AREA TEACHERS USE PAPERS AS LEARNING TOOLS

Many adults get their daily dose of current events by reading a newspaper while drinking their morning cup of coffee. By contrast, area students are reading newspapers and debating issues in classrooms.

Hundreds of students in Southeast Missouri participate in the Newspaper in Education program sponsored locally by the Southeast Missourian. Each day, newspapers are delivered to area schools to be used by students in every conceivable subject area.

"It's used in a number of our classrooms everyday. Believe it or not, the class that probably uses it the most is our art classes -- for papier mache," joked Notre Dame High School teacher Steve Mosley, who uses newspapers daily in the civics class he teaches.

Mosley said articles in the newspaper often spark intense debates among students. In particular, students are watching closely a legal case involving a Woodland High School student suspended for creating a Web site that criticized his school district, as well as a decision by Cape Girardeau city officials to "rigorously enforce" a juvenile curfew law.

"(Those articles) led to a lot of vigorous class discussion, and in my opinion, a lot of learning," said Mosley.

The NIE project is funded in part through YELL. On one day during the fall, a special edition of the Southeast Missourian is hawked from street corners. Half the proceeds go to the NIE program, while the other half goes to mini-grants that sponsor other literacy projects. In addition, all the advertising sold for the YELL edition goes toward NIE funding.

School officials said there is no limit to the ways newspapers can be used to enhance a curriculum. Young readers use the paper to identify capital letters, practice identifying parts of speech and enhance their reading skills. Older students analyze the news, how it's written and how it impacts our lives.

All students can get practice with math skills by using grocery ads and other ads to determine how much items cost.

"Without the Newspapers in Education program and other educational projects supported by YELL, Cape and the surrounding area served by the Southeast Missourian would lose a very valuable teaching and learning tool," Mosley said.