This paper investigates the effectiveness of using the newspaper to teach science and social studies. Within a ruralpublic school setting, preservice and inservice teachers used the newspaper to develop lessons in science and social studies for grades K, 2, 3, 5, and 6. Attitudinal measures were collected from preservice teachers, inservice teachers, and elementary students towards the use of the newspaper as an educational tool in the classroom. Semantic mapping was used to measure the effectiveness of using the newspaper to increase science and social studies conceptual awareness. Results indicate positive attitudes anda substantial increase in conceptual awareness among subjects within this study.