No Doggy in the Window
Some U.S. cities, such as West Hollywood, Calif., and Albuquerque, N.M., have banned the retail sale of dogs and cats. The ban is also being considered in other cities in Florida, New Mexico and Missouri. Animal advocates say that selling dogs in pet stores helps puppy mills, where dogs are bred and raised in unhealthy conditions. Animal advocates suggest adopting from a local shelter or buying a dog or a cat from a breeder with a good reputation. Look for five examples of suggestions about how to solve problems in todays newspaper. You might find these in ads, in advice columns or in articles about new laws, new policies or new scientific studies. Summarize each problem and its suggested solution. Then write down who could benefit from each piece of advice. Standards: Using sources of information to help solve problems.

Working Together
On June 29, 1995, the American space shuttle Atlantis docked with the Russian space station Mir, forming the largest man-made satellite ever to orbit the Earth. Together, the former rival space programs created history. NASAs Shuttle-Mir program went on for 11 missions and it is credited with being an important part towards the construction of todays International Space Station. Search the local section of the newspaper to find an article about people or groups in disagreement. Write a letter to the people or groups about the importance of working together.
Learning Standards: Utilizing the persuasive power of text as an instrument of change in their community, their nation and the world.

Volunteering in America
The U.S. economy may be down, but the number of Americans volunteering is up. A new federal report found that Americans spent 100 million hours last year helping their communities. The number of volunteers rose by 1.6 million to 63.4 million. Search the local section of the newspaper to find a social problem in your community. Using the Internet, find out more about this problem. Based on the information found, write a proposal with ways you and your classmates could help. Present your proposal to the class.
Learning Standards: Using traditional and electronic means to organize and interpret information pertaining to a specific social science topic and prepare it for in-depth presentation.

Beach Battle
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that Florida can widen beaches to protect against erosion without paying owners of beachfront properties. Six homeowners in Floridas Panhandle challenged the state, arguing that the beach-widening project could make them lose their exclusive right to the water. The court voted 8-0 against the homeowners. Search the national and local sections of the newspaper for ways climate changes have affected communities and regions in the U.S. and around the world. Create an editorial cartoon based on one of the articles you read and your opinions.
Learning Standards: Explaining changes in climate over long periods of time.

Lennons Lyrics
An American collector recently paid $1.2 million for lyrics written by John Lennon. The double-sided sheet of paper with the words to A Day in the Life, which is the final song on the Beatles album Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, also includes hand-written corrections and edits by Lennon in black felt marker, blue ball point pen and a few annotations in red ink. The song, which was partly inspired by the newspaper, is listed by Rolling Stone magazine as No. 26 in its compilation of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Choose an editorial or letter to the editor from the newspaper about a subject that interests you. Write your own editorial or letter to the editor with your opinions about the original piece and about the subject. Edit your work by hand.
Learning Standards: Planning, drafting, revising and editing their texts, and analyze and critique the texts of others in such areas as purpose, effectiveness, cohesion and creativity.