1. Mega-Merger

The Walt Disney Company and 21st Century Fox are two of the biggest entertainment companies in the world. And now they will become ONE entertainment company. Disney, which is the nation’s largest movie studio for ticket sales, announced it is acquiring Fox, the third-largest studio, for $52.4 billion. The deal combines the companies that produced the “Star Wars,” “X-Men,” Marvel and “Avatar” movies and also involves ESPN sports programming, ABC television, FX, and the long-time Fox hit “The Simpsons.” The deal does not involve the Fox News Channel or the Fox Business Channel on television. When one company acquires another, or two companies merge, it can have both good and bad effects for consumers. In the newspaper or online, find and read a story about an acquisition or merger involving two companies. Use what you read to write a business column for the newspaper analyzing the positive and negative effects of the two companies combining.

Common Core State Standards: Writing informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly; citing specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions.

2. Cyber Attacks

The war on terrorism has now become a cyber war. For more than a year, the U.S. military has conducted cyber attacks against the terrorist group known as the Islamic State (ISIS), and it has destroyed or disrupted computer networks used to recruit fighters and communicate. Among other achievements, the campaign led by the U.S. Cyber Command prevented Islamic State propagandists from accessing their social media accounts by changing passwords and deleted the Islamic State’s battlefield videos from the Internet, the Washington Post newspaper reported. “We should be conducting operations like this continuously,” said U.S. Army General Raymond A. “Tony” Thomas III. “We are not there yet, but we are trending positively in that direction, more every day.” Anti-terrorism efforts take many forms. In the newspaper or online, find and closely read about efforts by the United States and other countries to thwart terrorism and terrorist groups. Use what you read to prepare a multi-media presentation for the class detailing several efforts, what they seek to achieve and what they have achieved. Use images from the newspaper or Internet to illustrate your points.

Common Core State Standards: Conducting short research projects that build knowledge about a topic; citing specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions.

3. Super-Fast Flights

The Lockheed Martin company is known worldwide for building fast and powerful fighter jets. Now it is pairing up with another company to build a super-fast, supersonic passenger jet. Lockheed and the Aerion company have announced plans to build a passenger jet that will travel 60 percent faster than a typical commercial airliner. The new jet, called the AS2, would be able to fly as many as 12 passengers, and cut the seven to eight hour flights between New York and London, England by as much as three hours. The development of the super-fast AS2 jet would be a breakthrough in air travel. In the newspaper or online, find and closely read about another breakthrough product being developed by a business. Use what you read to design a one-minute TV commercial introducing the product. Write a script for your commercial, including images you would use. Read your script aloud to make sure it does not go over one minute. Present your commercial to the class and discuss.

Common Core State Standards: Writing narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events; conducting short research projects that build knowledge about a topic; engaging effectively in a range of collaborative discussions.

4. Venezuela in Crisis

Venezuela has been in political and economic turmoil for more than a year, and it has affected all aspects of life in the South American nation. Especially hard hit have been the country’s colleges and universities, which have long been a point of pride for Venezuelans. With financial problems getting worse, students have been dropping out in large numbers at top schools and many leading professors are leaving the country. Venezuela’s economic and political crisis has sparked food and medical shortages, the world’s highest inflation rate and widespread street protests in addition to higher education problems. Turmoil in Venezuela has been getting worse over the last year. In the newspaper or online, find and closely read stories about the current problems in the country and what caused them. Then write a paragraph or short paper explaining the origins of Venezuela’s problems and predicting what you think will happen next.

Common Core State Standards: Writing informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly; citing specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions.

5. A Cat on the Move!

Cats love to explore and will roam far and wide if given a chance. But a cat from Savannah, Georgia traveled farther than anyone could have imagined this year. He turned up on the other side of the country after hitching a ride in a truck delivering Pepsi Cola. The cat, a male named Kitty Bitty, went missing from his Georgia home on July 4. His owners felt he may have been scared off by fireworks and noise from holiday celebrations. It now appears he took shelter in one of the warehouses nearby where trucks pick up cargo to be transported around the country. It’s not clear how long Kitty Bitty was at the warehouse or when he got into the Pepsi truck. But last month he turned up in Riverside County, California when the truck driver delivered his load. He was dehydrated, but otherwise none the worse for his journey. He was identified by a microchip embedded by a veterinarian, and his owners made arrangements to fly him home for the holidays. People love reading about animals when they have “adventures” or unusual experiences. In the newspaper or online, find and closely read a story about such an animal. Use what you read to write a children’s story for elementary age students. Remember to use words and language that elementary level readers will easily understand. Draw illustrations to go with your story and give it a fun title.

Common Core State Standards: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task; writing narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events; using drawings or visual displays when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or points.