1. Recall

Car manufacturer Toyota has had to recall more than eight million vehicles, including 437,000 hybrid cars like the popular Prius, the world's top-selling hybrid. The Prius has a problem with its brakes. A hybrid car uses both gasoline and electricity to run. They are popular because using less gasoline benefits the environment. Read articles in the newspaper or online about Toyota's situation. Write an editorial discussing what impact this will have on whether or not people purchase hybrid cars.

Learning Standard: Composing coherent written essays that express a position on a public issue and justifying the position with reasoned arguments.

2. Beloved Ms. Morrison

On February 18, 1931, author Toni Morrison was born. Morrison's work tackles universal themes using history specific to the African American community. Her characters inhabit worlds of the past and yet speak to us today. Skim through today's newspaper to get a sense of what's going on in your world. Then write a creative story about fictional people living in these times.

Learning Standard: Responding to a variety of oral, visual, written and electronic texts by making connections to one's personal life.

3. Bo

One of the world's oldest languages became extinct earlier this month when the last person to speak it died. At age 85, Boa Sr was the oldest member of a tribe in India called the Great Andamanese, and the last person who spoke "Bo." Read articles in the newspaper and think about the type of language newspapers use, compared to the language used in novels and textbooks. Pick an article and use the thesaurus and your own vocabulary to rewrite it using more obscure and sophisticated words. Trade the article with a classmate and ask the classmate to rewrite it once again, but this time turning it back into clearer, simpler language. Compare that version to the original.

Learning Standards: Planning, drafting, revising and editing texts and analyzing and critiquing the texts of others in such areas as purpose, effectiveness, cohesion and creativity; demonstrating ways in which communication can be influenced through word usage.

4. Cuba

Fidel Castro became the prime minister of Cuba on February 16, 1959. Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean Sea, less than 100 miles from Florida. As prime minister, Castro turned Cuba into a Communist country. Find four countries mentioned in the newspaper. Make a chart comparing the four countries to the United States. Compare what type of government each country has and how each type works. Write a paragraph explaining which type you think is best, and why.

Learning Standard: Explaining the advantages and disadvantages of a federal system of government; evaluating the relative merits of the American presidential system and parliamentary systems; acquiring information from multiple sources and then organizing and presenting it.

5. The Simpsons

Matt Groening was born February 15, 1954. You may not know his name, but it's almost certain you know his work. Groening is the creator and executive producer of the TV show "The Simpsons." He also writes a weekly comic strip and created another show for TV called "Futurama." Find an article in the newspaper that interests you. Draw a comic strip or cartoon that presents the most interesting or important things contained in the article.

Learning Standard: Reading and writing fluently, speaking confidently, listening and interacting appropriately, viewing critically and representing creatively; using the craft of the illustrator to express ideas artistically.