April Fools’ Day Activities

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Sue

Information and activities are from A Plan For All Seasons: Using newspapers in grades 3-8 to make the most of holidays and seasonal events. Written by Ann West, NIE Consultant and distributed by the NIE Institute.

April Fools’ Day is often celebrated with harmless pranks and foolish happenings. In real life, many of us feel foolish on occasion about something we may have said or done without thinking.

The pages of the newspaper often contain news of people who have been foolish in some way. Some people in the news may have not thought before they acted; others may have gotten caught doing something they should not have done, leaving them feeling foolish.

Create an April Fools’ Day Hall of Shame by selecting photos or names of people in the newspaper who have said or done something foolish. These people may be famous people or they may not be so well known. You may even want to find comic strip characters who have done or said somthing foolish.

Clip from the newspaper one or two examples of foolish people and mount the names or faces on a sheet of construction paper. Explain the following items.

1. WHO the person is

2. WHAT the person said or did

3. WHEN this person said or did it

4. WHY you think this person deserves a place in the Hall of Shame

Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 7, 2013 by Sue

Valentine’s Day is a cultural/religious holiday and is observed on February 14.

Valentine’s Day, one of the most widely observed unofficial holidays, is a day in which people exchange gifts and cards to express their affection for one another. There are several beliefs about how Valentine’s Day got started. Some people trace it to an ancient Roman festival called Lupercalia. Others believe the day was set aside to honor one or more saints of the early Christian church. Still others believe it originated from the old. English belief that birds choose their mates on Feb.14. Most likely, it was a combination of all three beliefs.

Many customs are associated with Valentine’s Day, some that go as far back as the 1400s. Today, students throughout the country celebrate Valentine’s Day with parties and the exchanging of greeting cards called valentines. It’s also a day for couples to express their love to each other with gifts of flowers and candy.

Valentine’s Day is one of the most commercialized holidays in the United States today. To illustrate this, search the newspaper for ads with a Valentine’s Day theme. Make a list of items advertised, then talk about the businesses that benefit most from this special day.

Find a newspaper ad featuring Cupid, a symbol of Valentine’s Day. Cupid was the son of Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. Conduct further research on Cupid. Conclude the activity by writing a mock newspaper story about Cupid making an appearance in your town this Valentine’s Day.

St. Valentines Day Scavenger Hunt – see how many of the items listed below you can find in your newspaper.

1. Find something in the newspaper in the shape of a heart.

2. Find an activity in the newspaper that you would just “love” to do if you had the time & money.

3. Find something in the newspaper that could be classified as “out of this world”.

4. Find an unusual gift in the newspaper that you could give to someone to express “I Love You!”.

5. Find 5 items that come in pairs.

6. Find an example of something that would improve your “heartiness” or condition of being physically and mentally fit.

7. Find someone in the news who has “heart” or the quality of mind that would enable them to face danger or hardship resolutely.

8. Find someone in the news who is suffering from “heartache” caused by loss or despair. How could they be helped?

9. Find an article with “heartening” news that would inspire confidence or hope in the future.

10. Find an example of foods that would make a “hearty” or “heart healthy” meal.

11. Find an example of someone who was “heartless” or totally lacking in compassion or caring for his or her fellow man/woman.

12. Find an item in the newspaper that you would like to buy that would be a “sweetheart of a deal”.

Scavenger hunt was created by Audrey Eoff, NIE Coordinator, The Monitor, McAllen, TX.

Mardi Gras Activities

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Sue

Information and activities are from KRP’s The Ultimate Holiday Activity Guide and News Relief’s A Plan for All Seasons both from the NIE Institute.

Mardi Gras is a colorful celebration that takes place on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent, a 40-day period of fasting and penitence in many Christian communities. In the United States, especially in New Orleans and other Southern cities, Mardi Gras has become a popular two-week festival of balls, parties, and parades leading up to Lent.

Mardi Gras means fat Tuesday in French. Do you know any other words that have French origins. Look through the newspaper for words you think might be French in origin. Look up the words in a dictionary or word origin book.

The custom of celebrating Mardi Gras was brought to the United States by French colonists. What other groups of people brought their holiday customs to this country, such as the Germans (Groundhog Day) and the Irish (St. Patrick’s Day)? Think of a holiday custom you and your family cherish. Then write an editorial that might persuade others to adopt that custom for their families. Check the editorial pages of the newspaper for examples of how editorials are written.

The newspaper serves as an excellent guide to entertainment in the local area. Wherever you may travel, the local newspaper will usually contain the latest information on places to go and things to do.

Use your local newspaper as a guide to local attractions. Look for ads, news stories and pictures that refer to some of the things in your city that provide recreation.

See how many attractions and special events you can find in the newspaper. Then categorize them in the groups listed.

PLACES TO EAT

HISTORIC PLACES TO SEE

SPECIAL EVENTS

GREAT PLACES FOR RELAXATION

OTHER ENTERTAINMENT

Geography Awareness Week Nov. 11 -17

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Sue

Geography Awareness Week is Nov. 11 – 17. Here are some resources you can use in the classroom. To download, click on the following links:

3 Step Geography Challenge from National Geographic

Geographic Challenge: Learning about Geography through the Newspaper for Grades 3-12.

Community Connections with Geography and the Newspaper Level One

This guide blends mapping skills with a discussion of various communities to which everyone belongs as individuals. As students learn to make and interpret maps, the curriculum addresses local, regional, state and national identity, as well as government and community. This section is written with elementary students in mind, but the clarity of language will be helpful for anyone working to grasp these basic elements.

Community Connections with Geography and the Newspaper Level Two

Level Two is designed for students with a basic knowledge of maps and a sense of the levels of government and geographic division. It expands that understanding while discussing how communities create and maintain their identities, and while emphasizing how geography affects local economies, lifestyles and community identity. It is written with middle school and older children in mind, but younger students who can grasp the more complex concepts are likely to understand the language.

To learn more about Geography Awareness Week by visiting http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/collections/geographyawarenessweek

The weight of the election

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Sue

The weight of the election: an MCT OnePage, from the Chicago Tribune, analyzes the tossup states in the 2012 U.S. presidential election. In the race for the White House, current projections put President Barack Obama slightly ahead of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Nine swing states, accounting for 110 electoral votes, will ultimately decide the winner. Though how each state will turn won’t be decided until Tuesday, demographic similarities and history provide further speculation to how the race might unfold.

To download the page, click on the following link: http://legacy.grandforksherald.com/pdfs/2012%201101%20SWINGSTATES.pdf

Note: if you are going to print this pdf, make sure to adjust your print setting to fit on page. The pdf is bigger than 8.5 x 11 (normal print size.)

Earth Day Activities Using the Newspaper

Posted on April 14, 2012 by Sue

Every day is Earth Day for people who care about the environment. But for one day each year, people all over the world join forces to call attention to the beauty of the Earth and the ways in which we can protect it.

Here are a number of activities to help you call attention to this special day. These activities are from KRP’s Ultimate Holiday Activity Guide distributed by the NIE Institute.

1. Talk about environmental problems in your community. Have students find a newspaper story about one of those problems. Ask them how they would solve the problem, then have them write a letter to the editor of the newspaper expressing their thoughts.

2. Have students look through the newspaper’s advertisements for products that are promoted as environmentally friendly or safe for the environment. What conclusions can they draw from their findings? Encourage discussion.

3. Ask students to pick one product advertised in the newspaper and discuss the effects that product might have on the environment.

4. Instruct students to look through the newspaper for items that can be recycled. Ask them to list the items and find out if each can be recycled in your community. Conclude by having students come up with their own ways to recycle the newspaper (use as wrapping paper, line the bird cage, etc.). Encourage them to be creative.

A Curriculum Guide to Teach Environmental Education

Click here to download the guide

Here is a 53 page guide you can download from the EGBAR Foundation titled “THE EGBAR Clean-Up Challenge.” This curriculum was developed to help educators effectively and easily integrate environmental education into their classroom teaching. This curriculum guide covers a variety of environmental issues such as: sources of pollution, hazardous wastes, recycling, energy, renewable and non-renewable resources, global warming, and environmental laws. Each lesson is designed with a student objective, grade level recommendation, list of materials, discussion of teaching strategies for the lesson, and an opportunity to extend the lesson through additional activities. For each lesson there is an accompanying student activity sheet. The activity sheet is ready for you to copy and can be used as an independent assignment or cooperative learning activity.

Summer Solstice

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Sue

Summer officially arrives on June 21, the summer solstice. It’s considered the longest day of the year because it has the most daylight hours between sunrise and sunset.

In the summer, the North Pole tilts toward the sun, so the Northern Hemisphere gets more sunlight. On the solstice, the North Pole is tilted the closest to the sun. On this day, the sun reaches its highest point in the sky. (Information from MCT)

Newspaper Activity: Look at the newspaper’s weather report for different symbols used to illustrate weather. Then design your own symbols for these weather conditions: sunny, cloudy, partly cloudy, showers, thundershowers, and snow.

Get the News!

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Sue

What do newspapers and public libraries have in common? They both present a unified approach in support of literacy, specifically in support of summer reading.

Over the summer, I will be posting features from North Carolina Newspapers in Education. N.C. NIE developed the features based on themes chosen by the national Collaborative Summer Library Program (www. cslpreads.org/).

Each feature offers an activity that relies on news and information. Headings for each activity focus on one of the themes: One World, Many Stories or You are Here. The features also direct readers to public libraries to learn more. Thank you to N.C. NIE for sharing!

To download a printable copy, click on the following link: http://legacy.grandforksherald.com/pdfs/01-Get%20the%20News.pdf

Mrs. Olsen’s Mass Communications Class

Posted on April 1, 2011 by Sue

We had visitors on Thursday, 3/31/11 from Roseau, Minn. Each year Mrs. Olsen brings her mass communications students in grades 10-12 to the Grand Forks Herald to learn about the newspaper. The students receive the Grand Forks Herald each day during the school year through our Newspapers in Education Program. Mrs. Olsen uses the newspaper as a teaching tool. On the tour, the students learned how the newspaper is produced each day from start to finish. They also had the chance to visit with employees in each department of the Herald. The group also planned on touring WDAZ TV and Studio One in the afternoon.

Mrs. Olsen (left side of photo) and her mass communications students from Roseau, Minn. are pictured in the Herald newsroom with myself and Tom Dennis, Editorial Page Editor (right side of photo).

Students listen to Tom Dennis, Herald Editiorial Page Editor, talk about the editorial/opinion pages.

Celebrate NIE Week

Posted on March 7, 2011 by Sue

March 7-11 is NIE Week. Newspapers in Education or NIE for short, is a nationwide program where educators use the newspaper to teach a variety of subjects in the classroom. There are many activity guides and teaching materials available to assist you.

This year the Newspaper Association of America Foundation has created a guide called Power Pack: Lessons in Civics, Math and Fine Arts for NIE Week 2011. The guide celebrates the power of newspapers to be quick and flexible in addressing topics that require support. It focuses on three areas vital to develop well-rounded and successful students and citizens – civics, math and fine arts. Each topic in the guide provides standards-based activities to enhance student learning in elementary, middle and high schools.

Download the NAA NIE Week 2011 guide by clicking on the link below: http://legacy.grandforksherald.com/pdfs/NIEWK2011_guide.pdf

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