STUDENTS BENEFIT BY READING NEWSPAPERS IN CLASSROOM

Anita Nall, a teacher at Scott City Elementary School, uses the newspaper in the classroom in a number of ways.

"Newspapers In Education (NIE) is a great project," said Nall. "I use it in so many ways here, and it gives students an opportunity to get acquainted with the many parts of the newspaper."

Nall's 2nd-grade students naturally look at cartoons, comics and sports.

They also discuss current events, look for happenings in the area and state. They look at the classifieds, and other ads in the paper.

"Second-graders need practice in using an index," said Nall, "so we use this part of the newspaper to find various articles."

In a unit on careers, Nall's students go to the classified section to find jobs that are available in the area.

"We also have a Hero Board," said Nall, who explained that one of the reading text selections is "Jasper and the Hero Business."

The students look for heroes in the newspaper to put on the Hero Board.

The students also look forward to The Mini Page for fun activities.

"Although we use the newspaper in many ways, the most important use is, of course, to read," said Nall.

Nall, other teachers throughout the area, and students have taken time to laud the NIE program, which is partially funded by YELL, a program which was initiated by the Southeast Missourian five years ago.

"We especially enjoy learning from The Mini Page and doing all the fun activities," says one letter from a 1st-grade class in Cape Girardeau. "We want to say thank you" says another letter signed by a number of elementary students.

"My class benefits from the NIE program," writes Marilyn Harrison about her 4th grade class at St. Vincent DePaul. "This is an outstanding way to educate our children."

Harrison writes that she can tell the program is a success from the enthusiasm of the students each Tuesday.

Students eagerly start reading as soon as the newspaper arrives and enjoy using it as a supplement to other classes.

The students, writes Harrison, gain confidence as the year progresses in such things as skimming articles for the "who, what, when, where and how" facts, understanding the classified ads and reading the editorial pages.

Kim Wengert of Jackson, a special education teacher at R.O. Hawkins Junior High School, writes that the newspaper is a valuable tool in aiding learning.

"The students like the ads, television schedule, and locating movie information,"said Wengert. "The Mini Page is a favorite. A lot of my students do not receive the newspaper at home, so it is a special treat to receive the newspaper at school."

Carla Tilley, a 5th grade teacher at Washington School in Cape Girardeau, sets aside a full class each week for NIE.

"It's a great program, and the students love it," said Tilley. "We look a number of things, local articles, theater ads, classifieds, and of the course the Mini Page."

The YELL program has also received a number of awards.

Yell received a silver award in education and literacy in the Untied Way of America's Reach for the Stars award program for its 1991 edition, which sold more than 9,000 copies. The 1992 YELL was just as successful and received an award from the Missouri State Teachers Association for "outstanding education reporting and commitment to education in their own community." The newspaper competed with other dailies across the state for the award.

YELL, says Kim McDowell, NIE coordinator for the newspaper, stands for Youth, Education, Literacy and Learning, the same objectives as the NIE program sponsored by the Southeast Missourian.

Funds from YELL go to Newspapers In Education and to United Way for literacy and learning programs. McDowell is also United Way YELL committee chairperson.

During NIE's first year, 2,500 area students received the Southeast Missourian in their classrooms, with more than 200 teachers using the newspapers to develop ways to teach lessons to students on geography, vocabulary, history, math, current events and reading. More than 8,000 students now receive the newspaper each week in schools in a five-county area.

The goal is to develop lifetime reading habits. NIE is a partnership between business and education. YELL newspapers enabled NIE to reach even more students.

The United Way's portion of YELL funds are set aside for youth-oriented grants. The United Way funds are spent on both new and existing programs to help youth.

Included in the newspapers provided to classrooms is the weekly publication, The Mini Page, which is used in a number of classrooms for fun activities.

As the program grows, so has the cost. The retail cost of the program is more than $150,000 annually. The Southeast Missourian absorbs about half that costs. The newspaper has been working over tahe past couple of years to generate community support for the other half of the costs.

A number of companies have signed on as sponsors, and several other businesses and individuals have supported the effort through the YELL for Newspapers program. A combined total of more than $35,000 has now been raised toward the cost of the NIE program.