A practicum addressed the problems of low reading levels, deficient writing skills, and poor attitudes toward reading. The objectives were to increase reading levels, improve writing skills, and improve attitudes toward reading and in this process to improve critical thinking skills. The target group was a sixth-grade language arts class of 23 students with mixed socio-economic backgrounds. During the 12-week period, the newspaper was used as a tool to promote relevancy in reading and to motivate students to greater proficiency in reading and writing. Students chose newspaper articles centered on a variety of assigned themes, summarized the articles, and supplied written answers to critical thinking questions relating to core issues. Sixth-grade instructors in the disciplines of social studies, mathematics, and science also implemented newspaper-related projects in their classrooms one day each week. Evaluation was done with a survey of student attitudes, the Botel Reading Inventory, and essay writing evaluated by holistic criteria. Results indicated improvements in all objective areas. (Thirty-seven references are attached. Appendixes include a survey of student attitudes and a listing of themes and critical thinking questions.) (Author/MG)