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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. FOR THE WEEK OF DEC. 12, 2005 Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays![]() ![]() Check the ads in today's newspaper and count the number of ads that contain references specifically to Christmas and those that avoid those references in favor of secular substitutions. Which way do the advertisers seem to lean?
![]() If the word "Christmas" is missing from advertisements in the newspaper, should those retailers be viewed as anti-Christian? Are non-Christian students in the class offended by the religious emphasis of the season?
![]() List all the symbols attached to the holidays -- from manger scenes to menorahs to candy canes. Discuss which seasonal symbols might be deemed acceptable and which unacceptable in newspaper advertising?
Something as simple as calling a Christmas tree a Christmas tree has recently sparked heated political and religious debates. Phrases such as "Happy Holidays" and "Season's Greetings" have replaced "Merry Christmas" at many public venues as governments and retailers try to avoid offending non-Christians. But Christians and traditionalists argue against de-emphasizing Christ in seasonal celebrations because, they say, it diminishes the religious nature of the holiday. The lighted, decorated tree on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington was called the "Capitol Christmas Tree" until the late 1990s when it was quietly renamed the "Holiday Tree." This year House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert issued a directive that changed the name back to the "Capitol Christmas Tree." A Catholic group recently cited 10 retailers (Kroger, Dell, Target, OfficeMax, Walgreens, Sears, Staples, Lowe's, J.C. Penney and Best Buy) for avoiding the word "Christmas" and opting instead for generic secular terms like "Holiday sales" in advertising and store greetings. The group urged shoppers to go where "Christmas is recognized."
Front Page Talking Points is written by
Alan Stamm for NIEonline.com, Copyright 2024
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