Newspapers In Education (NIE) is a worldwide program to promote and increase children’s literacy by using Newspapers as a teaching tool.

Coordinated by the Herald and News, NIE is a unique way for schools, businesses and the local newspaper to work together in a partnership that benefits all of us – now and in the future.

Through the use of the daily news, editorials, features and advertising, students at all grade levels can learn math, cost comparisons and living skills, geography and meteorology, history and current events, how they shape our world and community; all while improving reading and comprehension skills. In short, the NIE program helps motivate and teach students with a textbook as fresh as each day’s news.

We give free newspapers to any teacher who requests them. We are able to do this with donations from the local community. This program is offered by the Herald and News for Lake, Klamath, Siskiyou and Modoc Counties. Please feel free to contact Christine Von Tersch at the Herald and News for more ideas on how to use the newspaper in your classroom.

Want to know more?
Contact: Christine Von Tersch, NIE Coordinator • Office: (541) 885-4426 nie@heraldandnews.com

For schools, budgets have never been tighter. That is why the Herald and News works to raise funding to help cover the cost of providing newspapers to classrooms in our area at no charge to the schools. Every dollar donated to the Herald and News – NIE program goes toward providing teachers and students access the newspaper, opportunities for students to visit the Herald and News, meet key staff members and the possibility to see the press in action.

Newspapers in classrooms provide teachers and students with a text that is always current and provides a wide rand of interesting topics from world events to the results of local high school games. Research shows students who have access to newspapers in the classroom become better readers, are more civically engaged, vote more and are better prepared for standardized testing.

Newspapers in the classroom make a difference. Proof is in the numbers:

There are 5 levels of literacy – the below statistics are from the National Association of Adult Literacy and the National Center for Education Statistics. According to the National Institute of Literacy, 12% of Klamath County Residents are at a Level 1 or Level 2 Literacy and numerous studies have shown that students who used the newspaper in the classroom on a weekly basis had a higher reading, writing and critical thinking skills than students who did not read the newspaper.

5 Levels of Literacy:

Poverty, Welfare, Income, Employment Status & Crime

Funding for the Herald and News – NIE program is provided by Herald and News subscriber donations and by corporate sponsorships. We are asking for your help to continue funding the Herald and News – NIE program for this school year and beyond.

Breakdown:

• Approximately $7 will provide one student with enough newspapers and electronic edition access for an entire year.
• The Herald and News does not profit from school newspapers. In order to continue providing schools with this free service, we need contributions to sustain the program.

These are fun activities that you can use in your classroom.

SCIENCE
1. Begin a vocabulary list of science words found in the Idaho Press-Tribune. Record the spelling, meaning and the use of each word. Some examples might be: exploration, narcotics, energy, pollution, preventative, analysis, comet, weather, antibiotic, invention, alcoholism, theory, artificial, transplant, medicine, etc.
2. Find newspaper articles, advertisements, etc., about equipment that will help conserve energy such as storm windows or home insulation. What claims are made about saving?
3. Check today's weather map. Find the longitude and latitude of the regional city with the highest temperature and the national city with the lowest temperature. Make a graph that illustrates how many cities have a clear, cloudy or rainy forecast.
4. Find articles in the Idaho Press-Tribune about areas that have experienced severe weather. Discuss how stories such as these can help us prepare for weather emergencies.

NEWSPAPER KNOWLEDGE
1. According to the index, on what pages are the following found: classified ads, sports, editorials, local news, weather, the crossword puzzle, and your horoscope?
2. Clip and label an example of each of the following: index, byline, cutline, dateline and headline. (Aren't sure exactly what these are? Contact Rose Remick, NIE Coordinator for a hand out.
3. Make a chart showing examples of the vocabulary variations that appear in different sections of the Idaho Press-Tribune. For instance, the jargon used by the food editor and sports editor would probably be quite different.
4. Use the classified section to buy materials or hire services to help you cross the following barriers: a snake pit, a barbed wire fence, a 10 foot wall, a 20 foot deep moat with snapping crocodiles, an angry giant. Compare your selected products and services with your classmates.

LANGUAGE ARTS
1. Use the front page of the Idaho Press-Tribune to draw a circle around every blend. Make a list of all the blends you find.
2. List all the different punctuation marks used in a news article. Read the articles aloud and notice the influence of your voice in determining the place of punctuation.
3. Find newspaper examples of paragraphs written in present, past and future tenses.
4. Identify as many sets of antonyms, homonyms and synonyms as you can by scanning the headlines.
5. Select three headlines from the Idaho Press-Tribune and rewrite them as complete sentences.

MATH
1. Circle the largest and smallest numbers on a page. Subtract the two numbers you have found. Add the two numbers.
2. Use recipes from your newspaper to practice using fractions. Double the recipe; halve the recipe and triple the recipe.
3. Write a word problem that uses an advertisement as its basis. Let a friend try to solve the equation.
4. Add up the total points scored by teams in the NFL on any given Sunday or determine the total elapsed time between the first and last place Nascar driver.

CRITICAL THINKING
1. Choose one story from the front page of today's Idaho Press-Tribune. Find the answers to these questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? Note the organization of details in this story. Which is the most important? Where is it found in the story? Does the headline highlight the most important fact? If not, where did the information for the headline appear in the story?
2. Choose an editorial and underline each fact and circle each opinion. Discuss the logic of the ideas and the organization and development of the arguments.
3. Look at a feature article closely to see what words and sentences help to make you have certain feelings about the article. Make a list of these words and sentences. Now alter these words and sentences and see how the "feeling" or tone changes.

SOCIAL STUDIES
1. Place news items or pictures about each state on a large outline map of the United States. See how many states you can find in the news in two weeks.
2. Research good and bad relationships between the United States and other countries. Try to categorize the reason these relationships may exist.
3. Search the Idaho Press-Tribune to find some names and titles of international and political leaders. Describe their roles, as you understand them from articles you have read.
4. Read an article or editorial in your newspaper. Draw a political cartoon that represents the article.
5. Use news stories to teach words related to geography: delta, monsoon, panhandle, harbor and terrain. Discuss the way the words are used in newspaper stories.

LIFE SKILLS
1. Prepare menus using food advertisements in the newspaper. Example: Christmas dinner, Italian dinner, etc. Make sure that you include something from all four-food groups.
2. Select a job in the classified section of your newspaper. Write a letter to the Human Resources director of your chosen job stating what qualities make you perfect for that job.
3. Check the salary levels for unskilled workers in the help-wanted section of the classified ads. Compare the salaries to those for skilled laborers or professional positions. What are the differences and why?
4. Find a recipe in the food section of your newspaper. Examine the recipe's ingredients to see if it includes enough of the nutrients necessary for a balanced diet. What other foods or recipes could you add to make a balanced meal?
5. Find an example of a comic strip in the Idaho Press-Tribune that shows two coworkers or an employee and manager having a conflict. Rewrite the comic strip depicting a better way for the characters to handle the disputed situation.

CHARACTER EDUCATION
1. Make a Hall of Fame, Hall of Shame poster or bulletin board. Clip articles and cartoons of people who are exhibiting good character traits. Place these under the Hall of Fame heading. Place examples of people not using good character traits under the Hall of Shame heading.
2. Make a family crest that shows examples of what is good about yourself and your family. Look through today's paper and cut out words or pictures that remind you of what you like about your family. Paste them on a sheet of paper.
3. Look through the Idaho Press-Tribune for an article that shows individuals, groups or nations involved in a conflict. Write down the different sides, and what seems to be the reason or reasons for the conflict. Think of as many different ways as you can that they might resolve this conflict. Write a letter to the editor that explains how the groups or nations can resolve their conflict. Would these groups need courage, kindness, forgiveness, and patience? What other character traits would they need to exhibit to solve their conflict?

ELEMENTARY
1. Find as many synonyms for "Win" and "Lose" as you can.
2. Circle five verbs located in the Sports section. Take turns acting these words out to see if your classmates can guess the words you chose.
3. Locate the statistics from games in the Sports section. Graph the total number of yards rushed, homeruns hit, passes thrown, etc. in a single game.
4. Read articles in the Idaho Press-Tribune about court cases. Compare the structure of our court system with the judicial system created by the Ancient Romans.
5. Scan for articles about someone what has broken a law. How would you feel if you were the lawbreaker, the victim, the lawyer or the judge? How would you rewrite the article from the point of view of one of those people?
6. Select six headlines. Cut apart the words from those headlines. Using the words, create new sentences. Identify the noun, verb and adjective in each. How many complete sentences can you create?

MIDDLE SCHOOL
1. Using a ruler, figure out the percentage of space on a given page for ads, pictures, stories and headlines.
2. Find a news article written in past tense. Clip it out of the paper and rewrite it in present tense.
3. Look in the classified ads to find job listings for the medical/health professions. What is the median pay range? Job requirements? Educational requirements? Benefits? Opportunities for advancement?
4. What are the qualifications a person should have to hold public office? Make a list, and then see how the current office holders or candidates stack up. Use articles from the Idaho Press-Tribune and other sources to find out about previous jobs, experiences, and other factors that make each candidate or office holder prepared to serve as an elected official.

HIGH SCHOOL
1. Every week, check through the job listings and put a red X through those jobs that could not be filled by a high school dropout. Put a black X through those that could not be filled by a person with a technical school or college training. Discuss your findings.
2. Choose an editorial and read it carefully. Decide which statements or parts of the statements are facts, which are opinion, and whether or not the tone of the editorial is conservative or liberal. Watch for upcoming issues to see if there is any reaction to the editorial on the letters to the editor page.
3. Find the area of the floor in your classroom or library. Using a carpet or tile ad from your newspaper, compute the cost to carpet or tile the room. Next assume the carpet/tile is now on sale at a 20% discount. How much would you save by waiting for the sale?
4. Have a discussion of employment trends and demands in your community, based on the help wanted section of the classified ads and any related articles.
5. Study the periodic chart of the elements, and then take a red magic marker and mark the appropriate chemical symbols found in scientific articles in your newspaper.
6. Select a sports story that is of interest to you, and rewrite passive voice sentences into active voice.