Just inside the front entrance to Joel P. Jensen Middle School in Jordan District, a large banner hanging from the ceiling declared that students were "Learning with the Deseret News today!"
The school celebrated No Books Day Wednesday by abandoning books in favor of newspapers for most of their lessons. "We love it," exclaimed Nikki Peterson, whose seventh-grade English class discussed editorials and opinions before students pushed their desks aside and grouped together on the floor to examine the comic pages for an assignment. They decided to watch for letters about help given to Oquirrh Elementary, a neighborhood school that burned down over the weekend."What I like about No Books Day is that some of the kids in my class have never read a newspaper. Their parents don't get one, and when they get a chance to read the newspaper in class, I can't get it away from them. It opens a whole new world for them. Even the kids who never read are no problem. They read the newspaper."
Peterson's enthusiasm for the annual event celebrating national Newspaper in Education Week began a year ago when they participated for the first time. This year she made sure newspapers were available to every student in the school. "The math department jumped right on it," she said. "They're studying the stock market."
An art class examined an intriguing photograph on the front page to determine whether it could be classified as art, while Kim Baker's ninth-grade civics class discussed articles throughout the paper. "Kids love doing something different. They're surprised that what they're learning in class is reflected in the newspaper," she said. "The paper is perfect for civics. We've learned a lot about Miranda rights and constitutional amendments reading about the O.J. Simpson case." She planned to continue using the Deseret News the rest of the week.
Tyson Sirois, a student in Baker's class, said he reads the newspaper every day "to keep up on current events and keep ahead of what we're studying in class."
Peterson said the "Celebrating Diversity" theme was especially timely for English classes that are studying "The Cay." The newspaper reflects the diversity in her class, as well as the theme of the book, she explained.
The entire school from the principal to the custodian reads an item of their choice for 25 minutes twice a week, and the newspaper is an excellent resource for the reading program, Peterson said.
The statewide No Books Day event has been sponsored by the Deseret News since 1982. Participating teachers received a teaching packet before the event with unique No Books Day pogs for every student, a poster for the classroom and a "Learning with the Deseret News today" banner for all-school participation. A special educational section, "Celebrating Diversity," and a Newsquiz ques-tion/activity sheet accompanied each paper.
The Joel P. Jensen Middle School received 975 copies of the Deseret News for Wednesday's classes. It was one of 44 schools in the state using the paper throughout the school. More than 48,000 newspapers went to more than 400 schools and more than 2,200 teachers in 35 of the state's 40 school districts.