Minipage

Please remember that our schedules can be fluid and topics may be changed.

Mini Page activities meet many state and national educational standards. Each week we identify standards that relate to The Mini Page's content and offer activities that will help your students reach them.


Issue 17
For release April 28-May 4
All About Lacrosse
Lacrosse is an increasingly popular sport for kids, but it has its origins with Native Americans, who played the game almost 1,000 years ago. The Mini Page finds out more about the game, its rules and why kids love it.

This week’s standard:
• Students understand that physical activity provides opportunities for challenge and social interaction. (Physical Education)
Activities:
1. Write facts about lacrosse on note cards. On the backs, draw a lacrosse stick.
2. Make three columns on a piece of paper. Paste newspaper words for sports in the columns: (1) sports played with balls, (2) sports played with balls and other equipment, and (3) sports that don’t use balls.
3. Find three team sports in the newspaper. Explain how each is similar to and different from lacrosse.
4. How are these important for lacrosse: (a) helmets, (b) shorter sticks, (c) Iroquois tribe, and (d) Queen Victoria?
5. Make up a lacrosse team. List friends for the four types of players. Explain your choices.
(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)


Issue 18
For release May 5-11
A Diamond Jubilee
Queen Elizabeth II celebrates 60 years as the monarch of 16 Commonwealth realms this summer. The Mini Page learns more about the queen and the monarchy, along with her family and her duties.

This week’s standard:
• Students understand how people interact with structures of authority and governance. (Social Studies: Governance)
Activities:
1. Design a crown you would like to wear.
2. In your newspaper, circle words about royalty, such as “king” and “queen.” Why do we like these words?
3. List the different jobs Queen Elizabeth performs. Put a check by the same ones that President Obama does in this country.
4. How are these people important to Queen Elizabeth: (a) George VI, (b) Prince Charles, (c) Prince William and (d) Prince Philip?
5. Find these things in the newspaper to plan a celebration for Queen Elizabeth: places to visit, a restaurant to provide food, a place for the party, and five people to invite.
(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)


Issue 19
For release May 12-18
Summer Reading
It's time to choose some summer reading books! The Mini Page helps with a sampling of favorite books.

This week’s standard:
• Students identify forms and elements of literature. (Language Arts: Reading)
Activities:
1. Have a friend circle three words in newspaper headlines. Now make up a new book title using the words. Draw a cover for the new book.
2. From their descriptions, name the Mini Page featured books that you would give these awards: Most Exciting, Most Unusual, Most Like Me.
3. Use synonyms to rewrite the titles of five books in The Mini Page. Have a friend try to guess what the real titles are.
4. Which book(s) would fit in these newspaper sections: (a) international news, (b) sports, (c) games/puzzles, and (d) entertainment?
5. Take characters from three different books from The Mini Page. Write a new story using the characters.
(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)


Issue 20
For release May 19-25
Memorial Day
The Mini Page highlights Memorial Day with a review of America's wars and the traditions we follow on this day of memory.

This week’s standard:
• Students understand people and events honored in commemorative holidays. (History)
Activities:
1. Design a full-page newspaper ad to honor veterans.
2. List words that remind you of Memorial Day. Now put the words in a poem.
3. Circle five items in the newspaper you would use in your own Memorial Day celebration.
4. In the newspaper, find a local Memorial Day event that will have (a) a parade, (b) fireworks, (c) music and (d) a speaker.
5. Research one of the wars shown in The Mini Page. Answer these questions: What caused the war? How did it end? How did it change our country?
(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)

Issue 21
For release: May 26-June 1
Venus Passes By
This year, humans will get to witness an event that happens only twice every century or so. The transit of Venus, when that planet passes between the Earth and the sun, will happen on June 5-6. The Mini Page tells about the astronomers who identified this event and what it taught them, along with safe ways to view the transit.

This week’s standard:
• Students understand changes in the Earth and sky. (Science: Earth and Space Science)
Activities:
1. Design your own planet. Give it a name. Draw a picture of people on your planet.
2. Make a planet collage: Write the name “Venus” in the center of a large piece of paper. Then paste newspaper words about planets on the paper.
3. In the newspaper, circle words and pictures of equipment that helps you study the stars and planets.
4. How are these important to Venus: (a) Johannes Kepler, (b) eclipse glasses, (c) 2117, and (d) the Pacific Ocean?
5. Make a Venus notebook. Collect newspaper stories, photos and illustrations about Venus. Research more information about Venus to add to your notebook.
(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)


Issue 22
For release: June 2-8
Sea Birds
Some seabirds make round-trip "grocery trips" from California to Japan every three weeks. Many have special attributes that help them make such a long trip, such as a special coating on their feathers helps keep them warm and
dry. The Mini Page learns about these and other special features that help birds survive on the sea.

This week’s standard:
• Students understand the interactions of animals and their environments. (Science: Life Science)
Activities:
1. Divide a piece of paper into two sections. On one, paste newspaper words/pictures of land birds. On the other, paste newspaper words/pictures of seabirds.
2. Make a list of three interesting facts about seabirds. Write three questions you have about them.
3. Circle places in the newspaper where you might see seabirds. Explain your choices.
4. How are these important to water birds: (a) hollow bones, (b) countershading, (c) cone-shaped eggs, and (4) salt gland?
5. Research one of the seabirds mentioned in The Mini Page. Write about its size, where it lives, how it eats and how it raises its young.
(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)


Issue 23
For release: June 9-15
O! London
In July, London will host the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. This issue of The Mini Page explores the city with help from the Museum of London. We learn about its history and what it's like today, as well as what changes are being made in advance of the Games.

This week’s standard:
• Students understand the human and physical characteristics of places. (Geography: Places and Regions)
Activities:
1. Draw a picture of Wenlock and Mandeville visiting a special place in your community.
2. In your newspaper, circle three things that make your community special.
3. Choose three people featured in your newspaper. What do you think they would like to visit in London? Why?
4. Using your newspaper, find these in your community: (a) a historic site, (b) new construction, (c) a type of transportation, and (d) a sports location.
5. Research an earlier London Olympics and compare it to the 2012 Olympics. How many events are there? What sites are used? How many countries are
involved? Write about your comparisons.
(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)


Issue 24
For release: June 16-22
Be a U.K. Expert
Again in advance of the 2012 Olympics, The Mini Page learns more about the United Kingdom. Kids may find different names for this region — Great Britain, England, the UK — confusing, but we straighten it all out and learn about their government, coins and other fun facts.

Issue 25
For release: June 23-29
The Magna Carta
Many of the ideas in the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution can be traced back to the Magna Carta, the English document from 1215 that outlined the king's powers. The National Archives has recently revealed its restored copy of the Magna Carta, the only one in the United States. The Mini Page learns about this important document.

Issue 26
For release: June 30-July 6
Happy Birthday, U.S. Constitution
The Mini Page celebrates the 225th anniversary of our Constitution with an issue about the document. We will look at its history and its relevance today, even as the Supreme Court deliberates the constitutionality of laws and judgments in recent history.