What's the Method?

Ms. Schild 4-311

Me, Read the Newspaper?
By Phyllis Naegeli

1 Alvaro dribbled the basketball around Sam and took a shot. It went through the net, and Sam grabbed the rebound, dribbling it back to center court. He took a shot and missed.

2 "Whew, time for a break," said Sam, wiping his brow.

3 "I could use a drink of water," said Alvaro.

4 The boys walked over to a cooler on the sidelines.

5 Sam and Alvaro grabbed a bottle of water and sat down on a nearby bench.

6 "Great game. We tied, right?" said Sam.

7 "Nope," said Alvaro. "I won by a basket."

8 "No way, we're tied," said Sam insisted, sitting up taller.

9 "We were tied. You missed the last shot. That means I win!" said Alvaro, taking a long gulp of water.

10 Sam thought for a minute and added up the points in his head. "I guess you're right. Do you want to play another round?"

11 "No, I need to get home," said Alvaro. "I have to read the newspaper."

12 Sam looked confused. "You need to go home to read the newspaper?"

13 Alvaro took another drink of water and swallowed. "Yeah, it's my homework."

14 "You read the newspaper for homework?"

15 "That's what I said. You should try it."

16 "Me, read the newspaper? Sounds boring!" said Sam.

17 "I thought the same thing," said Alvaro. "But we've had the same assignment all week. There are some great stories in the newspaper. I never realized it until my teacher decided to participate in ‘Newspaper in Education Week.' It's been cool!"

18 "All I ever see in the newspaper is bad news," said Sam, "unless you just read the comics."

19 "There's some bad news," said Alvaro, "but there have been some great stories lately. I read one last night about Ben Johnson, the basketball legend."

20 Sam's eyes grew wide. "The newspaper had a story about Ben Johnson!"

21 "Yeah, it was all about his life," said Alvaro. "I also read a story about a dog that helps in rescues."

22 "Wow," said Sam. "I thought the newspaper just had boring stuff like business news, advertisements, and everything bad that happens in the world."

23 "No way," said Alvaro. "There are lots of different sections. Each night our teacher has us pick out a story to share the next day in class. It's been really fun."

24 "I wonder if my mom knows about ‘Newspaper in Education Week'." Sam wondered. "She likes to include stuff like that in our home school program."

25 "I think you'd like it," said Alvaro. "Do you want to play hoops again tomorrow?"

26 "Sure," said Sam. "Same time?"

27 "Same time!" Alvaro picked up the cooler and started to walk away. "You bring the water tomorrow," he called back to Sam.

28 Sam rose from the bench and waved. "I will. See you then."

29 That evening at dinner, Sam told his mom about "Newspaper in Education Week."

30 "What do you think?" asked Sam.

31 "I think it's worth looking in to," said Mom. "Anything to get you to read more," she teased. "After dinner we'll see if there's something on the Internet."

32 Later, Mom searched the Internet for "Newspaper in Education Week." A long list of websites came up on the screen. Mom clicked on the first link.

33 When the page appeared, Sam pointed at the screen. "Look, you can order a curriculum package."

34 "This looks like fun," said Mom. "The program has been around for a long time. It was started to help encourage students in reading, writing, and spelling."

35 Sam rolled his eyes. "My favorite subjects," Sam said sarcastically.

36 "I'll order the curriculum," said Mom. "Do you think you can follow it for a week?"

37 "Alvaro really likes it," said Sam. "And he likes to read about as much as I do. So, yeah, I think I can."

38 "O.K." said Mom, typing in the information to place an order. When she finished the form, she clicked on "SEND." "There. Now I need to clean up from dinner."

39 "And I'll go read the newspaper," said Sam.