Lighthouse Park is worth a visit

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 The lighthouse Point Atkinson lighthouse is a national historical site. It was built 130 years ago. The lighthouse overlooks Burrard Inlet. It protected ships on the Strait of Georgia. The federal government of Canada owns the lighthouse. They want to sell the lighthouse. The community loves the Point Atkinson…

Simple steps to composting

Level 3 What is compost? Nature makes compost naturally all the time. Leaves, grass, and branches die and pile up. Slowly they turn into dirt. That dirt feeds the living plants. It is called compost. People make compost by piling garden and kitchen waste in piles, bins, or barrels. It’s easy to make! Feed your…

Legal Aid can help

Contributed by Nate Prosser, Legal Aid BC Level 3 Do you have a legal problem? Are you unable to pay for legal help? Call Legal Aid. Legal Aid is free. Legal Aid BC helps people with legal problems. Legal Aid BC can help you in many languages. Ask Legal Aid for help if: you have been…

Kamloops Daily News closes doors

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 The Kamloops Daily News was the only daily newspaper in Kamloops. It published for 80 years. The paper had 27,000 subscribers. The Kamloops Daily News stopped publishing in January. Fifty-five employees lost their jobs. They got two months’ notice. Read the PDF and do the exercise Kamloops News Visit…

International students come to BC

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 Students come to British Columbia from many countries. They are called international students. They go to schools all over BC. They like Vancouver. Vancouver is a multicultural city. The city values its environment. These students spend $2billion every year in BC. This income supports more than 23,400 jobs in…

Family literacy

Adapted from ABC Life Literacy of Canada and Decoda Literacy Solutions Level 3 Taking time every day to read or do a learning activity with children is important. Children learn and develop through fun family activities that include reading and learning. For the entire month of January, families in BC are encouraged to learn together. Read…

The world’s newest mammal – the olinguito

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun and The Smithsonian Level 3 Researchers found a new mammal in South America. The new mammal is called an olinguito. Olinguitos are small. Their fur is reddish-brown. Olinguitos are cute! They have faces like teddy bears. They jump through the trees and travel at night. Olinguitos live in Ecuador and Columbia. They…

Remembering the life of Nelson Mandela

Written by Tracy Defoe Level 3 Hero People in Canada, and around the world remembered the life of Nelson Mandela in December 2013. He was a hero to many people for the way he lead his life. Mandela was devoted to democracy, equality and learning. He was a leader for change in his country. He…

Typhoon hits the Philippines

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 A typhoon hit the Philippines on November 8, 2013. It is the worst typhoon in the history of the Philippines. The typhoon was called Haiyan. The typhoon brought huge winds and rain. Authorities expect to find 10,000 or more dead. About 700,000 people lost their homes. Altogether, about 9.7…

A new kind of orchard in the city

Adapted from The Province Level 3 A vacant lot in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside became an orchard. Ten years ago, the city removed a gas station. That empty lot is now an orchard. Solefood runs the orchard. The design of the orchard solved two problems. 1. The city still owns the land. City land is valuable. The…

Snow geese

Adapted from The Province Level 3 Snow geese migrate over the coastal area in Delta, BC. They rest in the fields around Delta. Snow geese fly here from Wrangel Island. Wrangel Island is north of Siberia. They fly about 5,000 km each direction. They arrive at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta between the middle of…

Dolphins remember sounds for a long time

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 Imagine an old friend calling you on the phone after 20 years. You have not heard this person’s voice in all that time. Could you recognize him or her just by the sound of their voice? A dolphin could. Every dolphin has a name. The name is a special…

A special day

Adapted from a story printed in the December, 2013 edition of The Westcoast Reader I’m Angela. I’m originally from China Wenzhou, Zhejiang. Wenzhou is a coastal city, it means “song and dance of the rural.” I’m a professional dancer and I used to dance in a troupe in Wenzhou. I was also a dance teacher in an…

Safety on the Internet

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 How do you stay safe on the Internet? How do you keep your children safe on the Internet? Telus started a program for parents, kids and teachers to help keep us safe on the Internet. Read the PDF. Try the Exercise Safety on the Internet Visit the links: WCR…

Golf teaches about life

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 Kids learn best when they are having fun. Learning to play golf can be fun. Kids learn more than golf skills at First Tee. Kids learn the basic skills to play golf. At the same time they learn important values. Read the PDF. Try the Exercise. GolfTeaches Visit the…

Truth and Reconciliation

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 What were residential schools? Aboriginal children were taken away from their homes. They were forced to live at schools away from their families. The schools were called Indian Residential Schools. Read the PDF. Try the Exercise. Truth & Reconciliation-Level3PDF

Helpers are happier

Adapted from The Province Level 3 Are happy people healthier? Are all happy people the same?

Don’t wash your chicken! Just unwrap, cut and cook

Adapted from The Province Level 3 In North America we eat a lot of chicken. Each North American eats about 80 pounds of chicken a year. Eating and handling chicken can cause you to get sick.  You must cook it well and handle it carefully. Read the PDF. Try the Exercise. Don’t wash your chicken!…

Thousands of Canadians live to be 100 years old

Level 3 Almost 6000 Canadians are 100 years old. Most of them are women. Three people tell us their secrets. Shu-Wing Mak volunteers in Chinatown. He says his active life keeps him healthy. He visits seniors at a retirement home regularly. He listens to Chinese opera and writes for the newspaper. He received the Queen…

Stanley Park is 125 years old

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 Stanley Park opened on Sept 27, 1888.  It was a big forest. People lived in the park area. Most moved away by 1931. One person lived in the park until he died in 1958. His house was torn down. Read the PDF.  Try the Exercise. Stanley park is…

New homes for women in the downtown eastside

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 This apartment is made from old shipping containers. The containers are stacked and finished inside. They are painted bright colours. Visit the links: 11 uses for shipping containers 15 awesome ways to reuse shipping containers Each apartment has a kitchen, bathroom and living room. Photo: Courtesy of Atira…

Teens and screens

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 January 2011 Teenage Internet addiction* is on the rise in B.C. Many teenagers now spend 7 to 14 hours a day on the Internet. Parents and teachers worry these teenagers might be addicted to the Internet. * (say: ah-dik-shun) Read the PDF.  Try the Exercise. Teens and screens-PDF…

The story of chocolate

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 February 2011 Chocolate comes from the beans of a cacao* fruit tree. The cacao bean is the seed of the fruit. *(say: ka-kow) Cacao trees can grow 15 metres high. The trees grow in tropical rain forests. Read the PDF. The story of chocolate-PDF Visit the links:  Beanpod…

Water safety

Water safety Adapted by Nila Gopaul Level 3 June 2010 Each year in BC, about 43 people drown. You drown if your lungs fill with water and you cannot breathe. Where do people drown?   In swimming pools, in natural waters such as rivers, lakes and oceans, and in bathtubs. Always have an adult watch babies…

Greetings

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 January 2011 Sarah Meli of Malta, Ziaul Hasan of India, and Zelius Kleefstra of South Africa came to Vancouver to study. All three UBC (University of British Columbia) students spoke about their experiences in Canada. Read the PDF.  Try the Exercise. Greetings-PDF Hugging Sarah says hugging is a…

This summer, enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables!

  Check the vocabulary: produce = in this text, it means “fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains” to spoil = to go bad pricey = expensive discount = sale, reduced price Tips for buying and keeping produce fresh: Pick your own Some farms sell cheaper produce, if you go and pick it yourself. There are…

A family business

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 January 2012 William and his wife, Jenny, started their beef jerky business 25 years ago. They bought the secret recipe for dried meat in Singapore for $35,000. BKH Jerky was a booming business for many years. But bad luck hit. A fire destroyed their business. BKH Jerky had…

Women in Trades

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 Members of B.C.’s building trades have worked on most big projects in B.C. The skills of these people have made many dams and pipelines. These projects give us power and heat our homes. The bridges and highways take us to work, and home again. We travel on them…

Blind Beginnings

Adapted from the Georgia Straight and the website of Blind Beginnings Level 3 Shawn Marsolais, 38, has had a very interesting life. Like many people, she has had ups and downs. In 1999, Shawn got her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of British Columbia. At 25 years old, she went to England to…

The loonie turns 25

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 On June 30, 1987, 45 million golden dollar coins were released in Canadian cities. These coins had eleven sides. The new money replaced the $1 paper bills. People were curious to see them. The coins had a bird on one side. A picture of Queen Elizabeth was on…

Tracing fish

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 People want to know where their meat comes from. Some also want to know where chickens are raised. Now you can find out where your fish comes from. “This Fish” A small Canadian website called This Fish can help. Ecotrust Canada started a fish tracing tool in 2010….

Lonely elephant tries to “talk”

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 Koshik is an Asian elephant. He can imitate or copy human speech. He puts his trunk in his mouth. Then he mimics the sounds he hears. These words are in the Korean language. Koshik lives in a park in Korea. And Koshik’s trainer is Korean. Visit the links:…

Are winter snacks killing birds?

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 Bird feeders are not a good idea. Other animals eat the food, also. Squirrels can climb into them. Rats and coyotes can eat the food that falls out. Bears like bird seed, too. Visit the links: Greening the desert (permaculture) Youtube Solving all the world’s problems – in…

A vest helps special-needs children

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 Lisa Fraser is 24 years old. She is a Vancouver designer. She has a company.  It is called Squeezease Therapy. Lisa’s company makes vests to comfort children with special-needs like autism and ADHD. The name of her vest is called “Snug Vest”. What is a Snug Vest? Lisa’s…

A tiny bird is big news

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun / burnabybirdguy.wordpress.com / Wikipedia Submission by: Patti-Lea Ryan A tiny bird is big news in B.C. these days. A young Red-flanked Bluetail has come to Queen’s Park in New Westminster. It is far from home. Not a Canadian bird Our tiny visitor is not from Canada. It has come from…

A Beanpod from Fernie goes to London

Adapted from The Vancouver Courier Level 3 Fernie is famous for skiing. The city calls itself a mountain town. In the winter there is plenty of snow. The Rocky Mountains are on all sides of Fernie. Fernie is in southeastern B.C. Beanpod Chocolate makes its home in Fernie. Maybe now, Fernie will be famous for…

My first Christmas in Denver

My First Christmas in Denver Reader submission from Dorsa Ghiassi (age 11) from Denver, CO My name is Dorsa. I am Iranian. I am now living in Colorado, Denver. I had already lived in Vancouver for 2 years. This is my first Christmas in Denver, Colorado. I decided to make a Christmas dinner all by…

ELSA students helping the homeless

In our ELSA level 3 class, we learned about the problem of homelessness. For a 2nd year, we are collecting clothing donations (socks, toques, and gloves) for the homeless. We will distribute the clothes at a shelter for the homeless in downtown Vancouver near Christmas time.

Apps for Apes

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 The apes at a park in Florida are just like people. The twins, age 8, love their iPad. The teenagers like it, too. The seniors are not interested. The park is letting six orangutans use an iPad to “talk”. Orangutans belong to the ape family. Some trainers have…

4-H* helps youth learn many skills

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 The 4-H Club started 98 years ago, in 1914. The goal of 4-H was to help youth learn skills in agriculture. But now you do not need to live on a farm to join a 4-H program. You do not even have to own an animal. There are…

A two-acre garden on a parking lot

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun A parking lot in Vancouver holds a very big garden. And 40 kinds of fruits and vegetables grow there. For three years this land can be a garden. A group called Solefood manages this mega project. Michael Ableman, the director of Solefood, has been farming for 40 years. Visit the…

They love Mud!

Information courtesy of Mudgirls Natural Building Collective website Level 3 Who are the Mudgirls? They are a group of women on the west coast of B.C. And they build whatever you want.  They use local, natural and recycled materials for their projects.  They say, “We love mud!” They build cob cabins, ovens for outdoors, and…

Canadian’s gelato scoops up award in Italy

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 Did you know you can study how to make ice cream at university? James Coleridge knows. In 2009 he studied in Italy for a year. He wanted to learn the old way of making this sweet, frozen treat. History of cold treats These cold treats are not new….

Save the next dance for me

  Adapted from the Mission City Record Level 3 Lee Kwidzinski wanted to help her father.  Since she is a dance teacher, she decided to teach him to dance.  Later, when he moved into the Pleasant View Care Home in Mission, she decided to teach the other residents as well. Visit the links: Watch a…

Just too much hurt… better late than never

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 – challenging The treatment of Japanese Canadians and people of Japanese descent during the Second World War is a dark period of Canadian history.  Many Canadians do not understand what happened.  Others do not want to talk about it. Visit the links: A tribute to Japanese Canadian UBC…

Everybody knows him now

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 Everybody knows Mario Gutierrez now. Six years ago, only a few in the world of horses knew his name. No one else had heard of him.  Now, after May 4, 2012, he is famous. Visit the link: Return to Vancouver after the race2