1. Ich Bin Ein Berliner (I Am a Berliner)

On June 26, 1963, President John F. Kennedy made a landmark speech to the people of Berlin. At the time, Germany was separated into two countries - West Germany, which was democratic, and East Germany, which was communist. Berlin was the main city of West Germany and Kennedy aimed to show his support of the freedoms that the democratically run government allowed. He famously asserted: "All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words, 'Ich bin ein Berliner.'" While it is clear that Kennedy was American and not literally from Berlin, he said that he was a Berliner as a metaphor for being a free man. Look through today's newspaper, or use the Internet, to find three other metaphors. Then imagine you had to write a persuasive speech on a topic of your choice. Use a metaphor to help you organize your speech and emphasize your main point.

Learning Standard: Exploring and using the characteristics of different types of texts, aesthetic elements and mechanics, including text structure, figurative and descriptive language, spelling, punctuation and grammar, to construct and convey meaning.

2. Stand for Civil Rights

Thousands of students will meet in Kansas City, Missouri, this summer to talk about the role of the criminal justice system and other topics while attending workshops, youth advisory meetings and forums to empower African American teens and other racial and ethnic minorities. They will be representing 600 youth councils and high school and college chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) at the annual convention. Scan the newspaper for several days and log how many stories involve someone being treated unfairly. Then write a Letter to the Editor about your findings.

Learning Standards: Analyzing how the tensions among characters, communities, themes and issues in literature and other texts reflect the substance of the human experience; writing fluently for multiple purposes.

3. Expensive Kids

According to a new U.S. Department of Agriculture study, a middle-income family may spend $222,360 on a child born in 2009 in the years from birth through age 18. The study showed that a typical two-parent family spent $11,650 to $13,530 last year on each child. Parents raising kids in the urban Northeast have the highest expenses. Next highest are for families in cities in the West and Midwest. The biggest portion of the expenses goes to housing costs, followed by child care and education and then food. Look in the newspaper classified ads to find a moderately priced apartment. Next, find a moderately priced apartment in a newspaper in another part of the country by doing an Internet search. Is there a significant difference in housings costs? Why or why not?

Learning Standards: Using economic reasoning when comparing price, quality and features of goods and services; conducting cost-benefit analyses and applying basic economic indicators to analyze the aggregate economic behavior of the U.S. economy.

4. Doctor's Orders

Doctors have been urging patients not to smoke for years. But now they may add another warning: Don't send text messages or use cell phones while driving. "It's time for us to ask patients about driving and distraction," Dr. Amy Ship of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School in Boston wrote in a New England Journal of Medicine featured commentary. According to the National Safety Council, the use of cell phones is now a factor in about 28 percent of U.S. traffic accidents. Print or clip an ad from the newspaper for a cell phone or cell phone company. Redesign the ad to include warnings about texting or using cell phones while driving. Be sure to give your ad an eye-catching headline to get readers' attention.

Learning Standards: Analyzing students' responses to oral, visual, written and electronic texts; providing examples of how texts affect their lives, connect them with the contemporary world and transmit issues across time; representing creatively.

5. Tough Call

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has wrapped up a four-year investigation and handed down a list of penalties for the University of Southern California (USC). As a result, the Trojans football team will be sitting out bowl games for the next two seasons, and the university could lose millions of dollars. The investigations began with two unrelated accusations that football tailback Reggie Bush, winner of the Heisman Trophy, and basketball guard O.J. Mayo had accepted gifts from sports marketers and agents. The NCAA's Committee on Infractions also penalized the men's basketball and women's tennis teams. Search the newspaper's electronic archives and the Internet to learn more about this story. Write an editorial for a future edition outlining your opinions on how the NCAA should respond to such behavior.

Learning Standard: Composing coherent written essays that express a position on a public issue and justifying the position with reasoned arguments.