Grade 10

With Climate Change No Longer in the Future, Adaptation Speeds Up

Source: The New York Times

What are some of the ways people around the world are responding to changes in Earth’s climate? Read this article to find out.

Mass Extinctions

Source: National Geographic

Five mass extinctions—the die-off of a majority of species—have occurred in earth’s history. What causes these periodic extinctions? A sudden change in climate or atmosphere that living things can’t adapt quickly enough to survive. Find out what we know about these changes and what species were able to flourish in their wake.

Who Gets to Claim Kafka?

Source: The Atlantic

The national archives of both Germany and Israel have laid claim to the writings of Franz Kafka, author of The Metamorphosis. Read to learn more about the influential author and the legal battle over his manuscripts.

9/11 to today: Ways we have changed

Source: PBS

How have the United States and the world changed in response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11?

How space can change the human body

Source: Fox News

Did you know that astronauts actually grow taller while they’re in orbit? This article examines the ways the human body responds to life in space.

‘Leaning Into the Wind’ shows that, more than ever, Andy Goldsworthy is one with nature

Source: The Boston Globe

Thomas Riedelsheimer, director of the film “Rivers and Tides,” has teamed up with artist Andy Goldsworthy for a new documentary called “Leaning Into the Wind.” Read this review to learn more.

Why Hawaii’s Newest Eruption Makes Volcanologists Nervous

Source: The Atlantic

The eruption of Kilauea volcano has caused many Hawaiians to evacuate their homes. This article explains why experts are concerned about the slow-developing nature of this disaster and its potential to displace communities for an extended period of time.

Hour of Horror Forever Alters American Lives

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Winner of the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting, this analysis published on September 12, 2001, discusses how the previous day’s attacks might change day-to-day life in America.

Guerilla Gardener Sparks Food Revolution in South Central LA

Source: NBC 4 News (Los Angeles)

A few years ago, Ron Finley decided to change his neighborhood’s lack of healthy foods. After an initial negative response from city authorities, his work is now educating and inspiring others to make positive changes through gardening.

With teen mental health deteriorating over five years, there’s a likely culprit

Source: The Conversation

Even a change that’s generally good can have negative consequences.

The Marvel of Marfa

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Unlike Andy Goldsworthy, artist Donald Judd created some of his best-known works with unmistakably man-made forms and materials. But changes in nature play a key role in his art as well, in the form of the ever-changing light of West Texas.

Polar ice reveals secrets of carbon-climate feedbacks

Source: Phys.org

Climate change models are more complicated than you might think. Increasing temperatures change the way carbon is held in soil, water, and ice.

California’s wildfires are not “natural” — humans made them worse at every step

Source: Vox

It’s not your imagination—California’s wildfires really are threatening more people and property than ever. Find out about the changes that are fueling the destruction.

10,000 Year Clock

Look 10,000 years into the past, and you’ll see humans beginning to cultivate the earliest agricultural crops. What changes would a look 10,000 years into the future reveal? For Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, the distant future will include a functioning clock, being built now in the desert of West Texas.

Effects of the Black Death

Source: How Stuff Works

The bubonic plague ravaged the European population in the 14th century. In its aftermath, societal structures were upended, in many cases for the better.

Green Energy Will Overtake Fossil Fuels by 2020, Morgan Stanley Analyst States

Source: Big Think

Although much attention is paid to how countries make laws concerning fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal, that’s not how change will be made. Instead, companies are increasingly seeing the financial sense renewable energy makes.

We have always been modern, and it has often scared us

Source: The Guardian

Fears about the negative effects of technology are nothing new. Look back through history at how people responded to technological change.

War dead commemorated by Birmingham ice installation

Source: BBC

Like Andy Goldsworthy, the Brazilian artist Néle Azevedo creates works designed to be temporary. Watch a time-lapse video and read a news article on her installations made of ice.

Johns Hopkins researchers say they’ve unlocked key to cancer metastasis and how to slow it

Source: The Baltimore Sun

Cancer cells are our own cells, changed to reproduce rapidly. A young medical researcher figured out what triggers the life-threatening change that spreads cancer cells throughout the body.

How Writing Changed the World

Source: LiveScience

It’s no exaggeration to say that the advent of writing changed everything for humans. Here’s a look at some of the key shifts in history that resulted from those first scratches on clay tablets.

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