US History Live!
Newspaper Activities
Spring 2001

Week 1: Interactions
Colonization impacts a colonized country in many ways. Look in the paper for articles showing interactions between people, towns, states, and/or countries. How does one group influence another? Are these influences for the better, worse, or neither?

Week 2: Slavery Today
Slavery is not a part of most cultures today, but poor working conditions are still quite common in some societies. Look through the paper for articles that discuss these conditions. Why do you think the conditions exist?

Week 3: Ship Shopping
Imagine you are responsible for buying the ship’s food. Look through the paper for articles and ads about food. Make a list of 10 foods that would be suitable on board a ship, taking into account limitations of space and refrigeration.

Week 4: Your Hometown
Read through the local section of your newspaper, looking for articles about your hometown or region. Based on these articles, what makes your hometown unique? Is it industry? Weather? Sports? People? Make a list of your hometown’s traits.

Week 5: Hometown Heroes
Does your hometown have any past or present heroes? Look through the paper for articles about people who have gained fame due to their talent, skill or contribution to the community. What personal qualities helped to make these people heroes?

Week 6: Conflict
Look in the paper for articles about conflict between countries or within a country. Make a list of all the conflicts, and put ‘X’s on a world map to mark their locations. Are the conflicts concentrated in certain regions? What are their causes?

Week 7: Sailors Wanted
It’s 1492, and you are an explorer sailing for new lands. You need a crew to sail your ship, including mates, carpenters, deckhands, a cook and a doctor. Review your newspaper’s want ads, then create a similar series advertising your crew needs.

Week 8: Rebellion
Rebellion can be a powerful and effective way to create change in a society. Find and read a newspaper article about a rebellion or protest occurring right now. Do you think the rebellion or protest will be successful? Why or why not?

Week 9: Foreign Lands
The Spirit has visited many foreign countries over the past few months. Search your paper for an article about a country that you have never been to. Why is this country in the news? What does the article tell you about the country?

Week 10: Tracking Time
Every minute of the day is precious aboard the Spirit. Look in your newspaper for the daily times of sunrise and sunset. Track these times over a two-week period. How do the times change from day to day? Is there a pattern?

Week 11: Weathering Change
Locate the weather section of your paper, then track your hometown’s daily air temperature over a two-week period. Did the temperature increase, diminish or remain the same over that time? What was the average daily temperature?

Week 12: Shortage
During the Charleston siege, shortages of goods and services were common–even shoes were hard to come by! Look for newspaper articles about consumer goods shortages happening today. What is causing these shortages?

Week 13: Innovation
Past innovations have led to improvements in many aspects of society. Look through your paper for an article about a new technology, method or device. How does the innovation improve on existing products or practices?

Week 14: History in the Making
Save newspapers for a period of 1 to 2 weeks. Find an article about a progressing event in today’s paper, then locate articles in previous papers that address the same topic. Write a timeline of events that reflects the information in the articles.