1. April Fools Day Story

April 1 is April Fools Day. Read a short article in today's newspaper about something interesting that happened yesterday. Rewrite the article, but switch around the facts of the story to make a silly new story. Read your goofy creation to the class — with expression!. Give it a goofy headline.

Common Core/National Standards: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience; writing fluently for multiple purposes to produce compositions, such as personal narratives, persuasive essays, lab reports and poetry.

2. An Okinawa Irritant

The continued presence of American troops on the island of Okinawa has long been an irritant to the Asian nation of Japan in its relationship with the United States. More than 50,000 American military personnel have been living on the island — site of some of the bloodiest fighting in World War II — and Okinawans have long objected to it. The Japanese prime minister now has asked Okinawa officials to approve relocation of the American Marine Corps air station Futenma from its current site in a thickly populated area to a less crowded location elsewhere on the island. Many in Okinawa, however, prefer that the base be moved off the island altogether. The U.S. military has bases all over the world. Do some research on the Okinawa base and write a short editorial assessing whether the base is needed.

Common Core/National Standards: Conducting short research projects that build knowledge about a topic; writing opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.

3. Phil Faces ‘Death Penalty’

When Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his Pennsylvania lair on Groundhog Day in February, he didn’t see his shadow, which means — according to legend — an early spring. He was wrong — winter has been dragging on, with no end in sight and snow continuing to fall in some parts of the country. Now authorities in neighboring Ohio have accused the famous groundhog of “purposely, and with prior calculation and design, caus[ing] the people to believe that spring would come early,” a misrepresentation which constitutes a felony “against the peace and dignity” of that state. An official-looking, tongue-in-cheek “indictment” in Ohio’s Butler County calls for the death penalty for the groundhog. All in fun, of course, but people do get impatient when they are ready for warm weather to arrive. Search the newspaper for signs of spring in the stories, photos or ads. Use what you find to write a poem, rap or rhyme about spring. Share with the class.

Common Core Education Standards Common Core/National Standards projects that build knowledge about a topic; producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience.

4. Curiosity Back on Track

The U.S. space rover named Curiosity has been inactive on the planet Mars for three weeks because of a memory glitch in its computers. It’s been repaired now, and is resuming science operations. The laboratory on wheels landed on the Mars equator in August, and has been exploring a 96-mile-wide crater formed by a meteor strike on the so-called Red Planet. Its most recent findings, based on analysis of ground-up rock, included conclusive evidence that the planet once had water and has elements and minerals that could have supported life. The $2.5-billion mission to explore Mars is “back on track now,” said the project manager for America’s NASA space agency. In the newspaper or online, find a story about Curiosity or another space mission. Write a paragraph summarizing the mission and what it has achieved.

Common Core/National Standards: Integrating information presented in different media or formats to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue; writing informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

5. Well, It Isn’t ‘Dirty, Noisy’

Even to Icelanders, the area called Grimsstadir is desolate, forbidding and harsh, but not to Chinese billionaire Huang Nubo. He wants to convert those barren wastes into a luxury hotel and golf course. Iceland authorities have been cool to proposals from Huang’s Beijing-based Zhongkun Group, but Iceland’s foreign minister has said he can see no reason to continue to block the $100 million venture, even though golf “doesn’t seem very sensible” in an area so isolated “you can almost hear ghosts dancing in the snow.” An official in Huang’s company insists the plan is driven by a “market demand in China” for peace and quiet, since most Chinese “don’t like to travel to dirty, noisy places.” Chinese economic development is having impact all over the world. Find a story about China’s economic power in the newspaper or online. Write a summary of the impact China’s actions will have on other nations.

Common Core/National Standards: Integrating information presented in different media or formats to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue; producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience.