Past Programs

This is a list of programs we've offered in the past. For a list of currently available programs, see the Current Programs page.

Let us know if you would like us to add a particular program in the future. This way we can gauge interest.

Gridiron Geography
(grades 4-12) Gridiron Geography provides students with a fun and effective way to learn geography by following NFL football teams across the country. To complete the many newspaper-related activities, students also use critical thinking, math, science, and language arts skills.

Family Reading Month
(grades K-6) Developed through a partnership between Children¹s Discovery Museum and Mercury News in Education, Family Reading Month encourages family involvement. The program lesson plans appear within the pages of the Mercury News. A copy of the newspaper is sent home with each student to enlist the help of a parent or family member to complete the in-paper exercises. Each year¹s program includes exercises in science, language arts, critical thinking, research, and more. The theme of the program changes each year ­ the theme for the fall 2001 program will be Alice in Wonderland.

ABC¹s in Color
(grades K-3) This program provides the young student with a fun and exciting way to learn the alphabet by using the individual student guide along with the Mercury News. Children enjoy the cleverly-drawn illustrations while they learn basic language arts skills as they are introduced to using the newspaper as an educational resource.

Playing it Safe
(grades K-3) Safety topics such as fire, playground safety, what to do in an emergency, and how to deal with strangers are included in this program for primary grade students. The student guide includes newspaper-related activities as well as a "Let¹s Talk About It" activity designed to encourage students to discuss safety practices at home and at school.

Compaq Reading is Cool "On Ice" Program
(grades 2-6) "On Ice" is the Mercury News in Education component of Reading is Cool, a unique partnership between Compaq, the Mercury News and The Sharks Foundation that promotes literacy and reading skills to students and recognizes them for their efforts. "On Ice" is a hockey-oriented curriculum that is used in conjunction with the Mercury News. It provides students with an enjoyable way to use and improve their reading, language arts, math, science, critical thinking, and research skill while they learn interesting facts about hockey and the San Jose Sharks.

Count on Character
(grades 4-8) Character education is becoming an essential component in educating today¹s students. The Count on Character program includes lesson plans and exercises focusing on responsibility, fairness, tolerance, honesty, respect, and kindness. Students use the newspaper with the student guide to complete the program exercises.

Newspaper Math w/Scoop Newshound
(Grades 2-4) Mastering basic math skills becomes fun with a little help from Scoop Newshound. Students will have fun learning everyday math applications by using the Mercury News along with the student guide to complete the program exercises.

Bay Area Women In Business
(grades 6-12) This program profiles several prominent bay area businesswomen and gives information on their specific careers and how they are impacting the bay area business world. Student exercises are completed by using the Mercury News.

Silicon Valley Stock Market Game
(grades 4-8) This is a non-trading classroom game that teaches students ways to apply basic math and critical thinking skills. Each class divides into 10 teams and each team is given a mock $1,000 to invest in a stock of their choice. For the eight weeks of the program, teams follow and chart their stocks' progress.

Open Trade
(grades 6-9) This new Mercury News in Education program is designed to help students learn how trade affects them, their families and people all over the world. The guide includes fun activities and trivia to help students understand the role open trade plays in promoting economic growth and prosperity. The curriculum is used along with the Mercury News to complete the student exercises.

The Changing Face of America
(grades 6-12) The focus of this program is on several American cultural groups and their changing roles in our society. Groups featured include African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans,and Native-Americans. Exercises are completed by using the student guide in conjunction with the Mercury News.