Below you'll find paragraph summaries of two articles found in the news. Choose one and follow the instructions. Use News Bank database for your research, and write your responses on a Google Document, then share it with Dr. Mohamad. You may insert audio, video, images and screen clips and make sure to cite your entries.
1. Rockefellers vs. Fossil Fuels
John D. Rockefeller built his vast fortune on oil in the late 1800s, which makes it especially ironic that the Rockefeller Brothers Fund is today joining the divestment movement. The fund, which is the family’s $860 million philanthropic foundation, will get rid of all assets tied to fossil fuel companies. It’s part of an accelerating initiative, under which colleges, philanthropies, religious institutions, pension funds, local governments and individual investors are removing fossil fuels like oil, coal and natural gas from their portfolios as a gesture to combat climate change and other environmental threats. Fossil fuels contribute to climate change because burning them produces carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere. Proposals to slow climate change and global warming are often in the news. Find a story about one proposal. Read the story closely and write a short editorial assessing how effective you think the proposal would be. |
2. Burned Alive for Witchcraft
As hard as it is to believe in this day and age, someone has been burned alive on charges of witchcraft. In a South American village 180 miles from Paraguay’s capital of Asuncion, members of the Mbya Guarani ethnic group tied a 45-year-old woman to a pole, shot arrows at her, then burned her alive. She had been sentenced to death by the village’s chief on charges she was a witch. Paraguayan authorities have since charged nine villagers with first-degree murder. In many countries, ancient beliefs or traditions are still practiced by some people or groups. From the News Bank database, find a story about a belief or tradition from an earlier time that is still being practiced. Create a presentation for the class on the details of the belief or practice and why it still has appeal. |
Resources:
How to search News Bank Database
How to search News Bank Database
BHS Media Center, Gihan Mohamad, Ed. D ©2018