1. Thievery

Fifty-six-year-old Evelyn Border and her daughter, 35-year-old Tina Griekspoor, stole a gift card from a 9-year-old girl. To avoid a jail sentence, they agreed to stand outside a courthouse and hold up a giant sign admitting their crime. Look through the newspaper and find examples of punishments given out by courts. In groups, look up the laws that the perpetrators broke. Discuss whether or not you think the punishments they received for breaking those laws are fair.

Learning Standards: Describing the political and legal processes created to make decisions, seek consensus and resolve conflicts in a free society; considering the effects of an individual's actions on other people, how one acts in accordance with the rule of law and how one acts in a virtuous and ethically responsible way as a member of society.

2. Read, Read, Read

This week is National Young Reader's Week. To celebrate the fun and cool of reading, check out this week's newspaper for a story or a review about a book for kids. Or find an example online. Notice the things that the reviewer or writer mentions about the book. Now think about the favorite book or story you have ever read. Write a letter to a friend recommending it. Be sure to give a few reasons why you think your book is a good read.

Learning Standard: Writing fluently for multiple purposes to produce compositions, such as stories, reports, letters, plays and explanations of processes.

3. Sing It Loud

On November 10, 1975, a ship named the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior. The 730-foot ship was one of the biggest in the Great Lakes and was heading from Wisconsin to Detroit, Michigan, when it sank. Everyone on board died. A folk singer named Gordon Lightfoot wrote a song about the event called "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" that became popular throughout the world. In groups, pick an article in the newspaper and write a song about an event, location or person in the article. Present your song to the class -- or perform it if you're feeling especially creative!

Learning Standard: Reading and writing fluently, speaking confidently, listening and interacting appropriately, viewing critically and representing creatively.

4. Young Leaders

On November 8, 1960, John F. Kennedy won the presidential election, becoming the youngest president ever elected in the United States. He was 43 years old. Look through the newspaper and find an example of someone else who is both young and achieving something big. The person can be a kid or teen, or just young for what he or she has accomplished. Write a short biography of the person. Make a list of characteristics the person appears to have that you think have helped make him or her successful.

Learning Standard: Applying knowledge, ideas and issues drawn from texts to students' lives and the lives of others; writing fluently for multiple purposes to produce compositions, such as personal narratives, persuasive essays, lab reports and poetry.

5. Be Kind

November 13 is World Kindness Day. Using the newspaper and the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation's Web site -- www.actsofkindness.org -- come up with one great idea for something your class can do in honor of World Kindness Day. As a class, share your ideas. Then pick two or three to follow through on. Devise a plan for how you can make the idea work. Then start putting it into action!

Learning Standard: Engaging peers in constructive conversation about topics of interest or importance; describing and discussing shared issues in the human experience that appear in literature and other texts from around the world. Examples include quests for happiness and service to others.