Introduction


The newspaper is a valuable source of information and an effective vehicle for enhancing the learning process. The major issues and events of the day that are covered in the news keep readers informed about the world around them. This teacher's guide has been created to assist the teacher in using the newspaper in the classroom while addressing the major content areas of the curriculum. Each learning activity focuses on a specific skill from the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills to help teachers plan and organize. Although the skill for each activity is noted, these activities are appropriate for various grade levels and address other skill areas as well.

Photo Info

Skill:3.3 History
Have students look at photos and ask students what they think happened after the photo was taken. They can also tell what they think happened before the photos were taken. They can list the characters or the settings in the photos as well.

Planning Your Free Time

Skill: 3.14 Culture
Talk with your students about how they use their free time. Have them imagine that they have an entire free day to experience the local culture. Using the entertainment section of the newspaper, have them schedule an entire day of fun. To make it more challenging, have them schedule two separate days, one to spend with family and one to spend with friends.

Job Graphs

Skill: 3.6 Economics
Students can look through the classified ads for the salaries of five interesting jobs. Have them record the information on a graph. They can explain which job they think would be best suited for them.

The Five W's

Skill:3.16 Social studies skills
Can your students find an interesting article in today's newspaper? Have them find such a story and write the five W's - who, what, when, where and why - to summarize the story.

Outlining

Skill: 3.17 Social studies skills
The students can create an outline using the underlined sections of the article. Then they can write a summary using descriptive details to elaborate on the main idea. Students can revise and edit each other's drafts by conferencing with their peers.

In the Eye of the Beholder

Skill: 3.18 Social studies skills
Many agree that looks are very important but, beauty, as they say, is in the eye of the beholder. Talk with your students about the subjectivity of beauty and then direct them to search through the newspaper for 3 items that they think are beautiful. They can compare their selections with those of the rest of the class.

Roles of Women

Skill:3.11 Citizenship
Some people believe that caring for a family is the most important thing a woman can do. Others think a career is the thing. What do your students think? Challenge them to find stories of women in the newspaper who are contributing to society, either in or out of the home. Have each student select a woman and describe her contribution.

Geography Venn Diagrams

Skill: 3.4 Geography
The students can search through the newspaper for various examples of geographic features such as mountains, rivers, forests, etc. They can label their selections. Have them create a Venn Diagram indicating features that are common to their community, those that are found in other parts of the state, the country and the world.

Transportation and Communication Chart

Skill: 3.5 Geography
Ask students to find an example of all of the modes of transportation and communication they can find in the newspaper. Challenge them to determine how these means of transportation and communication are used to distribute goods or services. Which modes are more efficient? Have them make a chart to show the type of transportation or communication, how it is used and whether it is efficient.

Rights of Americans

Skill: 4.16 Government
Students can examine current newspaper stories for examples of rights being exercised, upheld, or abused. They can find and clip as many examples as they can (including photos), and either paste them on poster board or arrange on a bulletin board. They should label each with the appropriate right.

Everyday Kindness

Skill: 4.18 Citizenship
Can your students find a few acts of kindness in today's newspaper? It may be interesting to assign students to skim the paper for kind acts and then discuss why they may be hard to find. Have them write the results of their searches.

Breaking the Law

Skill: 4.24 Social studies skills
Scan the newspaper for stories about people who have broken the law. Then select and read one or two stories that you think are age appropriate. Read the story aloud to the class and lead a discussion about the consequences that the perpetrator may face. You may ask "What rule or law did he/she break?" and "What can happen to someone who breaks the law?" Talk about why your school has laws/rules and what happens when they are broken.

For Sale

Skill: 4.12 Economics
Using advertisements and inserts in the newspaper, have students identify items for sale. They can explain how much each item costs. Talk with students about why items in high demand may cost more than other items.

Frequency Charts

Skill:4.8 Geography
The students can look through today's newspaper and circle datelines from Texas. They can make a list of the cities and locate them on a map. Students create a frequency chart that shows where most of the news originates. Then they can write three conclusions about their chart.

Fact or Opinion

Skill: 4.9 Geography
The students should select an article that relates to the social, political or economics of an area. Have them write three factual statements from the article. Then they can write three statements that are opinions.

They Mean Business

Skill: 4.14 Economics
Many of the high-ranking members of the Bush administration are former business executives. Are the policies of the president favorable to business? The students can look through the newspaper for businesses that are succeeding.

Trading Cards

Skill: 4.5 History
If you can collect baseball cards, why not make trading cards of today's newsmakers? Have each student design a collector card of a newsmaker from today's paper. The front of the card should have the person's picture and the back of the card should include the pertinent information.

The Law

Skill: 5.25 Social studies skills
Students can find someone in the newspaper who needs help and write that person a letter telling where help can be found. Students should discuss where help is available for them when they encounter difficult times. Are there any resources in the newspaper for people in trouble?

Character Hall of Fame

Skill: 5.5 History
Scan the newspaper for stories about honesty, courage, patriotism or other admirable qualities. Share some of those stories with your class. Ask students which people they would nominate for a Hall of Fame.

The Cause of Violence

Skill: 5.22 Culture
Adults blame movies, television, videos and local news reports as some of the causes of violence in society. Have your students skim the newspaper to find an example of violence in each one of those categories. Then they can write a sentence explaining how their choices could contribute to violence in society.

Map Changes

Skill: 5.6 Geography
The changing face of the world can be seen on the new maps adopted by National Geographic. The world's lowest spot -- the Dead Sea is even lower than it was before. And Calcutta, India is now called Kolkata. Have the students find a map in the newspaper and write three facts about it. What new information did they learn from the map?

Super Heroes

Skill: 5.19 Citizenship
Super heroes are capable of solving many problems. Is there a problem in today's newspaper your students would like to see solved? Have students find a problem in the newspaper and create a super hero capable of solving it. They can then write a news story detailing how that hero solved the problem.

Quiz Show

Skill:5.14 Economics
Have your students skim the business section of the newspaper for an engaging article. They can take notes and develop questions for their own quiz about the story. The class can divide into groups and compete against each other by asking questions about the articles they chose.

Problems and Solutions

Skill: 5.9 Geography
Find a short article or photo caption that covers an environmental problem. Ask students to read the article and explain the problem. Can they think of a solution? Ask students to write to the person or group that has the problem mentioned in the paper. Can they give suggestions on how to solve the problem? They can draw a picture to illustrate the problem and solution.

Criminal Activity

Skill: 5.17 Government
It may be interesting to have students scan the newspaper for crime stories. Have them categorize the crimes they read about as minor or major crimes. What laws were violated? Then have them suggest a fair punishment for each crime. Is prison the answer or can they devise more creative punishments?

Cultural Web Site

Skill: 5.24 Science, technology and society
Students can imagine that they have been asked to maintain a web site about culture in Texas. Each day for a week, they should pick out at least five newspaper items that would give others an idea about what Texas is like. They can highlight the individuals who are the main contributors to the events. Then they can draw a sketch of the Web site home page.