Ready or Not?

Discusses the 2008 election in which a minority and a female candidate made many headlines. It looks back at past minority and female candidates in history and asks what other firsts we might see in our lifetime.

Iron Man vs. Batman

Iron Man, the movie vs. Batman, The Dark Knight. Now that they’ve taken over the big screen, they are a multi-million dollar entertainment industry, giving us plenty of action and ethical dilemmas.

Image: Unattainable

Looks at the “ideal” body image promoted by the entertainment business and modeling world. It prompts students to decipher a line between healthy and unhealthy body images.

Circle of Friends

Michael Vick and Sean Taylor: two talented football players. One career interrupted, one life cut short. This article examines the role of the company we keep and how our lives can be forever influenced by these decisions.

Riding Dubs

This article shows that while one goal in life might be to ride like a rap star, a more important one should be to understand responsible spending and the habits of hard work.

The Right to Support Them

Which celebs are in favor of the war waged in Iraq over the last few years, and which ones aren’t? This article explains that even though Americans may have differing views on the necessity of the War in Iraq, our men and women in uniform must know that we respect them.

A Lifetime to Build, a Moment to Lose

A model high school student has everything going for her until one foolish mistake is caught on camera. When that photo makes its way onto a classmate’s Facebook page, all that she has worked for is threatened. This article shows how a reputation can take a lifetime to build but only a moment to lose.

Journey of the Tiger

All about the remarkable life and career of Tiger Woods, including his winning attitude, his dedication to excellence, and the ways he uses his celebrity to give back.

Above the Influence

Focuses on celebrities who have made costly decisions to drink and drive, and the consequences they face because of these decisions.

Blood In, Blood Out

A history of gangs in America, looking at reasons people join, the dangers, and social alternatives to gangs. While gang life may seem like a road to acceptance, it leads only to fear and violence.

^PWImpact! books integrate reading, writing, text comprehension, vocabulary development, higher-order thinking, ethical dilemmas, and character development through high-interest texts, technical informational texts, and vocational informational texts. Lexile measurements are provided for all articles to aid readers and educators in determining appropriate difficulty levels. Book 4i our intervention book is written a lower Lexile range for students reading between a 4^th – 6^th grade level, Book 4.1 is written at an approximate middle school Lexile level, and Book 4.2 is written at an approximate high school Lexile level.

Original Texts

Each of the 10 units has three original Lexiled texts. The heart of the unit revolves around the high-interest text, which appoints a particular focus related to current events. This text presents a topic that piques students’ interest and stirs them to think critically from a character education perspective. The technical and vocational texts are both informational and relate directly to the high-interest text. These informational texts allow students to relate to and interpret a different type of writing than the somewhat informal prose of the high-interest text.

Interpreting the Data

Each unit includes an Interpreting the Data section that directly relates to the high-interest topic. Interpreting the Data gives students practice manipulating, analyzing, and interpreting numbers, put into real-world perspective though the lens of character education. Short- and extended-response questions give students the opportunity to merge mathematical and verbal skills.

Reading Instructional Guides

Each unit includes two Reading Instructional Guides in the Teacher’s Book, one that supports the high-interest text and one that supports the technical informational text. The purpose of the instructional guides is to aid students in before, during, and after reading strategies. Before Reading strategies addressed include Front-Loading Background Knowledge through Read Aloud/Think Aloud, Looking at Words, an Anticipation Guide, and Starter Questions. During Reading strategies are addressed though a Reading Strategy Sheet/Graphic Organizer. After Reading strategies are addressed though Discussion Starter Questions based on the articles.

Text Comprehension Assessments

Each of the 10 units has two text comprehension assessments, one testing the high-interest text and one testing the technical text. The questions are consistently based on specific standards with question stems similar to those frequently used on state assessment exams. The comprehension questions cover four broad categories: Words and Phrases, Main Idea/Author’s Purpose, Compare and Contrast/Cause and Effect, and Reference and Research.

Writing Assessments

Each of the 10 units provides writing assessments that foster higher order thinking skills. Reflect and Respond is an extended-response question encouraging students to process what they have learned from the Interpreting the Data section in relation to character education. The technical writing prompt allows students to demonstrate understanding of the technical text and practice an extended response that uses effective technical writing skills. Looking Forward and the Ethical Dilemma are extended responses based on the vocational text. Looking Forward allows students to explore areas of interest for their future, including how to prepare for a future career. The Ethical Dilemma encourages students to contemplate difficult, real-world situations and make ethical decisions. Each of these writing assessments is evaluated by a rubric found in the back of the books.

Unit Assessments

In addition to the text comprehension and writing assessments, each unit includes a Unit Vocabulary Assessment and a Unit Authentic Assessment. The Vocabulary Assessment tests mastery of the vocabulary identified in the Reading Instructional Guides corresponding to the high-interest and technical texts. The Authentic Assessment asks students to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate knowledge gained from the unit and its relevance to their lives. Each Authentic Assessment is evaluated by a rubric.

Rubrics

The rubrics in the back of the books list the criteria for each corresponding assessment. Rubrics are designed to help teachers evaluate student work and to give students advance direction and clear markers for mastering the assignment. Each rubric specifies what is expected for various levels of quality of work.

The Book on CD includes the complete teacher and student versions of the book at each level.
Order includes a hardcopy of Book 4.2, 4.1 and 4i teacher and student books for reference.