Holiday-Themed

Newspaper In Education (NIE)

Activity Pages

Student s Name: ____________________________

Holiday Editorials

Study the editorials in The American for a few weeks. Note the

format of the editorial columnists and any images/illustrations.

Find a story in The St. Louis American regarding anything about

the holiday season that interests you in some way. Now in the

space below create your own editorial cartoon expressing your

opinion about the news event you found.

Bonus: Earn extra credit! Write an editorial essay to go along with your cartoon.

Attach the essay to this sheet.

Classroom use permitted by The St. Louis American NIE Department

Student Name ___________________________

Holiday Newspaper Scavenger Hunt (#1) Go on a newspaper scavenger hunt! It shouldn't be hard to find holiday-related items in this week's news. See who can find the following items first!

A holiday article or photo that is NOT about Christmas Page # _______

A dateline that indicates a place you'd really like to visit during your vacation Page # ______

An example of a gift you'd like to receive Page # _______

A word or phrase that you think best exemplifies this season Page # _______

A classified advertisement for something holiday-related Page # _______

A photo that reminds you of winter Page # _______

A sporting event that will occur during your winter vacation Page # _______

A person or group of people that need help this holiday season Page # _______

Some kind of holiday tradition Page # _______

Classroom use permitted by The St. Louis American NIE Department

HOLIDAY SCAVENGER HUNT

Look through The St. Louis American and find the following items. Write down what you

find and what page it was on. After everyone is finished, compare your answers to those of

your classmates. How many found the exact same things?

1. An ad for something you would like for Christmas/Holidays.

2. A story about someone helping others.

3. A place where there is little joy or happiness this holiday season.

4. Something or someplace to eat for Christmas/Holiday dinner.

5. A Christmas tree, Menorah, Santa, Crèche, Kinara, or other symbols of holiday

traditions.

6. Someone who has been naughty.

7. Someone who has been nice.

8. A story from another country where Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukah or other holidays are

celebrated.

9. An entertaining place or event you would like to visit or attend during the winter break.

10. Someone less fortunate than you.

11. Something Santa might say.

12. A photo or artwork that symbolizes the holidays to you.

Classroom use permitted by The St. Louis American NIE Department

Student s Name: _______________________

Student s Name: _______________________

Older students can also be required to include sales tax.

Classroom use permitted by The St. Louis American NIE Department

Let s Go Shopping With The Newspaper!

You have been given $5,000 to do your holiday shopping! There are only four

requirements. First you have to spend exactly $5,000. You have to buy everything

out of today s newspaper. You have to do it within one class period. And finally, you

have to spend money on every one of the items below.

Item Page # Cost

1. A piece of jewelry for your mother: __________________ ________ $______________

2. A toy for your cousin: __________________ ________ $______________

3. Something for your best friend: __________________ ________ $______________

4. A gift for your pet: __________________ ________ $______________

5. A tool for your grandfather: __________________ ________ $______________

6. A decoration for your classroom: __________________ ________ $______________

7. Something warm for yourself: __________________ ________ $______________

8. A yummy holiday food item: __________________ ________ $______________

9. A video game for your brother: __________________ ________ $______________

10. A donation to a needy group: __________________ ________ $______________

2015 Resolutions

Classroom use permitted by The St. Louis American NIE Department

Student s Name: ___________________________

Remember: You can t change others, you can only choose to change yourself.

This is the time of year when many of us start thinking about a fresh start. As the

new year quickly approaches, let s take a look at ways we can improve some

different areas of our lives over the next several months.

After completing the questions below, keep a copy of your answers, and then

return this form to your teacher. He/She will save your answers and present

them to you at the end of the school year, so that you can see how well you did!

Under each of these categories, list ways that you will make improvements / changes for the new year (be specific). If you need addition space, use the back of this paper and write the words See Back in the lines below.

School _____________________________________________________________________________________

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Family _____________________________________________________________________________________

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My Health

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2014 Time Capsule

The New Year is fast approaching. What do you think will be historically the most important things that happened in 2014? Use your newspaper to locate stories you think will still matter in 2015, and even further into the future. Research to find stories from earlier in 2014. Based on what you ve found, what are the four news stories you most think deserve a spot in a 2014 time capsule and why?

Student Name:__________________________________

Classroom use permitted by The St. Louis American NIE Department

1. Story: ____________________________________________________________

Why: ____________________________________________________________

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2. Story: ____________________________________________________________

Why: _____________________________________________________________

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3. Story: _____________________________________________________________

Why: _____________________________________________________________

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4. Story: ____________________________________________________________

Why: _____________________________________________________________

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Santa or Scrooge?

Create two display boards in your room. One should be labeled Scrooges and the other Santas. As a class, discuss what makes someone a Scrooge. What type of bad behavior could ruin the holidays for someone else? Next discuss why you might call someone a Santa. What behavior would they exhibit? Now complete the activities below. 1. First working individually, look through today s newspaper for a person or group of people that you would consider a Scrooge. You can use news stories, photos, or even ads. Cut out your three choices for consideration to be included in your classroom s Scrooge Wall. Now do the same for the Santa Wall, cutting out three nominees that bring joy to others. 2. Divide into small groups (no more than 4 people) and quietly take turns presenting to your group why you have chosen your nominees for the Scrooge or Santa Walls. Be prepared to explain your choices. As a group, you all must come to a decision as to your group s top three picks for each wall. 3. Once your group has agreed on your picks, choose one person to take your choices up to the appropriate walls and tape or glue them on the board. (When approaching the board, if one of your picks is already on the Wall, be sure to place yours right next to it.) 4. As a class, discuss the results of this activity. Were there any selections on the boards open to debate? Were there any that appeared on both Walls?

Extending the Activity

This activity can also be done as a writing exercise. Students can write the name of their nominee on a sheet of paper and (in writing) explain why they chose them before joining their small groups. The Scrooge/Santa

Walls could easily become a year-round activity, with students given the opportunity to submit nominees on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. You

could change the names of your walls to Wall of Fame/Wall of Shame.

Classroom use permitted by The St. Louis American NIE Department

Symbols of the Holidays

Symbol Page # What It Represents

Student s Name: ___________________________

Look through the newspaper for examples of different symbols of the holidays. Certain symbols hold special meaning to different groups of people. Fill in the chart below, and then create your own symbol in the space provided. Be prepared to share with the class your symbol and what it represents/means to you.

Draw your symbol in the box below.

Classroom use permitted by The St. Louis American NIE Department

Student Name: __________________________

The Blizzard of the Year!

While you were in school today 24 inches of snow fell! You won t be able to leave school for the next 48 hours. Because he/she knows that you might get a little bored (and hungry) your principal has decided to give each student $200 to spend in order to survive these two days. (Isn t your principal generous?) The only catch is, you have to spend it using the ads in today s St. Louis American newspaper. You can purchase clean clothes, personal grooming items (toothbrush, shampoo, etc.), entertainment (games, movies, books), bedding (sleeping bags, blankets, pillows) or food. Below, make a list of everything you plan to purchase and explain why.

Item Page # Why

1. ____________________ ______ __________________________________

2. ____________________ ______ __________________________________

3. ____________________ ______ __________________________________

4. ____________________ ______ __________________________________

5. ____________________ ______ __________________________________

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10. ____________________ ______ __________________________________

Variations: This can also be done in small groups. Students can pool their money to

purchase a variety of items. Or, each group is responsible for one type of purchase:

food, entertainment, bedding, etc.

Used by permission of The St. Louis American

Look through today s ads for any holiday or winter item for sale. Write a first-person

perspective explaining why the item is for sale. For example: My name is Sarah the Sled and

my owners no long require my services because When you are done, read your story aloud

to the class. Be sure to leave out the word that says what you are - in our example sled. See

if the class can guess what you are.

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Why I m For ale

Student Name: _________________________________

Alternate Creative Writing Activity

A very similar activity can be done using the obituaries in the newspaper. After a classroom lesson on obituaries (their purpose, different styles, what is usually included) ask students to write an

obituary for an inanimate holiday or winter object. Have the students take turns reading their obituaries out loud (leaving out the name of

who died) to the class and see if their classmates can guess who died.

Classroom use permitted by The St. Louis American NIE Department