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(Above Image courtesy of Rachen Sageamsak/Xinhua/Zuma Press/MCT Campus)

New Feature: The Grizzly Gazette staff would like to encourage all of our readers to read newspaper articles from across the world as a part of their daily routine.

Reading newspapers promotes vocabulary acquisition, improved reading comprehension, and civic awareness.

Teachers, please take the time to ask your students to read these articles in class or at home. Discuss these important issues in class and then have your students write letters to the editor expressing their views. The Gazette staff will post your students’ letters. Perhaps this activity could be used as an extra-credit assignment, or as make-up work, or a bonus assignment to help a student improve his or her grade. Students could be assigned to read these articles with tutors in the GAS center.

To help students improve their vocabulary acquisition, teachers could also encourage students begin their own deck of personalized vocabulary cards.

It is easy: provide students with 3 x 5 index cards and ask students to keep their vocabulary cards in a Ziploc bag or on a notebook ring. When students find words they do not know in the recommended newspaper articles, ask them to neatly write the word on the front of the card; then ask them to complete their vocabulary cards in class or at home by: writing the part of speech on front under the vocabulary word; then turn card over and write definition in a complete sentence like, “ A neuron is a cell in the brain.” Then ask students to write the word in a contextual sentence” “I am supposed to have 86 million neurons in my brain.”

If teachers incorporate these newspaper activities into their weekly lessons plans and use newspapers to improve their students’ reading, vocabulary, thinking, and writing, we will all help promote literacy and help our American democracy stay strong into the next generation.

Democracy, let’s help pass it along!

Grizzly Gazette recommended articles this week:

1. Education:

2. Environment:

3. Energy:

4. Public Policy:

5.World Politics:

6. Local News:

The Guardian; “Teens prefer reading news online to Twitter”

New York Times: “Student Journalism: The Value of School Newspapers”

Essay on Newspapers: Their Advantages and Disadvantages:

Teachers, please let the Gazette staff know if we can help you implement these ideas in your classroom by contacting us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it