1. Chilly Chocolate Found

Ten years ago, in August 2001, a 60-year-old chocolate bar was found buried in the ice at the South Pole. But it was not just any chocolate bar. It was left behind from an Antarctic expedition led by the famous explorer Richard Byrd. The Hershey's bar is now on display at the Hershey Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Look through today's newspaper and find a picture of an object that you think is interesting. Now write out an idea for a short story about what people might think if they dug up that object 60 years from now. Get creative!

Learning Standard: Writing fluently for multiple purposes.

2. Hot Hot Hot

It's been such a hot summer that newspapers have been offering advice on how to keep cool. Find a picture of a person who is being affected by the weather in today's newspaper. Now help that person out by redrawing her, this time with objects or clothing that can help her keep cool/warm/dry. Give your drawing a creative title.

Learning Standard: Using the skills of an illustrator.

3. Ewww! It's Goo!

Imagine waking up one morning and finding a mysterious orange goo all over your beaches. This goo washed up on the shores of the Alaskan village of Kivalina on the state's northwest coast last week. Despite rumors that it might be some sort of alien life, it turned out to be a mass of microscopic eggs, according to a Reuters news article. But no one knows for sure what species the eggs are, or whether they are poisonous. "We now think these are some sort of small crustacean egg or embryo, with a lipid oil droplet in the middle causing the orange color," said Jeep Rice, a lead scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration lab. With family or friends, use the newspaper or the Internet to find an article about a weird creature or occurrence in nature. Carefully read the article, and write a list showing the impact of that creature or phenomenon on other living species - positive or negative.

Learning Standards: Understanding how living things cause changes in the environment in which they live; understanding and explaining ecosystem concepts; acquiring information from multiple sources and then organizing and presenting it.

4. No, I Know!

The English language can be complicated - even for native speakers. It has weird spellings like the word "enough," which should be "enuf" if you spelled it as it sounds. "Should" should be "shud." Then there are homophones, which are words that sound exactly the same, but are spelled differently and mean completely different things. For example, the bear living in the woods isn't bare - it has fur. When we stayed at the motel, the maid made the bed each morning. And it gets even more confusing: They're watching their team practice over there. Find several newspaper articles and print them out. Using the articles, highlight words that are homophones. If you need extra help, use a search engine like Google to find a list of homophones.

Learning Standard: Using vocabulary in context to determine the meaning of words and phrases including synonyms, homonyms and multiple meaning words.

5. I'm an Artist

In a world where people are trying to reuse, reduce and recycle, artists Dewey Blocksma, Len Cowgill and Tim Burke are using things people throw out to create works of art. They are showing their work at the Ann Arbor Art Center in the state of Michigan, according to the Detroit Free Press. Burke collects used metals and other abandoned materials to make shrines, sculptures and furniture. Blocksma is an emergency room doctor who also is an artist and uses everyday items like teapots, rulers and cowboy boots to make whimsical art pieces. Search the newspaper for stories about different types of art. Using the example of an artist in one article, create your own piece of unique art.

Learning Standards: Demonstrating how materials, techniques and processes can be used to creatively communicate ideas; representing creatively.