1. Time for a Meteor Shower

When you look at the night sky, you sometimes can see bright balls of light shooting through the dark. These "shooting stars" are actually meteors, which are caused when junk or rocks from space enter the air of the Earth's atmosphere and burn up. This month, sky watchers will get a good show of shooting stars when the Leonid Meteor Shower can be seen across the United States and North America. The show will peak on November 17, when a dozen or two meteors will be seen each hour in the night sky. The Leonid Meteor Shower is caused by dust and space junk left behind by the Tempel-Tuttle Comet traveling through space. Space makes news in many ways. As a class, find a story about space in the newspaper. Write a paragraph describing why this space story is getting attention and whom it will affect the most.

Learning Standards: Explaining how we learn about the universe; comparing and contrasting our planet and sun to other planets and star systems; writing fluently for multiple purposes

2. A Dinosaur Tank

When people are big and bulky, it's often said they are "built like a tank." The same is true for dinosaurs. And now a husband-and-wife team has discovered a new species of dinosaur that not only is built like a tank but looks like one, too. A fossil discovered by Bill and Kris Parsons in the state of Montana was covered with bony armored plates that protected the dinosaur from predators as it fed on plants 112 million years ago. The new plant-eating species was a kind of ankylosaur (AN-kil-o-sore), and it was 15 to 20 feet long. As a class, talk about the things fossils can teach us about ancient animals. Then pick an animal from the stories, photos and ads of the newspaper. Write out things this animal could tell future scientists about life on Earth today if its fossil were found in the future.

Learning Standards: Engaging peers in constructive conversation about topics of interest or importance; explaining how fossils provide evidence about the nature of ancient life; showing how science concepts can be interpreted through creative expression such as language arts and fine arts.

3. Another King First

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was the first to do many things during the Civil Rights movement in America. And now his youngest child has become the first to do something for an organization that was led at the start by her father. The Rev. Bernice King of Atlanta, Georgia, has been elected as the first woman to be president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), a group that works for racial justice, equality and better opportunities for young people. The SCLC was founded in 1957, and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was its first president. Dr. King's son Martin Luther King III also was president of the SCLC, from 1997 to 2004. As a class, talk about the character traits needed to be the first to do something. Then find someone in the newspaper who is the first to do something. Write a list of character traits this person has.

Learning Standard: Identifying and explaining how people demonstrate good character and personal virtue; acquiring information from multiple sources and then organizing and analyzing it.

4. Good News for Ford

It has not been a good year for auto companies, but last week Ford Motor Company finally had some good news to report. The Dearborn-based automaker reported that in the "third quarter" months of July, August and September it earned a profit of nearly $1,000,000,000 -- one billion dollars. The company earned the unexpected profit by cutting costs for factories and workers and by and introducing cars that families wanted to buy. It also was aided by the U.S. government's "Cash for Clunkers" program, which gave buyers cash credits for turning in old, "gas-guzzling" cars and buying newer cars that get better gas mileage. As a class, talk about what it takes to be successful as a business. Then find a story or ad in the newspaper for a business that is successful. Write out reasons you think this business is successful. Then write out a description of a business you would like to start -- and why.

Learning Standards: Describing major kinds of economic activity and concepts of supply and demand; writing fluently for multiple purposes.

5. Two Fast Cats

Usain Bolt of Jamaica is the fastest human in the world. And now he has adopted a cat from the fastest cat species. Bolt, who comes from the Caribbean nation of Jamaica, has adopted a three-month-old cheetah in the African nation of Kenya. Bolt paid $13,700 to adopt the cub as part of an effort by Kenya to protect and preserve cheetahs. Bolt will pay $3,000 a month for care of the cheetah at an animal orphanage and chose the name "Lightning Bolt" for his new cat. Cheetahs, which can run up to 75 miles per hour for short distances, are endangered in Kenya and other parts of Africa. Bolt holds world records in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. With a partner, find an endangered animal in the ads, stories and photos of the newspaper. Design a poster for this animal, describing ways humans could help it.