1. Still Rolling Along

For a while, it looked as though Ol’ Man River might not just keep rolling along as it always has. The withering Midwest drought has caused record-breaking low water levels on the Mississippi River, threatening to shut down traffic on what is the world’s largest navigable inland waterway. But the Army Corps of Engineers came to the river’s rescue with months of nonstop dredging, blasting and scraping away of rock obstructions along the riverbed, effectively lowering the bottom of the at-risk section from St. Louis, Missouri to Cairo, Illinois by two feet. Apparently, the Army Corps’ efforts have worked. “We’re about to get out of the woods here,” said the general in charge of the project. “We will be able to sustain navigation for the rest of the season,” until the river comes up naturally with the spring rains and snow melt. Search the newspaper or Internet to find stories about the Midwest drought. Then see if you can come up with more details about the dredging project on the Mississippi. Create a power point presentation on how the project worked.

Common Core/National Standards: Using technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently, as well as to interact and collaborate with others; integrating information presented in different media or formats to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.

2. FDR

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882. He is the only politician in history to be elected president four times. During his presidency, he created many programs as part of the New Deal to battle the economic problems of the Great Depression. Use various resources to learn more about the ways in which FDR tried to help the economy. Then use the newspaper to look at how President Barack Obama is trying to solve our current economic problems. Discuss and compare the plans as a class.

Common Core/National Standards: Engaging effectively in a range of collaborative discussions; evaluating the implications and long-term consequences of key decisions made at critical turning points in history.

3. Fewer School Dropouts?

The percentage of students graduating on time at U.S. public high schools is at its highest level in nearly 40 years. The National Center for Education Statistics estimates that 78 percent of Americans receiving high school diplomas in 2010 started four years earlier, a level of on-time completion not achieved since 1974. Educators hope that this means the number of dropouts will continue to decline. The statistic is attributed partly to the softer economy (fewer jobs out there), but also to a 10-point jump in the percentage of Hispanics — the nation’s largest minority group — who are graduating on time. As a class, discuss what effect poor economic conditions have on the nation’s high school dropout rate? Then find Help Wanted ads in the newspaper. Pick one and review the education requirements for the job. Write a paragraph describing how a person would get that education and training in your community or state.

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. Web Self-Diagnosis

Americans have always tried to deal with their health issues at home, but now more do it than ever before, thanks to the Internet. The Pew Research Center reports that 35 percent of the nation’s adults have used the Internet to diagnose a medical condition for themselves or others. About a third of the people surveyed said they did not seek a physician’s opinion, and about 41 percent said a physician confirmed the self-diagnosis (18 percent said a doctor did not). As a class, discuss how many families have used the Internet to get health answers. Then find a story in the newspaper about a health issue. Write a short letter to the editor discussing the pros and cons of online self-diagnosis.

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.

5. Sorry to Interrupt

Momentary distractions can cause major errors, and that could spell big trouble, especially for such professions as emergency room doctors or aircraft mechanics. Researchers warned in the Journal of Experimental Psychology that even short interruptions, such as glancing at a text message, can increase errors because this requires participants to shift their attention. This, the lead researcher notes, “can seem jarring when … occur[ing] during a process that takes considerable thought.” To reach this conclusion, 300 people were asked to complete a sequence-based procedure on a computer. Interruptions of as little as three seconds doubled the error rate. Being as wary as possible of distraction, see what you can determine from your newspaper and online about the pros and cons of text messaging while performing vital functions, such as driving. Write a personal essay stating your opinion.

Common Core/National Standards: Citing textual evidence to support analysis of what a text says explicitly, as well as inferences drawn from the text; producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience.