1. Making History

The nation will not choose a new president until November, but already the candidates have made history. U.S. Senator Barack Obama has earned the support he needs to become the candidate for the Democratic Party. In doing so, he will be the first African American to be the presidential candidate of a major political party. The person he topped, U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton, also was seeking to make history as the first woman to be the presidential candidate of a major party. As a class, talk about the ways candidates for president seek support from voters. Then find stories about the people running for president in the newspaper. Design a poster showing the kind of person you would like to see as president. Learning Standards: Engaging peers in constructive conversation about issues of importance or topics of interest; listening and interacting appropriately, viewing critically and representing creatively.

2. Finding Treasure

Everyone dreams of finding treasure. But a man living on a farm in the state of Wisconsin had that dream come true. When Dan Deming started tearing down a 100-year-old building on his property, out popped a rusty box filled with cash. The money was more than 70 years old and falling apart, so it was hard to count. But a note in the box said it added up to $1,700. Sometimes good things happen to people when they don't expect it. As a class, find a story in the newspaper of something good happening to someone. Write a complete sentence explaining what happened. Then draw a newspaper comic strip showing something good that you would like to happen to you or your family.

Learning Standards: Writing fluently for multiple purposes; using the craft of the illustrator to formulate and express ideas artistically.

3. Duck, Duck News

A museum leader from Texas recently got more than a walking tour when he visited a dinosaur field in the state of Montana. He thought he saw some fossil bones sticking out of a rock, and, to everyone's surprise, he was right! Steven Cowan was visiting an area where a 75-million-year-old duckbill dinosaur was found eight years ago. He was checking out the top of a ridge when he saw what looked like rib bones sticking out of the rocks. He later found a fossilized shoulder blade and other parts of the skeleton of what is believed to be another duckbill. In science and other fields, discoveries make news. As a class, find an example in today's newspaper. Then write a sentence or short paragraph describing why the discovery is important.

Learning Standards: Performing the daily functions of a literate individual; acquiring information from multiple sources and then evaluating, organizing and communicating it in various contexts.

4. Pets Can Help You

Pets sometimes can help people overcome problems. A good example is how a dog rescued from the war in Iraq helped the soldier who rescued him recover from the war. Lt. Col. Jay Kopelman served in the Marines in Iraq, and while he was there he rescued a dog he named Lava. When he brought Lava home to California, he noticed the dog was jumpy, aggressive and sensitive to loud noises. A dog expert found that Lava's actions were the same as those of soldiers who suffer from a stress condition after a war. As Kopelman treated his dog, he discovered he had the same symptoms, he wrote in his new book "From Baghdad to America: Life Lessons from a Dog Named Lava." As he helped Lava recover from the war, he got help to recover himself. As a class, talk about ways pets can help people recover from problems. Then pick a pet from those offered in the Classified Ads that you think would be good for someone looking for support. Explain your choice to the class.

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

5. Every Little Thing

The newspaper is a great place to learn more about what's happening in the world. Before you look at today's paper, think of an issue or an event that you might have heard about this week on TV, at home or from another source. In groups or as a class, think up three questions about the issue or event to which you would like to know the answers to. Using the newspaper, see if you can find the answers to your questions.

Learning Standards: Engaging peers in constructive conversation about issues or topics of interest; designing and conducting simple investigations.

Question 1:

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

Answer:

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

Question 2:

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

Answer:

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

Question 3:

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

Answer:

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________