CNN Student News - June 5, 2014

June 5, 2014

Our penultimate program of the 2013-2014 school year includes reports on a controversial prisoner exchange, the damage caused by baseball-size hail, and a poll on whether the American dream is still alive. And with a nod to Coleridge, we’ll look at one facility’s plans to turn water, water everywhere into many drops to drink.

On this page you will find today’s show Transcript, the Daily Curriculum, and a place for you to leave feedback.

TRANSCRIPT

Click here to access the transcript of today’s CNN Student News program.

Please note that there may be a delay between the time when the video is available and when the transcript is published.

DAILY CURRICULUM

Click here for a printable version of the Daily Curriculum (PDF).

Media Literacy Question of the Day:

What questions might you want to ask about the results of a poll discussed in a news program?

Key Concepts: Identify or explain these subjects you heard about in today’s show:

1. propaganda

2. “the American Dream”

3. desalination

Fast Facts: How well were you listening to today’s program?

1. According to the video, who was released in exchange for U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl? What is the Taliban? What does a new Taliban video show about the release of Bergdahl? How has the Taliban characterized the prisoner exchange? Who has been critical of the exchange? How has the Obama administration responded to this criticism?

2. According to the report: When have prisoner exchanges been conducted in the past? What were the circumstances behind some of these exchanges? How is this latest prisoner exchange different?

3. How long has it been since the Great Recession ended? According to the report: Is it still having an impact? Explain. What is “the American Dream”? According to participants in a recent CNN Money poll: Is the American Dream attainable? Who is the most pessimistic? What do participants think about the likelihood that young Americans will be better off than their parents? Why are some experts critical of the poll’s findings?

4. What percentage of the Earth is covered with water? What is desalination? What are the challenges to conducting desalination on a large scale? Where is the largest desalination plant in the Western Hemisphere being constructed? What is the approximate cost of this plant? How many customers could benefit from this plant? What is brine? What happens to the brine that is removed from the water? How do company officials at the Carlsbad plant say its energy use will differ from the amount of energy typically used at other plants? What do critics say about this plant?

Discussion Questions:

1. What might be some reasons for publicizing video of a prisoner release?

2. How would you define “the American Dream”? In your opinion, is the American Dream attainable? State your rationale. What are your expectations for your financial future? Why?

3. Has your community ever experienced drought conditions? If so, how did they impact daily life? How did the community deal with the water shortage? If not, what does your community do to assure that there is an ample water supply?

CNN Student News is created by a team of journalists who consider the Common Core State Standards, national standards in different subject areas, and state standards when producing the show.

FEEDBACK

We’re looking for your feedback about CNN Student News. Please use this page to leave us comments about today’s program, including what you think about our stories and our resources. Also, feel free to tell us how you use them in your classroom. The educators on our staff will monitor this page and may respond to your comments as well.

Thank you for using CNN Student News!

ROLL CALL

For a chance to be mentioned on the next CNN Student News, comment on the bottom of this page with your school name, mascot, city and state. We will be selecting schools from the comments of the previous show. You must be a teacher or a student age 13 or older to request a mention on the CNN Student News Roll Call!