This week's issue of Newsweek reports on how genetic genealogy is affecting people's sense of identity; explores why the United States shouldn't be surprised that the Palestinians have elected an Islamic political party; describes how evangelical Christians are training college students to take prominent roles in society; and presents an interview with five filmmakers who may receive Academy Award nominations. Students explore these topics through three themes: Identity, Popular Culture and Religion and Politics.

1. Read "In Our Blood." (pages 46-55) Highlight the places in the article that support the idea that people knowing where their ancestors came from 10,000 years ago affects their identity. Then make a timeline that goes back 10,000 years-to about 8,000 BCE. Put on your timeline: the beginnings of agriculture; ancient Sumer; ancient Egypt; the beginnings of Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam; the invention of the wheel; the development of writing; and the founding of the United States. Now look at the passages you highlighted. Write a journal entry with your preliminary thoughts about the effect of genetic ancestry on identity.

2. "Our blood holds the secrets to who we are," writes Claudia Kalb in "In Our Blood." (pages 46-55) Do you agree? How did knowledge gained from genetic genealogy affect the sense of identity of the people you looked at the first activity? In their position, would your sense of identity change? To answer the question, list factors that contribute to your sense of identity-e.g. national origin, family members, friends, appearance, etc. Rank the top factors. Write an e-mail to the editor, either supporting Kalb's statement about blood and identity, or refuting it. Support your point with evidence from your experience, and from the timeline you made in the first activity.

• NCSS: Individual Development & Identity; Time, Continuity, & Change; Culture; Science, Technology, & Society
• NCTE: content reading, analyzing texts, reading strategies, making graphic organizers; writing for different purposes

1. . Read "Prize Fighters." (pages 58-67) In one exchange, several of the interviewees ponder a classic question: whether art (in this case, movies) "leads society" or "reflects it." Discuss what each of the two concepts means. Debate: Do movies shape society, or do they reflect society? (This activity connects to the NewsSource "Popular Culture," particularly Readings 7A and 7B.)

2. Movie-making is a money-making venture. What do the directors in "Prize Fighters" (pages 58-67) say about the financial aspect of their business? Now read "Love the Film, Hate the Sin? Christians Debate." (page 12) To what extent can movie viewers affect which films succeed or fail, or even which films get made? Discuss whether you would boycott a movie you objected to. Explain your thinking.

• NCSS: Culture; Individuals, Groups, & Institutions; Production, Distribution, & Consumption
• NCTE: analyzing texts, debating, discussing creative forms

1. In "Caught by Surprise, Again," (page 32) Fareed Zakaria analyzes how Islamic governments have gained power in the Middle East. What is Zakaria's thesis? Write it in one or two sentences. What relationship does Zakaria see among dictators' governments, "secular forward-looking groups," and Muslim groups? Make a graphic organizer that shows the connections. What role did the United States play in the situations in the Middle East that Zakaria writes about? What do you think the United States should do about the situation Zakaria describes?

2. "Cut, Thrust and Christ" (page 56) describes how evangelical Christians hope to gain a foothold in American government. What strategy are they using? Do you think individuals should try to exert religious influence on politics? Debate the issue. You may expand the discussion beyond the evangelical Christians described in this article.

• NCSS: Culture; Power, Authority, & Governance; Individuals, Groups, & Institutions, Global Connections; Time, Continuity, & Change
• NCTE: reading strategies, making graphic organizers, debating

This week's cover story, "In Our Blood," (pages 46-55) has a geographical component. (After all, the National Geographic Society is sponsoring the huge Genographic Project.) Why? Write a sentence or two explaining why geographers are interested in genealogical genetics. Get your information from the map on page 49 and from the article itself. Write two questions geographers hope they will be able to answer using genealogical genetics.

Every week, Newsweek publishes "Conventional Wisdom Watch." (See page 8 this week.) In it, Newsweek identifies six key people or events from the week's news, gives them an up, down, or neutral arrow, and provides a short explanation for the evaluation. Writing something so concise is challenging. To get some practice, try your hand at writing some CW items. Write about the following, each of which you can read about in Newsweek this week if you don't know about them already: James Frey (pages 42-43), Hamas (pages 26-30), and genetic genealogy. (pages 46-55) Compare your explanations with another student's.

By Mike Luckovich Reprinted with permission.

Teachers: Try using activities from the Newsweek ThisWeek Cartoon "Extra," available online.

a. Political cartoons often take aim at political leaders. How does this cartoon mock George W. Bush? List three ways. Which is/are verbal? Which is/are visual?

b. Political cartoons also rely on surprises. What is surprising about the speaking in this cartoon? What point do you think the cartoonist is making?

c. Did you find the cartoon amusing? Why or why not?

The following words appear in this week's Newsweek. Have students use context clues to determine a definition for each word, and then confirm their guesses using a dictionary. Definitions are included for teacher use.

secular (not religious)
"Rulers like Anwar Sadat and Jordan's King Hussein often used Islamic groups to discredit the secular opposition." (page 32)

genome (the genetic material of an organism)
"child's genome is almost entirely a mix of genetic material created by the union of mother and father." (page 49)

mitochondrial DNA (DNA in the part of a cell that is the principal energy source)
"Only two parts of the genome remain pure, untainted by the influence of a mate's DNA: the Y (passed down from father to son), and mitochondrial DNA (from mother to both sons and daughters)." (page 49)

haplotype (genetic blueprint)
"Scrape the inside of your cheek a few times, and for $100 and up, a testing company will put your DNA under its microscope, map your markers into your own genetic pattern called a haplotype, then tell you which 'haplogroup,' or major branch of the human tree you hail from." (page 49)

indigenous (having originated in a particular region)
"But the project's overarching goal is to collect DNA from indigenous populations worldwide whose DNA could hold clues to our origins and global migration-and to do it fast, before whole populations die out and leave their ancestral homelands." (page 54)

cadre (core group)
"'Conservative Christian leaders would like to have a cadre of conservative Christian attorneys, who then become judges, politicians and political appointees.'" (page 56)

auteurs (film directors with strong personal styles)
"By the time the five auteurs sat down together with their lattes for Newsweek's ninth annual roundtable discussion, Miller was sparring with Clooney like a pro and asking Spielberg about 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind.'" (page 60)

maverick (independent)
"They were all maverick productions that dared to challenge audiences with things they feel very private about." (page 60)

proactive (acting in anticipation of future situations)
"I just feel that filmmakers are much more proactive since the second Bush administration." (page 62)

Use these discussion questions to help guide your understanding of the articles.

A. "Caught by Surprise, Again" (page 32)
Why does Fareed Zakaria begin by writing about the fall of the Shah of Iran? To what recent news event does he attach the 1970s Iran situation? How did dictators in the Middle East treat different groups of dissenters? How was Hamas formed? How did Israel treat Hamas at that time? Why? What Palestinian leader "opened the space for Hamas"? How? According to Zakaria, how might someone in Gaza explain voting for Hamas? What does Zakaria say the United States should be doing now? What do opposition groups in the Middle East lack?

B. "In Our Blood" (pages 46-55)
What is genetic genealogy? What do individuals use it for? What do population geneticists use it for? What organization is sponsoring a huge "Genographic Project"? What is the project's goal? Explain the phrase: DNA contains the footprints of our ancestors. What is a haplotype? How has DNA testing affected some people's sense of identity? What are Surname Projects? How does genetic genealogy related to it? For what purposes have some people used DNA testing? What are some objections to using DNA to identify ancestry? How does DNA help track genetic diseases? What is the difference between medical and genealogical analysis of DNA? According to recent findings, where did humans come from? Why is the Genographic Project collecting DNA from indigenous people?

C. "Cut, Thrust and Christ" (page 56)
Who is the founder of Liberty University? What is policy debate on college campuses like? What is Liberty's debate ranking? What do some leaders from the religious right hope to accomplish by training students to argue? What political goals do these evangelicals have? How do the goals differ from the goals of traditional missionaries? What is "assault ministry"? Why is Liberty highly ranked in college debating? Who is Brett O'Donnell? What role did he serve in the 2004 presidential campaign?

D. "Prize Fighters" (pages 58-67)
Why did Bennett Miller get so much attention from the other directors in the roundtable? Which movie did he make? Who were the other four directors? What movie did each make? How does Newsweek characterize the five films made by the directors? How was each film connected to the Hollywood studio system? What function do ads for the movies serve? How do the directors feel about the ads? How do the directors think about movies and politics? According to Steven Spielberg and George Clooney, why have neo-conservatives been good for the movies? What response has "Munich" gotten? How did the religious right react to "Brokeback Mountain"? How do the directors use fear in their work? What movies make the directors cry? What movies have influenced them?