In an effort to reduce concussions and head injuries, the rules committee of Major League Baseball has voted to outlaw home-plate collisions. Some players, however, don’t like the idea, saying it would turn home plate into what one ex-catcher called “just another tag play,” when a run is at stake. The wording of the new rule and how it will be enforced are still to be determined, but the completed rule will be submitted to the team owners and the players union for approval. Concussions, which are caused by blows to the head, have become a major problem in organized sports, now that their long-range effect is understood better. In the eEdition find a story or photo involving a sport you like. Write out one rule that is important to the sport. Then write a paragraph describing what the sport would be like without the rule.

No Home-Plate Collisions?

Slow, but Deadly

Oops, Wrong Airport!

That’s Really Cold

Let’s Go Shopping

Seahorses may appear slow and awkward, but according to a new study, they are ferocious and clever hunters. They are not very good swimmers, but they have peculiar snouts that create very few ripples as they creep up and pounce on tiny crustaceans, some of which can swim at incredible speeds. “Seahorses can overcome the most talented escape artists in the aquatic world,” the lead researcher noted in a journal called Nature Communications. “In calm conditions, they catch their intended prey 90 percent of the time.” Seahorses are one of the most unusual creatures in the ocean. Find another unusual or interesting species in the eEdition or online. Write the creature’s name down the side of a piece of paper. Write out adjectives to describe this species, starting each adjective with a letter of the name.

Feeling cold this winter? Be glad you’re not in East Antarctica, where the record low for cold is 135.8 degrees below zero. When it’s that cold, it hurts just to breathe. The record was set in August 2010, and was nearly broken on July 31 of this year, when the temperature hit minus 135.3 degrees. In Antarctica and the South Pole region, the coldest months are those that would be summer months in the United

States because of the way the Earth tilts as it orbits the sun. For the record, the coldest U.S. temperature in the last year was 27 below zero on December 9 in Yellowstone, Wyoming. People can’t survive for more than three minutes at Antarctic temperatures, but any weather that is below freezing can be dangerous. In the eEdition or online, find a story about cold weather in the United States. Use what you find to design a poster or public service ad showing five tips for staying safe in cold weather.

In the area surrounding Wichita, Kansas, three airports are laid out with runways placed in similar positions. That may explain why a Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet landed at the wrong airport when it came into Wichita recently. The 747 was supposed to land at McConnell Air Force Base, but touched down eight miles away at the smaller Col. James Jabara Airport. News events can sometimes inspire creative stories. In the eEdition or online, find a photo showing a plane, car or other transportation vehicle. Write a short story for a younger child in which your vehicle learns a lesson about some-thing or how to do something. Share as a class.

After the December holidays, many stores offer sales to get customers to shop in January. Your eEdition contains ads as well as stories and photos, and can be used to find the best deals. In today’s eEdition, find an ad offering a sale for an item you would like to have. Then search the eEdition for other ads offering the same item, or a similar item, on sale. Compare prices and the locations of stores. Write a paragraph ex-plaining where you would be most likely to purchase the item and why. Finish by writing a paragraph describing how using an eEdition is different from print for finding products to buy, along with the advantages and disadvantages.

Common Core State Standards: Writing informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly; citing specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions.

Common Core State Standards: Applying knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts; demon-strating understanding of figurative language.

Common Core State Standards: Writing narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events; conducting short research projects that build knowledge about a topic; applying knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts.

Common Core State Standards: Conducting short research projects that build knowledge about a topic; producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task; using technology tools to enhance learning.

Common Core State Standards: Conducting short research projects that build knowledge about a topic; using drawings or visual displays when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or points.

To most people, the word “Neanderthal” suggests crudeness, brutish-ness or primitive thinking. Now archaeologists have uncovered evidence that our Neanderthal ancestors “were more sophisticated than many have given them credit for” and the world’s first homemakers. In a cave in the European nation of Italy, evidence has been found of activities that suggest that Neanderthals were not messy savages, but as house-proud as modern humans. The cave was divided into levels — one for butchering game and tanning hides and another where families gathered. Neanderthals lived in the area 100,000 years ago, but died out around 24,000 years ago. In the eEdition, study photos that show how people live today. Then pretend to be an archaeologist from the future and write a summary of how people today live, based on what you see.

‘Sophisticated’ Neanderthals

Long-Term Pot Damage

Conjunction Search

Oldest Signs of Life?

Stress from TV Viewing

Smoking pot in your teens can cause long-term brain damage, a recent study has concluded. Two years after young adults quit smoking marijuana, researchers found evidence of changes in their brains connected to memory and reasoning, indicating long-term effects of repeated use. The study, reported in the Schizophrenia Bulletin, urged “more research to understand [marijuana’s] effect on the brain,” especially in view of the movement to decriminalize marijuana. Recent surveys have shown that more teens are smoking marijuana and fewer believe it will have long-term negative effects. As a class, discuss health risks that are associated with use of marijuana or other drugs. In teams or pairs, brainstorm an idea for a public service TV ad detailing three things teens should know about marijuana or another drug.

Remains of bacteria that are almost 3½ billion years old have been discovered in a remote region of northwest Australia — possibly the earliest signs of life on Earth. Evidence of the complex microbial ecosystem was found in sedimentary rocks in the Pilabra region. There are slightly older claims of life in rocks in Greenland, but those rocks have been so deformed it’s difficult to tell exactly what they show,

scientists have observed. In the Australian discovery, it’s possible to observe — in the field and under a microscope — just how the bacteria were interacting with the sediment they were living on. Living things are studied in the science of biology. In the eEdition, find a story, photo or ad showing a living thing. Use the eEdition and other resources to research where it lives, how it reproduces and other traits or character-istics. Use what you find to design a biology poster highlighting key points about this living thing.

The Search and Advanced Search features of the eEdition are a great tool for finding information. They also are a great tool for building vocabulary and word power. Conjunctions are words that connect words, phrases, clauses or sentences. Examples include “and,” “but,” “if” or “when.” Use the search features of the eEdition to find which conjunctions are used most often in news writing. Search for “and,” “but,” “if” or “when” and at least two others you choose as a class. Share your findings and discuss. Then write a paragraph describing how having search functions makes the eEdition an effective tool for learning or gathering information.

New research suggests that you don’t have to be in military combat to get post traumatic stress syndrome — just sitting in front of the TV can do it. A study in the science journal known as PNAS found that those who spent six hours or more watching media coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings in April suffered stronger stress reactions than did those directly involved but watching less. Treatments and studies about mental and emotional health often are in the news. Find an example in the eEdition or online. Read the story closely and write a summary of its key points and importance.

Common Core State Standards: Integrating information presented in different media or formats to develop a coherent understanding of a topic; producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task; conducting short research projects that build knowledge about a topic.

Common Core State Standards: Engaging effectively in a range of collaborative discussions; responding thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarizing points of agreement and disagreement; integrating information presented in different media or formats.

Common Core State Standards: Conducting short research projects that build knowledge about a topic; producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task; using technology tools to enhance learning.

Common Core State Standards: Reading closely what a text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; citing specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions.

Common Core State Standards: Conducting short research projects that build knowledge about a topic; using drawings or visual displays when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or points.

Brian the dog was hit and killed by a car on TV’s “Family Guy” on November 24, and fans were outraged; #BringBrianBack began trend-ing immediately. So, on the “Family Guy” Christmas special, fans got a real holiday gift — Brian did indeed come back. Stewie tearfully told a mall Santa he missed his best friend, and wanted him back, so thanks to a time machine, he was able to travel back and prevent the death in the nick of time. “You didn’t really think we’d kill off Brian, did you?” asked the sitcom’s creator, Seth MacFarlane. Fans get very attached to characters on TV shows. In TV listings in the eEdition, find a show with a character you like. Then write a short review of why you like this character as if you were a TV critic.

TV Dog Resurrected

Millionaire Presidents

Search for NFL News

School Drops Confederate Name

West Coast Conservation Pact

Getting a college education remains unaffordable for many students, but attracting top talent to run colleges is also increasingly expensive. A record 42 private college presidents earned more than $1 million in 2011, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. The median total compensation— including salary, deferred compensation and other one-time payments — was $410,523, up 3.2 percent from the prior year. The highest-paid president was the Univer-sity of Chicago’s Robert Zimmer, at $3.4 million. Colleges and universities make news in many ways, including the cost of attending, interest in sports teams, salaries and the role colleges play in communities. In the eEdition or online, find a story about a college in your state. Write a summary of the story, who would be most interested and the impact the issues have on the community.

Because Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest had been a slave trader and a founder of the Ku Klux Klan, students have voted to have Forrest High School renamed in Jacksonville, Florida. In response, the school board voted unanimously to make the change. It will decide later this year on a new name, after conducting a survey. Forrest High was all-white when it was opened in the 1950s, and

its name was chosen as a protest to court orders to racially integrate public education. Today, however, the majority of students are black, and 64 percent voted to drop the name (although most alumni and about half the faculty disagreed). Schools, buildings and public spaces often are named for prominent citizens. In the eEdition or online, find an example in your community or state. Do some research and write a short profile of the person, detailing high-lights of his/her life.

The NFL Playoffs are heating up as teams compete for the right to play in Super Bowl XLVIII on February 2. Every day, your eEdition allows you to find stories that interest you and to search recent editions of the electronic newspaper for related stories. Go to the sports section of the eEdition and scan the pages for a story about the NFL Playoffs. Read the story and write a short paragraph summarizing the news and explaining why it interests you. Then use the Advanced Search feature to find and read other stories on the playoffs. Write a paragraph describing how having the ability to search for recent stories on a topic can be a benefit to readers.

Leaders of the three U.S. Pacific Coast states and the Canadian province of British Columbia have formed an alliance to combat climate change. The British Columbia premier and the governors of California, Oregon and Washington have agreed to work toward reducing greenhouse gas pollution, promoting zero-emission vehicles and pushing for cleaner-burning transportation fuels. Environmental issues affect every state and community. In the eEdition or online, find a story about an environmental issue. Read the story closely and draw an editorial cartoon or comic strip highlighting key points.

Common Core State Standards: Writing opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information; reading closely what a text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; citing specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions.

Common Core State Standards: Writing informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly; citing specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions.

Common Core State Standards: Conducting short research projects that build knowledge about a topic; producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appro-priate to the task; using technology tools to enhance learning.

Common Core State Standards: Reading closely what a text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; using drawings or visual displays when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or points.

Common Core State Standards: Conducting short research projects that build knowledge about a topic; writing informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly; producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task.