1. Fun Foods

Vegetables are some of the healthiest foods you can eat. But many kids say they don't like vegetables. Or maybe they just don't like the way vegetables sound when parents say "eat your peas." A new study of kids indicates that names that sound cool or fun could make a difference in whether kids want to eat vegetables. When plain carrots were renamed "X-Ray Vision Carrots," kids ate nearly twice as many for lunch, scientists found. And they continued to eat about 50 percent more carrots even when they were no longer called anything special. "Cool names can make for cool foods," said researcher Brian Wansink of Cornell University. "Giving a food a fun name makes kids think it will be more fun to eat." As a class, make a list of vegetables from food ads in the newspaper. Then pick 10 of them and brainstorm fun names that you think would make them sound more fun to eat. Share ideas as a class.

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.

2. Old Tools

The Clovis people were Ice Age hunters and gatherers who lived more than 10,000 years ago in what is now the United States. But scientists don't know much about them. Thanks to workers digging a hole for a fish pond in the state of Colorado, however, scientists have gotten to know the Clovis better. The workers found a group of tools buried in the ground that are 13,000 years old! Study of the tools with scientific instruments revealed that these Clovis killed sheep, bears, camels and horses for food, as well as woolly mammoths, which were ancient relatives of elephants. With a partner, look through the ads and stories in the newspaper for examples of modern tools. Write a paragraph describing what one of these tools might tell future scientists about people living today.

Learning Standards: Posing social science questions about a culture, world region or international problem; comprehending the past; writing fluently for multiple purposes.

3. Cave Art

In the European country of France, the caves at Lascaux (las-COE) are home to an amazing collection of ancient art. Now scientists and art experts are working together to stop the spread of a deadly fungus that threatens to stain the 17,000-year-old drawings of bulls, cats and other animals. As a class, talk about ways art can reveal things about the ways people live and things that are important to them. Then find examples in the newspaper of public art like murals, statues, sculptures or important buildings. Draw a piece of art that you would like to add to your community to show future scientists and art lovers something about the way people live today. Explain your drawing to the class.

Learning Standard: Reading and writing fluently, speaking confidently, listening and interacting appropriately, viewing critically and representing creatively; acquiring information from multiple sources.

4. What a Birthday!

When Gabriel Hurles turned six recently, he knew he was getting a birthday party. But he didn't know who the guest of honor would be. When he opened a giant present he was given in the town of Dayton, Nevada, he discovered his soldier father was inside -- home from the Iraq war! Army mechanic Casey Hurles was home on "leave," which is kind of a vacation for soldiers. He hadn't seen his son since last June. As a class, talk about what it would be like to have a parent away from home for a long time. Then draw a comic strip for the newspaper showing how students could help kids whose parents are serving in the military in the Middle East country of Iraq or another place.

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

5. Weird Fish

Fish today don't live out of water. Except for a very strange catfish in the South American country of Venezuela. Scientists there recently announced that they have found a new type of catfish that can climb rocks out of water. The new catfish has a bony armor that protects its head and tail and a special belly fin that helps it climb up and down surfaces like rocks. Scientists say the newly discovered fish could be a link between two different families of ancient catfish. As a class, talk about the different ways that scientific discoveries help explain the world. Then with a partner, find a story in the newspaper about a scientific discovery. Read it and tell the class why the discovery is important and whom it will affect most.

Learning Standard: Understanding the nature of scientific inquiry; explaining how science and technology affect society.