1. Summer Olympics

This week the Summer Olympics are taking place in the Asian nation of China. The Summer Olympics include sports well known to Americans such as basketball and baseball, and sports less familiar such as archery and handball. With family or friends, use the newspaper this week to find a story about one Olympic sport you know well and one you don't know as well. Write a paragraph or two describing what you learned about the two sports from reading the newspaper.

Learning Standards: Using written, visual and electronic texts to research issues; writing fluently for multiple purposes.

2. Water on Mars

When America's NASA space agency launched the Phoenix Mars Lander this year, its goal was to "follow the water." Water must be present for living things to exist as they do on Earth, and the Phoenix carried lots of equipment to see if there's water on Mars. The results are in, and NASA has announced the Phoenix has found proof water exists on Mars in the form of ice. With family or friends find a story about exploring space or making discoveries in other fields of science. Write a complete sentence summarizing the most important news in the story. Learning Standards: Showing how common themes of science, mathematics and technology apply in real world-contexts; understanding the nature of scientific inquiry.

3. A Star Goes West

Manny Ramirez is one of the best home run hitters in Major League Baseball, with more than 500 homers in his career. But he was unhappy with the Boston Red Sox, despite winning two straight World Series championships. So this month the Red Sox sent Ramirez about as far away as they could by trading him to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Boston and Los Angeles are on opposite coasts of the United States and nearly 3,000 miles apart. In the newspaper, find another story about a player making news in sports. Write a short paragraph explaining why the news is important to fans.

Learning Standards: Generating questions about important issues that affect students or topics about which they are curious; reading and writing fluently.

4. Almost 'Home Alone'

A family going on vacation in the Middle East country of Israel made world-wide news last week when they almost re-lived the plot of the movie "Home Alone." The family was late for a plane to Europe, and in their rush they got on board without their 3-year-old daughter. Unlike the movie, however, the girl was quickly taken care of by people working for the airline, and she was taken on the next flight to rejoin her family. Many people help the public in their jobs. Find an example in the photos and stories in the newspaper. Draw a comic strip showing someone in this job helping others.

Learning Standards: Responding to a variety of written, visual and electronic texts by making connections to students' personal lives and the lives of others; using the craft of the illustrator to convey ideas artistically.

5. Eating Out

Calories are one way health experts measure food to determine how healthy it is for you. Foods that are high in calories can cause people to gain weight if they don't get enough exercise to "burn off" the calories they eat. Parents looking for lower calorie choices for children will have a hard time when eating out, according to a new study. A survey of 13 major restaurant chains found that more than 9 of every 10 children's meals contained more calories than the National Institution of Medicine recommends for children 4-8 years old. With family or friends, search the food ads in the newspaper for healthy, low-calorie foods. Plan a meal using foods you find.

Learning Standards: Comprehending what constitutes good health and nutrition; acquiring information from multiple sources and then evaluating, organizing and communicating it.