1. Space

On April 12, 1961, Russian Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. He was launched in a spacecraft into orbit and traveled around the Earth for 108 minutes at more than 17,000 miles per hour. Find an article about an achievement in science or technology today. Do research in the newspaper, online and in books to learn more about the achievement. Then create a presentation about it for the class.

Learning Standard: Reading and writing fluently, speaking confidently, listening and interacting appropriately, viewing critically and representing creatively; asking questions that help students learn about the world; learning from books and other sources of information.

2. Be Aware

April is Alcohol Awareness Month. Find an article in today's newspaper about an incident in which drinking alcohol was involved. Or find an example online. As a class, discuss whether or not any laws were broken, and how big a role alcohol may have played in the situation. Design a public-service newspaper ad on Alcohol Awareness, using the news item. What will be the message of your ad? Who is the audience?

Learning Standard: Using laws and other ethical rules to evaluate students' conduct and the conduct of others.

3. Yelp

Yelp is an online city guide that lets users in many different cities share their opinions on restaurants, shops and other businesses. Recently Yelp received criticism over its method of removing reviews its system labeled fake or unfair. In response, last week Yelp said users will now be able to see the removed reviews if they wish. In groups, create a Yelp-like guide to reading the newspaper this week. Write reviews of at least three different articles, ads or photos. Discuss your reviews in groups or as a class.

Learning Standards: Focusing on meaning and communication while listening, speaking, viewing, reading and writing in personal, social, occupational and civic contexts; developing and applying critical standards for individual use.

4. Dracula

The University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom in Europe is holding a conference on vampires that is designed "to take vampires back" from Americans. Sam George, who's organizing the conference, said that the original book "Dracula" was written by a man from Ireland and set in London, but with the "Twilight" movies and books and other American vampire shows, vampires have become "Americanized." What does it mean to have an "Americanized" view of the world? As a class, discuss things that Americans may have a different view of than people living in another country. Then pick a foreign city or country mentioned in the newspaper. Using books and online sources, write a paragraph or short essay explaining cultural and social differences between this place and the United States.

Learning Standards: Engaging peers in constructive conversation about topics of interest or importance; locating and describing the cultures of communities; appreciating the diversity of cultures; writing fluently for multiple purposes.

5. MLB

The Major League Baseball season has just begun. Teams across the country are showing off their stars and newly acquired players, and sports forecasters are analyzing who will wind up in the World Series. Using news articles and online sources, make a chart comparing four baseball teams on different statistics. Then use your chart to make a prediction for which team will be most successful this year.

Learning Standard: Acquiring information from multiple sources; organizing data using tables, charts, graphs, spreadsheets and databases.