1. Great Names

What names do you like best? If you’re like a lot of parents, you’d pick Emily as a name for girls and Jacob as a name for boys. Emily has been the most popular name for baby girls for 12 years in a row, according to a government list of names given babies, and Jacob has been No. 1 for nine straight years. After Emily on this year’s list come Isabella, Emma, Ava, Madison, Sophia, Olivia, Abigail, Hannah and Elizabeth. Following Jacob are Michael, Joshua, Matthew, Ethan, Daniel, Christopher, Anthony, William and Andrew. Interesting names appear in every day’s newspaper. Go through today’s edition and find five you like. Explain to classmates why you like them and compare choices. Learning Standard: Responding to a variety of written, visual and electronic texts by making connections to students' personal lives and the lives of others; engaging peers in constructive conversation about issues or topics of interest.

2. Get a Bike!

If you watch TV or listen to adults talk, you know that the price of gas has gone way up in recent months. This has made driving a car more expensive, so people are looking for other ways to get around. Many of them are turning to bikes. Bicycle sales are up in recent weeks, according to bike shops, and people also are bringing in old bikes to be fixed. As a class, talk about ways that high gas prices affect families and businesses. Look for articles about gas prices in the newspaper and discuss what’s making news. Then draw a comic strip for the newspaper showing how using a bike to get around could be fun. Learning Standard: Posing social science questions; using the craft of the illustrator to formulate and express ideas artistically.

3. Feel Good

Health and fitness are important to students. But in many schools, health classes have been combined with other courses or completely dropped. Elementary schools in the state of Maine are trying a different way to teach kids the importance of being fit and healthy. A health education program called “I Feel Good!” is broadcast to students over the school intercom every week in the school year, giving them important information about staying healthy. As a class, look for stories and photos in the newspaper about activities that could improve health and fitness for students and their families. Then design a poster encouraging people to try one activity to be healthier and physically fit. Learning Standard: Comprehending what constitutes good health and fitness; showing how science concepts can be interpreted through creative expression such as language arts and fine arts.

4. Shark Attack

A man in the nation of Australia is lucky to be alive after being grabbed by a great white shark and dragged under the water. Jason Cull, a school teacher and father of two, escaped the 12-foot shark by poking it in the eye until it let go of his leg. He had deep wounds from the shark’s teeth, but is expected to fully recover. People have a great interest in wildlife, but sometimes there can be problems when animals and people get too close to each other. Find a photo of an outdoor scene in the newspaper. Brainstorm wild animals that could live in this outdoor place. Then write a sentence or two describing ways people should be careful when meeting up with these animals. Learning Standards: Explaining the impact of human interaction with the environment; writing fluently for multiple purposes.

5. Stuttering

Stuttering is a problem that affects many people when they try to speak. But there are ways to overcome the problem. San Diego Chargers football star Darren Sproles says the key is to take your time when talking or answering questions. “Don’t be in a hurry to say something,” says Sproles, who has struggled with stuttering since he was four years old. As a class, find a story in the newspaper about someone who is overcoming a problem. Write a sentence describing what this person is doing to overcome the problem. Then write a sentence describing how you overcame a problem at some time in the past. (Last week was National Stuttering Awareness Week. A mini-poster of Sproles, and help for overcoming stuttering, are available free from the national Stuttering Foundation at www.stutteringhelp.org.)

Learning Standard: Acquiring information from multiple sources and then evaluating, organizing and communicating it; identifying and explaining how individuals demonstrate good character and personal virtue.