1. Save the Gibbons

Gibbons are amazing apes. They are some of the world's greatest acrobats, with the ability to swing up to 50 feet from tree to tree at speeds up to 35 miles per hour 200 feet off the ground! Gibbons also are the most endangered species of apes in the world, according to the World Wildlife Fund. In the Southeast Asian country of Indonesia, for example, their forest homes are being cut down at a rate that would equal 300 soccer fields every hour! As a class, discuss the different reasons animals become endangered. Then write a letter to the editor of the newspaper asking people to take action to help gibbons or another endangered species.

Learning Standards: Explaining the impact of human activities on the environment; exploring and using the persuasive power of text as an instrument of change.

2. Don't Be Violent

Violent behavior affects students of all ages. By the time a child enters third grade, students can develop aggressive or violent habits that can lead to more serious problems later in life, according to University of Missouri professor Melissa Stormont. As a class, talk about ways to resolve problems without using violence. Then talk about ways you can calm yourself down if you feel you may become violent. Finish by designing an ad for the newspaper, that would offer tips for students and families to find ways to solve problems other than violence.

Learning Standards: Engaging peers in constructive conversation about matters of public concern; representing creatively.

3. Making Mischief

Bart King is a longtime school teacher, so he's seen a lot of ways kids can get into mischief. Now, he's put his experiences to work by writing a humor book called "The Pocket Guide to Mischief." Mischief can involve playing pranks and jokes on people, or doing things to make others laugh. King's book looks at what actions are acceptable and also reveals some of history's greatest mischief makers -- including President Abraham Lincoln! As a class, talk about what kinds of mischief are acceptable and what kinds are not. Then talk about how mischief may be acceptable in one place, such as home, but not in another, such as school. Finish by drawing a comic strip for the newspaper, showing a kind of mischief that would be funny, not hurtful.

Learning Standards: Generating questions about issues that affect students or topics about which they are curious; using the craft of the illustrator to formulate and express ideas artistically.

4. Tall Story

Leonid Stadnik is the world's tallest man. At 8'5" tall, he is 11 inches taller than Yao Ming, the 7'6" center for the NBA's Houston Rockets! But great height has been a problem for this 37-year-old former veterinarian in the European country of the Ukraine. He has trouble finding clothes, can't ride in ordinary cars or buses and lost his job when he couldn't afford the specially made 17-inch shoes he needed to work. As a class, find stories in the newspaper about people dealing with physical challenges. Or find examples online. Write a paragraph describing what you think it would be like to be 8'5" tall.

Learning Standards: Acquiring information from multiple sources and then evaluating and organizing it; writing fluently for multiple purposes.

5. Play Ball!

Major League Baseball is starting another season, and the opening game this year was held in another country. On March 25 the World Champion Boston Red Sox opened the Major League season with a game against the Oakland Athletics in Tokyo, Japan. In teams or on your own, find a story about a Major League Baseball team you like. Write a paragraph predicting how you think this team will do this season.

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