February is Black History Month. The contributions of black Americans — inventors, politicians, doctors, lawyers, actors, etc. — are all around us. Peruse today’s paper, and find an example of an African American who is helping to shape the U.S.’s future. Summarize his or her accomplishments on paper. How many stories and graphics in [...]

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Groups like Factcheck.org and PolitiFact.com spearhead efforts to verify the claims that political candidates make in their speeches, ads, debates and press conferences. Adopt the role of a political fact-checker and explore the election articles in this week’s USA TODAY. (There will be plenty of articles about the September 26 presidential debate.) Next, find a [...]

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What is a trend? Identify at least two trends mentioned in today’s paper. Then, consider this: Individual decisions — to work or to stay home, to have children in your twenties or your thirties, to stay married or get divorced — can affect society as a whole. How do individual choices become a trend? What [...]

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You have probably heard that Wall Street is experiencing a crisis. In the last several weeks, the federal government has given an $85 billion dollar loan to AIG, an insurance provider on the verge of collapse, and has taken over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two ailing mortgage lenders. Moreover, the financial crisis has forced [...]

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Look through today’s paper and compile a list of 20 words — five nouns or proper nouns, five adjectives, five adverbs and five verbs. (Make your list challenging!) Then, trade lists with a partner and write a personal reflection on a topic covered in the News section. The catch? Use at least 10 of the [...]

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Both Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin have been criticized for their lack of foreign policy experience. In small groups, imagine that you are prepping either Obama or Palin for a foreign policy press conference. Using information from USA TODAY, identify five foreign policy issues that the next administration [...]

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Who receives more coverage in today’s Sports section — males or females? How did you arrive at your answer? Is the paper’s coverage fair to both groups? Why or why not? On paper, list five facts about women’s sports — high school, college or pro. Then, list five opinions or stereotypes. Compile the lists in [...]

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Every political candidate, like every human being, has weak points. One difficult task that candidates face is to minimize their weaknesses, or better yet, turn them into strengths. For example, in this election, John McCain has had to fight the notion that he is too old to lead while Barack Obama has had to answer [...]

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Find an article in today’s News section about an event occurring in a foreign country. In writing, describe how the event is affecting (or could affect) citizens of three other countries, including the U.S. Then, explain what impact the issue is having or could have on your life. Why is it critical to keep abreast [...]

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