Students of all ages benefit from learning about current events in the classroom. Introducing students to high-interest, relevant text goes beyond preparation for English Language Arts skills. You can help prepare students for the world of today and tomorrow with access to current events and skill building around critical thinking and evaluating sources.
Readers today need to be prepared for both digital and print reading experiences. If you’re a regular follower of the blog, you’ve probably seen mentions of my book written with Pam Allyn, Taming the Wild Text. Preparing students to access current events articles in online spaces and makes an EdTech tool like The Week a compelling resource to add to your toolbelt.
Current Events for High School
You might be familiar with the news publication The Week. They now offer a special set of resources for students and teachers called The Week’s Classroom Education Program. This independent news source covers current events, arts, science, government, business and more. With a wide range of topics, it provides coverage in areas you may highlight alongside social studies or English Language Arts strategies.
The Week’s Classroom Education Program provides students with access to text that can support a variety of skill building. You might use these resources with students to explore informational text strategies such as synthesizing information from different sources. Alternatively, these current events articles can help students prepare for classroom discussions, debates, or another part of the day where you focus on speaking and listening skills.
If you are working with students in a social studies classroom, there are lots of ways The Week’s Classroom Education Program may align with your core curriculum goals. For example, you may use these current events articles to make parallels to events in history. If your civics curriculum asks students to review a news story as it pertains to a particular legal precedent or issue of social justice, these articles are certainly useful.
Current Events Resources for Teachers
The Week provides teachers with a special Teachers’ Reference Guide. This guide outlines how high school teachers can use The Week in the classroom. It breaks down the different features and provides general ideas for classroom integration. With your subject matter expertise and classroom experience, you’ll see right away how different sections align with your curriculum goals.
The Teachers’ Reference Guide also provides some background information on The Week. So if you aren’t familiar with this news source, you’ll get a feel for their mission. One thing that I appreciate in this guide is the collection of “evergreen activities.” You can find this on the last page of the guide. When we think about news stories, sometimes the idea of keeping things timely can feel overwhelming. I like how this set of evergreen activities is perfect for a range of new stories you’ll come across in The Week.
In addition to The Teacher’s Reference Guide, there is a weekly set of support materials for educators. In the weekly teacher guides, there are highlights of each article and specific activities. I like how there are discussion questions that go along with each one too. You might pair this up with a Flipgrid video response or a poll in a Nearpod lesson.
Finding News Articles for Students
If you’re ready to dive into The Week’s Classroom Education Program resources, you have a few options. A classroom subscription can be print or digital, or digital-only. The Week’s digital format is mobile-friendly too. This way students can view it on a smartphone in addition to a Chromebook, laptop, or desktop computer.
You can receive a subscription to The Week for $1.09 per copy. This deal is a savings of over 78% off the regular single copy price. With this type of subscription, students can have access to both the Print & Digital edition. It also comes with a free teacher’s subscription too! Click here to check out the full details for The Week’s Classroom Education Program.
