1. Navajo Code Talkers

In World War II, Navajo Indians played a big role helping the United States defeat armies from the Asian nation of Japan. They did it by developing secret codes to send messages based on the ancient Navajo language. The Japanese had never heard anything like the words spoken by the Navajo "Code Talkers" in the U.S. Marine Corps. And they never figured out how to "break" the code and know what the Navajo were saying. Last week, surviving Navajo Code Talkers traveled to New York City to be honored in the nation's biggest Veterans Day parade. They also will be honored by the creation of a museum in New Mexico by the Navajo Code Talkers Foundation. Codes are created to keep people from understanding things. A simple code is to assign numbers to the letters of the alphabet and then write words using the numbers. With a partner, create a number code like this. Then re-write two headlines in the newspaper, using your code.

Learning Standards: Employing multiple strategies to construct meaning; acquiring information from multiple sources; organizing and presenting the information.

2. Sailing on Sunlight

It sounds like something out of a science fiction story: Traveling through space pushed by sunlight, the way ships are pushed by the wind on Earth. For years it has been a dream of scientists, but in the next year it could become a reality. A scientific group called the Planetary Society has just announced it will launch an experimental LightSail craft that will be powered by sunlight. The craft, which will be about the size of a bread box, will be the first step in a process that scientists hope could lead to spacecraft that could sail to distant stars. Over the next three years the Planetary Society says it will build and fly a series of solar-sail spacecraft, first to orbit the Earth and then to go deeper into space. As a class, find stories about space or space missions in the newspaper or online. Pick one and imagine what it might be like to be part of it. Write a paragraph describing your ideas.

Learning Standards: Engaging peers in constructive conversation about topics of interest or importance; explaining how we learn about the universe; explaining how scientists decide what constitutes scientific knowledge.

3. Oh, Maya!

The Maya people of Mexico and Central America created an amazing world nearly 1,700 years ago. The Maya built beautiful cities, developed a kind of picture writing and had great knowledge of math, calendars, agriculture and astronomy in the years 300-900 C.E. Now scientists who study the Maya have made a great discovery in southern Mexico near the Guatemala border. For the first time they have found wall paintings that show everyday people at work in the Maya cities. Up to now, Maya wall paintings have only shown scenes of rich and powerful people in the Maya world. With a partner, go through the newspaper and find photos of "everyday" people at work or play. Use what you find to create a wall painting that would show what the lives of everyday people are like in your community.

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

4. Giraffe Comeback

With their long necks and spotted bodies, giraffes are some of the most unusual creatures on the continent of Africa. But in the last 10 years the number of giraffes living in the wild has dropped from more than 140,000 to under 100,000 today because their habitats have been destroyed by wars, droughts and construction of homes and highways. Giraffes in West Africa have been particularly hard hit, but wildlife watchers recently have gotten some good news in the nation of Niger. In 1996 giraffes had almost become extinct there with fewer than 50 living in the wild. Now, thanks to efforts to protect giraffes, the population has swelled to more than 200, and there are hopes the giraffes will come back for good. As a class, talk about the ways that people can help or harm wildlife and their habitats. Then find a wildlife habitat in the photos or stories of the newspaper. Write a paragraph describing things people could do to help preserve this habitat and the wildlife that live there.

Learning Standards: Describing positive and negative effects of humans on nature and wildlife; explaining ecosystem concepts and processes; writing fluently for multiple purposes.

5. Exercise No Problem

All over the nation, doctors and health officials are worried that American kids are getting heavier and heavier. The number of teens and pre-teens who have become extremely overweight has tripled in the last 30 years. Many health experts say it's because kids don't get as much exercise as kids of the past. But a new study has found that exercise isn't the problem. The study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University has found that kids today get about the same amount of exercise as kids 20 or more years ago. The problem is that they are eating more -- especially more high-fat, high-sugar, high-calorie foods. Kids who each a lot of these foods have to exercise more to burn off the extra calories they contain. Exercise comes in many forms, and not all of it is the kind you get playing on sports teams. Search the stories, photos and ads in the newspaper for examples of exercise kids could do with their friends or families. Draw a comic strip for the newspaper showing you trying this exercise for the first time.

Learning Standards: Responding to a variety of texts by making connections to students' personal lives and the lives of others; comprehending what constitutes good health and nutrition; using the craft of the illustrator to represent ideas artistically.