1. Better to Be Prepared

Hurricane Isaac whipped through states along the Gulf of Mexico in the southern United States, leaving destruction and flooding in its path. More than 200,000 people in the state of Louisiana lost electricity and thousands were forced to live in emergency shelters. This is the second time the area has been ravaged by a hurricane. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed thousands of homes and businesses in the area. September is National Preparedness Month, a time to help raise awareness about preparing for natural disasters. As a class, find a newspaper story about a natural disaster. Or find one online. Come up with a plan for your family to survive a disaster, listing supplies, telephone numbers and what to take when leaving your home. Write a paragraph describing the most important things you would take.

Common Core/National Standard: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development organization, and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience.

2. Elders

September 9 was Grandparents Day, a holiday when we celebrate the wisdom of older people close to us. As a class, read an article in today's newspaper about an older person passing on knowledge to a younger person or a group of younger people. Then write a short poem about a special older person in your life, such as a grandparent, aunt, uncle, coach, teacher or neighbor. Read your poems aloud —with feeling!

Common Core/National Standard: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development organization, and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience.

3. Living Without a Home

It’s time to get up for school. Get out of bed! Eat your breakfast! Put on your clothes! But what if you didn’t have a bed? What if you couldn’t have breakfast at home? What if you didn’t have a home at all? That is what life is like for the children of Children First Academy in Phoenix, Arizona. Even their school isn’t a typical school building. Currently, they attend school in a former car dealership. But that won’t be for much longer. Donations allowed the school to buy and renovate a former grocery store to turn it into a school for homeless children that will include a playground, baseball field, gymnasium, medical and dental clinic, computer lab and a lot of new technology. It also will have a food pantry and clothing closet to help the families of the children who attend there. As a class, find a story in the newspaper about homeless families. Or find one online. Write a creative story about a boy or girl who is living without a home.

Common Core/National Standard: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience.

4. A Big Winner

A man who calls himself a “Michigan hillbilly” is living high since he won the $337 million Powerball lottery. Donald Lawson, a 44-year-old father of two from Lapeer, Michigan, had worked as a railroad engineer, but he quit his job after winning the big prize, according to an Associated Press news story. He also told his immediate family to retire because he would take care of them. Lawson teased his mother and told her he had won $200,000 in the lottery, before telling her how much he had really won. He said winning the lottery wouldn’t change him, and the first thing he bought with his winnings wasn’t expensive — a pack of gum. He said he enjoys a simple life and will still go to McDonald’s rather than eat steak and fancy foods at restaurants. As a class, talk about things you could do if you won a lot of money in a lottery. Include things you could do for others as well as yourself. After the discussion, draw a comic strip for the newspaper showing what you would do if you won the lottery.

Common Core/National Standards: Engaging effectively in a range of collaborative discussions; using drawings or visual displays when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or points.

5. Keeping an Eye on Popcorn

If you like nothing more than munching on popcorn while watching a movie, you may be in trouble. Farmers in the midwestern part of the United States are watching their corn crops wither away and die due to 100-degree temperatures and no rain. The shortage could have corn buyers scraping to find kernels to pop, according to a Reuters news article. People buying popcorn in grocery stores will face the biggest increase in prices because of a lack of supply, experts said. The prices at movie theaters won’t go up as much, however, because theater prices for popcorn already are high, according to the experts. As a class, find a newspaper article about products that are in high demand, but aren’t easily available. Or find one online. As a class, discuss what this means for people who want to buy the products.

Common Core/National Standard: Engaging effectively in a range of collaborative discussions.