1. Search at School
Newspapers give stories exciting headlines that help readers find stories that interest them. Most headlines feature at least one verb and one noun and many also include prepositions. Divide the class into Noun Hunters, Verb Hunters and Preposition Hunters. Have each group search the headlines in the newspaper for 10 examples of each part of speech. Cut out the examples from the headlines and place them in a pile. Next find an uncut copy of the newspaper. Write three headlines from that newspaper on the board. As a class, decide which words in the headlines are nouns, verbs and prepositions. Then go around the class and have each student replace each noun, verb and preposition with cutout examples from the piles. Try to make your sentences as funny as possible!
Learning Standard: Identifying multiple language conventions and using them when editing text. Examples include recognition of nouns, verbs and modifiers, capitalization rules, punctuation marks and spelling.
2. Taking Responsibility
On November 20, 1945, the Nuremberg trials began. At these trials, an international group judged German Nazi leaders to hold them accountable for crimes committed during the Holocaust in World War II. Defendants were charged with "crimes against humanity" for executing, torturing or making slaves of Jews, ethnic minorities, physically and mentally impaired people, political dissidents and others the Nazis felt stood in the way of global domination. Find an example of something you feel is a human rights violation in newspaper, magazines or the Internet. Discuss as a class what is being done to correct the situation or bring justice for a "crime against humanity."
Learning Standard: Identifying the responses of individuals to historic violations of human dignity involving discrimination, persecution and crimes against humanity; engaging peers in constructive conversation about topics of interest or importance.
3. Apple Month
September, October and November make up National Apple Month, according to the U.S. Apple Association. (It used to be a shorter time period, but the association expanded it to three months, without coming up with a more accurate name.) In groups, use the newspaper, books and online sources to make a chart comparing the nutritional value of apples to five other foods. Write a few sentences explaining which is the healthiest food in the your chart, and why. Design an ad for the newspaper promoting this food.
Learning Standards: Acquiring information from books, maps, newspapers, data sets and other sources; organizing and presenting the information; interpreting the meaning and significance of the information.
4. Mouse Ears
Mickey Mouse made his first appearance on November 18, 1928, in Walt Disney's short cartoon movie "Steamboat Willie." Over the years the Disney Company has evolved into a giant worldwide corporation, but Mickey is still one of its most recognizable symbols. In groups, look at symbols and logos in newspaper ads and online. Talk about why different organizations chose those symbols to represent them. Then design a symbol for your school. Present it to your classmates and explain what it means.
Learning Standards: Responding to a variety of visual, written and electronic texts by making connections to students' personal lives and the lives of others; identifying and using aspects of the craft of the speaker, writer and illustrator to formulate and express their ideas artistically.
5. Technology
The cell phone company Verizon Wireless just introduced its new smart phone, the Droid. Like other smart phones, the Droid lets users check e-mail, browse the Web, send text messages, take photos and more. It even makes phone calls. Look through the newspaper and pick an invention that's changed the way people live. Write a paragraph or two about what it is and what impact it has had.
Learning Standards: Analyzing claims for their scientific merit and explaining how scientists decide what constitutes scientific knowledge; understanding how science is related to other ways of knowing, how science and technology affect our society and how people of diverse cultures have contributed to and influenced developments in science.
