1. Big Baseball Dollars

Many people love baseball, but a 72-year-old woman in Fresno, California, is not one of them. So Bernice Gallego didn't realize what she had when she pulled out a picture of an old baseball team from a box of cards and papers. The photo showed the Cincinnati Red Stockings, and it turns out to be one of the oldest baseball cards ever made. The Red Stockings were baseball's first professional team, and the rare card was made in 1869. It may be worth more than $100,000 to baseball collectors, and some experts say it could sell for as much as $1 million! As a class, talk about other things that are valuable to people who collect them. Would any item be worth $100,000 to you if you could buy it for that price? Write a sentence or two explaining why or why not. Learning Standards: Generating questions about issues that affect students or topics about which they are curious; engaging peers in constructive conversation about topics of interest or importance; writing fluently for multiple purposes.

2. A Life-Saving Mule Animals do many things to help people. But none is bigger than saving a person's life. In the town of McMinnville, Tennessee a 63-year-old woman named Jolene Solomon was saved from a house fire because of a mule named Lou. Solomon was eating dinner on January 1, when Lou started braying and making a racket in the yard. When she stepped outside to see what was wrong, she saw that her house was on fire. She called 911 and the fire company put out the fire, but her house was destroyed. Solomon says she'll rebuild the home and credits Lou with saving her life. In the newspaper, find a story or photo of an animal that helps people. Write down adjectives that would describe this animal. Then use them to write a poem, rap or rhyme about the animal. Share with the class. Learning Standards: Exploring and using the characteristics of different types of texts, aesthetic elements and mechanics, including text structure, figurative and descriptive language; reading and writing fluently, viewing critically and representing creatively.

3. Stay Safe

When you are six years old, there are some things you just shouldn't do. Things like trying to drive a car. A six-year-old in the state of Virginia was lucky to escape serious injury when he missed the bus to school and tried to drive himself to school in the family car. The boy drove nearly six miles in the car before hitting a pole and getting a bump on the head. Police said he was lucky not to have been hurt more seriously, or to have injured others. As a class, talk about things that adults can do but children should not try to do. Discuss ways to avoid dangerous activities in which you could get hurt. Then draw a safety ad for the newspaper showing one thing kids should not try to do, and why. Learning Standards: Engaging peers in constructive conversation about matters of public concern by clarifying issues, considering opposing views, anticipating consequences and working toward making decisions; representing creatively.

4. Pooh Corner

On January 18, 1882 author A.A. Milne was born. He wrote the famous Winnie the Pooh stories, based on the things he saw around him -- especially toys belonging to his son, Christopher Robin. He imagined what sort of personalities and adventures the toys might have if they were alive. Look at pictures in today's news. Pick two inanimate (not alive) objects and write a silly or serious short story about what these two objects might talk about or do together.

Learning Standard: Reading and writing fluently, speaking confidently, listening and interacting appropriately, viewing critically and representing creatively.

5. Know, Wonder, Learn

The National Football League's Super Bowl will take place on February 1 in Tampa, Florida, and millions of fans are excited. Following football in the newspaper is a great way to build reading skills if you use the approach called Know, Wonder and Learn. With this approach, called KWL for short, you ask yourself questions every time you read something. First, you ask what you already KNOW about the subject. Then you ask what you WONDER or WANT TO KNOW about the subject. Then you read and ask what you have LEARNED about the subject by reading. Practice KWL by finding a short story in the newspaper about the Super Bowl. Write out what you already KNOW about the Super Bowl. Then write what you WONDER or WANT TO KNOW about the Super Bowl. Then read the story and write what you LEARNED about the Super Bowl by reading.

Learning Standards: Making connections between key ideas in texts and students' own lives; acquiring information from multiple sources and then evaluating, organizing and communicating it.