1. The Best Givers

Evidently, the less money you have the more generous you are, according to a new study. The CNBC cable TV network reported that the rich are less apt to give to charities than the middle class. The study showed that households earning between $50,000 and $75,000 a year gave an average of 7.6 percent of their discretionary income to charity. That compares to 4.2 percent for people making $100,000 or more, the CNBC report said. Religion also plays into the amount of giving. Regions where religious beliefs run deep are more giving. Find a newspaper article about charitable donations. As a class, discuss the benefits of giving to others.

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

2. Extra! Extra!

The first news carrier was hired on September 4, 1833. News carriers sell and deliver newspapers in a community. Today, we get news in lots of ways besides newspapers. In teams or as a class, look in today's newspaper and see if you can find 10 different ways we can get information about the world. Discuss which one you and your family use most. Why?

Common Core/National Standards: Engaging effectively in a range of collaborative discussions; explaining how transportation and communication link people and communities.

3. Losing Popularity

If you work in the oil industry, you now have the honor of being employed by the most hated industry in America. A recent Gallup Poll asked thousands of Americans how they felt about the nation’s top 25 industries, according to a Yahoo! News report. The people questioned were asked to rank the industries by saying whether they felt positive, neutral or negative about them. The oil and gas industry topped the most-hated list with nearly two-thirds of Americans having a negative view. Much of that is due to rising gas costs, the article said. Banking was Number 2 on the disliked list with a 53 percent negative rating, followed by health care with 42 percent, real estate with 41 percent and the pharmaceutical industry with 38 percent. The computer industry had the highest positive ranking, at 73 percent. As a class, search your newspaper’s business section for stories about local industries. Conduct your own poll in the school to see how people feel about them.

Common Core/National Standard: Summarizing and describing distributions.

4. Fashion DONTs

Most schools have a dress code that tells students what they can and cannot wear. Now some airlines are enforcing stricter rules about what passengers can wear on a plane. An American Airlines pilot recently told a passenger she would have to wear a shawl over her T-shirt because it had offensive language on it, according to an Associated Press story. A graduate student at Arizona State University was barred from a Delta Airlines flight because his T-shirt said “Terrists [terrorists] gonna kill us all.” He said he wore it to protest racial profiling on flights. Some people say their First Amendment rights to free speech are being violated, but private companies can censor what is said on their property, the article said. Find a newspaper article about people expressing themselves through what they wear. As a class, discuss whether students should have the right to dress as they please at school. What limits, if any, should there be?

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

5. A Life Saver

A Santa Barbara, California, woman’s life may have been saved by Beanie Babies. Ty Warner, the billionaire owner of Ty Inc., found himself lost on the streets of Santa Barbara and asked Jennifer Vasilakos for directions, according to a Yahoo! News article. Vasilakos was standing at an intersection trying to raise $20,000 for a stem cell procedure that doctors said could help save her life. She is in kidney failure and doesn’t qualify for a transplant. She gave Warner directions and also a flyer describing her cause. He made a $50 donation, then returned an hour later and told her she didn’t need to raise any more money. After introducing himself as founder of the Beanie Babies company, he promised to send her a $20,000 check. Find a newspaper article about someone making a generous gesture. Or find one online. Write a summary. Then draw a comic strip showing you making a generous gesture to someone else.

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.