planet after the Roman god of the New York City stopped calling Pluto
underworld. In 1975 a tiny moon, later a planet in its exhibits.
named Charon, was spotted orbiting
Pluto. In 2005 two more moons were Pluto with Charon and
discovered, Nix and Hydra. two smaller moons ↓

Pluto is found in a region of the
solar system known as the Kuiper Belt.
Just beyond Neptune, this area is made
up of a cloud of icy chunks.

D.Finnin/AMNH/Wide World Photo/AP Images

NASA/Wide World Photos/AP Images Issue 8 • 65

Top 5 Largest Planets (cw from top) StockTrek/Getty Images; The Hubble Heritage Team/NASA; Elvele Images /Alamy;
StockTrek/Getty Images; Premium RM/Corbis
Scientists have decided that tiny Pluto is not
a planet. But these other big, breathtaking
parts of our solar system don’t have to
worry about their place in space.

1. Jupiter 88,732 miles across

Jupiter

2. Saturn 74,975 miles across

3. Uranus 31,763 miles across

4. Neptune 30,775 miles across

5. Earth 7,926 miles across

Source: NASA

Saturn

Earth

Uranus

Neptune

The Pluto Debate

About 2,500 astronomers from 75 countries met in
Prague to make a decision about Pluto. They had their
hands full. Some scientists wanted to classify planets
by a minimum size. Others said planets must be the
shape of a sphere. As the meeting wore on, a group of
scientists proposed increasing the number of planets to
12. Pluto, its moon Charon, and two other objects, Xena
and Ceres, would be planets. Other astronomers argued
that some of the smaller, icy balls should be called
“dwarf planets.”

During the meeting a few scientists, such as Neil
DeGrasse Tyson, wondered if the word “planet”
should be dropped altogether. Tyson is director
of the Hayden Planetarium in New York City.
“You tell me something’s a planet,” he said,
“then I have to ask you 20 more questions
to figure out what [a planet] actually is.”

66 • Time For Kids

Launched in 2006, In the end the astronomers decided that only
the New Horizons Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,
spacecraft is and Neptune fit the definition of “classical planets.”
expected to pass They are celestial bodies in orbit around the sun. Also,
by Pluto in 2015. ↓ they are massive enough that they are nearly round.
Each one has its own orbit. Pluto fails to make the
grade because its orbit overlaps Neptune’s path. Pluto
is now classified as a “dwarf planet.”

All is not lost for Pluto. In January 2006, NASA
launched the New Horizons spacecraft to study Pluto
and its neighbors. Planet hunters are excited by
what may be found beyond Pluto. Richard Binzel, a
professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
agrees. “Many more Plutos wait to be discovered.”

Kin Man Hui/SanAntonio Express/ZUMA/Corbis How is Pluto different from Earth?
Find out with this chart.

Pluto Earth

Surface Mostly covered by Mostly covered
frozen nitrogen and by water (70%)
rock and land

Diameter About 1,400 miles About 8,000 miles

Number of Moons 3 1

Average Distance 93 million miles

3.5 billion miles

from the Sun

Orbit It takes 248 Earth It takes 365 days
years to travel around to travel around
the sun. the sun.

Length of One Day 6.4 Earth days 24 hours

Issue 8 • 67

By Mary Britton Miller (bkgd) Courtesy NASA; (t) Stocktrek/Getty Images

There is the moon, there is the sun
Round which we circle every year,
And there are all the stars we see
On starry nights when skies are clear,
And all the countless stars that lie
Beyond the reach of human eye.
If every bud on every tree,
All birds and fireflies and bees
And all the flowers that bloom and die
Upon the earth were counted up,
The number of the stars would be
Greater, they say, than all of these.

68

(c) Gary Bell/Image State/Alamy; (tr) Joe Raedle/Getty Images Bees
Vanish

Coral reefs are in hot water.
Can scientists turn the tide?

The latest buzz on honeybees is that they are
disappearing and no one is sure why.

W here have all the bees gone? It’s possible that more states have
Beekeepers, researchers, and lost bees. Honey production is way
farmers are buzzing. They want to down across the nation.
know why millions of honeybees are
disappearing. The bees are leaving Busy, Busy Bees
no clues and no dead bodies behind. Honeybees are hardworking insects.
“The bees have vanished,” says Jerry Of course, they make honey. They
Bromenshenk, a bee expert. also help flowering plants grow and
thrive. Bees move grains of pollen
Twenty-four states have spotted from one part of a flower to another
big problems with local bee colonies. so a plant can grow seeds and fruit.
A colony is a large group of bees that This process, called pollination,
live and work together. is important for crops like apples,
almonds, cucumbers, and cranberries.
Joshua Gunter/The Plain Dealer/Landov Crops, and the farmers who grow
them, could be in trouble if there
aren’t enough bees to do the job.

Where Bees Have Gone Missing

= states reporting bee loss

= states not reporting bee loss

WA MT ND MI VT NH ME
OR
MN NY MA
ID
↑ A beekeeper WY SD WI
examines a hive. NV CO
AK UT NE IA PA RI
70 • Time For Kids HI KS IN OH NJ CT
CA IL DE
MO WV VA MD
AZ KY
NC
OK AR TN SC

NM

MS AL GA
TX LA

FL

Source: Bee Alert Technologies, Inc. and Lupin Logic. Inc

How Bees Work Bees don’t always just happen
Fruits and vegetables can’t grow to show up on farms where crops are
unless they’re pollinated. Along grown. To make sure their crops are
with birds, bats, and other insects, pollinated, farmers rent colonies of
honeybees are among nature’s most bees. Beekeepers let the bees out to
important pollinators. pollinate the crops. Then the bees
return to their boxes, and they are
First, honeybees crawl around a moved to the next farm. Consequently
plant blossom. While they collect if honeybees don’t pollinate, many
nectar from the blossom, the bees’ crops won’t produce fruit and seeds.
legs become coated with pollen. Honeybees pollinate about one third
Then the bees fly to another of the crops in the world!
blossom. There, some of the pollen
from the first blossom lands on the A “Bee-g” Problem to Solve
second blossom. Now a fruit or Experts met in Florida in February
vegetable can grow. 2007 to work on solving the mystery
of the missing bees. A disease could be
Joe Raedle/Getty Images killing the bees. Hot dry weather could
be a cause. No one knows.

Groups connected to the bee biz
are pooling money to try to stop the
crisis. Everyone hopes to see the bees
bounce back. — Andrea Delbanco

Jack Fields/Corbis

↑ This bee will carry pollen
from this cucumber

blossom to another.

Bees from these
rented hives will
help ensure a
good crop.

Issue 9 • 71

A new action plan brings hope (cl) Ingram Publishing/Alamy; (tr) Ryan McVay/Getty Images;
to an underwater world. (b) Jeff Rotman

By Kathryn R. Satterfield

Beneath the ocean’s surface, there is a world full of color.

Striped and spotted fish swim through bright coral reefs. “It’s
just a riot of movement and color,” said Rod Salm, a marine
scientist who works at The Nature Conservancy (TNC).

Though some coral reefs look like rocks, coral is made up
of tiny animals called coral polyps. They grow and divide into
groups of coral. When they die, their skeletons are left behind.
New corals grow on top, forming fancy reefs.

However, time is running out for coral reefs. Researchers
warn that 60 percent of the world’s coral could die in the next
25 years. About 27 percent of it has already been lost.

The Great Barrier Reef off
Australia’s northeastern coast

72 • Time For Kids

The coral on the far right (tr) Bob Cranston/Norbert Wu Productions;
was damaged by bleaching. (br) Ingram Publishing/Alamy
Its neighbor was not. →

An ecosystem is a partnership
between living things and their
environment. The reef ecosystem
includes the coral reefs and the
millions of plants and animals that
live there. In fact, reefs feed and
shelter about 25 percent of all sea
life, even though they cover only
1 percent of the ocean floor.
Therefore, if the coral reefs die, then
all the living things that depend on
the reefs are in trouble, too.

Reefs in Hot Water

Why are these coral communities dying? They could
be dying due to careless fishing practices and pollution.
Luckily, there are now protected marine areas to help
control these problems.

Another problem for coral reefs is coral bleaching.
This is caused by water that is warmer than normal.
When the water gets too warm, the coral stresses
and lets go of its algae, which it depends on for
color and food. Therefore, without the algae,
coral loses its color and starves. The coral
becomes too weak and helpless against
disease. Warming in the Caribbean Sea
has bleached more than 90 percent of
the coral on many reefs.

Issue 9 • 73

Working to Save Coral The Coral Triangle, for example, is an
area that holds 75 percent of all kinds
All is not lost for bleached coral reefs. of coral and 3,000 kinds of fish. Some
TNC scientist Rod Salm has been of these fish eat seaweed or other plant
studying coral bleaching for more than life near the coral. As a result, the coral
20 years and has found ways that help moves and grows in new areas. In turn,
coral fight bleaching. For example, reefs the fish need the coral reefs to survive.
do well if they are washed by cooler The fish use the coral as a shelter and a
water. This happens when deep, cold place to catch food. They may eat other
water mixes with warmer surface water. fish or plant life that grows on or near
the coral—or even the coral itself. These
Another way that TNC keeps are all signs of a healthy ecosystem.
reefs healthy is by having many kinds
of coral and fish live around the reef.

Fred Bavendam/Minden Pictures

This healthy reef in the Coral Triangle
is full of life, such as this blue star.

74 • Time For Kids

In addition, research at TNC has The Coral Triangle, which spans
led to a new way of saving reefs. Salm several islands in the Pacific Ocean, is
had noticed that there were still healthy where TNC scientists are trying to keep
patches of coral in bleached reefs. these healthy reefs. If these reefs are
These corals were strong enough to kept strong, they can be used to grow
absorb shocks and bounce back. Some coral in places where the reefs are dying.
had natural features that helped them Salm says we need to work with nature
survive. Scientists are working to find to get coral reefs back into shape.
out more about these features. They
plan to save reefs that have such
strong coral.

United State s Coral Reefs

Pulley Ridge is one of the deepest coral reefs off the

shores of the United States. Can you find it on the map?

Georgette Douwma/Getty Images

Joe Lemonnier

Issue 9 • 75

An atoll is an island in the ocean formed by a ring of coral.
It can take as long as 30 million years for a coral atoll to
form. This diagram shows how an atoll is created.

Island

1. Far out in the ocean, Reef
a volcano erupts and
creates an island. Coral
reefs grow up around
the island.

Island Lagoon

2. Weather and other reasons Reef
cause the volcano to sink.
The reefs that surrounded
it are left behind. The water
inside the reef is called a
lagoon.

3. The volcano completely Lagoon
disappears. Sand collects Atoll
on top of the coral and
creates islands called
atolls. Plants and animals
settle on the larger islands.

76 Thomas Gagliano

(c) David R. Frazier/The Image Works; (tr) Galen Rowell/Mountain Light/Alamy Aliens
Attack

Jurassic
Bone!

A 70-million-year-old fossil helps scientists
learn more about Tyrannosaurus rex.

Stop the Spartina!

A group of Washington Courtesy Lincoln Elementary School
elementary-school kids take
on an alien invader—a weed! ↑ Lincoln Elementary School,
Mount Vernon, Washington
Poor spartina! It’s a perfectly
good plant when it stays where An Alien Attacks
it belongs. But it doesn’t belong in
Washington State’s Puget Sound. Spartina spreads easily. In many
There it has turned into a fast- parts of Puget Sound, it has
spreading, life-choking weed. crowded out native plants. Even
worse, spartina grows in thick
Plants and animals that wind clumps. The clumps change the
up in the wrong place are called mudflats around the Sound. This
aliens or exotics by ecologists. affects the entire ecosystem. As
Spartina, or cordgrass, is native native plants and the gentle slopes
to many East Coast waterways, of the mudflats disappear, native
but in Washington, it is an animals like crabs, snails, salmon,
alien species. and shorebirds have less to eat.
That makes them leave the area.
Galen Rowell/Mountain Light/Alamy
The kids at Lincoln
↑ Spartina grows in thick clumps Elementary School in Mount
that harm the mudflats. Vernon, Washington, decided to
take on the spartina problem. At
first they didn’t know anything
about the plant. Their research
told them an interesting story.

78 • Time For Kids

Where Did It Come From? Taking Action

The trouble started in the late Getting rid of spartina won’t be
1800s. Settlers from the East easy. It will take a lot of hard work,
came to the West to raise oysters. money, and time. That’s why the
They brought the oysters packed Lincoln Elementary students
in wet spartina to keep them felt their most important job was
fresh. When the oysters were put educating parents, politicians,
in Puget Sound, spartina seeds and the public. They held town
that had come along for the meetings and traveled to the state
ride sprouted. capitol in Olympia to talk about
the spartina problem. They went
Spartina was also introduced to to a bay in Puget Sound to snip off
the area on purpose. Duck hunters spartina seed heads to keep the
planted it hoping to attract more weed from spreading.
ducks. Engineers used it to control
erosion. Farmers planted it to feed It took decades for the spartina
their cattle. problem to take root; it will take
many years to fix it. — David Bjerklie

Spartina threatens beautiful Speaking of Species
Puget Sound. ↓
Many species of plants and animals are
disappearing from our planet. In fact,
by 2025, as much as one-fifth of the
world’s species may be gone. Here are
some words you should know when
speaking about species.

Extinct
What it means: The entire species
has died out and cannot return.

Endangered
What it means: Species are in
immediate danger of becoming extinct.

Threatened
What it means: Species are likely to
become endangered in the future. If
an endangered species population
starts to grow, its status could be
changed to threatened.

Terry Donnelly Issue 10 • 79

A Dino Bone
Breakthrough

What do a T. rex dinosaur and a chicken have in
common? Scientists may have the answer.

In 2003 scientists in Montana dug up aTyrannosaurus rex
(T. rex) fossil. Many dinosaur remains have been found
in the same area. This T. rex fossil was 70 million years
old. When alive, it was 40 feet tall and probably weighed
five tons. Its thighbone was huge.

A Very Lucky Break Tissue from the
To fit the thighbone onto a T. rex thighbone
helicopter, paleontologists had returns to its
to break it in half. They took the original shape
T. rex thighbone into their lab at after being
North Carolina State University. stretched.
First they soaked the fossil in
weak acid. The acid removes Areas of the bone
minerals that have formed over have bundled
millions of years. The surprise strands of tissue
came when scientists saw what which had never
was left in the part of the bone before been seen
that once held the marrow. It in such an old
was a clear stretchy material. “It fossil.
was totally shocking,” said team
leader Mary Schweitzer. Such (t and b) Wide World Photo/Wide World Photos/AP Images
material had never before been
found in a dinosaur bone. Usually any soft parts of
a dead animal disappear completely. But that hadn’t
happened in this T. rex’s thighbone.

80 • Time For Kids

John Weinstein/
The Field Museum

Amazing Adaptations Creatas Images/Jupiterimages

Adaptations are special features or
behaviors that help living things survive
in their environment. Take a look at
how these two amazing animals adapt
to their surroundings.

Alligators are called “living dinosaurs.” That’s
because these reptiles have been around for
millions of years. Like their dinosaur relatives,
alligators have thick skin that protects
them like armor. Sensors in the skin pick up
vibrations in the water that tell ‘gators prey
is moving nearby. They have special eyelids
that help them see well underwater. With
adaptations like these, it’s not surprising that
alligators have survived for so long.

↑ American Alligator

Compared with other wild cats, ocelots are small—
about twice the size of a house cat. These beautiful
animals are found in the United States only in parts
of southern Texas. Ocelots have excellent eyesight
and very good hearing. These adaptations help
them hunt at night. During the day, ocelots rest.
The beautiful pattern on their coats blends in with
the thick bushes where they live, keeping them
hidden until night comes.

↑ Ocelot Frans Lanting/Corbis

Issue 10 • 81

Under an electron microscope, GK Hart/Vikki Hart/Getty ImagesA Real-Life Jurassic Park?
scientists examined the stretchy Some researchers hope to recover
material. They saw tiny blood vessels dinosaur DNA from the T. rex
and reddish-brown dots. They believe thighbone materials. DNA is the
these dots are the nuclei, or central chemical that makes up genes. That
structures, of blood cells. makes some dinosaur fans curious.
Could the DNA be used to clone
“Bone is living tissue, . . . and has to dinosaurs? Could a real Jurassic Park
have a very good blood supply,” said ever exist?
Schweitzer. The scientists also saw
what looked like bone-building cells. Hans-Dieter Sues, a paleontologist,
Bone tissue in our bodies is constantly says no. “But,” he adds, “there’s lots
being rebuilt by bone cells. Here was of biological information locked in
evidence that the same process may this material.”
have gone on in T. rex’s bones.
Dr. Schweitzer and her team of
T. Rex’s Descendants paleontologists are looking beyond
The T. rex thighbone is providing their Montana T. rex. They are
new clues about dinosaurs. Scientists investigating other dinosaur sites
reported that its blood vessels are around the world. They hope to find
almost identical to those in modern more dinosaur fossils containing
ostrich bones. This could support tissue samples. — Joe McGowan
the theory that today’s birds are
descended from dinosaurs. ↑ Chickens may be T. Rex’s
closest living relatives.
Another team of scientists has
studied material from the T. rex
thighbone. They recently published
a report on their work. They think
T. rex is related to another modern
bird—the chicken! “Based on the
small sample we’ve recovered,
chickens may be the closest relatives
[to T. rex],” says John Asara, co-leader
of the team. Frogs and newts are also
listed as modern relatives of T. rex.

82 • Time For Kids

Taxonomy Time

Taxonomy is the science of classifying living things. The
system most commonly used puts each living thing into
seven groups. The groups are organized from most
general to most specific. Kingdoms are the most general
groups with millions of kinds of organisms. Species are
the most specific groups and have all living things that
are able to produce young of the same kind. Here is a
sample classification.

CHICKENS

KINGDOM: Animalia includes all animals
PHYLUM: Chordata
CLASS: Aves includes all vertebrates, animals
with backbones

includes all birds

ORDER: Galliformes includes six families of birds

FAMILY: Phasianidae includes pheasants and partridges

GENUS: Gallus includes the pheasant family both
wild and domesticated

SPECIES: G. domesticus the chicken

Issue 10 • 83

Breaks Free (bkgd) MaryBeth Thielhelm/Getty Images

By Frank Asch

I just want to be
where the earth breaks free
of concrete and metal and glass,
of asphalt and plastic and gas,
where sun is king
and water is queen,
where cactus grow tall
and the air is clean.
I just want to be
where the earth breaks free
of fences and alleys and walls,
of factories and traffic and malls,
where owls sleep
in the heart of day
waiting for sunset
to hunt their prey,
where mountains rise
in seas of sand
and coyotes roam
across the land.

84

(c) Joseph Van Os/Getty Images; (tr) Merlin D. Tuttle/Bat Conservation International He’s the
Bat Man!

Calling All
Dolphins

New research indicates that dolphins
call each other by name.

Scientists flip over findings
about bottlenose dolphins.

By Kathryn R. Satterfield

Researchers studying bottlenose

dolphins in Sarasota Bay, Florida, have
found that dolphins know their own
names, much like people. Dolphins
talk to one another with whistles
and calls. Scientists have known that
the animals also use unique whistles
to name each other. However, they
thought that dolphins only heard each
other’s voices. The scientists didn’t
know that dolphins listen for their
names, too.

Pedro Armestre/AFP/Getty Images To test this idea, the researchers
temporarily captured 14 dolphins
These dolphins may know and recorded their name calls. The
each other by name. scientists then disguised each dolphin’s
voice. When the changed recordings
were played, the dolphins responded
strongly to the names of their relatives
and close group members. They
ignored the names of dolphins they
did not know.

(bkgd) Comstock/PunchStock

86 • Time For Kids

Smart, Social Creatures Elephants also communicate by
moving their head, feet, and trunk.
Bottlenose dolphins live in large In much the same way, dolphins
groups that grow and change. Each communicate by their movements and
dolphin’s distinctive whistle helps it facial expressions. They often touch
quickly track down a friend or a family each other to express friendship.
member, or call for help. Coming up
with individual calls requires vocal Unlike dolphins, elephants also
learning. It’s a skill that’s seen in very communicate by their great sense
few animals, which include humans, of smell. They can recognize other
elephants, bats, and some harbor seals. elephants by the smells they have.

Elephants, for example, Why do dolphins and elephants
communicate with sound. Their low- share the gift of communication?
frequency vibrations can be heard by Scientists think it may be because
other elephants miles away. Dolphins, they are large-brained, smart animals.
too, communicate with each other by Both are social and have strong family
making low-frequency sounds. ties. Now, whether they also have
nicknames is another question!

Dolphin Discovery

These are the parts of a dolphin.
Blowhole

Eyes is a nostril for Dorsal fins
can see above breathing. allow for quick turns

to avoid danger.

water and in dim

light underwater.

Mike Maydak

Beak Flippers Skin Tail flukes
is filled with help it stop and is smooth to paddle to move
sharp, cone- move in different help it move
shaped teeth. through water. it forward.
directions.
Issue 11 • 87

Merlin Tuttle began studying
bats at age 15. “They are
among the least known
animals on Earth,” says Tuttle.

Meet a Real-Life Dr. Merlin D. Tuttle/Bat Conservation
International
Batman

Bat expert Merlin Tuttle says the

creatures of the night are misunderstood.

By Jennifer Marino

Are you afraid of bats? According Today the organization works to
protect more than 1,100 species of
to Merlin Tuttle, president of Bat bats worldwide. Bats live on every
Conservation International (BCI), you continent except Antarctica and
shouldn’t be! “People are only afraid make up almost a quarter of all
of what they don’t understand,” the world’s mammal species. But
Tuttle says. “The more you know 90 percent of those bat species
about a group of animals, the more have not been studied enough to
you appreciate them, and the more completely understand them. “Bats
interesting they become to you.” are far too important to ignore,”
Tuttle says. “They fill very important
Tuttle hoped to increase people’s roles in maintaining healthy
understanding and appreciation of ecosystems and the economy.”
bats when he founded BCI in 1982.

88 • Time For Kids

Bug Off!

Bats eat billions of insects that would otherwise destroy
crops. Bracken Cave in Texas, for example, is home to
20 million Mexican freetail bats. They eat 200 tons of
insects per night! One little brown bat can catch 1,000
mosquito-sized bugs in a single hour. If bats didn’t eat
these critters, we’d need to use more pesticides that
would threaten our health. It would cost more money to
buy food, too. In addition, bats benefit us by spreading
seeds for many of our favorite foods, including bananas,
peaches, dates, figs, and cashews. They also pollinate a
variety of important flowers.

R. Jackman/OSF/
Animals Animals -
Earth Scenes

The bats in Bracken Cave in Texas
make up the largest community of
mammals in the world.

Issue 11 • 89

Batty for Bats! Flying foxes like this
one are the biggest
Tuttle became interested in bats at a young age. bats in the world. Their
“Bats are incredibly fascinating and diverse animals,” wingspan can be as
he says. “There are bats that are as cute as any long as five feet! ↓
puppy or kitten, and those that are as strange as
E.T. or any dinosaur.” The flying fox has a five-foot
wingspan, while the bumblebee bat of Thailand
weighs less than a penny. There are bats
that are bright orange, bats with pink
wings and pink ears, bats with black
bodies and white spots, and bats that
are a combination of jet black and
snow white. There are bats that
fly like helicopters and those
that fly like jets.

Bat Conservation Wing
International membrane

Bat-ter Up! Forearm

Bats aren’t scary when you get to know them.
Here are the main parts of a bat’s body.

Second finger

Thumb

Ear

Third Mike Maydak
finger
Leg Knee
Fourth Foot Tail
finger

Fifth
finger

90 • Time For Kids

One of the most amazing things about ↑ The bumblebee bat is Dr. Merlin D. Tuttle/
bats is the way they communicate. Bats the world’s tiniest bat. Photo Researchers
have poor vision, so they don’t use their
eyes to navigate and search for food.
Instead, they “see” objects by using sonar,
or echolocation. Here’s how it works. First
the bats make high-pitched cries out of
their mouths or noses. Then their high-
pitched cries bounce off objects and travel
back to them. By paying attention to
the echoes, the bats are able to move
about. This method is similar to the
way dolphins and whales use sound to
navigate at night and in murky waters.

Bats are remarkable animals, NIGHT FLIERS Bats are the only
but they’ve gotten a bad rap. One HOW EAR-Y mammals that can fly.
reason is that photos often make
them look scary. They usually show Large ears pick up sound
them baring their fangs. What people waves that tell the bats
don’t realize is that most of these where to find prey.
bats were captured and put in cages.
Frightened, these bats would show Long, clawed toes allow the bat
their teeth. The results are photos of
“vicious” bats. TOE HOLD to grab onto something and hang

That’s why Tuttle takes lots of upside down while sleeping.
photos of bats. He wants to show
a different side of them in his A wing membrane is tightly
photos and in his work. To him
bats “are among the most naturally TAKE WING stretched over finger and arm
gentle animals on Earth.” Tuttle
adds, “They’re highly intelligent and bones. This allows the bat to fly.
valuable to have around.”
DINNER’S ON Bats eat mostly insects. Bats
fly at night because plenty
of insects are out then.

GOOD BONES A bat’s skeleton has thin,
lightweight bones, making
it perfect for flying.

KEEPING Bats often groom themselves
CLEAN to keep their fur clean.

Issue 11 • 91

(bkgd) Dr. Parvinder Sethi

NIGHTin FLIERS (tc) Dr. Merlin D. Tuttle/Bat Conservation International/Photo Researchers

the

Lone Star State

About 32 different species of bats call Texas home.
Here are just 5 of them.

Species Wingspan Weight

Big Brown Bat 13 to 14 inches 0.4 to 0.8 ounces (t to b) Dr. Merlin D. Tuttle/Bat Conservation International/Photo Researchers; Gilbert S. Grant/Photo Researchers; Dr. Merlin D. Tuttle/Bat
Conservation International; Dr. Merlin D. Tuttle/Bat Conservation International; Barry Mansell/SuperStock
Mexican Free-Tailed Bat 12 to 14 inches 0.4 to 0.5 ounces

Evening Bat 10 to 11 inches 0.2 to 0.4 ounces

Rafinesque’s 10 to 12 inches 0.2 to 0.5 ounces
Big-Eared Bat

Ghost Faced Bat 14 to 15 inches 0.4 to 0.7 ounces

Source: The Florida Bat Center

92

Bullies in
Cyberspace

c u Online!

Sending instant messages is
changing the way kids spell,
socialize, and spend their time.

Is it out of control?

(c) James Bennett; (tr) Dean MacAdam

Bullies have entered cyberspace. Thinkstock Images/Jupiterimages
What can kids do to stop them? Dith Pran/New York Times Agency

By Nicole Iorio

(bkgd) Nick Koudis/Getty Images Jessica felt that she could not It is now in cyberspace, the world
of computer networks, and the
escape. “I was in tears every day problem is growing.
when I went to the computer,”
says Jessica, 12. What was making Parry Aftab is the head of an
her life so unhappy? A girl who organization that teaches kids how
had been picking on her at school to deal with cyberbullies. Aftab has
started attacking her online. found that 55 percent of kids aged
9 to 14 have experienced some form
Jessica is not alone. Many kids of online bullying. “Cyberbullying
are feeling the sting of online is any way of using interactive
teasing. Bullying has moved beyond technology to humiliate, frighten, or
the playground and cafeteria. target another child,” she says.

Online Safety Tips

• Keep pictures and secrets to yourself.

• Don’t reply to mean messages.

• Block the sender and tell an adult.

Cyberspace expert Parry Aftab
talks with teens about how
bullies threaten kids online.

94 • Time For Kids

Computers, cell phones, pagers, Kieran Halloran, 12, went with
and interactive games are the a group from his school. Kieran
weapons that cyberbullies use. learned that if no one tries to stop
Bullies send malicious e-mails and online bullying, “the problem can
instant messages. They create grow.”
Web sites with mean words and
embarrassing pictures. They steal One solution to cyberbullying
passwords and spread rumors. is education. That means teaching
Cyberbullying may not inflict kids and adults how to deal with
physical anguish, but it causes online attacks. Aftab’s group trains
emotional hurt. students to become TeenAngels,
who pass along antibullying advice
Making Cyberspace Safe to others. Mary Lou Handy, a middle
school teacher in Ridgewood,
The issue is now being addressed New Jersey, advises a chapter of
by schools, communities, parents, TeenAngels. “It’s influential when
and kids themselves. The nation’s it comes from one child to another,”
first cyberbullying summit was held Handy says. “Kids [learn to] think
in White Plains, New York. More on their feet.”
than 500 people attended.

Cyberkids

This bar graph shows the percentage
of U.S. kids who surf the Web.

Alessia Girasole 100% 78.8%
75%
Percentage of 67.3%
American Kids Who
50% 41.0%
Use the Internet 25% 19.9%

0 5–9 10–13 14–17
3–4 Age

Source: U.S. Dept. of Commerce

Issue 12 • 95

By Kathryn R. Satterfield

Kids everywhere are
logging on and sounding off.
Friendship and the English language
may never be the same!

Think fast! Figure out what these people are Dean MacAdam

saying. “Wass^?” “N2M, U?” “SRY. G2G.”
“BFN.” Do you need a hint? The
dictionary won’t help you, but
our handy guide will.

If you figured it out right
away, you are probably among
the 60 percent of kids who use
instant messaging, or IM. IM
programs let people have
real-time conversations
online. Their words pop
up in text windows. Instant
messages are also typed
fast. Some people don’t
slow down to capitalize, add
periods and commas, or spell
out words. As a result, new
word abbreviations and IM slang
are being invented.

96 • Time For Kids

Keyboard Nation Gabbi Lewin, 12, of Dallas, Texas,
reports that she’s on instant messenger
A typical instant-messaging session almost every day. She says that
lasts more than a half hour. It involves without it, “there would be no way to
three or more buddies. It often communicate. Our parents are on the
includes friends from different areas. phone all the time.”
More than one in three IM users say
they use it every day. That’s according Steven Mintz, 13, prefers messaging
to the Pew Internet and American Life to the telephone. Why? “Because I can
Project. Nearly half of teens believe talk to more people at once,” he says.
that the Internet has improved their Chatting online is also a good way to
friendships. It’s a quick, easy way to keep up with friends who live far away.
keep in touch. Kids don’t have to feel anxious about
running up the phone bill.

Popular Things to Do on the Internet

Here’s a look at what kids ages 12 to 17 do online.

Activity Percentage of
Kids Online

Send or read e-mail 89%

Play online games 81%

Go online to get news or information about current events 76%

Send or receive instant messages 75%

Buy things online, such as books, clothing, or music 43%

Send or receive text messages using a cell phone 38%

Source: Pew Internet Project

Alessia Girasole

Issue 12 • 97

Wrong Message? Dean MacAdam

Instant messaging is not always a friendship builder.
Sometimes kids use it to air angry or hurt feelings. It’s
just easier to say something online than in person. Oliver
Davies, 11, of Palo Alto, California, agrees. With IM,
he says, “I can express my emotions more easily, without
having the guilt of saying it face-to-face.”

Many parents are worried about kids’ IM habits. They
think IMs take away from more important things. Julia
Long of Bellingham, Washington, gives
an example. When her son,
Taylor, 13, “is waiting for
a beep, it’s hard [for him]
to stay focused on
homework or any kind
of family activity.”

Teachers get upset
when IM slang shows
up in students’ writing.
Young writers already
have trouble using words
like “its” and “it’s”
correctly. Now some
kids are using “u,” “r,”
and “wuz” instead of
correct English.

Kids’ safety is also
a concern. Staying
connected is fine, but an
online friendship with
a stranger is not. As a
result, many parents set
rules about IM’ing.

98 • Time For Kids