1. Girl Scouts & Women’s History

March is Women’s History Month, a time to celebrate the achievements of women. Did you know that selling Girl Scout cookies can be the first step on the business ladder for many women? Ninety percent of female chief executive officers and 54 percent of women business owners are former members of the Girl Scouts, according to the scouting organization. Go through the newspaper and look for articles on girls in your region who are accomplishing big things. Pick one girl and think about her growing up to start a business. Write a complete sentence describing a kind of business you think she could start, based on her activities today. Then write what kind of business you think you could start and succeed in.

Common Core/National Standards: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience; evaluating employment and career opportunities in light of economic trends.

2. College Basketball

College basketball is wrapping up its regular season and getting ready for the NCAA Men's and Women's Tournaments. Find a story in today's newspaper about college teams from your state and their prospects for making the NCAA Tournament. Read the story closely. Using the information in the story, and your previous knowledge, write an analysis of the prospects for this team.

Common Core/National Standards: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience; responding to the ideas and feelings generated by written texts.

3. Heartwarming Fake

You and your family may have seen it on a TV newscast, or on YouTube, or on one of the TV morning shows — a 30-second video showing the heroic rescue of a goat stuck in the pond of a petting zoo, by a pig that swam out to it. Millions saw it, and agreed it was heartwarming. Only one problem — it was fake. It was created for a new Comedy Central series, “Nathan for You,” by a crew of about 20, including animal trainers, scuba divers, humane officers and a plastic track to guide the pig to the goat. It wasn’t designed as a fake, star Nathan Fielder insists, but for the second episode of the series, in which Fielder helps small business owners execute advertising stunts that he and his producers come up with. As a promotional effort, he uploaded it to the YouTube video site without explanation, and to his surprise (he says), he got requests from “Good Morning America,” NBC News and other TV programs for permission to use it. He granted permission, but didn’t say the situation wasn’t real. As a class, talk about whether you think Fielder should have told the other shows the video was a fake. Was it his job to tell, or the other shows’ job to ask? Finish by drawing a comic strip showing animals doing something interesting — for real!

Common Core/National Standard: Using drawings or visual displays when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or points; responding thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarizing points of agreement engaging and disagreement; engaging effectively in a range of collaborative discussions.

4. ‘Pray for Snow’

In the western United States, lakes are half full and mountain snows are thin. That means those states probably are in for another dry summer of drought, wildfires and struggles on farms trying to grow crops. It’s one of the worst dry spells in American history, and some of the worst hit states have even less water on hand than a year ago. The only hope is for there to be an extra wet spring, but weather forecasters predict there will be less rain than normal over the West over the next three months (although possibly more in the Midwest). As a class, discuss ways that drought and lack of rainfall can affect people and the environment. Then find a photo of an outdoor scene in the newspaper. Study the photo closely and write down all the changes that would occur if the pictured area had less rain than usual this summer.

Common Core/National Standards: Engaging effectively in a range of collaborative discussions; producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience.

5. Rescuing the Polar Bear

Five countries where polar bears live have joined forces in an effort to help the animal survive. The United States and Russia are among the nations seeking greater protection for polar bears under a proposed global treaty on endangered species. Russia opposed a similar American proposal three years ago, but apparently has shifted its position because of an increase in danger for the animals and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s personal interest in wildlife conservation. Polar bears are in peril because of climate change, which is depleting ice levels, and because of increased hunting and trade in skins and animal parts. The American-Russian proposal would ban international commercial trade in polar bear skins and furs. Canada and Denmark (representing Greenland) oppose the ban, but the fifth nation that will decide, Norway, has not said how it will vote. With a partner or alone, find a photo or story in the newspaper that involves an endangered animal (don’t forget ads or sports teams). Do some research and write a paragraph describing why the animal is endangered and what can be done to help it.

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