The students at East Providence High School have greatly benefited from  USA TODAY newspapers being used in the classrooms. East Providence High School has a news media course and USA TODAY was the foundation of that course. One hundred high school seniors are enrolled in the course, and everyday they are required to read the [...]

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Peruse today’s paper and identify an advertisement for a product that you think consumers would be willing to pay a little more for if they could add their own personal touch to it. Briefly describe how the item could be personalized. (For example, how could you personalize candy or an iPod?) Share your idea with [...]

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Choose an article from today’s paper about a topic that you think could be adapted into an entertaining fiction book. First, write a summary of your idea, describing the main characters, the setting, the conflict and a potential ending. Next, make a list of chapter titles, each with a one- or two-sentence subtitle that explains [...]

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A keynote speech is generally regarded as the principal speech at a conference or political convention. A keynote speech typically focuses on a broad topic of interest to all audience members. Imagine that you were asked to give a keynote address to students attending a conference about a topic covered in today’s paper. Using information [...]

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After a two-year break, the U.S. and China have again opened talks on China’s human rights abuses. China does not allow religious freedom, and it often harasses or disbars lawyers who take human rights cases. Moreover, the country uses a harsh "re-education through labor" system of punishment and still tortures prisoners. According to Michael Posner, [...]

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An invention is the creation of something new; an innovation is an improvement on something that already exists. For example, the television was an invention; high-definition television is an innovation. Divide a sheet of paper into two columns labeled inventions and innovations. Then, peruse today’s paper and other sources and identify up to 10 examples [...]

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In a Forum piece on Thursday, April 29, entitled, "How Jay-Z can make foreign policy accessible," writer Lionel Beehner talks about the benefits of comparing complex policy issues to events in popular culture. He refers to an example used by George Washington University’s Marc Lynch who compared Jay-Z’s spat with the Game to U.S. foreign [...]

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Former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy once said his dad taught him that  “composure was more important than emotion.” Consider what this means. What is the difference between the two? Then, identify an individual in today’s news who could benefit from being more composed and less emotional. Next, describe a historical figure who used both [...]

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Define the terms “financial” and “literate.” Next, with a peer, discuss what it means to be financially literate. Now, with the same partner, look through the Money section of USA TODAY and identify four financial terms that you are unfamiliar with. Assign each other two terms to research. Then, using information from the Money section and other [...]

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Fifteen-year-old Phoebe Prince of South Hadley, Mass. killed herself in January because she was being bullied by nine of her peers. All nine now face criminal charges. In a column on Friday, April 9, writer Caitlin Kelly talks about her experience being bullied in high school. Kelly writes: "I was terrified and traumatized. Like many [...]

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