MAP CORNER

DID YOU KNOW?

Enjoy these activities

that help you get

to know your St.

Louis American

newspaper.

Activity One — Margin of Victory: Use

the sports section of the

newspaper to compare numbers.

Locate the final scores of two different

games. Use pictures, objects, or

symbols to calculate the distances

covered.

Activity Two — Newspaper Road Map: With a friend,

choose a news story to be your make believe road map.

Both of you cut the story from two separate newspapers.

Your starting point will be the first word. Your partner

will give you cardinal directions (ex: 2 words

east, 4 lines south, 1

word west, etc.), while

they also navigate the

route. When they say

“stop,” compare your

maps. Choose another

article so you can

give your partner

directions.

Learning Standards: I can use the

newspaper to locate information. I can compare

numbers. I can follow directions.

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 Industrial Designer Earl Lucas

Earl Lucas was born in Dallas, Texas, 1970. As a kid, Lucas

loved to draw. He graduated from Booker T. Washington High

School of Performing and Visual Arts. At a high school career

fair, he met representatives from The College for Creative

Studies. Musicians Norah Jones and Erykah Badu attended

this school.

Lucas went to the College for Creative Studies in Detroit,

Michigan, to study 3D jewelry design. He later switched to

Industrial Design because of his interest in transportation.

While in college, he worked with friends to help design a

van to transport elderly citizens. After college, Lucas worked

designing car seats, panels for doors, and headliners for an

auto supply company. In Texas, he got to design extravagant

planes with gold, platinum, and jewels for the Sultan of

Brunei.

In 1999, Lucas was hired to design cars for Ford. He designs

the exterior of the car. Of his 10-20 designs, he will narrow

it down to one that works. He was part of the design team

that developed the 2010 Ford Taurus SHO, 2003 Lincoln

Navigator and Expedition. His favorite part about the job?

Lucas replies, “You get paid for sketching!” According to

Black Enterprise magazine, Lucas is one of 25 to 30 African-

American car designers in the world.

“Whether I’m designing cars for the average person or planes

for the world’s richest man, it’s those lessons I learned at

College for Creative Studies that helped me become the

designer I am today,” said Lucas. “I was used to working

in an atmosphere where pressure and competition were the

norm. Because I was not treated as a star student, I yearned

for better design solutions and attention. This forced me to

work harder.”

To read more about Earl Lucas and his designs, visit: http://www.ebony.com/life/the-brother-who-revived-

the-ford-taurus-earl-lucas#axzz3m32AUwm2.

Learning Standards: I can read a biography

about a person who has made a contribution in

the fields of science, technology, engineering

and math.

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

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:

Designing A Car!

In 2008, The

Little Tikes

Company sold

more than 457,000

Cozy Coupes®.

The most expensive car, Lamborghini Veneno

(Italian for “venom”), is priced at $4.5 million

dollars. Only 9 of the cars were produced. The cars

have 740 horsepower and can achieve speeds of 220

miles per hour.

Answer these questions about cars.

z A local car show sold 12,000

tickets its first year and 14,000 tickets

its second year. On the third year, it

sold 50% more than first two years

combined. How many tickets were sold

in the third year? ______

x An 800 car parking lot is divided

into three sections. There are 270 spots

in section 1, and there are 150 more in

section 2 than section 3. How many

cars are in section 3? ______

c Angela’s parents buy a used car for

$3,500. They agree to sell it to her

if she can pay it off

in 16 months. How

much will Angela need

to pay per month?

______

v Andrew rented a

car. The charge was $19/day plus $.10/

mile driven. If he had the car for two

days and drove a total of 180 miles,

how much did he spend? ______

b Ben’s car gets 28

miles per gallon. If he has to

drive 350 miles, how many gallons

of gas will he use? ______ If gas

costs $2.19/gallon, how much will

he spend for the gas? ______

Learning Standards: I can add,

subtract, multiply, and divide to

solve a problem. I can use a

formula to solve a word problem.

Background Information: In this open-ended experiment, you will design a

car. Get ready for some critical thinking!

Materials Needed: • 3 Straws • 4 Lifesavers • 1 Piece of Paper

• 2 Paper Clips • 50 Centimeters of Tape

Process:

q Use the materials given to design a

car. This car will be used for a race. Here’s the catch!

You can only move the cars by blowing on them!

Analyze: What did you notice about the most effective

designs? What surprised you? What would you do

differently next time?

Learning Standards: I can

complete an experiment and create

a model. I can analyze results.

Have you ever dreamed of designing a car? Do you wonder

how these ideas become a reality? Car designers start with

research. They study the current trends and interests. The

car has to appeal to the buyers. Next, they sketch a design

of the car (computers

are often used for this

stage). After the design

is perfected, a prototype

is built. A prototype is

a sample, or model, of

the car. The next stage

is testing. Cars must

undergo many tests

to see how they will

handle crashes, extreme

temperatures, wind

variations, and various road conditions. Once the car has

passed the tests, then it will be built.

In factories, a steel sheet is cut according to the size of

the part and then is bent and cut in a stamping machine to

make parts such as car doors, roofs, and hoods. Welders use

electricity to melt these stamps at certain points to join

them together to form the car.

One car has approximately 30,000

parts counting every part down

to the small screws. After the car

is formed, it will be painted. Cars

can be made customized to the

customer’s order.

To create your own car online, visit: http://www.abcya.com/create_

and_build_car.htm.

Learning Standards: I can

read nonfiction text for main idea and supporting details.

In 2004, Oprah Winfrey

gave every member of the

entire audience a Pontiac

G-6 worth $28,500.

There were 276 audience

members.

SCIENCE EXPERIMENT

Buder Elementary

School 5th grade

teacher, James

Perotti, works with

students on the scientific

process to identify a 'mystery

seed' after using the science

page in the newspaper. Buder

Elementary School is in the

Saint Louis Public Schools

District. Photo by Wiley Price /

St. Louis American.

Design A Puff Mobile!

Questionable Cars!

A car engine has more

than 500 parts!

,