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Friday, July 4, 2008What's Happening in the World Today?Conversation Starters offers a set of questions and related articles about newsworthy and provocative stories from the previous week's New York Times to help you begin conversations with your child about current events. This feature is updated every Thursday afternoon.
Today's Conversation Starters:Russia’s new president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, less swaggering than his predecessor but as touchy about criticism from abroad, said in an interview that an America in “essentially a depression” was in no position to lecture other countries on how to conduct their affairs. What factors should determine which countries wield power on the world stage? Is a strong economy essential to having strong international influence, as President Medvedev suggested?
Read a related article from the International section:
U.S. Is in No Shape to Give Advice, Medvedev SaysSure, the hotelier and real estate magnate Leona Helmsley left $12 million in her will to her dog, Trouble. But that, it turns out, is nothing much compared with what other dogs may receive from the charitable trust of Mrs. Helmsley, who died last August. Her instructions, specified in a two-page “mission statement,” are that the entire trust, valued at $5 billion to $8 billion and amounting to virtually all her estate, be used for the care and welfare of dogs. What do you think about Mrs. Helmsley's decision to leave millions of dollars to her own dog and billions of dollars to the care of dogs? Do you think the very wealthy have a social or ethical obligation to use their money to help society in some way? Why do you think Mrs. Helmsley decided to devote nearly all of her entire, vast estate to animals and not people? What causes do you care about? If you had millions or billions of dollars to give to a cause, which one(s) would you choose, and why?
Read a related article from the National section:
Helmsley Left Dogs Billions in Her WillGeorge Washington’s boyhood home has been found. Researchers announced Wednesday that remains excavated in the last three years were those of the long-sought dwelling, on the old family farm in Virginia 50 miles south of Washington. No, there was not a single cherry tree anywhere around, not even a stump or a rusty hatchet. The tale of the boy owning up to whacking his father’s prized cherry tree, the one thing most people think they know of Washington’s youth, has long since been discredited as apocryphal. But finding the house, archaeologists and historians say, may yield insights into the circumstances in which Washington grew up. Why do you think researchers were keen to find the house? What might be learned about Washington from studying the house where he grew up? Do you think the legend about young George chopping down the cherry tree will live on? What is the value of such mythology? How does learning personal history help us understand political, social and military history?
Read a related article from the Science section:
Washington’s Boyhood Home Is FoundIn a Sports column this week, Jane Heller writes, "My mother always says there’s a fine line between love and hate, because both emotions stir such deep and abiding passions in us. Since mothers are right about 99 percent of the time, I assume mine is right about the love/hate thing. So what I’m wondering, as I immerse myself in this latest series of contests between the Yankees and the Red Sox, is this: Is it possible that a tiny piece of my pinstriped heart beats for the Sox? Can a Yankee fan actually have a love relationship with the bullies from Boston, our sworn enemies?" Which teams do you root for? Why? Are geography and heritage (e.g., parental influence) the key factors in team devotion? What else inspires love – and hatred – of sports teams? Is there some way in which we care about the teams we root against?
Read a related article from the Sports section:
Loving the Team You HateIn Simon Doonan's book "Eccentric Glamour: Creating an Insanely More Fabulous You," the creative style director of Barneys New York creates three personality types: the flighty, exotic gypsy; the super-confident socialite; and the on-the-edge existentialist, and suggests that anyone who is tired of the ordinary should make the leap to eccentric glamour by cultivating one of those styles. How would you describe and characterize your personal style? Do you have a desire to cultivate a new style? If not, why not? If so, what type of style would you like to develop and why? How might you go about changing your personal style? What do you think people’s clothes and belongings say about them? What aspects of you – personality, hobbies and activities, achievements, friends, clothing, music taste, etc. – do you think says the most about who you are deep down?
Read a related article from the Home and Garden section:
Shopping for House Gifts With Simon Doonan
Other Activities for Parents and KidsThe Learning Network offers a wide variety of regularly updated activities that can be used to enhance your child's education. Explore some of these features with your child:
- News Summaries- today's top stories, enhanced with Knowledge Tools to build vocabulary and geography knowledge
- Who's Who & What's What- a daily news quiz based on articles and photographs in today's Times. On the weekends, play the weekly news quiz
- On This Day- events and people associated with this day in history, including a historic Times front page and obituary
- Crossword Puzzles- a Times favorite, created just for kids on curricular topics by the Times puzzlemasters
- Ask a Reporter- ask a featured New York Times reporter a question about journalism or his or her "beat," and read the response online
- Science Q&A- pose an interesting science question to C. Claiborne Ray for possible response online, or explore the archives
- Letters to the Editor- submit your thoughts about a recent New York Times article for possible publication on the site
- Word of the Day- learn a new word that was used in a recent Times article, and test your understanding with Test Prep Question of the Day, provided by Kaplan
- Daily Lesson Plan- adapt a lesson for grades 6-12 for use in your home; perfect for homeschooling or enrichment
- News Snapshot- a daily news activity based on a newsworthy, provocative photo from The Times
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