Topic: Word of the Year 2016

December 13, 2016

THE BASICS Topic: Word of the Year 2016

“Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know more.” -- Confucius

“Words – so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.” – Nathaniel Hawthorne

Articles  “ Dictionary.com’s 2016 Word of the Year: Xenophobia” (11/28) (Dictionary.com)  “’ Post-Truth’ Named 2016 Word of the Year” (11/22) (VOA)  “ The ‘word of the year’ sums up 2016” (11/16) (Mashable)  “ Word of the Year is…post-truth” (11/16) (Oxford University Press)

Questions to Consider  What does xenophobia mean? Oxford

 What does post truth mean? dictionary.com

 What does paranoia mean?

 Is there a connection between these words of the year?

 Do words of the year reflect important events and attitudes?

 What other words were considered? http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2016/11/word-of-the-year- 2016-shortlist/

 How do these words reflect global as well as national events?

 Is it important to recognize the word of the year? Why or why not?  What were the words for the years before 2016? What can we learn from looking at the past words of the year?

 Should actions follow the designation of uncomfortable words?

 What words are "antidotes" to these negative choices?

 What word would you choose for the 2016 word of the year? Why would you choose it?

 What positive word would you wish to be the word of the year?

 Why might Oregon’s word of the year be “painful cuts”? Should “unavoidable” be added to painful cuts?

 Which word from the Preamble to the Constitution would you select as most meaningful? We, People, more perfect, welfare? What other word or words are most significant?

 What is your favorite “Constitutional” word? Why do you like it? THE EXTRAS Pre-teaching, Extensions & Further Reading  “ Dictionary.com’s Word of the Year is xenophobia, marking a global trend” (11/30) (AOL News)  “ Word of the Year” (Wikipedia) Lesson Plans  “ Connotation: Effective Word Choice” (middle school level) (Scholastic)  “ Growing up in a Time of Fear: Confronting Stereotypes About Muslims and Countering Xenophobia” (additional questions to consider!) (The Learning Network)  “ Summer Reading Contest Winner, Week 10: On ‘The Age of Post-Truth Politics’” (high school level) (The Learning Network)

What’s the Connection? Constitutional  “ Probing Question: Are there limits to freedom of speech?” (1/27/15) (Penn State)  “ How Do You Go About Suing A Country?” (10/9) (Weekend Edition)

Students  “ Quiz: Word of the Year 2016 and 15 New Words Added to Dictionaries” (11/16) (Blog de Cristina)

Oregon  “ Facing deficit, Gov. Brown reveals budget with ‘painful cuts’” (12/1) (Statesman Journal)

Oregon State Social Science Standards 8.26. Examine a controversial event, issue, or problem from more than one perspective. HS.31. Describe United States foreign policy and evaluate its impact on the United States and other countries. HS.33. Explain the role of government in various current events. HS.35. Examine the pluralistic realities of society (e.g., race, poverty, gender, and age), recognizing issues of equity, and evaluating need for change. HS.59. Demonstrate the skills and dispositions needed to be a critical consumer of information. HS.60. Analyze an event, issue, problem, or phenomenon from varied or opposing perspectives or points of view.

CCSS Anchor Standards 2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas. 4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. 6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text. 7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words. 8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.

We the People Lesson Connections Middle School, Level 2  Unit 5, Lesson 23: How does the Constitution protect freedom of expression?  Unit 6, Lesson 29: What are the rights and responsibilities of citizenship? High School, Level 3  Unit 5, Lesson 29: How does the First Amendment protect free expression?  Unit 6, Lesson 37: What key challenges does the United States face in the future?