Common Core State Standard
SL.CCS.1/2/3/4 Grades 6-12: An essay of a current news event is provided for discussion to encourage participation, but also inspire the use of evidence to support logical claims using the main ideas of the article. Students must analyze background information provided about a current event within the news, draw out the main ideas and key details, and review different opinions on the issue. Then, students should present their own claims using facts and analysis for support.

Electronics makers show off new phones, TVs, players, other 'toys'

Students, other consumers, executives, investors and merchants all are interested in coverage of new technology, which is spread through the newspaper. Assign students to find at least two articles about electronic devices or related topics in separate sections or topic pages.

Gadget shoppers get independent, objective reports on product availability, benefits, drawbacks and overall value from newspaper reviews, news reports, columns and blogs. Invite class members to tell how they or family members use these resources to learn about music players, phones, game consoles and other gear.

Readers comment on technology and other topics at newspapers' online forums or in blog responses. Suggest that students post views log about the iPhone, anything introduced at the Las Vegas show or their favorite electronic gadget ï¿½- or send the local technology writer a message with that content.

Hundreds of futuristic, fanciful and frivolous electronic products were laid out at two industry events last week. The main event was the Consumer Electronics Show, which drew 2,700 exhibitors and 150,000 visitors in Las Vegas. Further west, Apple Computer made a splash with its iPhone at the annual Macworld conference in San Francisco.

Apple enters the mobile handheld market with a five-ounce iPhone, which unites features of the iPod, digital camera, smart phones and even portable computing. Users control the phone by sliding a finger across its touch-sensitive display, which is 3.5 inches wide. It can seamlessly sync data with a Mac, PC, or Internet service, including music and videos from iTunes, contacts, calendars, photos, notes, bookmarks and e-mail accounts.

Warner Brothers, earned attention at the Vegas convention with a Total HD hybrid videodisc that works in Blu-ray and high-definition DVD players. Sharp unveiled the worldï¿½s biggest TV -- a 108-inch flat panel behemoth. Samsung introduced a sleek, double-sided, combination cell phone-music player.

New MP3 player: The SanDisk Sansa Connect earns coolness credits for letting users share files wirelessly via a subscription to a music service. It's the size of a business card, stores 8GB of tunes and can receive real-time Internet radio.

Apple CEO says: ï¿½Every once in a while a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything.ï¿½ ï¿½ Steve Jobs on his companyï¿½s iPhone

Dubious devices: Some gizmos at the Consumer Electronics Show drew who-needs-it comments. Items in that category include a barbecue grill thermometer that broadcasts temperature readings wirelessly to a hand-held speaker, a ï¿½Buttkickerï¿½ vibrator that shakes seat cushions in sync with sound from a televised movie or concert score and a floor-mopping robot that costs $1,000.

Electronics makers show off new phones, TVs, players, other 'toys'

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