ELEMENTARY (Grades 2-5)

Cinco de Mayo
May 5th, or Cinco de Mayo, is a national holiday in Mexico and is celebrated by many Mexican Americans. Look through all sections of your newspaper to find Mexican or Spanish words. Be sure to include the food section. Make a list of all the words and what they mean.

Mother's Day
Sunday, May 11th is Mother's Day. Imagine you have $50 to buy your mother a gift. Go "shopping" in your newspaper's ads and pick out five different items that would make a great gift for $50 or under. Which item would you choose to give?

What time is it in Alaska?
What time is it in other states when it is noon in your state? List eight states that are mentioned in your newspaper today. Find a time chart that shows which states are in which time zones, and try to figure out what time it is in each of these states.

How's your day going?
Just for fun, find your horoscope in today's newspaper. Also read the horoscope for two of your friends. According to the horoscope, which person should have the best day today?

INTERMEDIATE (Grades 6-8)

Home-based vacation
It's time to think about summer vacation, but with gas and air travel going up many people may not want to go too far. Look through your local newspaper for recreational ideas. Create a week's schedule of sightseeing, visiting museums, places of historic interest or natural beauty, or other fun activities that are in your area. Share your ideas with your family and use it to plan a week's vacation close to home.

Photojournalism exhibit
May is National Photo Month. Photojournalists are the people who take photos for newspapers and news organizations. Many of their photos have won awards. Some have even changed the course of history. Others are considered works of art. Over the course of a couple of weeks, clip the photos that you think are the best examples of photojournalism in your newspaper. Mount each photo on colored paper along with an explanation of what makes the photo a work of art. Get permission to exhibit the photos somewhere in your school

Special mothers
Mother's Day is May 11th. Newspapers often feature articles about special mothers on Mother's Day. Read some of these articles. Then write an article about your own mother using the newspaper article as a model.

Primary day
On Tuesday, May 6, two states will hold primaries -- Indiana and North Carolina. Look in your newspaper on Wednesday to see who won the Democratic primary in each state and by what margins. Write a summary of whether or not the results of those two primaries have changed the contest between Clinton and Obama in any way. Explain your reasoning and then predict who you think will win the nomination.

ADVANCED (Grades 9-12)

To your health
Health magazines and newsletters are very popular. Create your own health newsletter with articles relevant to young people. Clip all the news articles you can about healthy diets, exercise, latest studies, etc. Using these articles, write a newsletter summarizing the advice and information you found. Distribute your newsletter to family and friends.

Amazing mothers
Sunday, May 11th is Mother's Day. Look through your newspaper for stories and news items about remarkable mothers. Write a short paragraph on each person you chose describing what makes that person a remarkable mother.

Science fiction from science fact
Look for interesting news articles about science and technology. Choose one of these and write a short science fiction story based on the information reported in the article.

Mother Goose
Mother Goose Day is celebrated in May. Many of the original Mother Goose rhymes were actually satirical comments on the news and politics of the day. For example, Humpty Dumpty is thought to represent King Richard III of England. Create a Mother Goose style rhyme that satirizes a person in the news today.