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Graphic that lists tips for using current events in the classroom.
Good Teaching

Engaging Students with Current Events

by Diana Benner
written by Diana Benner

In today’s rapidly changing world, staying informed about current events is crucial for students. It helps them develop critical thinking skills, understand global issues, and become informed citizens. As teachers, we have the unique opportunity to bring the world into our classrooms, making learning relevant and dynamic.

Current Events Resources

Here are some resources to help you integrate current events into your curriculum.

CNN10

CNN10 offers a ten-minute daily news show designed for middle and high school students. The program covers significant global events in a way that’s accessible and engaging for students. It’s a great way to start the day or a class, while sparking discussions and debates on current issues.

Some of the key features of CNN10 include:

  • Daily video updates
  • Simplified news summaries
  • Encourages classroom discussions

Newsela

Image of a newspaper
Image by Author from OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

Newsela is a fantastic resource that provides news articles at various reading levels. This allows teachers to tailor content to the reading abilities of their students, ensuring that everyone can engage with the material. Newsela covers a wide range of topics, including science, politics, and social issues, making it easy to find relevant articles for any subject.

Some of the key features of Newsela include:

  • Adjustable reading levels
  • Standards-aligned quizzes and activities
  • Diverse topics and current events

PBS NewsHour

PBS NewsHour  is geared towards middle and high school students. It provides articles, videos, and lesson plans that cover current events. This resource helps students make connections between classroom lessons and real-world issues, promoting deeper understanding and engagement.

Some key features of PBS NewsHour include:

  • Articles and videos on current events
  • Lesson plans and teaching resources
  • Encourages critical thinking and discussion

The New York Times Learning Network

The New York Times Learning Network offers a wealth of resources for teachers and students. From news, quizzes, and writing prompts to lesson plans and activities, this resource helps bring current events to life in the classroom. It’s suitable for middle and high school students and encourages critical thinking and discussion.

Some key features of The New York Times Learning Network include:

  • Daily news quizzes
  • Writing prompts and lesson plans
  • Discussion starters and interactive activities

TIME for Kids

TIME for Kids provides age-appropriate news coverage and is an excellent resource for elementary students. The articles are written in a way that is engaging and understandable for younger students, making it a perfect tool for introducing current events to early learners.

Some of the key features of TIME for Kids include:

  • Kid-friendly articles and visuals
  • Topics range from global news to science and sports
  • Printable and digital versions available
  • Read-aloud option

Integrating Current Events in the Classroom

Integrating current events into the classroom can make learning more engaging and relevant for students. Here are some tips on how to effectively incorporate current events into your lessons:

Start Small

Begin with short news segments or articles and gradually increase the complexity as students become more comfortable.

Connect to the Curriculum

Relate current events to your existing curriculum. For example, use news articles about scientific discoveries to complement science lessons or historical events to provide context in history classes.

Facilitate Discussions

Use current events as a springboard for classroom discussions and debates. This can help students develop their speaking and listening skills, as well as their ability to formulate and defend their opinions.

Encourage Critical Thinking

Have students analyze news articles and identify the main ideas, supporting details, and potential biases. Encourage them to ask questions and think critically about the information presented.

Use Multimedia

Use videos, podcasts, and interactive activities to keep students engaged.

By bringing current events into your classroom, you’re helping your students develop essential skills that will serve them well beyond their school years. Dive into these resources and start making global connections today!

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Digital Citizenship

A Free Resource for News Literacy Lessons

by Lori Gracey
written by Lori Gracey

The ability to discern what is fact and what is opinion seems to be more in demand today than ever. Regardless of politics, it is important to develop news literacy. And that is a skill that must be taught; it is not developed naturally on its own. So how can educators ensure that their students have news literacy practice that is reliable and unbiased? Fortunately, Checkology has the answer.

What Is Checkology?

Checkology was created by the News Literacy Project, a nonprofit organization. It was designed to help “learners develop the ability to identify credible information, seek out reliable sources and apply critical thinking skills to separate fact-based content from falsehoods.” The lessons are aligned to a variety of state and national standards, including Common Core, Texas, and ISTE. Checkology also offers a completely free e-learning platform that houses the lessons and includes the following features:

  • Unlimited classes and student accounts
  • Numerous interactive, expert-led lessons
  • Dozens of practice, extension, and fact-checking activities to supplement the core lessons in a course
  • Preset courses to make it easy to get started
  • In-platform student supports (hints and vocabulary)
  • The Check Center, an opportunity to learn and practice digital verification skills
  • A comprehensive word wall, offering quick access to a glossary of news literacy terms
  • Class and assignment settings for flexibility in your learning environment
  • Educator ability to assign co-teachers to each section of students, enabling that teacher to also access and evaluate student work
  • Evaluation tools allow educators to see and access all work that a student submits through its lightweight learning management system (LMS).

news literacy

Checkology’s video-driven content is designed for middle school and high school students, but the platform has been successfully used with students from fifth grade through community college, as well as with adult learners. Each lesson, challenge, and exercise has a difficulty ranking meant to assist educators as they create a customized course for their students.

Getting Started

The Checkology website is open now for you to register. Learn how to get started with these resources.

Does Checkology Work for News Literacy?

Checkology has retained an outside evaluation consultant to develop a pre-platform assessment and individual post-lesson assessments to measure student growth for specific learning objectives. (When students first log in to the platform, they will be prompted to begin the pre-platform assessment. Students will not see the results and are not scored.) Student growth is impressive. After completing the lessons, nearly nine in 10 students could correctly identify the five freedoms protected by the First Amendment and two-thirds of them could correctly identify the traits of quality journalism. The study also showed that the number of students demonstrating an understanding of the watchdog role of the press more than doubled.

news literacy

Final Thoughts on News Literacy and Checkology

Checkology provides a strong educator help center with short video tutorials and other resources. In addition, their student privacy policy is available and very clear. If you are looking for news literacy lessons for younger students or just want to add to those from Checkology for secondary students, check out what Common Sense Education offers as a part of their digital citizenship curriculum. And the TCEA blog has a number of other free tools. Whatever resources you use, please make sure you are helping students to develop and practice this critical skill!

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news literacy
Digital LiteracyGood Teaching

Digital Tools for News Literacy

by Andrew Roush
written by Andrew Roush

Today, we have more sources of information, more ways to access that information, and more knowledge in general than probably any other time in history. This large amount of information, however, can be tough to understand. It can be hard to judge news sources, analyze data, and do it all in rapidly changing circumstances.

That’s why digital literacy, and news literacy in particular, are crucial skills for all people, and a vital piece of preparing and educating students.

What Is News Literacy?

Understanding how journalists work and hows news is reported has always been an important skill for an engaged and informed populous. But the digital age poses new opportunities — and new challenges. As Richard Hornik of the Center for News Literacy at Stony Brook University outlines:

The Digital Age poses four serious information literacy challenges for civil society:

1) The amount of information we are flooded with daily makes it difficult to sort out what’s reliable.

2) New technologies to create and share information make it easy to create content that only appears authoritative and then to spread it virally.

4) The conflict between speed and accuracy has been exacerbated by Digital Age demands for delivering information as fast as possible, but accelerating that process increases the chance it will be wrong.

4) Humans prefer information that supports our beliefs, and the Internet and social media make it much easier for us to select only the information that supports our ideas, reinforcing rather than challenging them.

Richard Hornik, “Why News Literacy Matters, A NEW LITERACY FOR CIVIL SOCIETY IN THE 21st CENTURY”

News literacy is meant to combat these challenges. Teaching students how to read, judge, analyze, and make decisions based on new media “teaches students to think for themselves, seek out credible information and sources, look the world full in the face and not turn away from what might make them uncomfortable,” according to the News Literacy Project, a nonprofit that provides resources for educators.

Timely Tools

In recent years, digital tools have been developed to help teach and assess students’ ability to judge sources and tell fact from fiction (or simply exaggeration or inaccuracy).

Checkology, from the News Literacy Project, is a popular tool for teaching the subject. Complete with lessons, games, and practice exercises that students can pursue in independent learning, asynchronous environments, and anywhere they can access the browser-based and tablet-compatible product. It even comes with emoji-filled discussion boards, Spanish language translation, and more.

Learn more about Checkology here and here. You can also access the News Literacy Project’s newsletter, The Sift, here.

New Options with Newslea

Ed tech company Newslea has developed content libraries that focus on delivering news and information from vetted sources for students and teachers, with editions that focus on ELA, social studies, science, as well as Essentials, which has a cross-curricular focus. They’ve recently added Newslea SEL, to create and curate content meant to develop social-emotional learning.

Newslea can automatically differentiate texts based on reading level, and comes with reading comprehension quizzes, annotation tools, and writing prompts, as well as various collections and lessons. The Text Sets feature offers “thematically curated texts as well as lesson plans and activities that can give students a more holistic picture of a topic.”

The News Never Stops

Of course, there are many other sources, tools, and articles to help you expand and improve your teaching around news and media literacy. Here are some useful links from around the ed tech web:

More from TCEA

Photo by Sollok29 via Wikimedia Commons.

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news validity
Digital Literacy

Resources to Teach Students About News Validity

by Lori Gracey
written by Lori Gracey

A critical part of digital literacy skills for everyone today is the ability to discern what is true and what isn’t. Discerning news validity is especially crucial in this age when photos and videos can be faked so easily. Here are some resources to help students develop these skills.

Media Bias Chart

Start off your discussion with students by having them examine this chart showing how potentially biased common news sources are. Ask them to discuss the following:

  • What might influence a news media to take one side over another?
  • What are the potential dangers of a biased news media?
  • Are there any patterns to bias in the chart?

TED-Ed

TED-Ed has released an excellent lesson plan and video entitled “Can You Spot the Problem with These Headlines?” The lesson is aimed at secondary students and includes a five-minute video. Once the students have viewed the video (perhaps in small groups), they then think about what was presented by answering five multiple choice and three open answer questions. They are then encouraged to dive deeper into the topic by exploring provided resources. Finally, there is a guided discussion for them to take part in.

A second video lesson that fits this topic is “This One Weird Trick Will Help You Spot Clickbait.” For other resources to help students (and adults) learn about clickbait, check out this blog.

Checkology

In the free plan, Checkology offers access to four foundational Checkology news literacy lessons for one-to-many delivery. Each of the modules is comprised of between 20 and 47 instructional video clips and interactive comprehension checks. As students move through the content, it becomes progressively more difficult. A free teacher account is required to access the materials.

Factitious

Factitious is an online, game-based, free activity designed specifically for students. There are six different articles for them to read through. Once they read one, they click the source listed at the bottom and then select either the green check mark or red X to indicate if the article is a real news story or not. Once a students responds, they get instant feedback and an explanation of how they can tell if the article was a real or fake news story. The articles start out easy and move to the hard level. No account is required unless students want to have their scores saved.

Discussions, Not Arguments

One of the big ideas that we need to help students grasp is the importance of having healthy discussions, and not arguments, about current events and issues. This is best done by actually having discussions on somewhat controversial topics in the classroom, with the teacher acting as “referee” to help students distinguish when their discussion becomes too argumentative.

news validity

graphic © eminentlyquotable.com

Additional News Validity Resources

You can find 15 more resources for helping students develop strong news literacy skills here.

 

 

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news literacy
Digital LiteracyLibraries

News Literacy for Educators (with 15 Tools)

by Guest Blogger
written by Guest Blogger

Following the 2016 presidential election, America saw a steep rise in fake news and news designed for misinformation. As school librarians, we are also seeing a shift in how students consume news and information and their news source preferences. Now, more than ever, we need to integrate news literacy and media literacy into the teaching and learning students are engaged in through our libraries and curriculum.

What Is News Literacy?

According to the SchoolofJournalism.org

News literacy is the acquisition of 21st-century, critical-thinking skills for analyzing and judging the reliability of news and information, differentiating among facts, opinions and assertions in the media we consume, create and distribute.

We can’t talk news literacy without also addressing bias. We all have some level of bias acquired through our different experiences. Each of our individual biases is formed from a multitude of components including where we live, where we are from, culture (our own and our perceptions of others), pop culture, religion, and, of course, politics. What’s important for us to incorporate into our campuses about bias is helping our students and staff identify their own biases, understand that news sources contain bias, and then help them develop the skills to choose news sources in a more balanced way.

Why Teach News Literacy?

Many students want to have a better understanding of current events and news sources, but just don’t know where to begin. While doing a mini-lesson on news literacy with a group of 12th-grade students, they were asked, “What do you wish teachers/adults understood about how you get your news?” Here are a few telling responses:

“Sadly enough, sometimes I avoid watching the news, afraid of being subject to fake or heavily-biased news.”

“I do not watch the news that much except for on Snapchat. I wish we were actually taught about the current events.”

“I wish they understood that we don’t really know how or where to get the news. We also don’t really keep up with it as much as we should.”

In order to prepare students for the tumultuous news landscape of their present and future, we must hold frequent, candid conversations about evaluating sources for credibility, identifying bias, and striving for a balanced news diet. To develop these skills that are so essential to their growth as ethical global citizens, it is important for students to regularly interact with news, critically evaluate information, and engage in civil discourse.

Resources

  • FactCheck: FactCheck.org is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. They are a nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. They monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases.
  • Politifact: PolitiFact is a fact-checking website that rates the accuracy of claims by elected officials and others who speak up in American politics. PolitiFact is run by editors and reporters from the Tampa Bay Times, an independent newspaper in Florida. They use a number of scales they’ve created: Truth-O-Meter to gauge accuracy of statements, Flip-O-Meter to rate whether an elected official has been consistent on an issue, and Promise Meters to gauge progress made on campaign promises.
  • AllSides: AllSides is a news service aimed at cutting through one-sided bias and hyper-partisanship. They offer news stories on current topics “from the center.e ” “from thleft.” and “from the right” on a scale that rates the bias.
  • Snopes: Founded in 1994, Snopes is the oldest and largest fact-checking site on the internet. It is a common source for checking hoaxes, urban legends, email scams, and sensational, clickbait social media posts.
  • Britannica Insights: This is a Chrome extension tool to highlight Britannica School resources alongside your student’s search results. Free for Britannica School subscribers (18 states that have subscriptions). Doesn’t influence search results, but showcases those trustworthy sources that we always WANT students to use alongside their Google results. Once you click in, you will have all of the great features of Britannica, including adjustable leveling, videos, and other resources. Especially effective on historical events and people to help students gain context for their search.
  • TEDEd How to Choose Your News: Video discusses the history of news, how trust was broken with traditional news sources, and how the Internet has changed the way news is shared. Can lead to some great discussion with students on how the media landscape has changed. Explains the phenomenon of circular reporting and how fake news spreads so quickly and easily.
  • Source Deck Activity: This is a great research activity that I think would lend itself well to a news literacy conversation. Screenshot a variety of information sources and include the citation for each. Based on the snapshot and source information, students must evaluate the source and its relevance. Blog post on Britannica Learn with starter slides went up today.
  • Common Sense Media: I have loved their digital citizenship curriculum for years. They have compiled some great resources and lessons to help turn students into fact-finding web detectives. They are currently updating and adding new lessons to this collection.
  • NewseumED: NewseumED offers a wealth of resources for educators on media literacy, including lesson plans, artifacts, and case studies. They also offer virtual classes and professional development for educators.
  • Choices Program by Brown University: Non-profit at Brown University developing curricula on current and historical international and public policy issues. Students dig deep into multiple viewpoints on contested issues. Free lesson resources and complete curriculum available to purchase.
  • Checkology: A resource from the News Literacy Project that provides a virtual classroom with interactive lessons to help students learn to evaluate and interpret news. Activities to help them determine what news/information to trust, share, and act on. Topics include detecting/dissecting viral news rumors, investigating the impact of personalization algorithms, evaluating bias, and interpreting the First Amendment. Several sample lessons are available for free, with a paid subscription for the full curriculum.
  • Media Bias/ Fact Check: Media Bias/Fact Check (MBFC) is an independent online media outlet. On their About page, MBFC says they are dedicated to educating the public on media bias and deceptive news practices. This site can be used to look up news sources found online and through social media postings to help students understand where that particular news source rates on their bias and fact checking.
  • Above The Noise: This is a YouTube channel with great short videos about news literacy. Teachers can use the videos and have their students join the discussion on KQED Learn to investigate controversial topics and share their voices. 
  • Factitious: This is a great “game” to introduce students to bias and the importance of looking at news sources. This could easily be incorporated into a news literacy lesson and used in conjunction with many of the other resources listed here.  
  • Break Your Own News Image Maker: This is just a fun resource for students to make their own images like the ones you see in this blog post. It can also lead to discussions about the validity of images, image sources, reverse image searches, and how headlines are used as to gaslight and as misinformation.

Nancy Jo Lambert is a Google Certified Trainer and high school teacher librarian in Frisco ISD at Reedy High School. She is a presenter advocating for libraries by telling the story of the learning happening in her library. She holds positions in the Texas Library Association, American Library Association, American Association of School Librarians, Texas Association of School Librarians, and is the president of the TCEA LIB-SIG. She has been published in professional journals and won numerous awards and grants and was named TCEA Library Media Specialist of the Year the American Association of School Librarians Social Media Superstar Curriculum Champion in 2019. 

Tiffany Whitehead, the Mighty Little Librarian, is an obsessive reader, social media user, and technology geek. She is the Director of Library at Episcopal High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Tiffany earned her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education and School Library Certification from Southeastern Louisiana University and her graduate degree in Educational Technology Leadership from Northwestern State University. She has served as the President of ISTE’s Librarians Network and was recognized as one of ISTE’s 2014 Emerging Leaders. Tiffany is National Board Certified in Library Media and was named one of the 2014 Library Journal Movers & Shakers. She was the 2016 recipient of the Louisiana Library Media Specialist Award and the 2019 ISTE Librarians Network Secondary Award Winner. 

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