1. Reading Rocks!

This is Reading Is Fun Week, and there are all kinds of fun books out there for you to read. Books are divided into groups called “genres” (JAWN-ruhs). For example, there are fiction books, which tell stories that are made up by the author. Then there are non-fiction books that give you information about things that are real. Non-fiction writing is the kind you find in books about science or in biographies. Newspaper writing also is non-fiction. Find a newspaper story about something that interests to you. Share with the class what you learned or liked about the article.

Core/National Standard: Answering questions about who, what, where, when, why and how to show understanding of key text elements.

2. Dinosaurs Did WHAT?

Many scientists are chuckling over the latest study about dinosaurs. The question being asked is “Did farting kill the dinosaurs?” According to a Yahoo! News story, gassy dino-vegetarians like the Brontosaurus may have produced so much methane gas when farting that they may have triggered a kind of global warming. That global warming my have hastened their extinction, scientist are saying. The study was done by a team of British scientists and was published in the journal “Current Biology.” The scientists said the methane released by the dinosaurs had as much as “25 times the climate-warming potential as carbon dioxide,” the biggest global warming gas today. The researchers used a mathematical model to compare dinosaur digestive systems with those of modern-day cows. Scientists also think asteroids and volcanic activity played a part in the demise of dinosaurs. As a class, find a newspaper or Internet article about global warming. Together, discuss how it might affect us today and in the future.

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

3. Thanks for Being a Friend

Friendship is the safe harbor that gets you through the tough times in life. First-grader Aniyah Rigmaiden knows just how important friends can be. Recently her best friend, six-year-old Alspeth “Beanie” Mar, saved her life by using the Heimlich maneuver when Aniyah was choking on an apple. Mar learned the Heimlich, which forces food from your windpipe, by watching “A.N.T. Farm” on the Disney Channel. May 15-20 is National New Friends, Old Friends Week – a time to make new friends and recognize long-time friendships. Find a newspaper story or photo involving friends. Discuss what the friends are doing. Then write a letter to your best friend telling him or her why you appreciate your friendship.

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

4. Animated News

Kids around the world met a funny green ogre 11 years ago this week. Shrek hit the silver screen and became a huge animated sensation. Animated movies attract kids and adults alike with their great characters, brilliant colors and humor. There are a number of animated movies being released in 2012. Some of these movies bring back characters that kids have loved in other movies, such as Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Gloria the hippo and Melman the giraffe from “Madagascar.” Also coming back are Manny the woolly mammoth, Sid the ground sloth and Scrat the saber-toothed squirrel from the “Ice Age” movies. Audiences also will meet new characters like Princess Merida in “Brave” and Black Bellamy and Cutlas Liz in “The Pirates! Band of Misfits.” Later this year, watch for “La Luna,” “ParaNorman” and “Hotel Transylvania.” Search your newspaper for pictures or stories about interesting people. Draw them as cartoon characters and write a short movie script involving them.

Core/National Standard: Writing narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events, using effective technique, well-chosen details and well-structured event sequences.

5. To the Moon!

Children growing up in the 1960s watched the Jetson family every Saturday morning to see what would happen in Orbit City in the year 2062. Would George keep his job at Spacely Space Sprockets? Would Rosie the Robot do something funny? This summer, people can go to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City and see an exhibit called “Beyond Planet Earth.” The exhibit imagines a future in space for humanity. There are many barriers to humans living in space, including having air to breathe. But there are benefits, too, such as mining the moon for the materials platinum and helium-3, as some scientists want to do. As a class, find a newspaper article about space travel or exploration. Or find one online. Write a summary of the article and draw a picture to go with it.

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