3. Look for numbers that are the same size and cut them from the newspaper. Use the numbers to create a clock face. Practice telling time using this clock.

4. Pretend you were just given $100 to purchase 10 things you find in the newspaper. Circle the 10 items and calculate the total price. Who can come the closest to spending exactly $100?

5. Pick out one page of the newspaper containing ads. Determine the amount of money needed to purchase everything in the ads on that page.

6. On the front page of your newspaper circle all the numbers you can find and give the range, mean, median and mode.

7. Read your newspaper’s birth announcements and obituaries. Determine the ratio of births to deaths. If the ratio remained constant and no one moved into or out of town for the next 10 years, what would the population be?

8. Determine the square footage of your classroom for each of the following areas: floor, walls, ceiling and windows. Using the newspaper, locate advertisements for paint, carpet, tile and draperies and determine the amount of each you would need and how much it would cost.

9. Scan the newspaper for examples of perpendicular, parallel and intersecting lines.

10. Look for a grocery ad with a soft drink advertisement. Figure out how many fluid ounces are contained in a carton or six-pack. What is the cost per ounce? Per liter?

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11. Cut out all the letters in the alphabet and paste them onto a piece of paper. Find words and pictures of things that start with that letter. Paste these on the correct sheet of paper.

12. Choose five different newspaper headlines and rewrite each into a complete sentence.

13. Look through the newspaper and cut out words that describe you. Paste them on a silhouette of yourself. Compare with a classmate.

14. Keep a notebook of new and unfamiliar words that you find in your newspaper. Write the definition for each word.

15. Make three columns on a piece of construction paper and label them as prefixes, suffixes and root words. Cut words from the newspaper; cut them apart and paste them in their correct columns.

16. Find a news article written in the past tense and rewrite it in the present tense.

17. Select a story from the newspaper and then compare it to the style of a short story.

18. Using a straight news story, circle all the direct objects in blue, the indirect objects in red and the objects of prepositions in green.

19. In a news story, draw arrows from all pronouns to their antecedents.

20. Find two examples of each of the four kinds of sentences: interrogative, declarative, exclamatory and imperative.

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21. Every week cut out what you think is the most important headline in the newspaper. At the end of the month, discuss the stories you have selected.

22. Make a large map of your town and put it on a bulletin board. Cut out names or logos of stores you find in the newspaper and put them in their correct location on the map.

23. Find examples in your newspaper of how people can get along with each other. Why is it important for people to get along?

24. Have a race through the newspaper to find as many geographic words as you can such as: hill, river, lake, plateau, etc.

25. Categorize the news articles that appear in this week’s newspaper as international, national, regional, state and local news. Which category has the most stories?

26. Over a period of several weeks, clip articles that deal with problems and/or issues facing your local or county government. Discuss the reasons for these problems.

27. Find stories that describe community problems and discuss how these problems affect your life.

28. Keep a notebook of environmental stories from the area. What possible actions can be taken to correct these problems?

29. Find as many references to geographic locations as possible in the newspaper. Which story occurred furthest from your hometown?

30. Scan your newspaper and select stories that you believe will become part of the “history” of your town in the coming years.

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31. Many things around the home need electricity to work. Scan the newspaper to find as many things as you can that need electricity. How many are in your home?

32. Cut out newspaper pictures of different forms of weather. Label them as clouds, storms, rain, snow, etc.

33. Follow the weather forecast for several weeks using the weather section in your newspaper. Try to find news articles about the effects of weather on your local area.

34. Find pictures in your newspaper that would create a healthy meal. Cut out the pictures and paste them onto a paper plate.

35. Scan the newspaper and cut out ten things that can be dangerous if used incorrectly such as knives, spray cans, tools, etc.

36. Create a notebook called “Advances in Science.” Place articles into the notebook as you find them.

37. Keep a collection of newspaper articles that discuss a local health problem. Determine the most significant health problems for your community.

38. Find articles about potentially dangerous household substances, such as bathroom cleaners, drain openers, over-the-counter medications, etc. List the antidote needed if an accidental ingestion or overdose occurred.

39. Make a poster from pictures, advertisements and articles that show how machines help people do different kinds of work.

40. Using your newspaper, collect product and service advertisements of things that were not available 30 years ago. Discuss the scientific advancements that have made these new products available to the public.

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41. Find a picture of a building in the newspaper and tell what kind of jobs people who work there might have.

42. Use the newspaper to find pictures or stories about five people who have five different jobs. Describe their jobs. Would you like these jobs?

43. Make a collage of pictures from the newspaper of different kinds of jobs.

44. How many different careers can you find mentioned in one issue of the newspaper?

45. Choose one page from the newspaper and think about how many jobs were involved in creating that page. List them.

46. Carefully read through the help wanted section. What jobs seem to have the most openings in your area? What education or training would be needed to get this type of job?

47. Check the job listings in the newspaper and put a red "X" through those jobs that could not be filled by a high school dropout. Put a black "X" through those that could only be filled by a person with technical school or college training. Discuss the results.

48. Check the salary levels for unskilled workers in your newspaper’s help wanted ads and compare those to the salaries for skilled laborers or professional positions.

49. How many occupations can you find listed in the news sections of your newspaper? Which jobs would you like to have?

50. Look in the classified ads to find job listings for the medical/health professions. What is the median pay range? Job requirements? Education requirements? Benefits?

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51. Cut comic strip panels apart, mix them up and give them to a partner. Have them put them in order and give it back to you. Did they order them correctly? If not, does the comic strip still make sense?

52. Clip comic strips out of the newspaper and erase the captions. Give these “blank” strips to a classmate and have them write their own captions. Did they tell the same or a different story?

53. Go through the comics and list all of the occupations shown or implied.

54. How many pages of the paper does the comics take up? Figure out what percentage of the newspaper this is.

55. Read several days worth of comic strips. Identify as many examples of poor grammar as you can. Can you explain why some artists intentionally use poor grammatical construction?

56. Cut out five cartoons in your paper. Under each cartoon list all of the emotions that are shown.

57. Which cartoons show something that could be real-life? Which ones are unreal?

58. Review the comics in this week’s newspaper. Are any characters doing anything that would be against the law?

59. In the comics, find examples of things that defy the laws of nature. Examples: animals talking, a super hero flying, etc.

60. Compare two comics that are the same overall size but close together on the page. Choose strips that are divided differently (for example, one divided into thirds and one divided into fourths or halves). Which is larger? Halves? Thirds? Fourths?

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61. The grizzly bear is the symbol of California on the state flag. Using today’s newspaper, find examples of other things that you think symbolize California.

62. Look in today’s newspaper for local and state stories about places in California that you would like to visit. List the reasons for your choices.

63. Using today’s sports section, find teams that are from California. What are their home cities? Locate each city on a California map.

64. Find an article about something that is happening in California in which you would like to be involved. Tell your classmates why you made this choice.

65. Find articles addressing topics that may have an effect on how the California landscape will look in the future.

66. Scan the newspaper for an event scheduled in your area. After studying the formal style of the advertisements in the newspaper, design your own advertisement encouraging people to attend that event.

67. With your class divided into teams, locate words in today’s newspaper that relate to California geography (ex: Central Valley, Bay Area, Foothills, Southern California). Which team has the longest list?

68. Many of the foods we eat each day are grown in California. Using the grocery advertisements, invent menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner that include these foods.

69. From facts in today’s newspaper, develop a crossword puzzle related to California. Exchange your puzzle with a classmate to solve.

70. Collect quotations from California leaders that appear in today’s newspaper. Discuss which might become famous sayings or which might be recorded in history as important remarks.

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71. Read several letters to the editor and create a list of characteristics of a good letter to the editor.

72. Cut out names, places, dates, motives, weapons, situations and other items from the newspaper. Put each grouping in a paper bag or other container. Choose one each and use them as a basis for creating a short writing assignment.

73. In small groups, write two different television commercials based on a product advertised in the newspaper.

74. Make a list of at least 15 descriptive words you find in the advertisements. After compiling your list, write one or two paragraphs describing something. Use each of the words you selected from the ads.

75. Using the advertisements in the newspaper, rewrite an ad using the opposite words and ideas from those used in the ad. Note the reversed and often comical effect of this switch.

76. Find an ad in the classified section, which has many numbers. Rewrite the ad and describe the object for sale without using any numbers.

77. Find articles that deal with planting various plants. Study the article and organize the planting process into steps. Write a clear set of directions for planting using these steps.

78. Write a friendly letter to your favorite comic strip character.

79. In the car ads section of the newspaper, find a car that you want and write a description of it. Be very specific.

80. Find an article about a problem and write down your analysis of what caused the problem and what its effect is.

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81. Take different parts of the newspaper and circle words, phrases or sentences that show respect.

82. Find newspaper stories about people who demonstrate by their words and actions that they are responsible to their family, culture, work and community.

83. Locate a newspaper story that makes you feel compassion, concern or empathy.

84. Read stories about people who have committed dishonest acts. Explain why you approve or disapprove of the consequences.

85. Identify a newspaper story that deals with conflict. List and describe three nonviolent ways the conflict might be resolved.

86. Identify individuals from newspaper stories who have demonstrated courage. Write a headline and a lead paragraph about the individual.

87. Collect articles over time from the newspaper about the following topics: court cases, censorship, equality under the law and government decisions.

88. Find examples of individuals or groups who have demonstrated good citizenship by serving others. Display their photos and stories in your classroom.

89. Find a comic strip that shows a good example of honesty, fairness or loyalty.

90. Find articles in the newspaper that illustrate the following values: appreciation, honor, politeness, dignity, obedience and acceptance.

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91. With a partner, select three headlines to present to the class. Categorize each as good/bad/neutral news.

92. With your classmates, select an interesting cut (photo) in the newspaper. Study it for one minute. Turn it over and list the things you remember from the photo.

93. From the movie listings in today’s newspaper, find a movie you would like to see. Explain why you want to see the movie.

94. List all of the sports covered in today’s sports section. Conduct a class survey to determine which is most popular among your classmates.

95. Scan the retail advertising in today’s newspaper and choose ten items that appeal to you. Classify each item as a necessity or a luxury. Which classification costs more?

96. Skim all the Letters to the Editor in today’s newspaper. Choose one letter about a person or a group of people. If you were that person or a member of that group, how would you respond?

97. Study the weather report in today’s newspaper. Note as many different uses of numbers as you can. Which measurement is most useful to you?

98. According to the index, what pages are the following found on: Movies, Comics, Sports, Horoscopes and Television.

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99. Clip and label an example of each of the following: index, byline, cutline, dateline and headline.

100. Because classified advertising is sold by the line, abbreviations are used to save space. List and explain as many abbreviations as you can find.