1. The Price of Bullying

When Sawyer Rosenstein was 12 years old, another student punched him so hard in the stomach that it sent a blood clot to his spine and paralyzed him from the waist down. Rosenstein must now use a wheelchair to get around. The punch to the stomach wasn’t the first time he had been bullied by this other student. In fact, he had told school administrators that he was getting bullied and even sent them e-mails asking for help, so that he would have a record of his complaints. There had been other reports of this student violently bullying his classmates in Sawyer’s New Jersey school but nothing was done. Eventually, Sawyer’s family sued the school district and was awarded a $4.2 million settlement. As a class, find a newspaper article about bullying. Or find one online. Write a summary of what has occurred and what could be done to correct the situation.

Core/National Standard: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience.

2. May Day

As a class, talk about how to brainstorm an idea. Then, to celebrate the start of the month of May, brainstorm ideas about the month on your own. Cut or print out images and words from today’s newspaper based on the ideas you brainstorm. Use your cutouts and other materials to create a work of art celebrating the beginning of May this week. Give your work a creative title when you have finished.

Core/National Standards: Using drawings when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or points; reading and writing with developing fluency, speaking confidently, listening and interacting appropriately, viewing strategically and representing creatively.

3. Amazing Writing

The next time you feel like complaining about practicing your handwriting think about Annie Clark. The 7-year-old from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, won a national award for penmanship — and she was born with no hands! Zaner-Bloser, a company that creates handwriting practice materials, has sponsored a handwriting contest for 21 years. This is the first year the company added a category for students with disabilities. Students can submit a manuscript in print or cursive to enter. Annie won by printing. She writes by gripping the pencil steadily between her forearms to write and sometimes has to stand up to give herself more leverage. Outside the classroom, Annie is just as independent. She has learned how to dress herself, feed herself, swim and ride a bike. Find a short story in your newspaper about someone who has done something amazing. Practice your own handwriting by writing a paragraph describing what the person has done. Then find another short story in the newspaper and copy it in your own handwriting to practice even more.

Core/National Standards: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience; integrating viewing, reading and writing skills for multiple purposes.

4. Finding Forgiveness

Has someone ever hurt your feelings? Has someone ever done something to you that you consider unforgivable? Gary Weinstein of Michigan wrestled with the decision to forgive or not forgive. He chose forgiveness after his wife and two sons were killed by a drunken driver who was his neighbor. Now Shawne Duperon, a friend of both families, has started Project: Forgive to make a movie documentary about forgiveness. “This world is ready for a new conversation about what forgiveness can mean and does not mean, and it’s really a journey of compassion,” Duperon said in a Detroit Free Press article. Interest in the project has spread all over the country, and even to the Asian nation of India, where money is being raised for it. As a class, find a newspaper story about someone who has been a victim of other people’s behavior. As a class, discuss what it would take for forgiveness to happen in that situation.

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

5. Reading Skills

As the school year draws to a close, many students around the country are taking standardized tests. There are a variety of reading strategies tested on these annual exams. Some of the comprehension skills you will need to be successful in the test are knowing the main point of a story, understanding cause and effect, telling the difference between fact and opinion, being able to summarize a story including its beginning, middle and end, and using compare and contrast strategies. Cut or print out several newspaper articles and read them. Identify what strategy you used to understand what you read. Discuss your strategies as a class.

Core/National Standard: Describing the overall structure of events, ideas, concepts or information in a text.