1. Cause & Effect

There are many ways to tell a story or give information. One common one is to show cause and effect. Explore this by using photos from the newspaper to write a story showing cause and effect. Cut out three photos that interest you. The photos do not need to be connected. The challenge is to write a story that connects them. You may order the photos any way you like, but the first scene should cause the second, and the second the third. Finish by writing a sentence stating how each photo caused what happened in the next.

Learning Standards: Reading and writing fluently, speaking confidently, listening and interacting appropriately, viewing critically and representing creatively; responding to visual texts.

2. Time for a Song

Newspapers pay a lot of attention to popular music because many readers are interested in songs and musical performers. Songs sometimes are written about famous people. Pick a person in the news today who could be the subject for a song. Write a sentence stating why you chose this person. Then write a sentence stating what kind of song it would be. It might be a love song, a song of praise, or a criticism of what someone stands for or does. Finish by writing a title to the song that would catch people's attention and summarize the point of the song.

Learning Standards: Acquiring information from multiple sources; reading and writing fluently, speaking confidently, listening and interacting appropriately, viewing critically and representing creatively.

3. Smart or Intrusive?

Beginning August 1, jeans and other men's clothing from Walmart Stores will have electronic identification tags. The removable smart tags will allow store workers to scan the garments at a distance, letting them know what sizes are missing and if they're available in the stock room. However, this is getting the attention of privacy experts who fear the store could use the scanning equipment to obtain private information from similar tags on driver's licenses and other identifications. A Walmart spokesman says the tags will only be used to manage inventory, however, though other merchandise may be tagged in the future. Read the newspaper to find ways the privacy of citizens may be compromised, through such things as social networking sites, red light cameras, smart tags, etc. Write a newspaper editorial weighing the issue of privacy against the practical uses of technology and expressing your opinion.

Learning Standards: Acquiring information from multiple sources; utilizing the persuasive power of text; devising and using strategies for planning, drafting, revising and editing complex texts in a variety of genres, and describing the relationship between form and meaning.

4. Battery Back-Up

A taxi company in the Asian country of Japan is trying out the world's first battery-exchange system for vehicles used commercially. During the three-month trial, Nihon Kotsu Taxi in the city of Tokyo is using remodeled electric cars that can have low batteries quickly exchanged for fully-charged batteries. Recharging an electric vehicle can take up to eight hours using household electricity or 30 minutes with a fast-speed charger. However, a battery exchange station can exchange a battery in less than a minute. In addition to environmental advantages, another plus is a lower cost to recharge the vehicle, though the cars themselves are pricier. Read today's international section of the newspaper or the archives to find a story about a country trying to solve a problem in an innovative way. Or find an example online. Write a letter to the editor about what other nations could learn from this and the impact it could have on the future.

Learning Standards: Explaining the importance of global issues involving cultural stability and change, economic development and international trade, resource use, environmental impact, conflict and cooperation, and explaining how they may affect the future.

5. I Want My MTV

On August 1, 1981, MTV went on the air for the first time, playing the The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star" music video on cable television. The channel was first only available to parts of the state of New Jersey but soon went national. MTV is credited with revolutionizing the music industry, and by the late 1980s, MTV was also breaking new ground by airing reality shows made for teenagers and young adults. Read today's newspaper or search the archives for people facing a problem or challenge. Come up with a premise for a reality show involving the people you find. Give your reality show a clever title that would make people your age want to watch it.

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