Reading+Minute


 * Non Fiction 1**


 * Q. What does the respiratory system do? Name three body parts that are involved.**

HOW YOU BREATH

In a single day, you will take close to 20,000 breaths of air. When you breathe in, air travels into your mouth or nose, down you trachea, or windpipe, to you lungs. You have two lungs- one on the right side of you body and one on the left. Beneath your lungs is a sheet of muscle called the diaphragm. When this muscle moves down, air moves into your lungs. When the diaphragm moves up, air leaves your lungs.

Inside each lung are millions of air sacs called alveoli. When you breath in, fresh air enters the alveoli. This air conatins a lot of oxygen. Oxygen passes through the thin walls of the alveoli into your body.

As the cells in your body use oxygen, they release a gas called carbon dioxide. Red blood cells return to your alveoli carrying carbon dioxide. You get rid of this carbon dioxide when you breathe out. Working together, the trachea, lungs and alveoli, and other body parts involved in breathing make up your respiratory system.


 * A. The respiratory system.......**
 * Three body parts that make up the respiratory system are......**




 * Nonfiction 2**
 * || **Q.** || **What is the main idea of this news story? Provide two details from the article that support the main idea.** ||

On Tuesday, President Obama chose John McHugh to be the next Secretary of the Army. McHugh is a Republican. His nomination shows that Obama continues to want members of other political parties in some of the administration's most important jobs. President Obama said that McHugh "will ensure that our soldiers are trained and equipped to meet the. . .challenges and threats of our time." The president values different opinions in his administration. He kept Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense. McHugh joins Gates as Republicans in important positions dealing with the nation's military. McHugh has not agreed with several of Obama's policies. He did not agree with cuts Obama wanted to make in military budgets. McHugh's appointment shows that Obama values his judgment. The president must believe that McHugh will provide him with an important point of view.
 * A. The main idea is..........**
 * One supporting detail is......**
 * Another supporting detail is.....**
 * Another supporting detail is.....**


 * Nonfiction 3**


 * Q. What is the main idea of this article? Provide two details from the article that support the main idea.**

The United States has always been a magnet for immigrants. They have come together for religious freedom, for a chance to better their lives, and to escape from cruel governments. Immigrants have come in three great waves. In the mid-1800s, millions of people arrived from northern and western Europe. Most came from Germany and Ireland. The second wave of immigration was from the late 1800s to the 1920s. These immigrants came mainly from southern and eastern Europe. Most of them came from Italy. Immigration slowed after World War I for two reasons. First, the United States government set limits on the number of immigrants who could enter the country. Second, the American economy began to suffer, or slow down, in 1929. Many people struggled with ppverty, and jobs were hard to find. After World War II ended in 1945, immigration began to grow again. In 1965, the government made it easier for people to come to the United States. By the 1970s, millions of people were coming. They all came hoping for a better life.


 * Nonfiction 4**


 * Q. What is the main idea of this article? Provide two details from the article that support the main idea.**

People have written and drawn on walls for thousands of years. For just as long, people have complained about the markings. However, what we call graffit today first appeared in New York City in the late 1960's. Young people sprayed on walls and sidewalks in their neighborhoods. They signed their nicknames. The first graffiti makers were people with names such as TOP CAT 126, Joe 182, and Julio 204. These young people called their work "tagging".

Tagging spread in the early 1970s. That is when a messenger- Taki 183- began to tag subway cars in which he traveled. In 1971, the New York Times wrote about Taki 183. The newspaper used the word graffiti to describe what he did.

By the early 1980s, graffiti covered everything from trains to buildings to statues in New York City. The work of one artist in particular caught people's attention. Keith Haring, an art student, began making drawings in subway stations. Workers had used black paper to cover walls waiting for ads. Haring thought the black paper wourl be a good place for art, so he set chalk to paper. Soon he had made hundreds of pictures. Many people liked them.

People began to debate whether graffiti could actually be art. Artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat began making graffiti-style paintings. Art galleries sold the work of Basquiat and other artists like him for thousands of dollars.