1. The Little Mermaid

Children's author Hans Christian Andersen was born on April 2, 1805. He published several books of fairy tales. Many of his stories, such as "The Little Mermaid," "The Ugly Duckling" and "The Emperor's New Clothes," include moral lessons. Write your own fairy tale or fable using people mentioned in a newspaper article as the characters. Incorporate a moral lesson into your story. Give it a creative title and share with the class.

Learning Standards: Exploring and reflecting on universal themes and substantive issues from oral, visual and written texts; writing fluently for multiple purposes.

2. Let's Hear It for Math

April is Mathematics Education Month. To celebrate, use the newspaper to complete the following problem:

a. Take today's high temperature in Miami and add it to the points the Detroit Red Wings have.

b. From that sum, subtract the number of comics pages.

c. Now add the price of stock in the Time Warner company.

d. Multiply that number by the number of times President Obama is mentioned by name on the front page of the newspaper.

Compare answers as a class. Then create a similar problem on your own to exchange with a classmate.

Learning Standard: Using addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to solve problems; using variables and relationships to solve mathematical problems; solving math problems by exploring relationships arising from interesting contexts.

3. Long Ago

A book checked out on September 24, 1965, was just returned to a library in England. The borrower returned the book anonymously, but the librarian said there was no need to hide his or her identity: late fees are capped at $9. Pick an article in the newspaper about a common topic, such as politics or sports. Then research online or in books and write down three things on the same topic that happened 45 or 50 years ago. Share what you found with the class, and discuss what impact the things you found have on current events.

Learning Standards: Performing the daily functions of a literate individual; acquiring information from multiple sources; organizing and evaluating the information; communicating the information in various contexts.

4. Self-Portrait

Artist Vincent van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853. He painted in the Impressionist style and used vibrant colors. Some of his most famous paintings are the ones he painted of himself -- his "self-portraits." Make your own self-portrait, but instead of paint, use words. Cut out words and phrases that describe who you are, where you come from, what you like to do and what you want to be in the future from articles, captions, headlines and ads in the newspaper. Then use the words to create an art collage that will offer a "portrait" of yourself to others.

Learning Standards: Responding to a variety of texts by making connections to students' personal lives and the lives of others; reading and writing fluently, speaking confidently, listening and interacting appropriately, viewing critically and representing creatively.

5. Moon Water

Until last year, scientists weren't entirely sure there was water on the moon. But new information discovered by radar instruments proved there is. Now scientists are saying there are at least three different types of moon water, each with different minerals and gases. In groups, find an article about a scientific discovery or event. Do research in books, newspapers and online to find out more about it. Then use what you learned to create a presentation for the class.

Learning Standards: Asking questions that help students learn about the world; designing and conducting investigations using appropriate methodology and technology; learning from books and other sources of information; communicating findings using appropriate technology; reconstructing previously learned knowledge.