ELEMENTARY (Grades 2-5)

Winter foods
December 22nd is the start of winter. What foods do you like to eat in winter? Check out your newspaper's food section as well as grocery ads. Find a good cold-weather recipe and write it down or try it out with your family.

Top story
Newspapers often carry lists at this time of year of the most important news stories of the year. Think back over the year. What story do you think was the biggest of the year? Write a paragraph explaining why you chose this story.

Safe toys
Many children will receive toys for the holidays. Toy safety is a big issue that is on a lot of people's minds. Clip pictures of toys from your newspaper that you think would be good and safe for children from ages one to five. Paste a picture of each toy on a piece of paper and next to it say what age it would be good for and why.

First flight
December 17th is the anniversary of the Wright brothers' first airplane flight. Read your newspaper for stories about other "firsts" happening today. Pick one of these stories and draw a picture that you think best illustrates what is happening in the story.

INTERMEDIATE (Grades 6-8)

Hot soup
This is a good time of year for soup. Create your own vegetable soup recipe by picking seasonal vegetables advertised in the grocery ads in your newspaper. Be sure your recipe includes at least five different vegetables including two that your family normally doesn't buy.

Top ten
As the year draws to a close, newspapers will be coming up with lists of the top stories for 2004. Come up with your own list of top ten stories. Rank them in order of importance from one to ten.

Cartoons on TV
Eighteen years ago on December 17th, "The Simpsons" first appeared as a half-hour sitcom. Which cartoon in your newspaper's comics do you think would make a good animated TV series? Write a short proposal that outlines why this cartoon would make a good TV show. Suggest some actors who you think should play the lead roles.

Winter weather patterns
December 22nd is the first day of winter, but winter weather has already hit hard in many parts of the country. Using the weather map in the newspaper over the course of a week, locate all the cities where the weather was below freezing or where snow fell. Draw your own weather map highlighting the spots where there was freezing or snow weather in red.

ADVANCED (Grades 9-12)

A blot on history
On December 17, 1944, President Franklin Roosevelt signed an executive order that allowed Japanese Americans to be placed in internment camps. These people lost their livelihoods and most of their possessions. Do some research about this event in history. Then write a newspaper editorial for a World War Two-era newspaper criticizing Roosevelt's decision and explaining how it was a violation of the civil rights of Japanese Americans.

Predicting the weather
December 22nd is the official start of winter. What weather is predicted for your area? For a two-week period, clip out the weather predictions that appear in the newspaper. Then chart the actual high and low temperatures as well as precipitation for those days. How much did the predictions deviate from the actual weather?

Political crossword
The first crossword puzzle was compiled on December 21, 1913. Try your hand at creating your own crossword puzzle related to politics and the upcoming Iowa caucus. Use names and terms related to the campaign, the caucus, and the primaries to follow.

Top stories of 2007
As the year draws to a close, many newspapers will be coming up with their lists of the most important news stories of 2007. Come up with your own list, ranking the stories from one to ten, with one being most important. Compare your list with the list in your newspaper. How many stories did you have in common?