1. Mother Nature's Son

April 22 was Earth Day, a time when we celebrate nature and think of ways to protect it. Listen as your teacher reads a story from this week's newspapers about someone who is working to improve the health of the Earth. Based on the story, draw a comic strip for the newspaper showing this person doing his/her work. If you like, draw yourself into the story — helping this person protect the Earth.

Core/National Standards: Using drawings when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or points; identifying and explaining how individuals in history demonstrate good character and personal virtue.

2. The Ants Go Marching ...

Ten years ago, scientists discovered that there is a 3,600-mile-long colony of ants in Europe. Ants usually fight with ants from other nests. But in this super colony, which includes France, Spain, Italy, Germany and other countries, ants from different nests get along and work together. When introduced to ants from places other than the super colony, these ants fight with them. As a class, read a story in today's newspaper about a group of people who get along and work together. Discuss ways that working together helps people get a job done.

Core/National Standards: Engaging in a range of collaborative discussions; reading and comprehending general and technical material.

3. Earth-Friendly Gardens

Everybody get out your shovel, seeds and watering can! It’s National Garden Month. In the spirit of Earth Day, there are many Earth-friendly ways to garden. Deciding what to plant can make a difference in what natural resources you use. For example, if you live in the desert, choosing plants like succulents or cactus will use less water – which the desert doesn’t have a lot of. Choosing how to water the plants also can have an impact. Collecting water in rain barrels is an Earth-friendly way to water your gardens. “Rain water is void of chemicals,” Robin Blair said in an Associated Press article. “It’s kinder to plants and landscaping. Water is a precious resource. Why not collect rain water and reuse it?” In your newspaper, find ads for plants or gardening products. Using the information in the ads, plan a garden you would like to plant as a class or with your family. Finish by discussing ways you could plant a garden in an Earth-friendly way in your community. Draw designs for your garden and share.

Core/National Standards: Engaging in a range of collaborative discussions; using drawings or visual displays when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or points.

4. Reading to Raise Money

Books, books and more books. That’s what people in Detroit, Michigan, find every year at the Bookstock event. This gigantic used book and media sale is now in its 10th year and going strong. But it doesn’t happen by itself. April is Community Service Month, and this effort requires more than 700 volunteers. The volunteers spend all year collecting more than 100,000 books, tapes, CDs and comics to raise money to help others. The Bookstock event awards scholarships to deserving students, and this year Zsa Zsa Booker was one of the recipients. Booker, along with Jackson Radish and Alicia Bell, all are studying library science so that they can pass their love of books on to the next generation of readers. Find a newspaper story about a non-profit organization that helps raise money for education or another cause. As a class, discuss how you or your school could help the group.

Core/National Standard: Engaging in a range of collaborative discussions.

5. Don’t Bore Your Teacher!

Many students — and many adults — use the same words over and over again in their writing. The words “said,” “fun,” “good,” “bad,” “get” and “very” are examples. So put such words in the vocabulary garbage can and get creative with your writing. Instead of using “very” in your work, try “extremely,” “endlessly” or “radically.” Instead of using “said,” use something more interesting, such as “exclaimed,” “commented” or “remarked.” There are more than 350 ways to say “said.” In teams or pairs, clip or print out a newspaper story and find some boring words. Highlight them with a marker. Then use a thesaurus and come up with a list of more interesting choices for the words you highlighted.

Core/National Standard: Consulting reference materials to determine or clarify precise meanings of key words or phrases.