Students found winter words or pictures in the newspapers. They cut these out and sorted them by categories - adjectives, nouns, verbs and glued them on a poster, which was divided in three. Teachers could then use this as a word wall for students to write about winter. Use the newspaper in class during reading to reinforce cause and effect relationships. My third graders will read an article, and I will ask why did this happen.
Natural disasters tend to be good articles to use for cause and effect.
Also, some sports articles are good for cause and effect. I look for articles that give why things happen. Use the newspaper in class to find words with same sounds. Post them on the board on charts. Use newspapers to find vocabulary words and words with multiple meanings from their reading.