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. FOR THE WEEK OF FEB. 01, 2016 Super Bowl 50: A veteran quarterback (Peyton Manning) and a young star (Cam Newton) face off Sunday
 Read a Super Bowl advance article and tell why it's interesting or what you learn.
 Look for coverage of the commercials, such as preview teasers or online voting for viewer-submitted spots. Are you eager to see a certain ad?
 If you're a fan, read about who's favored or factors that could be important. Do you agree?
The Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers play this season's biggest football game next Sunday in Santa Clara, Calif., near San Francisco. Levi's Stadium is the site of Super Bowl 50, the golden edition of an American tradition. It's a spectacle that’s about more than sports, with some viewers tuning in at least partly for the halftime show by Coldplay, or to see buzz-worthy new commercials, or because they'll be at parties with friends and family. Last year's global TV audience was estimated at 114 million. The opposing quarterbacks are Peyton Manning for the Broncos and Cam Newton for the Panthers – the first time two No. 1 NFL draft picks face off in the Super Bowl. At age 39, Manning (drafted in 1998) is the oldest quarterback to start in the big game. Netwon, drafted in 2011, is 26. Panthers head coach Ron Rivera, who was on a Super Bowl-winning team in 1985 (Chicago), hasn’t led a team into the season finale before. Neither has Broncos top coach Greg Kubiak, who was in three Super Bowls as a player (never as a winner). Besides Coldplay, non-athletic starts during the CBS telecast on Feb. 7 will include Aerosmith front man Steven Tyler in a Skittles commercial, Lil Wayne in a lodging rental website pitch, and comedy actors Amy Schumer and Seth Rogen in a beer ad. The e-commerce giant Amazon will have its first-ever Super Bowl ad in a year when a single 30-second spot costs up to $5 million. Sunday's massive global TV audience makes the game a huge deal for advertisers. Each year, some of the imaginative new ads become a cultural phenomenon, so competition among sponsors is almost as fierce as the on-field rivalry.
Front Page Talking Points is written by
Alan Stamm for NIEonline.com, Copyright 2026
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President Obama says: "It's a great story for Peyton Manning to be, towards the end of his career, in a Super Bowl again. . . . The defense that the Broncos have is unbelievable, but Carolina looks tough. This is going to be a close one."
