1. Antediluvian (adj. Very old)

The nation's best spellers got together last week to compete in the annual Scripps Howard Spelling Bee. Catch the buzz and be creative as you do the following word and spelling challenge.

1. Write your name.

2. Write down the second letter in your first name.

3. Count letters in the alphabet until you come to that letter.

4. Write down that number.

5. Count the letters in your last name.

6. Write down that number.

7. Add the numbers in Steps 4 and 6.

8. Write down that number.

9. Count the number in the answer in Step 8 in the pages of today's newspaper.

10. If you land on a page with few words, go to the next page that contains lots of words.

11. Find a lower-case word that you're not quite sure how to pronounce.

12. Look it up in the dictionary.

13. Learn how to pronounce it.

14. Find out what it means.

15. Make it a personal goal to learn how to spell it in the next month.

Learning Standards: Acquiring information from books, maps, newspapers, data sets and other sources; organizing and presenting the information; and interpreting the meaning and significance of information.

2. Making Ends Meet

With the economy struggling, efforts by people to save money and reduce spending have been making news. Pretend that you have to buy presents for your family, two neighbors, one friend and two teachers for June 9th Day--a made-up holiday on which everybody buys presents for one another. Imagine you were given $100 with which to buy presents. You can't spend any more than that and you don't get to keep any of the money left over. Use the ads in the newspaper to pick out presents. Keep track of who gets what and how much each thing costs. Still within your budget? When you have finished, discuss the experience in class. Was it hard? Was it easy? Why?

Learning Standard: Explaining why and how people face scarcity when making economic decisions.

3. Green Vehicles

The Asian nation of China has more people than any other country on Earth. As a result, it has millions and millions of cars. All those cars pollute the air with exhaust fumes. But China, which has passed the United States as the world's biggest auto market, now says it will subsidize purchases of alternative energy vehicles in five cities to reduce exhaust emissions. Under the program in Shanghai and four other cities, car buyers will get a government subsidy payment of about $7,300 if they will buy a plug-in, hybrid passenger car that runs on a combination of gas and electricity. China says it wants sales of such vehicles to account for 10-15 percent of total sales by 2020. As a class, talk about different alternative energy products that people are trying. Then find an example in the newspaper or online. Write a short editorial urging people to use more alternative products or urging the government to take steps to promote such products.

Learning Standard: Showing how common themes of science, mathematics and technology apply in real world contexts; utilizing the persuasive power of text as an instrument of change in the community, the nation and the world.

4. Interleague

On June 12, 1997, interleague play began in Major League Baseball, ending a 126-year tradition of separating American and National League competition until the World Series. Interleague competition was designed to create more midseason interest in baseball and to allow teams that had geographic "rivalries" to play each other. Some fans have liked interleague play, while others feel it is a distraction from league competition. Use the newspaper and Internet resources to learn more about which teams are playing interleague games this month. Write a short sports column discussing which rivalries are most successful for fans and which are not.

Learning Standards: Acquiring information from multiple sources; developing and applying critical standards for individual use; writing fluently for multiple purposes.

5. Get Fit!

American obesity is up in the last 10 years and obesity is a major cause of health problems. Use this week's newspapers to find 10 things that you could do -- or refrain from doing -- to get or feel healthier. Cite the articles you find as if you were writing a research paper.

Learning Standard: Acquiring information from multiple sources; organizing and presenting the information; interpreting the meaning and significance of the information; comprehending what constitutes good health and nutrition; using a variety of electronic technologies to assist in accessing and managing information.

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