1. Happy Birthday, Abe

This week, on February 12, the nation is celebrating what would have been the 200th birthday of President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln is considered one of the nation's greatest presidents, because he kept the nation together during America's Civil War and freed slaves in southern states with the Emancipation Proclamation. To celebrate Lincoln's milestone birthday, the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., has put together a special exhibit on Lincoln's life that includes more than 200 items the public rarely gets to see. As a class, look for stories in the newspaper about Lincoln's 200th birthday. Then use photos and words from the newspaper to make a poster-sized birthday card celebrating the life of Abraham Lincoln. Learning Standards: Identifying and explaining how individuals in history demonstrate good character and personal virtue; comprehending the past; representing creatively.

2. NBA All-Stars

On Sunday, February 15, the National Basketball Association will hold its annual All-Star Game in Phoenix, Arizona. The fun of All-Star Weekend starts on Friday, February 13, when the NBA's top rookies and second-year players square off in the Rookie Challenge. The next day will feature the Shooting Stars Competition, the Three-Point Shootout and the Slam Dunk Contest. The All-Star Game itself will take place Sunday night. Follow news about the NBA All-Star Game in the newspaper this week. Then think like a sportswriter and write the beginning of a story predicting what you think will happen. 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; writing critically and analytically.

3. Dolphin 'Cooks'

Dolphins are some of the smartest creatures on Earth, but scientists had no idea how smart they were when it comes to food. Bottlenose dolphins observed off the coast of Australia have shown scientists that dolphins can prepare the food they eat as carefully as humans do. When preparing cuttlefish to eat, the dolphins took special steps to remove their cuttlebones and to drain off deadly black "ink" that cuttlefish squirt in the water to defend themselves, leaving a soft, sweet meal of cuttlefish meat, scientists said. As a class, talk about ways that animals show intelligence when hunting, migrating or building homes. Then pair off with a partner and find a photo or story about an animal or wild creature in the newspaper. Write a paragraph or design a poster showing three ways the animal shows its intelligence with smart behavior.

Learning Standards: Describing, comparing and explaining the locations and characteristics of ecosystems; understanding the nature and characteristics of different species.

4. Space Shots

Since it was launched in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope has sent back amazing pictures of our solar system and the universe. It has been repaired by America's NASA space agency four times and will be upgraded again this May. To celebrate, NASA is asking the public to vote on which target in space the telescope should photograph next. NASA is asking voters to choose from six targets in honor of the International Year of Astronomy, which has just begun. Students also are invited to create art collages from Hubble images from the past for the NASA celebration. Voting will be through the Web site http://youdecide.hubblesite.org. As a class, find news about space discoveries or NASA missions in the newspaper. Then write a paragraph describing what you would like the Hubble Telescope to photograph, and why. Learning Standard: Understanding the nature of scientific inquiry; explaining how we learn about the universe; writing fluently for multiple purposes.

5. More Earths?

Speaking of space, NASA is about to launch a new telescope whose job will be to explore other stars to see if any have planets that could support life as our Earth does. The Kepler telescope will launch March 5 and orbit the Earth for more than three years in an effort to photograph Earth-like planets crossing the front of stars. As a class, talk about what it would be like to discover that another planet in space has life like that on Earth. Then draw a comic strip for the newspaper, showing what that life might be like if it were as advanced as that on Earth.

Learning Standard: Engaging peers in constructive conversation about topics of interest or importance; using the craft of the illustrator to convey ideas artistically.