1. A Craigslist Adoption

A Texas mother has been charged with trying to put her 3-year-old son up for adoption on the Craigslist website online. The single mom’s ad noted she was “not in a good place in my life” and expressed concern that she couldn’t care properly for the boy. It was signed “Desperate.” A Houston police officer who investigated says the mother told him she is pregnant and has been unable to take the medication prescribed for her depression and anxiety. She is charged with advertising for placement of a child, who is now with Child Protection Services. Craigslist has removed the posting. Efforts to protect children often make news. Find a story in the newspaper or online about such protection or a group that aids children. Write a summary of one example.

Common Core/National Standards: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience; writing informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

2. Dumb Destruction

Only a “small chunk” is left of the Nohmul pyramid in the Central American nation of Belize. The historically significant Maya temple stood about 65 feet tall when it was the center of a settlement of about 40,000 people nearly 2,300 years ago. Now it’s mostly gone, thanks to a construction crew that needed crushed rock for a road-building project. It was just a convenient mound to them, so they went at it with backhoes and bulldozers. Something that took centuries for the Mayan native people to build with stone tools was wrecked in a day. The Maya dominated the Yucatan peninsula south of Mexico for centuries, and the mistake has infuriated archaeologists and the Belize government, which intends to prosecute those responsible. As a class, talk about the importance of preserving sites important to the history of an area. Then use the newspaper and Internet to find a historic site that is making news. Write a paragraph describing the site and why it is important to preserve it.

Common Core/National Standards: Conducting short research projects that build knowledge about a topic; citing specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions; writing informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

3. ‘Smokers Leave a Legacy’

If you are in a nonsmoking room in a hotel that allows smoking in other rooms, you will still be exposed to the effects of tobacco. Researchers have found that in nonsmoking rooms in some hotels that also have smoking rooms, levels of tobacco air pollutants were almost five times as high as in hotels that ban smoking everywhere. The study has concluded that having designated smoking and nonsmoking rooms in one hotel does not work because, the lead author said, “smokers leave a legacy … in the fabrics, the blankets, the upholstery, the drywall … [that] you just can’t take … out.” Smoking often makes news for its effects on the environment or on nonsmokers. Find an example with the newspaper or Internet. Design a public service ad for the newspaper detailing the effects of smoking in your example.

Common Core/National Standards: Conducting short research projects that build knowledge about a topic; integrating information presented in different media or formats to develop a coherent understanding of a topic; using drawings or visual displays when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or points.

4. Ending a TV Career

For more than a half-century, Barbara Walters has been a major TV personality. But America’s first network anchorwoman is calling it quits. She has announced (on “The View,” a program she created and developed) that next year she will retire. So from now until her final day next year, her TV appearances will be a farewell tour of sorts. Walters, 83, has had some health problems in the past year, but insists “ill health” is not the reason she’s retiring – just the opposite, in fact. She says she wants to leave “when I‘m still very active and very viable.” Over the years, Barbara Walters has interviewed many of the world’s major historic figures of our times. Pick someone in the newspaper you would like to interview. Write out five questions you would like to ask, and explain why.

Common Core/National Standards: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience; integrating information presented in different media or formats to develop a coherent understanding of a topic.

5. Texting at the Wheel

Texting while driving has become a greater hazard among teens than drinking while driving. In a recent study, researchers estimated that more than 3,000 American teen drivers die annually as a result of texting, compared to 2,700 for drinking. Another 300,000 are injured while texting. An estimated 49 percent of boys and 45 percent of girls in the survey admitted having texted at the wheel. “A person who is texting can be as impaired as a driver who is legally drunk,” said the physician who headed the study. Texting has become a safety issue as well as a communications issue. With the newspaper or online, find stories about texting and driving. Write a short editorial outlining a way to reduce the risks to teens and other drivers.

Common Core/National Standards: Reading closely what a text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; citing specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions; writing opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.