1. World News

News happens all over the world. This week, work in a group and spend 15 minutes a day looking through the newspaper for the names of countries. Each time you find a new country, write it down. Then use a map or previous knowledge to identify the continent or region in which the country is located. Continents/regions to be used are Africa, North America, South America, Asia, Europe and Australia/Pacific Islands.

Learning Standards: Locating and describing diverse kinds of communities and explaining the reasons for their characteristics and locations; acquiring and organizing material from a variety of sources.

2. Organizing

There are many ways to learn with the newspaper. Count the number of buttons you are now wearing. If you don't have any buttons, count the number of colors on your shirt or blouse. Next, count pages from the front of the newspaper until you reach your number. Find five interesting words on that page and write them down.

1._______________________________________

2. _______________________________________

3. _______________________________________

4. _______________________________________

5. _______________________________________

Now put those words in alphabetical order.

1. _______________________________________

2. _______________________________________

3. _______________________________________

4. _______________________________________

5. _______________________________________

If you were to add your first name to the list, between which words would it go?

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

3. An Award for Courage

Everyone knows the story of how Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man and wrote one of the most important chapters of the civil rights movement. But did you know a 15-year old girl showed the same courage and did the same thing in Montgomery, Alabama -- nine months before Rosa Parks made national news? The story of this courageous teenager has been told in a new book for young people called "Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice," which just was honored with a National Book Award. The 70-year-old Colvin was onstage with author Phillip Hoose when the award was announced November 18 in New York City. As a class, talk about different ways people show courage. Then find a person in the newspaper who is showing courage. Write a paragraph explaining how.

Learning Standards: Identifying and explaining how people demonstrate good character and personal virtue; acquiring information from multiple sources; writing fluently for multiple purposes.

4. What a Croc!

Talk about Where the Wild Things Are! Scientists have uncovered a fossil of a wild and fierce crocodile that lived in northern Africa millions of years ago that had three sets of fangs and a 20-foot body! The huge croc was one of three fossil finds announced this month as part of fossil digs sponsored by the National Geographic Society. As a class, talk about what scientists can learn from fossils of animals that lived millions of years ago. Then find a photo of an animal in today's newspaper. Study the photo and write what scientists could learn from it or its surroundings, if they discovered its fossil 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.

5. Ice on the Move

As temperatures rise around the world as a result of global warming, scientists are closely studying what is happening to ice in areas around the Earth's North and South Poles. This month, scientists got a new look at results from the South Pole region of Antarctica when photos showed hundreds of icebergs traveling north toward the Pacific Ocean country of New Zealand. The icebergs -- some more than 650 feet wide -- were created when a huge sheet of ice split off from Antarctica this summer. As a class, talk about ways global warming could change life for people, wildlife, habitats and ecosystems. Then draw a comic strip for the newspaper showing one way warming could affect people.

Learning Standards: Describing positive and negative effects of humans on nature and wildlife; explaining ecosystem concepts and processes; using the craft of the illustrator to express ideas artistically.