1. The Maestro Is Back (Seated)

James Levine is one of the most famous conductors in classical music. And after a more than two-year absence, the maestro is back conducting — in a wheelchair. The celebrated conductor recently cruised onto the stage in a mechanized wheelchair at Carnegie Hall in New York to conduct his Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in a full program of classics before a wildly cheering audience. After years of spinal problems, shoulder injuries and multiple operations, it had seemed possible that Levine would never return to conducting, yet for this concert, he seemed comfortable waving his arms and giving emphatic cues, smiling at the musicians and sometimes singing along. People frequently overcome physical limitations to achieve success. In the newspaper or online, find an example. Write a short essay detailing what the person has overcome and why it is inspiring.

Common Core/National Standards: Conducting short research projects that build knowledge about a topic; citing specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions; producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task.

2. D-Day

June 6, 1944 is known as D-Day. As a class, use your history books and other resources to learn more about this momentous day in U.S. and world history. Then read about observations of D-Day’s anniversary this year and reflections on the day in this week’s newspapers or online. Discuss D-Day, the week’s memorial events and observations from veterans and writers as a class.

Common Core/National Standards: Engaging effectively in a range of collaborative discussions; responding thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarizing points of agreement and disagreement; understanding narratives about major eras of American and world history by identifying the people involved, describing the setting and sequencing the events.

3. Does Superman Shave?

If you follow Superman comics and movies, you know that Clark Kent is always clean-shaven, right? But does Superman shave? Does he burn off the beard with his X-ray vision? Can a whiff of his superhuman breath whisk away his whiskers? This summer, you will have a chance to speculate on this weighty matter, thanks to the Gillette razor company, which is launching a playful promotional campaign to tie in with the new movie “Man of Steel.” It will solicit theories via the website HowDoesHeShave.com, and present related web videos from superhero enthusiasts. It will be a superhero-sized marketing campaign designed to connect the men’s grooming company with customers. Companies that make products are always looking for creative ways to call attention to them. With a partner, find a product you like in the newspaper. Brainstorm a promotional campaign idea to promote the product. Write a summary of your campaign and present it to the class.

Common Core/National Standards: Engaging effectively in a range of collaborative discussions; producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience.

4. Suspensions for ‘Defiance’

More than half the suspensions in the Los Angeles School District in California have been for “willful defiance.” In the name of “zero tolerance” discipline, students have been suspended for acts as trivial as refusing to remove a hat in the classroom, and the policy has disproportionately targeted minority students, hindering academic achievement and lowering graduation rates. So now the Los Angeles Unified School District has voted to end its policy of suspending students for defiance — the nation’s largest school district to take such a step. As a class, discuss rules for behavior that your school has, and why it has them. Are all the rules necessary? Are there other rules the school should have but does not? Write a short editorial for the newspaper giving your view on what school rules are needed most.

Common Core/National Standards: Engaging effectively in a range of collaborative discussions; responding thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarizing points of agreement and disagreement; writing opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.?

5. That’s Funny!

When she learned that she will be awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Carol Burnett professed bewilderment because “it’s almost impossible to be funnier than the people in Washington.” The 80-year-old actress and comedienne will receive the honor in a taped-for-public-TV ceremony in October. Humorists often make fun of people in the news to achieve comic effect. With a partner, pick a person in the news from the newspaper. Brainstorm some ways you could poke fun at the person in a friendly way. Write up your jokes as a comic routine and present them to the class. Or draw a comic strip for the newspaper using your jokes.

Common Core/National Standards: Reading closely what a text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; engaging effectively in a range of collaborative discussions; using drawings or visual displays when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or points.