Front Page Talking Points

FOR THE WEEK OF NOV. 20, 2006

Get ready, get set . . . for the holidays

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1.gifChristmas isn’t immune to controversy, as news reports likely will reflect. Now or after the Thanksgiving break, have students watch for coverage of debates over religious symbols on public property, observances in schools and the use or avoidance of the word “Christmas” by retailers. Invite class members to share their views.

2.gifIt’s soon time for gift lists. Invite students to suggest how the newspaper can help holiday shoppers save time, compare prices and evaluate quality. Challenge them to find useful information in news columns or ads about new entertainment gear, sporting goods, books, music or clothes that they’d like to get or give.

3.gif‘Tis the season to be generous, not just greedy. Newspapers show readers how to help the less fortunate at this time of year. Some papers conduct their own campaigns, as well as reporting on where to buy fund-raising cards or donate to local charities. Assign students to clip or print out examples they can post and consider contributing to – perhaps as a class.

There’s no mistaking that a Big Month is ahead, and this Thursday marks the unofficial kickoff. It’s end-of-year holiday time, which affects foods we’ll eat, music we’ll hear, films we’ll see and decorations we’ll display.

Thanksgiving serves as a kind of starting pistol or green flag for a season of craziness and joy, of noisy malls and Silent Night. Familiar signs of what’s ahead are clear already: Shops have holiday lights, thick catalogs fill mailboxes, H-U-G-E bargains are advertised for this Friday and college football bowl game lineups are forming.

The month ahead is about much more than buying and feasting. It’s also a time of faith, family traditions, charity and reflection. You may have noticed we didn’t use the “C-word” yet – and that’s because Christmas is not the only holiday Americans celebrate next month, just the main one. It’s also the one that shapes how many people feel about the annual rituals about to affect many parts of our culture.

Diverse celebrations: In addition to the Dec. 25 holiday, millions of Americans will observe Hanukkah from Dec. 16-23 or Kwanzaa from Dec. 26-Jan. 1. Others will share the season’s spirit without a religious or cultural observance.

‘Our’ Christmas tree: The national Christmas tree, a 65-foot Pacific silver fir, is heading to Washington. D.C., from the Olympic National Forest in Washington State. Its 10,000 lights will be turned on Dec. 6 at a Capitol Hill ceremony after the tall tree is decorated with more than 3,000 ornaments made by students from the state where it was cut.

Bah, humbug: “The business community that has taken control of the holiday season. . . . We can all make choices that reflect our values rather than the values of marketers.” – Columnist Tom Holmes, Forest Park (Ill.) Review, Nov. 14, 2006

Front Page Talking Points is written by Alan Stamm for NIEonline.com, Copyright 2024

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Common Core State Standard
SL.CCS.1/2/3/4 Grades 6-12: An essay of a current news event is provided for discussion to encourage participation, but also inspire the use of evidence to support logical claims using the main ideas of the article. Students must analyze background information provided about a current event within the news, draw out the main ideas and key details, and review different opinions on the issue. Then, students should present their own claims using facts and analysis for support.