Kenowa Hills Middle School Reading Article Possibly the Most Radical Innovation to Zippers in Over a Century (1180L)

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1 Instructions: COMPLETE ALL QUESTIONS AND MARGIN NOTES using the CLOSE reading strategies practiced in class. This requires reading of the article three times. Step 1: Skim the article using these symbols as you read: (+) agree, (-) disagree, (*) important, (!) surprising, (?) wondering Step 2: Number the paragraphs. Read the article carefully and make notes in the margin. Notes should include: o Comments that show that you understand the article. (A summary or statement of the main idea of important sections may serve this purpose.) o Questions you have that show what you are wondering about as you read. o Notes that differentiate between fact and opinion. o Observations about how the writer s strategies (organization, word choice, perspective, support) and choices affect the article. Step 3: A final quick read noting anything you may have missed during the first two reads. Your margin notes are part of your score for this assessment. Answer the questions carefully in complete sentences unless otherwise instructed. Possibly the most radical innovation to zippers in over a century After more than 100 years, the zipper has finally gotten a makeover, thanks to inventor Scott Peters, his mom, and his physically challenged uncle. Peters uncle, Dave Peters, has myotonic dystrophy, a degenerative disease that limits the use of his hands. Lack of manual dexterity was an especially tough challenge during frigid upstate New York winters, when zipping up his jacket was a frequent and exasperating task. Notes on my thoughts, reactions and questions as I read: Peters and his mother, Nancy Peters, who is an occupational therapist, decided to help Uncle Dave out by coming up with a zipper that was easier to manage. There were things we wished we could do for him and for some reason we latched onto the idea we could help him zip up his jacket, Peters recalled. The zipper was first introduced at the 1893 Chicago World s Fair. Except for a few tweaks here and there over the years, it s pretty much remained unchanged since then: two rows of teeth facing each other that are pulled together in a single line by a slider to close, and then pulled down by the slider to open. Most zippers employ a box and pin design at the bottom to

2 lock the two sides into place. It s cheap and easy to manufacture, but at times maddeningly impossible to align. Notes on my thoughts, reactions and questions as I read: Peters and his mom started out by cutting the bottom off of a jacket then gluing magnets to the base of a conventional zipper, reasoning this would hold the ends closed and make it easier to zip. It didn t work but they had a hunch that magnets were the way to go, so they kept at it. Enter their lifelong neighbor, Dave Lyndaker, an experienced mechanical designer who had spent years designing tiny mechanical parts and circuit boards. After a quick discussion around a campfire in the summer of 2007, Dave joined the team and they began producing test zippers at a brisk pace. Every time they completed a promising prototype, they d sew it into a jacket for Uncle Dave to try out. Finally, six years and more than 100 prototypes later, they came up with a design that worked. Their Quickzip relies on a hook-and-catch design. The magnet on one side of the jacket pulled the pin from the other side over the top of a catch and guided it into place. Once the first set of teeth are joined, the user can grab the slider and pull the zipper closed with ease even with one hand. With their device working well, the team formed a company, DNS Designs LLC. They originally intended to file a patent for medical use but quickly realized their zippy little invention could be helpful to everyone who s ever struggled with a zipper, from quick changing triathletes to little kids just learning to use their hands. Once we tried it we realized it was way better than your average, run of the mill zipper, Lyndaker said. They began contacting clothing companies and zipper manufacturers. But in the end, Under Armour, a high-end sports clothing company, found them through a patent search and came knocking on their door. After initial talks, Under Armour invited the DNS team to one of its innovation shows in Baltimore. Now DNS has signed an exclusive deal with the company. Peters said jackets and sweatshirts featuring the zipper now rebranded as Magzip will go on sale sometime before the end of this year. Though the team didn t start out with any commercial ambitions, Peters said they hoped they would be able to change the world in some small way.

3 Comprehension questions answers may be in phrases. 1. Which company markets the new zipper exclusively? Define exclusively. 2. Who tested each of the zippers for the three inventors? 3. Define conventional as used in the title. 4. Approximately, how many years ago was the first zipper invented? 5. Define dexterity as used in the text. 2. Answer each question in one or more complete sentences. How does the traditional zipper work? What does it mean when the author states that the zipper has been rebranded? For what reason did the inventors change the zipper from a medical device to a product for the general public?

4 3. Read the following article about this same zipper. Follow steps 1, 2, and 3 for close reading and margin notes. Answer the questions that follow on a separate sheet of paper. Forget the wheel, Under Armour just reinvented the zipper Reinventing the wheel is so played out. People have been doing it for decades. We ve got wheels that roll sideways, wheels of cheese, wheels that climb stairs, Wheels of Fortune. There s obviously no shortage of innovation in wheel tech. So Under Armour, not being one to follow trends, decided to break free from the pack and reinvent something else entirely: the zipper. And it s about time somebody did. Zippers haven t gotten a significant update since they were invented back in 1893, so we re glad to hear that somebody stepped up and did something about it. Under Armour s new zipper, called MagZip, isn t so much a complete overhaul as it is a clever improvement. But the minor upgrade does offer a key benefit: the ability to zip with just one hand. Just imagine the possibilities! Soon, the days of using both hands to zip up will be behind us, and never again will we be forced to pause our Angry Birds games just to keep warm. This new design wasn t conceived just for convenience. MagZip s inventor, Scott Peters, got the idea after watching his uncle struggle with myotonic dystrophy, a condition that tends to destroy muscle strength and coordination. The aliment often renders seemingly simple tasks, like buttoning buttons and fastening zippers, nearly impossible. So Peters set out to develop a solution. As you may have already guessed from the name, MagZip eliminates the trickiness of zipping by incorporating small magnets into the box and pin assembly, thus making it easier to align the two. Prindle, D. Forget the wheel, Under Armour just reinvented the zipper. Oct. 17, DigitalTrends.com 1. Who is given the credit for the invention in the Forget the Wheel article, according to the title? 2. Who is given credit in the Radical Invention article? ( 3. Identify at least four ways in which the method Prindle presents the information varies from the method Neporent uses. 4. If the author s purpose is to inform the reader, which of the two articles is most accurate and most believable? Cite from the text to support your answer.

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