1. Tough Summer

With a national unemployment rate of 9.5 percent in July, it has been a tough summer for many adults in the United States. It has also been tough economically for teenagers. In July, which is usually the prime summer-job season for teens, the unemployment rate for teenagers was 26.1 percent. According to an analysis by the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, it was the worst summer hiring season for teens since 1949. Part of the problem is competition. Many jobs usually reserved for teen workers are being gobbled up by adults who have been without a job for months or even longer. Experts say workers under 20 years old have the best chances to land a job in the retail, hospitality, food service, education, health and arts and entertainment industries. However, many may have to wait until the holidays to find work. Using the employment ads in the newspaper, search for available jobs in the retail, hospitality, food service, education, health or arts and entertainment industries. Choose a job that interests you and write a cover letter telling the employer how and why you would be the right person for the job.

Learning Solution: Writing fluently for multiple purposes to produce compositions, such as stories, poetry, personal narratives, editorials, research reports, persuasive essays, resumes and memos.

2. Language of Music

Music is fun to listen to. It's also something you can learn from. Music lyrics often use unusual words, or use words in unusual ways. Look through the newspaper today and pick out five words that you consider unusual. For each, write out how this word might be used in an original music lyric. Then look through the newspaper for a story that might make a good subject for a rap or rock song. Write a few lines that might be the start of your rap or song, or the chorus that would be repeated. As a class, compare song ideas taken from the news. Were there some that were chosen more than others?

Learning Standards: Responding to a variety of oral, visual, written and electronic texts by making connections to students' personal lives and the lives of others; reading and writing fluently, speaking confidently, listening and interacting appropriately, viewing critically and representing creatively.

3. A Shot in the Arm

A new report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that more U.S. teenagers are getting the recommended vaccines to protect them against certain cancers, meningitis and infectious diseases. The report, which surveyed 20,000 teenagers between 13 and 17 years old, showed that more than 40 percent of girls have received at least one dose of a new vaccine to protect against a virus that causes cervical and other cancers. And more than half of those surveyed had received a booster shot that protects against tetanus, whooping cough and diphtheria. Read the newspaper to learn more about a health issue facing your community, state, country or the world. Using facts from the article, write a paragraph describing prevention measures and other things you think could and should be done to help alleviate this problem.

Learning Standards: Demonstrating understanding of the complexity of enduring issues and recurring problems by making connections and generating themes within and across texts; writing fluently for multiple purposes.

4. Learning the Hard Way

When a Texas teenager didn't come home on time, her dad put an ad in the newspaper that said, "Want a FREE BABYSITTER for a night out?" The ad, which ran in a newspaper that goes to a wealthy suburb of Dallas-Fort Worth, said that his 16-year-old daughter was in trouble for missing curfew and her punishment was doing 30 hours' worth of babysitting for free. The daughter said she won't miss curfew again. Find an issue reported in the newspaper that has happened more than once. Come up with an alternative and creative solution to solving this issue and stopping it from happening again.

Learning Standard: Generating possible alternative resolutions to public issues and evaluating them using criteria that have been identified.

5. By the Gallon

Experts believe that gasoline prices will drop after Labor Day, and one expert says it could be by as much as 15 cents a gallon. According to the AAA auto group, Write Express and the Oil Price Information Service, the average retail price of a gallon of unleaded regular gas in late August was $2.724. A drop in price would be good news as teens gear up for fall activities and school buses head out for a new school year. Use the ads in the newspaper to find an item you think costs a lot and an item you think costs little. Come up with five reasons why you think the higher priced item costs more.

Learning Standard: Using economic reasoning when comparing price, quality and features of goods and services.