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. FOR THE WEEK OF AUG. 08, 2011 The deficit, the debt, downgraded credit rating -- It's complicated!
 Search for terms like "downgrade" and "deficit" in your electronic edition this week. As the week goes on, are there more or fewer stories on those topics.
 Are those stories featured on the front page or buried in the Business section? What does that tell you about the relative importance the newspaper places on the topic?
 Now search for more wonky terms like "financial stability" and "liquidity." Can you define those terms just from the context of the stories you find?
While financial gurus around the world yesterday tried to grasp what a world without "risk-free" U.S. debt will look like, the country that has served as America's primary cash machine for the past two decades was quick to register its disgust with "debt-ridden Uncle Sam."
Front Page Talking Points is written by
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Rising costs: The U.S.'s first-ever downgrade could raise borrowing costs for government, business and consumers. For already skittish investors, it's just the latest in a string of jolting bad news.