The 2014 Word of the Year: Vape

Vape is the 2014 Word of the Year


Elizabeth Shafiroff/Reuters/Landov

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/11/17/364802028/take-it-in-vape-is-the-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year

By:  Bill Chappell

1)  What statistics do people use to support the claim that vaping is less harmful than cigarettes?  What evidence is the most salient for determining the harm of cigarettes?  In what ways have smoking habits changed over time?

2)  How might a child of smokers view this story differently than that of a non-smoker?  How might an employee of Philip Morris view this differently than a politician?  How might Barack Obama view this differently than his wife?

3)  What is a mathematical argument for more electronic cigarettes?  How is smoking like drinking soda?  Child abuse?

4)  What would happen if we banned all cigarettes?  All fast food?  What would happen if vapor cigarettes were given free to smokers?

5)  What are the larger implications of this issue?  Does the word of the year award have any significance in the larger society?

Extension Activities:

1)  Students can outline the development of tobacco in America and predict it's future.

2)  Students can create a chart of addiction and advocate for policy action based on their findings.

3)  Students can  study the impact of the "Word of the Year" and rank the  most significant winners of the last 20 years.  

The Changing Faces and Tongues of the South

Asian-Americans are changing the face of the South

 https://newsela.com/articles/AsianAmericans-south/id/5549/

1)  How do we get evidence about demographics?  How reliable is a self-reported census?  Are the questions on a census accurate?  Useful?  How?  Should schools accommodate the diverse languages of immigrants?  Are all immigrants coming to the southern US for the same reason?    

2)  Is there a such thing as a native Texan?  Who might have a different perspective on this issue?  Tony Romo?  Montezuma?  Sam Houston?  A teenage boy of Vietnamese descent in 2014?  2030?

3)  How does this relate to immigration of the early 20th century?  Have all groups been welcomed to larger American society equally?  How is this issue related to Health and fitness? 

4)  What might happen if we restricted immigration from certain populations?  What might happen if Southern states actively pursued more immigrants?  Are we seeing a larger trend in popular culture (i.e. more actors of Indian descent on TV)?   

5)  What are the present and future implications of this issue for schools?  Businesses?  Recreational activities?  

Extension Activities:

1)  Students can review their school's policy on ESL services and determine if it is not doing enough to address specific needs, adequate in its function, or too accommodating.

2)  Students can graph or chart on a map or other visual medium the changing demographics of the region and predict the future based on current or anticipated trends.

3)  Students can review the platforms of elected or potentially elected officials to see if they are appropriately addressing the issue?