1. Free Newspapers

Newspapers offer information on topics ranging from news to entertainment to sports. They also have lots of fun features. To show young people all that newspapers provide, the government of the European country of France has announced it will give young people free, one-year subscriptions to any newspaper of their choice. The offer to adults 18 to 24 years old is designed to help struggling newspapers and to attract new readers. With family or friends, talk about things you like about newspapers. Then look through the newspaper and list the 10 most interesting or enjoyable things you find. Repeat this for a week -- or even for the whole summer. You'll be a talented newspaper reader if you do!

Learning Standards: Reading fluently for multiple purposes; acquiring information from multiple sources; organizing and presenting the information; interpreting the meaning and significance of the information.

2. Ice in South America

All over the world, scientists are worried that the Earth is getting warmer. Global warming can cause many problems, from melting ice that polar bears need to live, to making oceans too warm for coral reefs, to increasing the strength of hurricanes. In the mountains of the South American country of Argentina, however, one ice glacier is growing, not shrinking. Fed by melting snow in the Andes Mountains, the Perito Moreno glacier is constantly growing, and even drops icebergs the size of houses into a nearby lake. With friends, find pictures in the newspaper of outdoor scenes or animals. Brainstorm ways that the places or animals could be affected if the Earth got a lot warmer in that area. Draw a picture showing what that might be like.

Learning Standards: Engaging peers in constructive conversation about topics of interest or importance; explaining ecosystem concepts and processes; describing positive and negative effects of humans on nature and wildlife.

3. United We Serve

President Obama is challenging Americans of all ages to volunteer to help their neighborhoods and communities. From now until September 11, the new United We Serve program will be encouraging Americans to get involved to improve education, health, energy, the environment and community renewal. Last week, First Lady Michelle Obama helped launch the summer program by joining California First Lady Maria Shriver to build a playground for kids in the city of San Francisco. Members of the president's cabinet of advisers joined efforts to improve youth sports, the environment and care for military veterans. With family or friends, find a story about a problem that needs fixing in your community. Brainstorm ways kids, families and other people could work to solve the problem. Then use words and images from the newspaper to design a poster encouraging people to volunteer to solve the problem.

Learning Standard: Responding to a variety of oral, visual, written and electronic texts by making connections to students' personal lives and the lives of others; representing creatively.

4. A Lake on Mars?

Did the planet Mars have a large lake full of water in its distant past? New images taken by America's NASA space agency are causing a buzz because they show a 30-mile-long canyon that some scientists think was a lake billions of years ago. If there was a lake on the so-called Red Planet, there might have been life, since water is needed for life to exist. Space missions often make news. Watch the newspaper this week or this month and collect stories about space. Pick one and write a paragraph describing what is making news and why it is important.

Learning Standards: Explaining how we learn about the universe; comparing and contrasting our planet and sun to other planets and star systems; writing fluently for multiple purposes.

5. Hot Spot for Dinosaurs

A rock quarry in the state of Utah is becoming one of the hottest spots in the nation for finding fossils of dinosaur bones. In just the last few weeks, scientists have found more than 70 new bones, and they say they are just "scratching the surface" of the site near the town of Hanksville. One of the most impressive finds at the 150-million-year-old site is a 20-foot-long fossil that scientists believe was a neck bone. With friends or family, talk about what scientists can learn from fossils. Then brainstorm places in your city or neighborhood where it would be interesting to search for dinosaur fossils. Draw a comic strip for the newspaper showing you and friends making a fossil discovery. For fun, draw three or four "chapters" of the strip that would tell the story over several days in the newspaper.

Learning Standards: Explaining how fossils provide evidence about the nature of ancient life; using the craft of the illustrator to convey ideas artistically.