Activities and Questions based on the Mar. 28, 2025 – Apr. 3, 2025 issue
History Activity for High School: (SS.912.A.3.13) Examine key events and peoples in Florida history as they relate to United States history.
Read the article on pg. B-1 and B-4 about Col. Francis Ederington and his family. Then write an essay discussing his experience with growing different crops−his failures and his successes. Discuss how his ventures with new crops, such as bamboo, might have influenced the agriculture and economy of Florida. Cite at least two outside sources, giving the title of the article or book; the URL, if it’s online; and the date and author (if they’re given). Your essay should be at least 400 words.
Composition Activity for High School: (ELA.10.C.3.1) Follow the rules of standard English grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling appropriate to grade level.
Read the article on pages A-1, A-4 and A-6 about the astronauts. Then summarize the article. Use a minimum of direct quotes from the article (no more than three). Be sure and include a topic sentence or two, at least four sentences expanding on the topic and a concluding sentence or two wrapping up the article. Your summary should be at least 350 words.
Composition Activity for Middle School: (ELA.11.R.3.2) Paraphrase content from grade-level texts.
Read the article about the Little Rock Cannery on pages A-1 and A-5. Then summarize the article in at least 300 words. Use a minimum of direct quotes from the article (no more than three). Be sure and include a topic sentence or two, at least three sentences expanding on the topic and a concluding sentence or two wrapping up the article. In your summary, tell how you think the cannery got its name.
Math activity for Middle School: (MA.7.AR.3.3) Solve mathematical and real-world problems involving the conversion of units across different measurement systems.
Study the following advertisements: Killingsworth Agency (pg. A-2), Tampa General Hospital (pg. A-3), Shuayb Dental (pg. A-5). and Gardner Audiology (pg. A-6). Measure the width and height of each ad and then convert that to column inches. A column is approximately 2.5” wide, so if an ad measures 5” wide x 4” high, it would be 2 col x 4” (or 8 column inches – multiply 2 x 4). The advertising rate is $7.50 per column inch, so if your ad is 8 column inches, it would cost $60 for one week. Using this same method, calculate the cost of each ad. Then calculate how much the ad would cost if you ran it for four weeks.
Vocabulary activity for Elementary School: (ELA.K.V.1.2) Ask and answer questions about unfamiliar words in grade-level content.
Read the article on pages B-1 and B-3 about the Pedal Play Day. Then write the definition of each of the following words as it is used in the sentence. Be careful! Some words have more than one meaning. Write down what part of speech each word is, as it’s used in the sentence, and use the word in an original sentence.
1. spoke
2. bustle (the word in the article is “bustling”)
3. agility
4. gear
5. vendor
6. don (the word in the article is “donning”)
7. obstacle
Composition Activity for Elementary School: (ELA.1.C.1.4) Write expository texts about a topic, using a source, providing facts and a sense of closure.
Read the article on page A-7 about mentoring a foster teen. Then write an essay of at least 275 words telling why it is important for foster children to have good role models. Use at least one source (either a book, article or website) on this topic. Make sure you write down the title of your source, the website URL, if you’re using the internet, as well as the date and the author (if they’re given.)
If you wish to submit any of your compositions from this week to the newspaper for us to consider publishing, please email to [email protected].