Using a great article from Wired magazine ‘Samsung Isn’t the Only One with Lithium Ion Battery Problems. Just Ask NASA‘ (See GIF below from the article!) students worked together to research vocabulary, then write a summary of the important points.
My belief in using “everyday texts” as the basis for student reading is because very few of us read textbooks outside of our educational lives. If by using popular works we can connect students to key ideas, we are giving them the context of “why should I care?” without “the” question even ever being asked.