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Grades 2-5
An American pioneer
Daniel Boone was born on November 2, 1734. He lived in the wilderness most of his life. If you had to survive in the wilderness, what supplies would you need to bring along? Use the advertisements in The Denver Post to make a list of things you would take with you.
American Indian Heritage Month
Many places in the United States have Native American names, such as Chicago, Tallahassee, and Kansas. As you read the newspaper, look for these names. Make a list of ten Native American place names. Check the names in the encyclopedia to make sure they are Native American names. Try to find out the meaning of each name and write it next to the names. What does each name tell you about the place?
Honest Abe
Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th president of the United States on November 6, 1860. Today he is one of the best loved of all our presidents. Imagine you were a news reporter in 1860 and had to interview President Lincoln. Make a list of ten questions you would ask him in an interview.
Veterans Day
Look for articles in The Denver Post about people serving in Iraq and Afghanistan or people who have already served and are now home. Design a special medal for one of these people on a piece of heavy paper. Then write that person a letter saying why you think he or she deserves a medal. Send the medal along with your letter to that person.
World Kindness Day
November 13th is World Kindness Day. Find an article in The Denver Post that is about people showing kindness to others in your local area. Draw a picture to go along with this article.
America recycles
November 15th is America Recycles Day. Read your newspaper to see what is being done in your community to recycle. Create a poster that gives people the rules for recycling in your area.
Teaching tolerance
November 16th is the International Day of Tolerance. What does tolerance mean to you? As a class project, choose articles and photos from The Denver Post eEdition that show examples of tolerance. Make a bulletin board display to celebrate this special day.
Smokeout
The Great American Smokeout is on November 19th. It is a day to try to get smokers to stop smoking and to convince others not to start. Look for stories in The Denver Post about the Great American Smokeout and how smoking harms your health. Design a newspaper advertisement that helps convince people not to smoke.
Thanksgiving recipe book
Look for recipes in your newspaper over the next week that you think would be good to serve at a Thanksgiving dinner. Create a small Thanksgiving recipe book of your favorites. Be sure to illustrate the book with your own drawings.
Grades 6-8
Unearthing history
King Tut's tomb was discovered on November 4, 1922. The discovery helped experts learn what life was like in Egypt thousands of years ago. Pretend, it is the year 4000. Your are an archaeologist who has just discovered the ruins of an ancient 21st century store, one that was mentioned in today's newspaper. Write a news report explaining what your discovery reveals about the people who lived in the early 21st century.
Whom do you like?
American humorist Will Rogers was born on November 4, 1879. Rogers once said, "I never met a man I didn't like." Few of us can make that statement. Use your newspaper to identify people in the news whom you would like to know. Choose one person from each of the following fields: politics, sports, entertainment, foreign leaders. Explain your choices.
Discovery of x-rays
William Roentgen discovered x-rays on November 8, 1895. Find all the articles you can find in The Denver Post that have to do with diseases or injuries. How would the treatment for these conditions be different if there were no x-rays? What would medical science be like today if there were no x-rays?
Veterans Day
Veterans Day is November 11th. Read your newspaper for accounts of what life must be like for U.S. troops in war zones like Iraq and Afghanistan. Based on your reading, make a list of questions that you would want to ask someone in the military who has served in one of these places. Put your question in the form of a letter and send it to someone from your area who is serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Scientific Americans
Benjamin Banneker, who is sometimes called "the first black man of science," was born on November 9, 1731. Marie Curie, the noted scientist, who along with her husband discovered radium, was born on November 7, 1867. Search for stories in The Denver Post about African Americans and women who are making great contributions in science, medicine, and other related fields. Create a bulletin board display showcasing their achievements.
India
November 14, 1889 was the birth date of Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehru was the first prime minister of India after that country gained its independence. Search for articles about India in The Denver Post. List five new facts you learned about India from the news articles including the name of India's current leader
Saving with recycling
November 15th is America Recycles Day. Look through store ads in The Denver Post to find household items that your family could use. How much do they cost altogether? Now look for similar items for sale in the classified section of your newspaper. How much do the used items cost altogether? How much could you save if you bought the used items? Write a paragraph explaining how buying used items helps save money and the planet
Celebrating tolerance
November 16th is the UN Day for Tolerance. What does the word "tolerance" mean to you? Make a list of all the words in The Denver Post that relate to the concept of tolerance. Make a poster celebrating the UN Day for Tolerance using your words as part of the design.
Planning for Thanksgiving
Choose several recipes from The Denver Post for your Thanksgiving dinner. Then, using the grocery ads, "shop" for the ingredients you would need to make a dinner for 8 people. How much would the meal cost per person?
A man remembered
British statesman
Sir Winston Churchill was born on November 30, 1874. One-hundred
and thirty years later he is still remembered. Look through
today's newspaper. Select a newsmaker who you think will still
be a familiar name 130 years from now. Explain the reasons for
your choice.
Grades 9-12
American Indian Heritage Month
November is American Indian Heritage Month. There are many important lessons we could learn from Native Americans. One of the most important has to do with respect for nature and the environment. Select an environmental issue from today's newspaper. Do some research on the issue. Then write a report on how you think that issue would be addressed using Native American values.
Opinions with humor
Will Rogers, the famous newspaper columnist and humorist, was born on November 4, 1879. Read the editorial page in The Denver Post to see how columnists sometimes use humor to express their opinions about serious issues. Write your own humorous column, commenting on a story in your newspaper today.
Crime and Punishment
The great Russian author, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, was born on November 11, 1821. One of his greatest works was Crime and Punishment, a novel about a tortured soul who commits a gruesome crime. Find a story in The Denver Post about a crime that you think would make a good subject for a novel. Write an outline for a fiction novel based on the details in the news story.
Honoring fallen soldiers
November 11th is Veterans
Day. Look through your newspaper to see how Veterans Day is being
observed this year in your area and throughout the country. Write
a short speech that expresses what you would say at one of these
events to honor soldiers who have died in our country's recent
wars.
Business news
Carefully read the business news in The Denver Post for the next week and the Wall Street Journal section on Sunday. Make a list of companies that report higher earnings, new products, or some other form of optimistic news. Make another list of companies that report bad news. Which list is bigger? By what percentage?
Kristallnacht
On November 9 and
10, 1938, mobs of people in Germany went on a rampage destroying
thousands of Jewish shops and homes and burning down synagogues.
The event is a sober reminder of what can happen when hate and
racism take over. Sadly, hate and racism have not disappeared
from the world. Find a story in the newspaper that is about
racism or persecution taking place now. Write a summary of the
situation and include your thoughts on what can be done to stop
the problem.
Less is better
November 15th is America Recycles Day. One way to help the environment is for manufacturers to use less packaging on their products. Look in The Denver Post for products that are pre-packaged. Choose one or two products that could be offered with less packaging. Create new designs for packaging these products that would be more environmentally friendly.
Making peace happen peacefully
November 17th is World Peace Day. Look for stories in the Denver Post that deal with places that are currently having wars or other conflicts. Pick one of these places that is not as well known as Iraq or Afghanistan and do some further research on the source of the conflict there. Then write up a plan that would use diplomacy to bring peace to that region.
John F. Kennedy
President John F.
Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963.
Life in the United States has changed greatly since the early
1960s and newspaper stories reflect those changes. Write an
essay describing one change that you think President Kennedy
would have disapproved of and one that you think he would have
been pleased with.
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