1. Labor Day

On Monday, the nation celebrated Labor Day. Labor Day is a holiday set aside to honor working Americans. Find an article in this week's newspapers about a person with a job you find interesting. Write down ideas for a short story about what your day might be like if you had that job. Give your story an exciting or fun title. Then write the beginning paragraph of your story.

Common Core/National Standards: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience; demonstrating the ability to write clear and grammatically correct sentences, paragraphs and compositions.

2. Definition Please!

We call the parts of the alphabet letters, but really they’re just symbols. And when we put them together, they create words. Over time, these words are assigned meanings that we can find in any dictionary. It is important to understand the meanings of words so you can understand what you are reading. Search your newspaper for a story that interests you. Cut or print it out and highlight the words you don’t know. Look them up in the dictionary and write down their definitions. Use three of them in complete sentences of your own.

Common Core/National Standard: Determining the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text

3. A Hero Remembered

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” This famous quote came from U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon. He died August 25 at the age of 82. In 1969 Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon’s surface and spent three hours collecting samples, conducting experiments and taking photographs, according to an Associated Press story. Before becoming an astronaut, Armstrong was a Navy fighter pilot and an engineer. When a person passes away, newspapers run obituaries that tell about the person’s life. Search your newspaper for obituaries. Using them as examples, choose a famous person, do some research and write an obituary giving highlights of the person’s life.

Common Core/National Standard: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience.

4. Snake Alert

Forget movies about snakes on planes. Arizona residents are dealing with rattlesnakes on a more personal level. According to an article in the Arizona Republic, the number of rattlesnake bites has increased dramatically this summer. Three people in the Phoenix area were bitten in one night, and 14 bites were reported in the Tucson area. As August ended, there had been 49 bites in Tucson and 25 in Phoenix. Typically, there are more snakebites in August and September than in other months because of storms and because baby snakes are born at the end of July and early August, the article said. Snakebites from baby snakes may be even more dangerous than bites from adults, because babies’ venom is more potent. Also, baby snakes are harder to see and their rattle isn’t as loud. Find a newspaper story, photo or ad featuring a dangerous animal. As a class, discuss ways to stay safe when around animals that can be dangerous.

Common Core/National Standard: Engaging effectively in a range of collaborative discussions

5. The Ice Cream Cop

In April of this year, Chris Rosnik found himself out of a job. He was one of 12 Oak Park, Michigan, police officers to get laid off because of the city budget, according to a Detroit Free Press article. Looking for a way to stay in the community and earn a living, Rosnik decided to get out of the business of protecting the citizens and into the business of satisfying their sweet tooths. He opened an ice cream shop with the help of a local businessman. Rosnik had worked in an ice cream shop during his teens and remembered how happy a scoop of ice cream could make people. As a class, discuss your favorite kinds of ice cream. Then brainstorm a new kind of ice cream that people would want to try. Draw an ad for the newspaper telling people about your ice cream and why they should try it.

Common Core/National Standards: Engaging effectively in a range of collaborative discussions; using drawings or visual displays when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or points.