1. Fruits and Veggies

In a report issued last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that fewer than one in 10 high school students in the U.S. are eating enough fruits and vegetables. The CDC said the findings indicate a big gap between what people should be eating and what they actually are eating. In groups, use the newspaper, books and online sources to create a poster showing why fruits and vegetables are important. On the poster, draw pictures of five different fruits and vegetables. For each, make a list of what types of nutrients it contains (such as vitamins or antioxidants), and what those nutrients do for the body.

Learning Standard: Identifying and using aspects of the craft of the speaker, writer, and illustrator to formulate and express their ideas artistically; applying knowledge, ideas and issues drawn from texts to students' lives and the lives of others.

2. Imagine

On October 9, 1940, John Lennon was born in Liverpool, England. Lennon was probably most famous for being a member of the rock band the Beatles and for the outspoken campaign for world peace he undertook with his wife Yoko Ono. Before he was murdered in 1980, he wrote many famous songs, including "Revolution," "Give Peace a Chance," "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," "Imagine" and "War is Over (Happy Xmas)." He often looked to the headlines to find inspiration for his music. "A Day in the Life" begins "I read the news today, oh boy. ..." Write a poem, a song or a rap about some news that you find in today's newspaper. If you're not feeling shy, perform your song to inspire others in your class, as Lennon would have done. Discuss topics different class members chose to write about.

Learning Standard: Writing fluently for multiple purposes to produce compositions, such as personal narratives, persuasive essays, lab reports and poetry; representing creatively.

3. Facebook

Last week the United States Secret Service asked Facebook to take down an Internet poll that asked, "Should Obama be killed?" Facebook removed the application that allowed a user to create the poll. Meanwhile, the Secret Service, which is responsible for protecting the President, is trying to find out the identity of the user. Look through the newspaper and find examples of different ways people make use of the Internet. Think about ways you and your friends use it. As a class, talk about good and bad ways people use the Internet, the potential dangers it can present and whether or not the government should be allowed to regulate how people can use it.

Learning Standard: Engaging peers in constructive conversation about matters of public concern by clarifying issues, considering opposing views, applying democratic values, anticipating consequences and working toward making decisions.

4. Outer Space

Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite, was launched into space on October 4, 1957. It was the first man-made object to leave the Earth's atmosphere. Sputnik was the size of a beach ball and weighed 183.9 pounds, and took about 98 minutes to go around the Earth. Find an article in the newspaper or online about a recent event or discovery that has to do with outer space. It can be about space travel, a planet, the sun or anything else. Write a summary of the event or discovery, including what led up to it and what implications it has.

Learning Standard: Explaining how we learn about the universe; comparing and contrasting our planet and sun to other planets and star systems; describing and explaining how objects in the solar system move; explaining scientific theories as to the origin of the solar system.

5. Olympics

Different cities around the world -- including Tokyo, Japan; Madrid, Spain; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Chicago, Illinois -- have spent the last few months making a case for why each should host the 2016 Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee announced the chosen city last week. Read articles in the newspaper about the Olympics and what the cities did to attract the Games. Write a paragraph explaining why a city would want to host the Olympics. What benefits does the worldwide sports competition bring?

Learning Standards: Organizing, analyzing and synthesizing information to draw conclusions and implications based on investigation of an issue or problem; writing fluently for multiple purposes.