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 today’s paper are related to Valentine’s Day? How important do you think Valentine’s Day is to the American public? Show 10 peers a list of holidays that includes Valentine’s Day, and ask each person to rank the days from most to least favorite. Create a graphic that displays the results of your poll.

March is Women’s History Month, and this year’s theme is “XXXX.” Find three examples of women leaders in today’s paper who embody this theme. Write a one or two sentence description of each person.

Using words clipped from today’s headlines, create a new headline that describes one of your mom’s accomplishments. Then, write a brief article about your mother to accompany your headline. (If possible, paste a photo of your mom next to the story.) Present your mom with the final product on Mother’s Day.

Using words clipped from today’s headlines, create a new headline that describes one of your dad’s accomplishments. Then, write a brief article about your father to accompany your headline. (If possible, paste a photo of your dad next to the story.) Present your dad with the final product on Father’s Day.

Happy Halloween! Look through USA TODAY, and cut out words, pictures, graphs, etc. that are related to Halloween. Use the newspaper clippings to create a colorful collage that illustrates what’s eerie and entertaining about this holiday!

Look through today’s paper for election coverage from around the country. Which races are hotly contested? Which are predictable? Which party — the Democrats or Republicans — do you think will gain control of the Senate? Why is voting important? Is it a privilege or a duty? Explain.

Veterans Day marks the end of the first World War and also“designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations …”* How can governments promote peace at home and abroad? What can you do to honor the men and women who have and who are serving in our nations armed forces?