Las Vegas Newspapers in Education

Mini Page Archive - November 2007: Issue 45 - 48

The Way Kids Give Thanks -- Issue 47 -- Nov. 17-23, 2007

This week's standards:

Students understand that citizenship includes an awareness of the holidays, celebrations and symbols of our nation. (Citizenship)

Students understand what it means to be a good citizen in the classroom, school, home and community. (Citizenship)

Students understand why is it important for Americans to share certain values, principles and beliefs. (Civics)

Activities:

1. Create a "People Help Others" poster. Find pictures or stories of people in the newspaper who help other people in some way. You may find pictures of "community helpers" who have jobs that help people, like nurses or policemen. You may find pictures or stories about people who volunteer their time to help others. Cut out the pictures and stories and paste them on your poster.

2. Divide a large piece of paper into two columns. At the top of the first column, write "Helping the Hungry." At the top of the second column, write "Helping the Needy." Now find words and pictures of items you would use if you wanted to help people who needed food. Put your items in the first column. For the second column, find words and pictures of clothing and other items that would help keep people safe and warm.

3. Find a newspaper story about someone who is donating his or her time and talents to make your community better. Now write a letter nominating that person for a "community service" award.

4. Which individuals in today's Mini Page (a) wanted to help animals, (b) wanted to improve the environment, or (c) wanted to help other people?

5. Create a project you and your friends could do to help your community. Now find five people in the newspaper who could help you with your project. Look at news stories, comics and classified ads. Write a paragraph describing your project and explaining how each of these individuals could help you.

(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)

Let's Dance! -- Issue 48 -- Nov. 24-30, 2007

This week's standards:

Students will execute original or existing artistic dance movement or works of art using elements and skills of dance. (Dance: Performing)

Students relate and transfer meanings, ideas and experiences from other disciplines and areas of knowledge to dance and movement experiences. (Dance: Inter-Connecting)

Activities:

1. Draw three large circles on a large piece of paper. In each circle, draw a dancer showing a specific type of dance, such as ballet, folk dance, modern rock dance, or popular recreational dance. Label your pictures.

2. Look in your newspaper to find two places where you could take dance lessons. Find two places where you could attend a dance performance. Write several sentences about the type of dance you would like to learn or the type of dance performance you would like to see.

3. Locate a news story that you find compelling. Enlist several friends to create a dance that tells the events of the story using dance movement.

4. How can dance (a) improve your health, (b) make you feel happier, and (c) allow you to explore your artistic side?

5. Use resource books and the Internet to learn more about a favorite dancer. You may select a classical ballet dancer like Mikhail Baryshnikov, a Flamenco dancer like Jose Greco, a musical comedy dancer like Fred Astaire, or a modern rock singer-dancer like Madonna. Use these questions to guide your research: When did the individual begin dancing?

What type of formal or informal training did he/she receive? How did he/she coordinate dance lessons with regular schooling? What did critics say about his/her dancing? Write a paragraph discussing your findings.

(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)