1. Cool Tropical Turtle

The Earth has changed a lot over millions of years. But who would have thought a hot-weather tropical turtle could once have lived in the Arctic region near the North Pole? But that's what happened about 95 million years ago, when the Earth was going through a very warm period in its history. Scientists have just reported that a foot-long fossil of a tropical turtle has been found on an island near the North Pole in the country of Canada north of the United States. The turtle is believed to have floated from the continent of Asia to the Canadian site or crossed a land bridge that had lots of rivers and streams. As a class, talk about how the Earth has changed since the time of dinosaurs and how it is changing today. Find stories in the newspaper about changes in weather, climate or different areas on Earth. Draw a comic strip for the newspaper predicting a change that could come in the future.

Learning Standards: Describing and explaining how the Earth's features change over time; comparing ways that living organisms adapt to survive in their environments; using the craft of the illustrator to express ideas artistically.

2. Early, Early Horses

Horses are some of the most beautiful and powerful animals trained by people. And humans learned to train wild horses more than 1,000 years earlier than previously thought, according to new discoveries by scientists in the Central Asian country of Kazakhstan (KAH-zahk-stahn). A study of horse bones buried there indicates that humans had learned to tame, train and even ride wild horses more than 5,500 years ago. Scientists said teeth and jaw bones of the ancient horses showed signs that the horses had worn "bits," pieces of metal, bone or wood put in horses' mouths to guide them when being ridden or when pulling wagons. As a class, talk about animals that are trained to help humans today. Find an example in the newspaper. Then design a poster showing how the animal helps people and how it would be trained.

Learning Standards: Responding to a variety of oral, visual, written and electronic texts by making connections to students' personal lives and the lives of others; representing creatively.

3. Happy St. Patrick's Day

March 17 is St. Patrick's Day, a time when Irish people celebrate their history, music, arts and culture. People who are not Irish also celebrate, often by wearing the color green. Green is a symbol of St. Patrick's Day because the European country of Ireland is famous for its beautiful green fields. With a partner, look in the newspaper for stories, photos or ads connected to St. Patrick's Day. Pick one that interests you and make a short report to the class on why it interests you. For added fun, cut out photos and words of green things and use them to make a St. Patrick's Day art collage.

Learning Standards: Describing, comparing and explaining the locations and characteristics of different cultures; acquiring information from multiple sources; representing creatively.

4. Spring in the Air

Spring starts on March 20. Brainstorm a list of things you associate with spring. Then go through this week's newspapers and cut out words, colors and images that you feel represent spring. Use the cutouts as part of, or as inspiration for, an original piece of art. Give your art a creative and interesting title. Then write a paragraph explaining how your artwork represents spring to you.

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

5. Love That Exercise!

Everyone knows exercise is good for you. But four new scientific studies show it is REALLY good for you. The studies have found exercise can improve kids' performance in school, keep brains of the elderly sharp, boost brain activity in younger adults, build stronger bones and even improve eye health. "The beneficial effect of exercise holds across all sorts of activities," one scientist involved in the studies told the LiveScience Web site. As a class, talk about different ways kids and their families can get exercise. Then go through the newspaper and make a list of ways to get exercise found in stories, photos, ads or entertainment listings. Draw up a list of five activities you would like to try to get more exercise and present it to the class.

Learning Standards: Engaging peers in constructive conversation about topics of interest or importance; comprehending what constitutes good health and nutrition.