Heres whats coming up on this edition of teen kids news. The nations report card on what we know about history is out, and its not pretty. Ill report on dogs with a special mission and the teens who train them. In speak of the week, we compare ourselves to our parents. My story knitting will have you in stitches. All that and more next on teen kids news. Welcome to teen kids news. Im mwanzaa. And im livia. Heres this weeks top story. Lauren reports on what American Teens know about history, or maybe i should say what they donknow. [ cheers and applause ] why did the colonists fight to win americas freedom . Originally, it was because of taxation without representation in british parliament. [ cheers and applause ] okay, that was an easy one. But a recent test of 8th graders went a little deeper. They were asked to identify one advantage the colonial forces had over the british in the american revolution. The colonists knew the land much better than the british did, so they had better fighting ground. Our troops were more motivated. And the british were from a country that was away by an ocean. All correct. The colonists were fighting on familiar territory, they were fighting to protect their homes and families, and they didnt have to transport supplies over the ocean. While we only showed you the kids who knew the correct answers, two out of three 8th graders across the country couldnt come up with any of these factors. The history test is given every few years by the National Educational assessment project. Whats the goal of the test . The test was an assessment of how much our students know about our u. S. History at grades 4, 8, and 12. Everything from the United States constitution to president s to why certain laws came into play. At very different levels, there are certain questions that are asked. The 8th graders really were the ones who did, i would say, perform the best when we consider the 4th and we consider the 12th grade. Thats because 8th graders scores improved over the last time the test was given. 4th graders and 12th graders did not. In fact, a majority of 12th graders turned in a poor performance. Their questions were harder, and their correct answers were fewer. 55 of 12th graders scored below the basic level. What does this show . Mm, lauren, thats not good news at all. [ chuckles ] and what does that mean for our 12th graders . It means that we have to find a way to engage our 12th graders in learning u. S. History. We have to make it more important to them. So, we have a lot of work to do, definitely, at the 12thgrade level. Theres a famous saying those who dont know history are condemned to repeat it. So, the lessons of the past are worth learning. For teen kids news, im lauren. Theres still lots ahead, so stay with us. Well be right back. Hundreds of samesex couples marrying in seattle after washington began issuing samesex marriage licenses. Weve adopted our children. Weve gone to the courts and made them our family, but this is the first time amanda and i will be family, and that piece of paper says that. Last month, washington, maine, and maryland becoming the first states to pass samesex marriage by popular vote, joining six other states, including new york, iowa, and the district of columbia, where it is legal. The u. S. Supreme court announcing it will hear two cases challenging laws prohibiting the rights of samesex married couples. Fans around the world mourning the loss of awardwinning mexicanamerican singer jenny rivera after wreckage of a plane flying rivera and six other people from a concert is found in northern mexico. Her mangled drivers license among the crashsite debris. Rivera selling 15 million records one of the most successful female singers in grupero, a maledominated regional style. Venezuelan president hugo chavez in cuba undergoing another cancer operation after announcing that more malignant cells have been found. The 58yearold socialist leader is facing his fourth operation since mid2011 for a third recurrence of an undisclosed form of cancer in the pelvic area. He is also designating a Vice President , nicolas maduro, as his political heir in case he suffers complications. Chavez, winning a president ial election in october, due to start a new sixyear term on january 10th. For teen kids news, im rick leventhal, Fox News Channel in the classroom. Its amazing what a specially trained dog can do to assist a person with disabilities. Felipe reports on a program where teens learn how to transform pets into helpers. These dogs are eager to get to school. Theyre also forming a special bond with their teen trainers. I started playing with dogs and training dogs when i was a young girl. A love of dogs and personal experience inspired jill felice to start Assistance Dogs of the west, or adw. My sister, karen, has a disability, and i started getting the dogs to help me and my sister, karen. You know, kids want to be kids, of course. I didnt want to have the responsibility of my sister, karen, so i used to get one of our first dogs to stay with her, and then, when she needed me, she could tell him, and he would come and find me. The school trains dogs to help people with disabilities become more independent. Most of the adws trainers are adults, but jill wanted to give kids the experience she had as a child. Ahchoo i think for kids who are truly interested in it and want to take this further into animal behavior or vet school or training for the movies, training for whatever, i think this is a really great place to start that lets you really kind of explore whether this is something you really want to do later on in life. The school is based in santa fe, new mexico, and trains dozens of service dogs each year. For these teens, the class is actually part of their school day. You take it like you take math. You get a credit for it, you take it every day, youre assigned the same service dog. Students help their fourlegged friends learn a minimum of 90 different commands. Sometimes success comes easily. Up. Push. Yes good boy. And sometimes it doesnt. Push. Push. In addition to training skills, teens learn some important life lessons, like how to be patient. Push. Yeah good girl. Whoo they learn how their emotional impact has direct influence on another being. So, if theyre inappropriate with their emotions, their dogs not gonna do anything for them. If theyre appropriate with their emotions, their dogs are gonna do everything for them. Training usually lasts a year and a half. At the end, trainers and trainees show off at a graduation ceremony. [ laughter ] yeah. [ chuckles ] then comes the toughest part of the program. Teacher and student have to say goodbye. He was always there for me, no matter if i was happy, sad, mad. Hed always either cheer me up or make me even happier. Training a dog is always bittersweet for the trainers and for the students. You did a lot of hard work. Youve done it for the last, you know, 18 months, two years of your life. You are ecstatic that theyre going to where they need to go, but there is that little part of you that says, ooh, ill miss him. [ voice breaking ] i cant think of anyone better to go to melvin to go to than you, melissa. Youre very lucky. [ applause ] people who need Assistance Dogs can wait as long as five years to get one. Jill hopes to shorten that wait by getting more kids involved in training. To learn more, check out our website, teenkidsnews. Com. This report is brought to you by ralph lauren. Its the city thats visited by more tourists than any other city in america, especially this time of year. Welcome to the big apple new york city. So, if your familys visiting for the holidays, here are some great things you can see and do. Lets start at the top. You just cant beat the views from the Observation Deck of the empire state building. If you like to skate, the ice is nice at wollmans rink in central park. Heres one tourist attraction thats good enough to eat. Serendipity has fun food and its famous frozen hot chocolate. [ chuckling ] yum. New york is the theater capital of the world. A hot ticket is the Christmas Spectacular at radio city music hall. But one of the best shows in town is free the fantastic holiday windows, like these at ralph lauren. They draw lots of oohs and ahhs. Look at that. [ gasps ] look at the dress. Its so pretty. And they draw you into the store, as well. How could i resist . Theyre all gifts, i promise. And of course, theres the giant tree at rockefeller center. So, lets recap. If youre visiting new york city this time of year, theres lots of fun things to do while youre here. Its great to skate at the parks wollman rink, and then cool off with serendipitys famous cold drink. Theres so much to see along the streets of the city, from bright lights that are shining to windows that are pretty. Dont miss the rockettes as they kick it old school, or the towering tree thats everso cool. But this season, wherever you are and whatever you do, all of us here at tkn send holiday wishes to you. Time for more expert advice on staying healthy. So, your friends want to go to the local fastfood restaurant, and youre gonna be virtuous and get the fish or chicken. But listen to this. Fish and chicken oftentimes are not the best option. Ellen shanley and Colleen Thompson are the authors of fueling the teen machine. Talk about counterintuitive at the lunch counter. Im all ears. Lets take a look, nicole. Here we have a burger king original chicken sandwich, and were comparing it to a whopper jr. 630 calories compared to 340 calories. Wow. Thats a big difference. Why the big difference in calories . Lets look. If i open up this chicken sandwich, you can see how big this patty is. Really big portion size more than you need. On top of that, weve got some sauce on here probably a mayonnaise heavy in fat and calories. Now lets go over to our whopper jr. Here. Look at that. Theres vegetables in there. Already we like this better. Its got vegetables in it. A little bit of sauce, much smaller patty, right . So, fewer calories. Big difference you can save half the calories right here. So, next is fish . Lets see. So, what do we have here . We have a Burger King Fish sandwich compared to a regular, or single, hamburger. And the fish sandwich is topping in at 640 calories. I know we think fish is leaner, but what happened to the fish . Fried, breaded, added the sauce extra calories, extra fat, so 640 calories. Compared to the single burger, only 260 calories. Lets look inside, take a peek here. We got single burger, we got a pickle sort of a vegetable. [ chuckles ] and some ketchup. So, less fat, lot fewer calories, better choice. Most fastfood restaurants actually post the calories and other nutritional info near the counter, so you might want to check that out before you order. For health bites, im nicole. You may think youre good at climbing trees, but could you imagine climbing a tree without legs . Well, thats just what snakes do. Snakes use their scales and body muscles to slowly move up the tree, inch by inch. This technique is inspiring researchers to create a robot that can slither through rubble like a snake. The robot would then be used in searchandrescue missions. Lets get your opinion in speak of the week. Do you think its harder being a teen today than when your parents were teens . Well, whenever my mom always tells me about, you know, how sometimes when i shirk my duties, i always tell her it was a lot simpler back in her day. Its probably a lot harder to be a teen today because theres so much more, like, social stuff going on with, like, the internet and stuff. No, i dont think that, because back then, times were harder than it is today. Probably, because now theres a lot more distractions, like more technology and whatnot. From what they say, i think it is. I think theres just more that were exposed to now than there was when we were before. So i think it is harder now. Um. No. Im gonna go with no, because, like, well, when my parents were teens, they were, like, the war vietnam war and stuff, and their parents were, like, kind of like, hey, go join the war, and they were kind of like, mm, no. My dad grew up in brazil, so its a little bit different there. I think its easier, because our parents, like, couldnt escape from their parents, cause they didnt have phones or computers. Yeah, i do because of the work load. School is a lot harder now, i think. I do, because theres a lot more technology around. Like, when our parents were teenagers, if they had a problem with people, it was sort of a facetoface combat issue, but nowadays, you could just do it anonymously, and you can really never know who its coming from. If we put it to a vote, i think most teens would agree that life is tougher today than it was a couple of decades ago. Im diyu for teen kids news. Its a hobby popular with celebs like dakota fanning, cameron diaz, julia roberts, and even russell crowe, and as emily reports, its catching on with teens, as well. Im here at lion brand yarn studio, where ill try my hand at a craft that dates back to ancient egypt. Lets go inside. Its an explosion of color and an Endless Supply of inspiration. Knitting is where the nimble put their needles and their creativity to the test. What are you working on today . Today, im working on a sweater. Right now, im working on leg warmers. A headband. Knittings not just for grandma anymore. And what i love about you teen knitters so much is your imagination. Im blown away by some of the projects i see you guys do, and the color combinations are sometimes things that i wouldnt think of, but theyre fantastic. You have your yarn and you have your needles, and you want to make a slipknot. Which you do that by wrapping the yard around your fingers. Thats pretty much the most one of the simplest parts of passing on. Korrinas helping me create my first sweater. This is simple, right . How many different types of stitches are there . That is a great question, cause youd be surprised to know the answer is 2 the knit stitch and the purl stitch. Everything in knitting all those beautiful, complex stitches, lace, and cables, theyre all from two stitches the knit and the purl. While i knit and purl, here are a few cool knitting facts. Knitting comes from the word knot, which may have started with the dutch. The earliest example is a pair of socks found in ancient egypt. In olden times, knitting was just as popular among men as women. We have 120 classes a month. People come and buy their yarn and hang out and meet with friends. Its a great social place to be. To sit and knit, you only need two things yarn and needles, but both come in various types. There are straight needles, doublepointed needles, and even needles that are circular. Those are handy in making a hat. A woman in england holds the Guinness World record for using the largest knitting needles. Theyre more than 10 feet long. These look much more manageable. Heres another technique that ill try much later knitting with four needles at one time. And theyre for doing something in the round thats a little smaller. To help figure out what to knit, you can choose from hundreds of free patterns at online sites like lionbrandyarn. Com. There are a lot of types of yarns, but if youre just starting, what types of yarn should you look for . You want to look for a smooth fiber. Also a light color, because you want to be able to see your stitches, and sometimes, with black or really deep purple, even though you might love that color, it can be really hard to see. Another thing you want to look for is a solid color. And the last thing to consider is whats called the weight of the yarn, which is the thickness. So, a nice mediumweight yarn which uses needle sizes from 9 to 11 is a perfect start. I think im getting the hang of this. Knitting takes patience and concentration, but these girls say it helps them handle the everyday stress we all have. Its kind of a therapy almost, because youre basically concentrating on one thing, and its really a lot of fun to do. Its fun to make things for your friends. Once you first start, sometimes it can be a little tricky and difficult, but once you really learn you know, get the feel for it, its really easy, and, yeah, anyone can knit. Anyone can knit. Thats what they keep telling me. If teens want to learn how to knit, how should they start . Your local yarn store, like the lion brand yarn studio or a store in your neighborhood, is a great place to start. Find out if they do duet lessons. Thats something we do, which is a lesson for a parent and a child, or any grownup that wants to be involved in making sure that you stay on track, cause sometimes you go home and theres a mistake and you think, oh, i dropped a stitch. What do i do . And if theres someone around that can help you, its a really great thing. Okay, so im a long way off from being able to knit a sweater, but with practice, im sure ill get there. One day. For teen kids news, im emily. Certain habits can cause us to eat, even when were not hungry. For example, watching tv. To keep from oversnacking, scientists have discovered a simple technique. Are you righthanded . Eat with your left hand. If youre lefthanded, reach for snacks with your right hand. So, rather than diet, try it. This report is brought to you by yahoo digital crave. tis the season to buy some great gadgets for friends and family, or even yourself if you want to treat yourself to a new tech toy, and ive got a few to show you, ranging in price from 38 all the way up to 25,000. Thats right. So, why dont we start off with the big guns, and im referring to sonys 84inch xbr 4k l. E. D. Tv. 4k is gonna be a big buzz word in 2013, and it refers to the fact that its got four times the resolution of a regular hd tv. Its also 3denabled, and its got builtin wifi, so you can access all those ondemand apps like netflix and youtube and facebook and twitter and all that. So, great stuff. 25 grand for that one, if youve got the budget. If thats a little too steep for you, you can get a beautiful smart tv, an l. E. D. Tv like the ex 645 a 46incher for 800. So its certainly great deals this holiday season. Now, lets say youre already happy with your existing tv, but you want to give the gift of smart tv. You can do so with a bluray player like the s790. It is wifi enabled, so you can access all of those amazing apps, all that ondemand content. Its also dlna enabled, which means you can also wirelessly play content from your smartphone, your tablet, or your laptop computer. So, thats a great pick right there. If youre buying a gift for a younger girl, this is great. These are the yippits. These are robotic pets. Its the successor to mattels hugely popular fijit friends. That was the big holiday gift from last year. Now weve got these robotic pets called yippits. You can nurture them, you can train them, you can interact with them. They come in multiple colors. Ill just turn this one off right now. Multiple colors to choose from. 37. 99 for yippits. Also great for kids is wonderbook book of spells. This works with playstation 3 and th