8th Grade ELAR ~ McMillan Jr. High ~ Unit 3 (Analyzing Informational Texts)
December 2016
Macy’s Department Store: Past and Present
Source #1: Macy’s History
Macy’s got its name from its founder Rowland H. Macy, who was born in Nantucket
(Massachusetts) on August 30, 1822. He spent some time in the Navy, during which he
acquired a tattoo of a red star. This star would later become the trademark symbol of
Macy’s.
In 1851, Mr. Macy opened a small dry-goods store in Haverhill, Massachusetts, where first
day sales totaled a whopping $11.06. A firm believer in marketing, he spent great amounts
on advertising and ensured the success of his business.
In 1857 the store moved from Haverhill to a new location in New York City to become R.
H. Macy ​and Company. During the next few decades it would move several more times to
various locations in the city.
In 1870, Macy’s began the first of many firsts by setting the department store practice of
creating elaborate holiday window displays and by hiring the first in-store Santa Claus.
In January of 1992, Macy’s filed for bankruptcy and had to shut several of its stores. Two
years later in 1994, R. H. Macy and Co. merged with Federated Department Stores. ​On
February 28, 2005, when Macy’s had roughly 400 stores throughout the U.S., Federated
acquired May Department Stores, creating the nation’s 2nd largest department store
chain.
Source #2: Macy’s web site for possible new
employees,​ ​http://www.macysjobs.com/​:
Since our modest beginnings in 1858, Macy’s has focused on making retail work
better for people – both our customers and our employees.
Our founder, Rowland Hussey Macy, was a genuine innovator, and the company
that still bears his name has always followed suit.
Macy’s proud heritage includes a host of innovations and milestones that have
made it a company associates are proud to work with. Here are just a few:
●
Macy’s was the first retailer to promote a woman, Margaret Getchell, to an
executive position.
●
In 1919, Macy’s established its Executive Development Program (originally called
the Executive Training Program), providing a tremendous resource to train and
mentor college graduates as they transition into careers at Macy’s and
Bloomingdale’s.
●
Macy’s immigrant employees organized the first Christmas Parade in 1924 to
celebrate their new American heritage. Floats, bands and animals from the zoo
attracted 10,000 spectators. It was the start of a tradition now known as the annual
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
●
Some famous faces have worked at Macy’s. Jimmy Walker (mayor of New York City,
1926 – 1932) was a Macy’s employee before entering politics. Other celebrities
including Carol Channing (a Broadway favorite in Hello, Dolly) and Burgess
Meredith (“Mick” in the Rocky movies and “The Penguin” in the Batman TV series)
made their marks at Macy’s before hitting the marquees.
●
Our employee volunteer program, Partners in Time, was launched in 1989 to help
and encourage our associates to give back to their communities.
Source #3: ​Macy's confirms reports its
Black Friday sales will start at 6 p.m. on
Thanksgiving
(Source: Internet version of ​The Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper,
http://goo.gl/NcmgCr​)
By ​Janet H. Cho, The Plain Dealer​
Email the author​ | ​Follow on Twitter​
November 22, 2014 at 8:29 PM
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- In a move that will likely be both criticized and copied, ​Macy's
Inc.​ confirmed that it will again kick off its Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving. The
Cincinnati-based upscale department store chain, which ​last year ended a 155-year
tradition of closing its doors on Thanksgiving Thursday​, will open two hours
earlier this year -- at 6 p.m.
The announcement follows media reports that Macy's employees had received emails
asking if they were interested in working the earlier hours.
It also comes in the wake of ​the National Retail Federation​'s forecast that
holiday sales will soar 4.1 percent to $616.9 billion this year​, a full percentage
point higher than last year's actual increase of 3.1 percent.
"With the growing customer-driven trend toward early shopping for Black Friday each
year, Macy's aims to accommodate customers who count on us to be there when they are
ready to shop," said Holly Thomas, Macy's group vice president for media relations and
cause marketing, via email.
"In response to the significant, sustained customer interest in last year's opening on
Thanksgiving, both at Macy's and at many other retailers, we will be opening our
full-line department stores at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27."
She said employees who work on Thanksgiving will receive incentive pay, as well as food
during their shift. "Each store has the option to order the food that their associates
prefer," she said.
Macy's employs about 172,500 people nationwide. In addition to volunteers from its
workforce, it will also staff stores with ​86,000 seasonal workers it is currently
hiring company wide​, including about 450 at stores in Greater Cleveland.
"We work diligently to staff Thanksgiving with associates who volunteer to work and
doing so means that our people are able to make their own decisions about how they
contribute to our most important and busiest weekend of the year," Thomas said.
"We also heard last year from many associates who appreciated the opportunity to work
on Thanksgiving so they could have time off on Black Friday. Additionally, associates
who work an opening shift on Thanksgiving will be compensated with incentive pay.
"In just a few days, the large majority of the shifts have already been filled voluntarily.
We deeply value the commitment and contribution of our associates across the country
as we continue to focus on meeting customer needs in today's competitive retail
climate," Thomas added.
Retail consultant Robert Antall, managing partner of ​Consumer Centric Consulting
LLC​, said that "Opening on Thanksgiving has become a competitive necessity for most
retailers. If your competition is open, you have to be open as well or lose market share.
Further, with easy access to the Internet, if stores aren't open, customers will shop
online."
He said he believes that Macy's will get all the volunteers it needs to staff its stores.
"Given the fact that real incomes have been stagnant for over a decade, as you know,
many families are struggling to make ends meet. The extra income and/or the 'overtime'
pay is badly needed by many families."
Antall added that many of Macy's employees at that time of year are "temporary workers
who often need the job and are willing to do whatever it takes to increase their
take-home pay. So I don't think this is placing a burden on their staff. It seems to me
that Macy's is taking a practical approach to its employees."
Your Name/Class Period:​ ______________________________________
8th Grade ELAR ~ Analyzing Informational Texts
Read the 3 informational texts about Macy’s Department Store.
1.
STEP #1​:​ In your “Reading Response” section of your notebook, create a T
chart and title it “Macy’s: Facts Versus Opinions.”
A. On the LEFT side of the T chart:
● List at least ​5 factual claims.​ Factual claims​ are ​conclusions or
statements based on facts or information that can be proved​ or
verified by a reliable source​.
● Then list 20​ facts​ about Macy’s Department Store. ​(​Facts are OBJECTIVE
and can be proved with data and credible evidence​.)
B. On the RIGHT side of the chart:
● List at least ​3 common-place assertions​ and label them “CA” at the end.
o Commonplace assertions​ are widely held/common CLAIMS that
might sound true/factual and MAY OR MAY NOT be true​.
Assertion statements often include subtle judgment words​ like
“excellent” or “valuable” ​or sweeping generalizations​ like
“everyone knows” or “it is widely understood that…”
● Then under these 3 assertions on the right side of the chart, ​list 3
opinions​ ​(Opinions are SUBJECTIVE because they are not based
on evidence and are a person’s beliefs, feelings, or judgment)​.
2.
STEP 2​:
a. Re-read and​ highlight key words in the headlines and topic sentences for
each paragraph in 2 of the 3 articles​ -- you can choose which articles you
use.
b. Then review the full text and write down main ideas these 2 articles -- you
can list the main ideas in a bulleted format in the “Reading Response”
section of your notebook​.
3.
STEP 3​:​ ​Using COMPLETE, edited sentences​ (correct capitalization,
punctation within and at the end of each sentence), ​write a summary of the
main ideas for 1 of the articles you outlined in Step #2​.
Macy’s Department Store Articles
***Extension for 8​th​ Grade Pre-AP and ELAR​-GT students.
Deadline: ________________________
Review and evaluate the 3 informational texts about Macy’s
Department Store.
Write a 2-paragraph essay in a Google doc (filename:
“FirstInitialLastName_Macys”) and submit your work on our
new Google Classroom web page.
Paragraph #1​:
● How is Macy’s Department store an example of progress in America
during the 1800s and 1900s? Good, bad, or a combination of both?
● Explain why with specific examples from the articles.
● Use at least two specific organizational patterns in your
explanation -- identify which patterns you used by color-coding
your text and classify the patterns you used​.
Paragraph #2​:
● What is your opinion about stores like Macy’s opening on Thanksgiving
Day?
● Develop a clear, precise argument (thesis statement/controlling idea) and
then ​use at least 3 details to support your claim​ – the details can be
from the 3 Macy’s articles or from another credible source.
● Acknowledge what a counterargument might be to your claim,
and explain why your argument is still correct.