1. New Year

This week the world celebrated the start of the New Year. Many people also made New Year’s resolutions, stating things they plan or want to do in 2013. Decide on a resolution that you would like to make and keep for yourself. Then find an ad that appeals to you in today's newspaper. Create a version of the ad to “promote” your resolution — and motivate you to keep it.

Common Core/National Standard: Using drawings or visual displays when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or points.

2. A Message from @pontifex

Look who’s Twittering! Pope Benedict XVI, that’s who. The worldwide head of the Catholic Church has been posting messages in eight languages under the Twitter account name @pontifex (Latin for “bridge builder,” a term often applied to the Pope). In his first Twitter message, sent by iPad to “Dear Friends,” the Pope said: “I bless all of you from my heart.” A church official has said that the Pope’s Twitter messages will reflect the church’s teachings. As a class, find stories or ads in the newspaper involving ways to use technology to communicate with others. Write a sentence describing one way that members of your family use technology to communicate.

Common Core/National Standard: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience.

3. A Spoonful of Sugar

According to a once-popular song, “A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down.” Now researchers have found there may be some truth in those lines. Researchers have concluded that giving a bit of sugar to a baby about to get a shot may reduce the pain. Sugar has proven to be effective in reducing the amount of the baby’s crying time, researchers said. The effect may last only about two minutes, and the reason is as yet undetermined, but experts agree that “giving small amounts of sugar is a very safe intervention.” As a class, find stories about people helping children or working to make them healthier. Pick one and write a paragraph explaining what kind of help was given and why it was effective.

Common Core/National Standard: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience.

4. New Santa

In a new version of “The Night Before Christmas,” something is missing — Santa’s pipe. Not only is Santa not smoking in the illustrations of Pamela McColl’s book, but in her retelling of the 189-year-old holiday poem, these lines are gone: “The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth/And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.” On the cover, she has added the words: “Edited by Santa Claus for the benefit of children of the 21st century.” On the back jacket, a letter from Santa discloses that “all that tired business of smoking” is behind him and that out of respect for animals he no longer wears fur. Not everyone approves of these changes. An American Library Association official calls it “a kind of censorship that we’ve always disapproved of.” As a class, talk about the change to this famous holiday poem. Then draw a comic strip for the newspaper showing whether you think Santa should have a pipe, or not.

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

5. A Surprised Spectator

A 9-year-old boy got an unexpected surprise when he attended the short-course swimming world championship competition in Istanbul in the nation of Turkey. At the meet, American swimmer Ryan Lochte broke his own world record in the 200-meter individual medley. After receiving his gold medal, he went over to the stands and gave it to a Turkish boy, Arda Cakmak. He didn’t know the boy, Lochte said, but “to see that smile on that little face means everything to me.” Perhaps Lochte has so many medals that one more or less doesn’t matter. But this one certainly mattered to little Arda. In sports section of the newspaper, find a story about an athlete doing something special. Then write a paragraph describing how the athlete might thank fans in a special way.

Common Core/National Standard: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience.