1. Changing the Dream

Professional athletes work their whole lives to reach the goal of getting paid to play a sport. Oakland A’s infielder Grant Desme was just 4 years old when he proclaimed he would be a professional baseball player, and he never wavered from working to achieve his goal. He played baseball in high school, college and then the pros. But recently he gave it all up to work for God. Injuries from playing started him thinking about what was important in life, and he decided it wasn’t baseball. He now lives in a monastery in Southern California and spends his time studying, praying and doing chores around St. Michael’s Abbey. Search the newspaper for stories about people who make a major change in their life. Or find one as a class online. Read one story, and write a summary of it.

Common Core/National Standard: Writing informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

2. Fire Prevention Week

This week is Fire Prevention Week. As a class, read an article in the newspaper about a fire that has happened locally in the past week. Brainstorm ways that the fire could have been prevented. Then use the newspaper, your list and other resources to make a list of fire-prevention safety tips. Design a newspaper ad to tell people in the community about these ways to be safe.

Common Core/National Standards: Applying knowledge, ideas and issues drawn from texts to students’ lives and the lives of others; adding drawings or visual displays when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or points.

3. Welcome Back, Refs!

NFL football is one of the most popular sports in the nation, but the first three weeks of the 2012 season caused a lot of unhappiness among fans. A work dispute between the referees and the league led to a lockout of the regular refs by league leaders, and the use of replacement refs for the first three games. Questionable calls by the replacements left fans shaking their heads and even drew the criticism of President Obama. When a controversial call affected the outcome of a game between the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks, league officials began getting pressure from both political and community leaders to resolve the situation. Three days later, a new work agreement had been reached with the regular referees. As a class, talk about why referees are important in sports events. Then talk about people outside sports who sometimes have to “referee” discussions or disputes between people. Draw a comic strip for the newspaper showing a non-sports “referee” in action, and explain how he/she is helping others.

Common Core/National Standards: Engaging effectively in a range of collaborative discussions; adding drawings or visual displays when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or points.

4. Ahoy, America!

The Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria are three of the most famous ships in history. They left the European nation of Spain on August 13, 1492, searching for the riches of the Far East on what is now the continent of Asia. Led by Christopher Columbus, the three ships reached land on October 12, 1492. Columbus didn’t know at the time that he hadn’t reached the Far East, but was in fact in the Bahamas in the Caribbean Sea south of what is now the United States. Later that month, he sailed and sighted the island of Cuba, but thought that it was mainland China. He then landed on the neighboring island of Hispaniola and set up a small colony with his men. He returned to Spain with gold, spices and “Indian” captives in March 1493. Columbus returned the area three more times, and found more Caribbean islands, as well as mainland South and Central America. He never reached the Far East, but is now credited with being one of the first European discoverers of the “New World” of the Americas. In the newspaper, find an article about exploration. Think about what it would be like to be part of the exploration, and write a fictional story about a child stowing away on an expedition of explorers. Common Core/National Standard: Writing narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events, using effective technique, descriptive details and clear event sequences.

5. Photographing Hope

“Pictures of Hope” is a national, 12-city program that was created by award-winning photographer Linda Solomon and is sponsored by Chevrolet. The project puts cameras in the hands of children so that they can take pictures that represent their hopes and dreams for the future. The photographs will be made into holiday cards that will be sold to raise money for the Lighthouse PATH program that serves struggling families in the Detroit, Michigan, area. Find a newspaper story about children facing struggles or challenges. With disposable or digital cameras, take photos of things that might fulfill their dreams. Or draw pictures of things that might fulfill their dreams. Display your pictures in the classroom and discuss. Common Core/National Standard: Using drawings or visual displays when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or points; understanding and applying media techniques and processes in visual arts.