1. George Washington Didn't Sleep Here

The presidential election will decide who lives in the White House for the next four years. Interestingly, not all presidents have lived there. On October 13, 1792, President George Washington laid the cornerstone in Washington, D.C., for what was first called the President's House. While Washington picked the spot where it was built, it was the second president, John Adams, and his wife, Abigail, who first moved into the still-unfinished residence in November 1800. The Adams family used the largest room, the East Room, to hang laundry. Look in the newspaper for pictures of the White House or the President. In teams or as a class, research American history and write a short report on all the places that served as America's capital before Washington, D.C.

Common Core/National Standard: Placing major events in the early history of the United States in chronological order.

2. Be a Witness

This month, Washington, D.C., marked the 10th anniversary of a series of crimes that terrorized the area. In October 2002, two snipers randomly took aim at people on area highways, and shot and killed 10 of them. The shooters were eventually captured and one was given the death penalty as punishment. The other, who was a teenager at the time of the shootings, is serving a life prison sentence. One of the problems police had solving the case was getting witnesses who could reliably describe what they had seen of the suspects. See if you would be a reliable witness—under much happier circumstances. Pick a page in the newspaper that has a picture on it. Carefully study the picture for 45 seconds. Now describe the details of the picture to someone else. See if your description leads that person to the picture.

Common Core/National Standard: Focusing on meaning and communication while listening, speaking, viewing, reading and writing in personal, social, occupational and civic contexts.

3. Protest

Forty-five years ago, on October 21, 1967, more than 100,000 people gathered in Washington, D.C., to protest the nation's participation in the Vietnam War. In the United States, people are allowed to disagree with things the government decides and are allowed to protest peacefully. Find an article in this week's newspaper about people in another country protesting something. Write a short paragraph about who was protesting, what they were protesting, how they protested, what happened to the protestors and whether or not you think that the reaction to the protest would be the same in the United States.

Common Core/National Standard: Organizing, analyzing and synthesizing information to draw conclusions and implications based on students' investigation of an issue or problem.

4. Halloween Twist

Read an interesting article in today's newspaper. Then, in honor of Halloween, use a few of the events from the article as the basis for a creative ghost story, or another kind of creepy or supernatural tale. When you have finished, create an interesting illustration for your story. Then, read your story to the class—with feeling! For added fun, see if you can read your stories to a class of younger students.

Common Core/National Standards: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience; using drawings or visual displays when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or points.

5. Somewhere New

Pair off with a classmate and look through the newspaper until you come across a country that you have never heard of before. Use the newspaper and another resource, and write down five facts about the country. Then use what you have learned to draw a comic strip for the newspaper, showing you and a friend visiting this country. Give your comic strip a creative name that will make people want to read it!

Common Core/National Standard: Locating and describing the major places, cultures and communities of the nation and comparing their characteristics; using drawings or visual displays when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or points.