In the last few years, scientists in Australia have concluded that koalas sitting in trees aren’t just hanging out, as some people like to think. Using thermal imaging, scientists were able to determine that in hot weather, koalas climb down lower on their trees, where the tree is significantly cooler. When the weather turns cold, they move higher up the tree. This study was done as part of a larger environmental study researching the effects of climate change on animals indigenous to Australia. Scientists fear that koalas may have to find a more effective way to cool themselves as climate change continues to affect their environments.

Passage 1
Many teachers across the country are noticing the importance of film in the modern classroom. No longer is putting a movie on meant as an invitation for students to check out while the teacher does work at their desk. Films are a versatile medium, and can function as textbooks, pieces of literature, or pieces of art that can bring a new dimension to a student’s learning. Modern education standards (including the much-maligned Common Core Standards) recognize visual media as an important learning tool and require it as part of a students’ education. Not all teachers are comfortable teaching with films, however, most likely because they are used to the stigma of showing movies as a substitute for actual teaching. The teachers leading the charge for the effective use of film in the classroom know that teaching a film effectively means preparing lessons with the same amount of time and effort as any other days. When teachers allow themselves to approach teaching with a film with the same sense of care that they treat teaching with a short story, a novel, or a textbook, the students will be the ones who reap the benefits.

Passage 2
Picture a history classroom that has been studying World War II for the past two weeks, most recently focusing on the Invasion of Normandy Beach (D-Day). A traditional teacher might simply shut the lights and throw on the first 20 minutes of Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan.” Students put their heads down, go on their phones, or pass notes throughout the lesson; nothing is gained. Or the teacher could spend a class period analyzing the same 20-minute scene with the class, looking at how the director, Steven Spielberg, builds anxiety in the beginning, how he creates the chaos of the beach, and how he gets the audience to care for characters they haven’t even met yet. Students would get much more out of this second approach and would be able to appreciate the carnage and the pandemonium that soldiers experienced on the beaches of Normandy. When teachers try to get students to understand a novel, they don’t just read the novel aloud straight through and then move on to the next lesson. They use class time to do in-depth analysis of the novel. Why should it be any different when a teacher uses a film? Teachers with the second approach are revolutionizing what it means to watch a movie in class and taking advantage of a great learning tool.

Passage 1
Many teachers across the country are noticing the importance of film in the modern classroom. No longer is putting a movie on meant as an invitation for students to check out while the teacher does work at their desk. Films are a versatile medium, and can function as textbooks, pieces of literature, or pieces of art that can bring a new dimension to a student’s learning. Modern education standards (including the much-maligned Common Core Standards) recognize visual media as an important learning tool and require it as part of a students’ education. Not all teachers are comfortable teaching with films, however, most likely because they are used to the stigma of showing movies as a substitute for actual teaching. The teachers leading the charge for the effective use of film in the classroom know that teaching a film effectively means preparing lessons with the same amount of time and effort as any other days. When teachers allow themselves to approach teaching with a film with the same sense of care that they treat teaching with a short story, a novel, or a textbook, the students will be the ones who reap the benefits.

Passage 2
Picture a history classroom that has been studying World War II for the past two weeks, most recently focusing on the Invasion of Normandy Beach (D-Day). A traditional teacher might simply shut the lights and throw on the first 20 minutes of Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan.” Students put their heads down, go on their phones, or pass notes throughout the lesson; nothing is gained. Or the teacher could spend a class period analyzing the same 20-minute scene with the class, looking at how the director, Steven Spielberg, builds anxiety in the beginning, how he creates the chaos of the beach, and how he gets the audience to care for characters they haven’t even met yet. Students would get much more out of this second approach and would be able to appreciate the carnage and the pandemonium that soldiers experienced on the beaches of Normandy. When teachers try to get students to understand a novel, they don’t just read the novel aloud straight through and then move on to the next lesson. They use class time to do in-depth analysis of the novel. Why should it be any different when a teacher uses a film? Teachers with the second approach are revolutionizing what it means to watch a movie in class and taking advantage of a great learning tool.

Passage 1
Many teachers across the country are noticing the importance of film in the modern classroom. No longer is putting a movie on meant as an invitation for students to check out while the teacher does work at their desk. Films are a versatile medium, and can function as textbooks, pieces of literature, or pieces of art that can bring a new dimension to a student’s learning. Modern education standards (including the much-maligned Common Core Standards) recognize visual media as an important learning tool and require it as part of a students’ education. Not all teachers are comfortable teaching with films, however, most likely because they are used to the stigma of showing movies as a substitute for actual teaching. The teachers leading the charge for the effective use of film in the classroom know that teaching a film effectively means preparing lessons with the same amount of time and effort as any other days. When teachers allow themselves to approach teaching with a film with the same sense of care that they treat teaching with a short story, a novel, or a textbook, the students will be the ones who reap the benefits.

Passage 2
Picture a history classroom that has been studying World War II for the past two weeks, most recently focusing on the Invasion of Normandy Beach (D-Day). A traditional teacher might simply shut the lights and throw on the first 20 minutes of Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan.” Students put their heads down, go on their phones, or pass notes throughout the lesson; nothing is gained. Or the teacher could spend a class period analyzing the same 20-minute scene with the class, looking at how the director, Steven Spielberg, builds anxiety in the beginning, how he creates the chaos of the beach, and how he gets the audience to care for characters they haven’t even met yet. Students would get much more out of this second approach and would be able to appreciate the carnage and the pandemonium that soldiers experienced on the beaches of Normandy. When teachers try to get students to understand a novel, they don’t just read the novel aloud straight through and then move on to the next lesson. They use class time to do in-depth analysis of the novel. Why should it be any different when a teacher uses a film? Teachers with the second approach are revolutionizing what it means to watch a movie in class and taking advantage of a great learning tool.

Passage 1
Many teachers across the country are noticing the importance of film in the modern classroom. No longer is putting a movie on meant as an invitation for students to check out while the teacher does work at their desk. Films are a versatile medium, and can function as textbooks, pieces of literature, or pieces of art that can bring a new dimension to a student’s learning. Modern education standards (including the much-maligned Common Core Standards) recognize visual media as an important learning tool and require it as part of a students’ education. Not all teachers are comfortable teaching with films, however, most likely because they are used to the stigma of showing movies as a substitute for actual teaching. The teachers leading the charge for the effective use of film in the classroom know that teaching a film effectively means preparing lessons with the same amount of time and effort as any other days. When teachers allow themselves to approach teaching with a film with the same sense of care that they treat teaching with a short story, a novel, or a textbook, the students will be the ones who reap the benefits.

Passage 2
Picture a history classroom that has been studying World War II for the past two weeks, most recently focusing on the Invasion of Normandy Beach (D-Day). A traditional teacher might simply shut the lights and throw on the first 20 minutes of Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan.” Students put their heads down, go on their phones, or pass notes throughout the lesson; nothing is gained. Or the teacher could spend a class period analyzing the same 20-minute scene with the class, looking at how the director, Steven Spielberg, builds anxiety in the beginning, how he creates the chaos of the beach, and how he gets the audience to care for characters they haven’t even met yet. Students would get much more out of this second approach and would be able to appreciate the carnage and the pandemonium that soldiers experienced on the beaches of Normandy. When teachers try to get students to understand a novel, they don’t just read the novel aloud straight through and then move on to the next lesson. They use class time to do in-depth analysis of the novel. Why should it be any different when a teacher uses a film? Teachers with the second approach are revolutionizing what it means to watch a movie in class and taking advantage of a great learning tool.

Passage 1
Many teachers across the country are noticing the importance of film in the modern classroom. No longer is putting a movie on meant as an invitation for students to check out while the teacher does work at their desk. Films are a versatile medium, and can function as textbooks, pieces of literature, or pieces of art that can bring a new dimension to a student’s learning. Modern education standards (including the much-maligned Common Core Standards) recognize visual media as an important learning tool and require it as part of a students’ education. Not all teachers are comfortable teaching with films, however, most likely because they are used to the stigma of showing movies as a substitute for actual teaching. The teachers leading the charge for the effective use of film in the classroom know that teaching a film effectively means preparing lessons with the same amount of time and effort as any other days. When teachers allow themselves to approach teaching with a film with the same sense of care that they treat teaching with a short story, a novel, or a textbook, the students will be the ones who reap the benefits.

Passage 2
Picture a history classroom that has been studying World War II for the past two weeks, most recently focusing on the Invasion of Normandy Beach (D-Day). A traditional teacher might simply shut the lights and throw on the first 20 minutes of Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan.” Students put their heads down, go on their phones, or pass notes throughout the lesson; nothing is gained. Or the teacher could spend a class period analyzing the same 20-minute scene with the class, looking at how the director, Steven Spielberg, builds anxiety in the beginning, how he creates the chaos of the beach, and how he gets the audience to care for characters they haven’t even met yet. Students would get much more out of this second approach and would be able to appreciate the carnage and the pandemonium that soldiers experienced on the beaches of Normandy. When teachers try to get students to understand a novel, they don’t just read the novel aloud straight through and then move on to the next lesson. They use class time to do in-depth analysis of the novel. Why should it be any different when a teacher uses a film? Teachers with the second approach are revolutionizing what it means to watch a movie in class and taking advantage of a great learning tool.

Passage 1
Whether people like to admit it or not, the urge to belong to a group is a major motivation behind much of what they do. It is important to be an individual, but being an individual at the expense of alienating one’s self from everyone else can be harmful to a person’s mental and psychological health. Experts like to coach children to be themselves, to not conform, but true non-conformity is dangerous. Everyone needs to sacrifice some individuality in order to exist within society. What 13-year-old, if given complete choice, would choose to go to school every day? If teenagers were to give in to their individual desires at all times, our society would regress into chaos and madness. This “freedom” would also lead to more rampant loneliness, and subsequently a rising suicide rate. Individualism is great to a point; giving up some of our individuality to engage in our society, however, is the best way to improve ourselves as individuals and as a group.

Passage 2
The worst thing that an individual can do is conform to a group or society. When people conform, they lose their identity. Critics of this idea often bring up the straw man argument that we have to conform to society in order to truly exist within it. While this is true, it is also a flawed argument. By getting a job, paying taxes, or doing other mundane activities that you don’t want to do, you are not truly conforming because they are choices that benefit you. True individualism isn’t selfish myopia. True individualism is making the choices that you want to make without worry of outside pressures or what other people will think. Even if you don’t have children, it is in your better interest to fund education with your taxes. Proper education decreases crime and helps a community make progress. Our individualism is the most important thing in the world, and we should be free to make our own choices, even if those choices happen to align with the choices of another. Conformity happens when people feel forced to align their choices with the choices of others, and that kind of decision-making kills the individual.

Passage 1
Whether people like to admit it or not, the urge to belong to a group is a major motivation behind much of what they do. It is important to be an individual, but being an individual at the expense of alienating one’s self from everyone else can be harmful to a person’s mental and psychological health. Experts like to coach children to be themselves, to not conform, but true non-conformity is dangerous. Everyone needs to sacrifice some individuality in order to exist within society. What 13-year-old, if given complete choice, would choose to go to school every day? If teenagers were to give in to their individual desires at all times, our society would regress into chaos and madness. This “freedom” would also lead to more rampant loneliness, and subsequently a rising suicide rate. Individualism is great to a point; giving up some of our individuality to engage in our society, however, is the best way to improve ourselves as individuals and as a group.

Passage 2
The worst thing that an individual can do is conform to a group or society. When people conform, they lose their identity. Critics of this idea often bring up the straw man argument that we have to conform to society in order to truly exist within it. While this is true, it is also a flawed argument. By getting a job, paying taxes, or doing other mundane activities that you don’t want to do, you are not truly conforming because they are choices that benefit you. True individualism isn’t selfish myopia. True individualism is making the choices that you want to make without worry of outside pressures or what other people will think. Even if you don’t have children, it is in your better interest to fund education with your taxes. Proper education decreases crime and helps a community make progress. Our individualism is the most important thing in the world, and we should be free to make our own choices, even if those choices happen to align with the choices of another. Conformity happens when people feel forced to align their choices with the choices of others, and that kind of decision-making kills the individual.

Passage 1
Whether people like to admit it or not, the urge to belong to a group is a major motivation behind much of what they do. It is important to be an individual, but being an individual at the expense of alienating one’s self from everyone else can be harmful to a person’s mental and psychological health. Experts like to coach children to be themselves, to not conform, but true non-conformity is dangerous. Everyone needs to sacrifice some individuality in order to exist within society. What 13-year-old, if given complete choice, would choose to go to school every day? If teenagers were to give in to their individual desires at all times, our society would regress into chaos and madness. This “freedom” would also lead to more rampant loneliness, and subsequently a rising suicide rate. Individualism is great to a point; giving up some of our individuality to engage in our society, however, is the best way to improve ourselves as individuals and as a group.

Passage 2
The worst thing that an individual can do is conform to a group or society. When people conform, they lose their identity. Critics of this idea often bring up the straw man argument that we have to conform to society in order to truly exist within it. While this is true, it is also a flawed argument. By getting a job, paying taxes, or doing other mundane activities that you don’t want to do, you are not truly conforming because they are choices that benefit you. True individualism isn’t selfish myopia. True individualism is making the choices that you want to make without worry of outside pressures or what other people will think. Even if you don’t have children, it is in your better interest to fund education with your taxes. Proper education decreases crime and helps a community make progress. Our individualism is the most important thing in the world, and we should be free to make our own choices, even if those choices happen to align with the choices of another. Conformity happens when people feel forced to align their choices with the choices of others, and that kind of decision-making kills the individual.

Passage 1
Whether people like to admit it or not, the urge to belong to a group is a major motivation behind much of what they do. It is important to be an individual, but being an individual at the expense of alienating one’s self from everyone else can be harmful to a person’s mental and psychological health. Experts like to coach children to be themselves, to not conform, but true non-conformity is dangerous. Everyone needs to sacrifice some individuality in order to exist within society. What 13-year-old, if given complete choice, would choose to go to school every day? If teenagers were to give in to their individual desires at all times, our society would regress into chaos and madness. This “freedom” would also lead to more rampant loneliness, and subsequently a rising suicide rate. Individualism is great to a point; giving up some of our individuality to engage in our society, however, is the best way to improve ourselves as individuals and as a group.

Passage 2
The worst thing that an individual can do is conform to a group or society. When people conform, they lose their identity. Critics of this idea often bring up the straw man argument that we have to conform to society in order to truly exist within it. While this is true, it is also a flawed argument. By getting a job, paying taxes, or doing other mundane activities that you don’t want to do, you are not truly conforming because they are choices that benefit you. True individualism isn’t selfish myopia. True individualism is making the choices that you want to make without worry of outside pressures or what other people will think. Even if you don’t have children, it is in your better interest to fund education with your taxes. Proper education decreases crime and helps a community make progress. Our individualism is the most important thing in the world, and we should be free to make our own choices, even if those choices happen to align with the choices of another. Conformity happens when people feel forced to align their choices with the choices of others, and that kind of decision-making kills the individual.

My family used to take yearly trips to Florida to go on vacation and visit my grandmother. I used to love these trips because the warm weather, pools, and beaches were a big change from what I was used to in Connecticut. I woke up one morning, the day we were set to leave for one of these vacations, to find my parents already out of bed. As I walked downstairs, I could feel that the air was different than I expected. It wasn’t light and carefree; it was heavy and burdened. That’s when I saw my parents talking with my aunt. I couldn’t figure out why she was there, but they all looked very upset. We didn’t go on vacation that day. My grandmother had died. I hated my parents for inviting all of our family over to laugh and tell stories. Why was everyone so happy? It took a long time for me to realize that that was just how my family dealt with death.

My family used to take yearly trips to Florida to go on vacation and visit my grandmother. I used to love these trips because the warm weather, pools, and beaches were a big change from what I was used to in Connecticut. I woke up one morning, the day we were set to leave for one of these vacations, to find my parents already out of bed. As I walked downstairs, I could feel that the air was different than I expected. It wasn’t light and carefree; it was heavy and burdened. That’s when I saw my parents talking with my aunt. I couldn’t figure out why she was there, but they all looked very upset. We didn’t go on vacation that day. My grandmother had died. I hated my parents for inviting all of our family over to laugh and tell stories. Why was everyone so happy? It took a long time for me to realize that that was just how my family dealt with death.

My family used to take yearly trips to Florida to go on vacation and visit my grandmother. I used to love these trips because the warm weather, pools, and beaches were a big change from what I was used to in Connecticut. I woke up one morning, the day we were set to leave for one of these vacations, to find my parents already out of bed. As I walked downstairs, I could feel that the air was different than I expected. It wasn’t light and carefree; it was heavy and burdened. That’s when I saw my parents talking with my aunt. I couldn’t figure out why she was there, but they all looked very upset. We didn’t go on vacation that day. My grandmother had died. I hated my parents for inviting all of our family over to laugh and tell stories. Why was everyone so happy? It took a long time for me to realize that that was just how my family dealt with death.

My family used to take yearly trips to Florida to go on vacation and visit my grandmother. I used to love these trips because the warm weather, pools, and beaches were a big change from what I was used to in Connecticut. I woke up one morning, the day we were set to leave for one of these vacations, to find my parents already out of bed. As I walked downstairs, I could feel that the air was different than I expected. It wasn’t light and carefree; it was heavy and burdened. That’s when I saw my parents talking with my aunt. I couldn’t figure out why she was there, but they all looked very upset. We didn’t go on vacation that day. My grandmother had died. I hated my parents for inviting all of our family over to laugh and tell stories. Why was everyone so happy? It took a long time for me to realize that that was just how my family dealt with death.