1. Chips and Tape Rescue

Faced with emergency situations, police officers have to make split-second decisions to save lives. In the Harlem neighborhood of New York City this summer, one officer saved the life of a young man who had been stabbed — using nothing but packing tape and an empty potato chip bag. Officer Ronald Kennedy came upon the stabbing victim while on patrol and immediately realized the situation was serious. Moving to help the man, the officer ordered a bystander to get him a bag of potato chips from a nearby store, and then asked for packing tape, the Washington Post newspaper reported. Kennedy dumped out the chips, and with the help of volunteers, got the victim onto his back. He then pressed the empty chip bag against the wound and taped it shut to contain the bleeding until emergency crews arrived. Doctors at nearby Harlem Hospital said later that Kennedy’s quick thinking likely saved the victim by keeping him from bleeding to death. Kennedy said he did “the best I can do with what I had.” People often have to make quick decisions when faced with an emergency. In the newspaper or online, find and closely read a story about a person who made a quick decision to deal with a situation. Write a thank you letter to the person who made the decision — from the point of view of someone it helped or affected.

Common Core State Standards: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task; reading closely what written and visual texts say and to making logical inferences from them.

2. Historic Golf

It’s been a historic year for professional golf. In April Hideki Matsuyama made international history by becoming the first Asian-born man to win the Masters Tournament. In May 50-year-old Phil Mickelson became the oldest player ever to win a major tournament when he topped the field at the PGA Championship. This month Collin Morikawa won the British Open to become the first player to win both the Open and the PGA Championship the first time he played in the tournaments. For Morikawa, a 24-year-old from California, the win was his second major championship in just eight tries. He also became the only golfer other than superstar Tiger Woods to win both the British Open and the PGA Championship before the age of 25. One of the great things about following sports is that athletes often set records or do things for the first time. In the newspaper or online, find and closely read a story from this week’s Summer Olympics or another competition about an athlete doing this. Think like a sportswriter and write a column about this athlete’s achievement, how difficult it was and how it will be remembered. Share with family or friends and discuss.

Common Core State Standards: Writing opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information; citing specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions.

3. Inside Information

When a Washington Nationals game with the Cincinnati Reds was delayed by rain earlier this season, fan Michele Crowl wanted to know how long the delay would last. So she called the team’s stadium in Washington, DC. When no one answered in the ticket office at Nationals Park, she called again and asked for the “general management office.” To her surprise, the man who answered the phone was the team’s most famous manager — field manager Dave Martinez! Martinez was just as surprised by the call as Crowl, because no one ever calls the land line in his office. But since the game was “almost certainly” going to be suspended, he talked with Crowl for 20 minutes, the Washington Post newspaper reported. They talked about a lot more than the weather, discussing everything from Martinez’s leadership style to what the world may be like after the coronavirus epidemic. Crowl even told Martinez that her son Ryan had used a quote from the manager on his high school yearbook page: “Bumpy roads lead to beautiful places.” That was certainly true for Crowl and Martinez that night. Bad weather led to a great conversation. Unexpected encounters with people can often have interesting results. In the newspaper or online, find and closely read a story about an unexpected encounter that was memorable for one or more people. Then write a personal column about an unexpected or unusual encounter you would like to have with someone who is famous or interesting. Tell why you would like to meet this person and what you would like to talk about. Share ideas with friends and discuss.

Common Core State Standards: Writing informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly; citing specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions.

4. Thumbprint of an Artist

Michelangelo was one of the greatest artists in all of human history. He did incredible, lifelike sculptures like his “David” statue and monumental paintings like the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, Italy. His sculptures were so true to life that many viewers responded to them as if they were alive. Now a new discovery has brought Michelangelo himself a little more to life for art experts. On a small wax statue that he created 500 years ago, researchers have found a thumbprint that may have been made by Michelangelo himself. The print was found by museum experts at London's Victoria & Albert Museum on a practice statue for a larger, unfinished marble sculpture, UPI News reported. The practice statue was titled “A Slave” and showed a naked figure with an arm across its face. It was to be part of an elaborate tomb for Pope Julius II, head of the Catholic Church. Michelangelo was born in Italy in 1475 and was believed to have created the sculpture with his thumbprint between 1515 and 1519. Artists like Michelangelo (pronounced MICK-el-AN-jell-o) often use real life people as models for sculptures and paintings. In the newspaper or online, find and study a person you would like to make an artwork of if you were an artist. Draw a sketch showing what your artwork would look like. It can be realistic or an “abstract” interpretation from your imagination. Give your work a title and write a paragraph telling why you chose the subject.

Common Core State Standards: Using drawings or visual displays when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or points; writing informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

5. Back to the Past

Incredible heat and dry conditions have had great effects on communities across the American West this summer. In the town of Rockport, Utah, they have taken the community back into the past. The weather has been so hot there, it has dried up the water in a reservoir and revealed the foundations from a frontier town. The foundations were for buildings constructed in the mid-1800s when “European settlers came in [and] established a little community there,” said a spokesman for the local water district. At its peak the town had just 100 residents and when the population dropped to 27 families in the 1950s it was chosen as the site for a water reservoir. Historic buildings were moved out, but the foundations were flooded and hidden beneath the surface. Now, with an incredibly hot summer, they have re-emerged. “It is kind of cool because it is history,” a spokesman for Rockport State Park told KSL-TV. Communities often discover new things about their history or past. In the newspaper or online, find and closely read a story about a community that has done this. Use what you read to write a letter to a friend, telling what was discovered, how it was discovered and what it revealed about the past of the community. With family or friends, discuss something you would like to learn about the past of your community.

Common Core State Standards: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task; reading closely what written and visual texts say and to making logical inferences from them.