Morning Work – RELA December 1 st – December 5 th

Monday – December 1, 2014 Numismatics, or coin collecting, is a very old hobby. It began long ago in other countries. It was not popular right away in America. Most Americans were too busy building a country out of a wilderness to think about collecting coins. It was not until about 1840 that Americans began to become serious coin collectors. 1.Write all of the words that start with a hard c. 2.What is numismatics? 3.What is the main idea of this paragraph? 4.Why did this hobby start so late in America?

Tuesday – December 2, 2014 In the United States, paper money was first issued in That year, the Continental Congress authorized the issue, or giving out, of paper money to finance the Revolutionary War. This “continental currency” soon came to be worth very little and fell out of use. 1.Write the word with the most syllables. How many syllables does it have? 2.In this paragraph, does issue mean to give out or offspring? 3.Why was the money called “continental currency”? 4.Has the United States always used paper money?

Wednesday – December 3, 2014 In 1865, the Secret Service was established to control counterfeit, or fake, money. At that time, about one-third of the money in circulation was counterfeit. 1.What sound does the ei in counterfeit make: long i (like) or short i (in)? 2.What does counterfeit mean? 3.Is counterfeit a good thing? Why or why not? 4.If you had three bills in your pocket and one-third of the paper money was fake, how many of the bills in your pocket are likely to be fake?

Thursday – December 4, 2014 In the 1990s, new security features were added to several bills to prevent counterfeiting. Some of these features include color-shifting ink, microprinting, and a security thread. The first bill to be changed was the $100 bill in Micro- is a prefix that means really tiny. What is microprinting? 2.What does prevent mean? 3.How many security features do we learn about in this paragraph? List them. 4.Is counterfeiting a serious problem? How do you know?

Friday – December 5, 2014 The Chinese were the first to use paper money. They began using paper money in the seventh century. They also invented a way to print the money. It was about a thousand years later when Europeans began making paper money. The United States has had different types of paper money through the years. Today, all of the paper money in the United States is printed at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington D.C. Paper money is not actually made of paper. Paper would wear out too quickly. Paper money is made from cloth. You can see the threads if you hold a bill to the light. It is a blend of 25 percent cotton and 75 percent linen. This blend makes a strong bill, which lasts much longer than paper. Paper is made from wood pulp. It is much weaker than fabric. Special inks have to be carefully mixed to create the exact combination of colors for the paper money. There is a secret formula for this ink. There are also special security thread in the bills. They prevent people from counterfeiting money. These threads were once made of metal, but now they are plastic or polyester. Before bills are sent out for use, they are pressed and starched. The starch makes them feel crispy.

Friday – December 5, Does the ea sound in thread sound more like the ea sound in bread or the ea sound in bead? 2.What is a synonym for blend as it is used in the article? 3.What is a surprising fact about paper money? 4.Why is paper money made of cloth? 5.If the United States first issued paper money in 1775, about how much longer have the Chinese been using paper money?