1. Police Stories

This week is National Police Week, a time when communities take a look at the people who work in law enforcement. Find a story in today's newspaper that involves police work. Write a quick 5-Ws summary of the story, explaining Who, What, When, Where and Why. Then write a short essay describing how this police event reflects life in your city or community--or is unusual for your community. Stretch your thinking to include how this event connects to other issues such as politics, neighborhoods, race or ethnic groups.

Learning Standards: Acquiring information from multiple sources; writing fluently for multiple purposes.

2. Inspired by Mandela

Nelson Mandela became the first black president of the country of South Africa on May 10, 1994. Before Mandela was elected, the country had 300 years of white leaders, even though the majority of the population is black. Find another example of a black leader in the newspaper. Write a short paper explaining who the person is and what makes him or her a good leader.

Learning Standards: Identifying and explaining how individuals in history demonstrate good character and personal virtue; acquiring information from multiple sources; writing fluently for multiple purposes to produce compositions, such as stories, poetry, personal narratives, editorials, research reports, persuasive essays, resumes, and memos.

3. Oil

An oil rig operated by the BP company exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico. In the process, it spilled thousands of gallons of oil into the water every day. Read news articles about the disaster. Write a short report about one aspect of the situation. It can be about the clean-up process, the effects the oil might have on the environment or on tourism, the government's reaction, BP's response, or anything else. Share what you learned with the class.

Learning Standards: Explaining ecosystem concepts and processes; describing positive and negative effects of humans on wildlife and the environment;

evaluating alternative long range plans for resource use and byproduct disposal in terms of environmental and economic impact.

4. Surreal

Spanish artist Salvador Dali was born May 11, 1904. Dali painted in the Surrealist style, which is characterized by dreamlike, unrealistic images and combinations of things that don't usually go together. Look at images of surrealist paintings in books or online. Then create a surrealist piece of art based on something in the news. Give your artwork a creative title and share with the class.

Learning Standard: Analyzing the style and characteristics of authors, actors and artists of classics and masterpieces to determine why these voices endure; identifying and using aspects of the craft of the speaker, writer and illustrator to formulate and express ideas artistically.

5. Cecilia

A 39-year-old man in the European country of Germany has married his cat. It happened after Uwe Mitzscherlich found out from the vet that his 15-year-old cat Cecilia, who's overweight and has asthma, probably won't live much longer. He arranged a wedding and -- unofficially -- married her. Look through the newspaper this week for the weirdest news story you can find. Write a summary of it. Share your summaries with the class to see who came up with the strangest news.

Learning Standard: Using reading for multiple purposes, such as enjoyment, learning complex procedures, completing technical tasks, making workplace decisions, evaluating and analyzing information and pursuing in_depth studies.