1. Colorful Language

Good writing uses colorful language and good descriptions to make a story or report come alive. With family or friends, discuss different writing techniques to look for when reading. A simile (SIM-i-lee), for example, compares one thing to another, often using the words "like" or "as" (She was as fast as a cheetah.). A metaphor (MET-a-fore) compares things by describing something as something else (His father was a bear when he was angry). Hyperbole (hi-PER-bo-LEE) uses exaggeration (He was so hungry he could eat a cow.). Personification describes non-human things in human terms (The sunflower was a great smiling face). With family or friends, go through the newspaper for several days and make a list of as many of these as you can find. Then use some of your examples to write a poem, song, rap or rhyme.

Learning Standards: Acquiring information from multiple sources; recognizing and using authors' techniques that convey meaning and build empathy with readers.

2. Wizardly Woes

The estate of Adrian Jacobs, who wrote the 1987 book "The Adventures of Willy the Wizard," is suing the publisher of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." The lawsuit was filed in New York District Court against Scholastic, Inc., claiming that Potter author J.K. Rowling wrongly used copyrighted work from Jacob's book. A similar lawsuit was filed last year in England against Bloomsbury Publishing Plc., the UK publisher of the Harry Potter books. The plaintiff wants to stop the sale of "Goblet" and wants all remaining inventory of the books destroyed. The estate also wants profits from sales. Read the newspaper to learn about two sides of a lawsuit. Using facts from the article, write an editorial expressing your opinions about the case and what you believe is right by law and by ethics.

Learning Standards: 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.

3. On the Job

Young men and women in the town of Basra in southern Iraq are getting on-the-job training, thanks to a joint program by the British government and the Iraqi Ministry of Labor Social Affairs. The Youth Employment Pilot Program (YEPP) has placed more than 400 young people as trainees with local businesses in the last 10 months. Some of the skills the young workers are learning include carpentry, sewing, metal welding and lathing (a practice for shaping wood, metal or other materials). The apprentices first choose a job path and then receive about two months of vocational training at a local center. They are then matched with a prospective employer. Find a job that interests in you in newspaper classifieds section. Write a cover letter to the owner or hiring executive of that company detailing your education, experience and skills and why you would be the right person for the job.

Learning Standards: Demonstrating how language usage is related to successful communication in different spoken, written and visual communication contexts, such as job interviews and advertising; responding to a variety of oral, visual, written and electronic texts by making connections to students' personal lives and the lives of others;.

4. Filling a Need

When American Dan Schnitzer was a senior at the University of Chicago in 2007, he and his friends received a $1,000 grant to build a wind turbine, an alternative energy generator, from scratch. The online chronicle of the project caught the attention of a man living in the United States who was from Les Anglais, a town in the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The man wanted Schnitzer's help. Working with a local Haitian organization, Schnitzer surveyed the local people and found that most wanted solar-powered lighting that they could carry around or use in their homes. He soon co-founded a nonprofit called EarthSpark International, which is now working to get solar panels, solar-powered lamps and ultra-efficient stoves for rural Haiti. Read the newspaper to find a need in your state, country or the world. Write a grant proposal asking for a specific amount of money for specific resources. Be sure to outline exactly how you will help and who will benefit.

Learning Standards: Generating possible alternative resolutions to public issues and evaluating them using criteria that have been identified; acquiring information from multiple sources.

5. Health Help

Medicare, the U.S. health insurance program that provides hospital and medical insurance for Americans 65 and older, was signed into law 45 years ago by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 30, 1965. The bill-signing ceremony took place at the Truman Library in Independence, Missouri, where former President Harry S. Truman became the first person to receive the Medicare card. Medicaid, a state and federally funded health coverage program for low-income Americans, soon followed on July 30, 1965. Read archived and current articles in the newspaper about the U.S. health care debate. Using facts from the articles and your own opinions, write a speech that you would present before Congress about this issue.

Learning Standards: Stating an issue clearly as a question of public policy, tracing the origins of the issue, analyzing various perspectives people bring to the issue and evaluating possible ways to resolve the issue.