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From Buck Institute

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Making Current Events Accessible to Kids

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Making Current Events Accessible to Kids

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Many parents and teachers grew up doing dull current-events reports based on static text found in newspapers. Today's students, who are immersed in a world in which news can be updated by anyone 24/7, need a different skill set to read and understand the world. Classroom current-events time provides the perfect opportunity to practice critical-thinking and text-analysis skills using timely and real-world sources. There should be nothing dull about current events today.

Everyday Interest
In my classroom, Fridays are dedicated to current events, but that doesn't mean the world waits. I model frequent reading of news articles for my students as well as provide a variety of great resources for developing everyday opportunities for students to read and think about global news.

Flipboard - Curate news stories to share through an iOS app.

Almost daily, I read the news and use the bookmarklet to add stories to a Flipboard Magazine students subscribe to. The news stories don't have to be serious to be valuable. Cultural oddities pique interest in reading and provide inspiring discussion prompts. Through Flipboard, students know what I've read and ask follow-up questions.

Newsela - Provide leveled readings of news stories.

For students to be regularly engaged in the readings, they need to be able to comprehend what they read. Many articles are too verbose for a middle school audience. Newsela offers a compromise; every student can read about the same topic at his or her own Lexile level and participate in discussions.

Flocabulary - The lyrics of the Week in Rap are major news stories.

Flocabulary only publishes the Week in Rap on Fridays, but it provides motivation for students to pay attention to the news all week. This is a paid tool, but the price is reasonable and I believe it's a worthwhile investment. A teacher subscription gives you access to all the Flocabulary videos and hyperlinked lyrics to student-friendly versions of news stories. There are times, when I haven't previously investigated a topic, that I learn with students through the site's short synopsis.

Deeper Understanding
Other tools help demystify news stories and allow students to achieve a deeper understanding of our complex world.

Map Story - Create timelines on top of map layers.

With Map Story, events are overlaid on top of maps. A great current-events example is the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The Ukraine situation shows up in our weekly current-events discussions; the timeline maps Ukrainian actions and how the world reacted. This tool makes it easier to see and understand the global effects of war, and can be utilized for any conflict, past or present. An excellent feature of Map Story is the ability to search and selectively remix other examples. Not everything needs to be created from scratch.

Curriculet - Embed media and questions into digital reading passages.

Curriculet helps students make sense of global news. Curriculet lets you copy and build on what other teachers share. For current events, teachers have the option to upload a news article from a URL. My students had many questions about ISIS, so I uploaded the White House transcript of the President's Address to the Nation about plans for eradicating the threats. To provide students with the necessary background, videos, infographs, maps, images, political cartoons, and definitions were embedded in the text. I like Curriculet because an appropriate image can clarify in a glance what a passage is trying to convey.

Being knowledgeable about global events isn't limited to reading the news; you also need to be able to evaluate and retell the story. Reporting the News
iMovie is a tool for having students report on what they've discovered . A benefit of iMovie is the prefabricated "News Room" settings. Students should focus on the content and not spend hours laboring over style details. iMovie also provides options for adding a map or globe, which is perfect for social studies. The mini-news segments can be shared through a teacher website to benefit an authentic audience.

These are just a few examples of options for integrating interesting current events into a lesson. Many of the activities can be completed with tools students are already familiar with. Additional strategies for accomplishing this, as well as more application details, are available on the Creating Current Event Comprehension App Flow.

Photo: " User TopView Office Keyboard" by OpenClips. Used under Creative Commons Deed CC0.

Photo: " Obama Inaugurations Newspapers" by David, Bergin, Emmett and Elliott. Used under Creative Commons License CC BY 2.0.

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Making Current Events Accessible to Kids

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Many parents and teachers grew up doing dull current-events reports based on static text found in newspapers. Today's students, who are immersed in a world in which news can be updated by anyone 24/7, need a different skill set to read and...

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“Nice visual! MT @tombarrett: 5 simple questions to encourage student voice via @WordLib.”

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Journal Article

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How to Teach Critical Thinking Using Bloom's Taxonomy

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How to Teach Critical Thinking Using Bloom's Taxonomy

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Lesson Plans

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Lesson Plans for Creativity, Problem Solving, and Critical Thinking

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Free lesson plans and resources for creativity, problem solving, and critical thinking.

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Resources

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The Critical Thinking Handbook: High School .

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from Edutopia

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KIPP King Collegiate High School | Edutopia

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KIPP King Collegiate High School prepares its students for the rigors of college by challenging and empowering them with critical thinking skills.

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Discover recipes, home ideas, style inspiration and other ideas to try.

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Nurturing the Innovator Mindset in Your Classroom

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Nurturing the Innovator Mindset in Your Classroom

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Galileo Learning's California-based programs have been developing K-8 innovators for the past 13 years. This summer, more than 20,000 kids worked with 1,300 educators to build go-karts, print 3-D projects, program Java to modify Minecraft, paint Italian frescoes, engineer bridges, and design fashion lines.

One thing that we always come up against, and I'm guessing it will sound familiar, is that students are often reluctant to engage in creative work because they fear making mistakes and are overwhelmed by open-ended design challenges. They can also be quick to give up when they experience a setback.

To counter this, we identified a set of attributes required for innovation, and we call them the Galileo Innovator's Mindset:

These attributes are prominently visible in every one of our classrooms. But the words are just the starting point. Dozens of practices and rituals come together to make our culture of creativity and innovation real for students. We find that, after just a few weeks in this setting, students are willing to imagine new possibilities, take risks, build off each other's ideas, and keep going until they reach their goals.

8 Strategies for Teaching Innovation

Many Galileo teachers have taken this framework back to their schools and have incorporated it into their teaching, which we believe is something that can work for you, too.

Your first step is to place the five elements of the mindset (or your own version) prominently on your classroom wall. Simply naming these attributes and teaching your students what they mean will emphasize that your goal is bigger than imparting knowledge. You're making a statement that you see your students as people who have the power to chart their own course, rather than being victims of circumstance.

Next, make it real by adopting practices and rituals that reinforce the Innovator's Mindset:

1. Assign meaningful projects with multiple drafts or iterations.

When students have the experience of trying something multiple times before ultimately succeeding (and then comparing the first draft to the final product), they learn to embrace the power of failure in the creation process and are more willing to try new things and stay determined.

2. Highlight a Mindset of the Week.

Reference the mindset element when discussing that week's assignment, and describe how students might practice the mindset in context. Throughout the week, ask students to share times when they (or others) exhibit the mindset, and facilitate peer recognition. Make time for a wrap-up discussion where students can reflect on how applying their Mindset of the Week impacted their work and their experience.

3. Use the "Two Stars and a Wish" feedback tool.

Build reflection time into your class time. With the Two Stars and a Wish exercise, ask students to share two things they appreciate about a peer's project, and one idea they have for improvement. This builds the ability to give and receive feedback, supports critical thinking, and creates a collaborative learning environment.

4. Celebrate failure with a "Marvelous Mistakes" wall.

When something doesn't work in a student's design, have them jot it down on a post-it and put it on the wall. Have them include a sentence describing how the mistake is informing the next phase of the work. Lead your students in applause (or another ritual) whenever the wall is used.

5. Engage in reflective conversations with your students about their work.

What was your vision? What was most challenging? What is and isn't working in your first attempt? What would you do if you had more time or different resources? This practice supports learner agency and helps students think of themselves as actors and creators in the world.

6. Personify the mindset.

Make it real for students by sharing human stories from history and your students' communities that exemplify different elements of the mindset. Show that the mindset is important in and out of school.

7. Set the example.

We can all continually strengthen our Innovator's Mindset, so show students that you're willing to take risks, imagine new directions, and innovate in your classroom. Ask them for feedback and share your own struggles and learning with them.

8. Enlist parents.

Share with parents that you are emphasizing the Innovator's Mindset, and encourage them to do the same at home. Get students to self-evaluate against this mindset and then go over it at parent conferences.

It Starts Here

Creating a culture of creativity and innovation in your classroom is absolutely possible. But it's not something that happens on Tuesdays from 1-2PM. Look for ways each day to highlight the Innovator's Mindset, and you will change the way that your students see themselves and their role in society.

How do you teach your students to innovate?

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Nurturing the Innovator's Mindset in Your Classroom

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Galileo Learning's California-based programs have been developing K-8 innovators for the past 13 years. This summer, more than 20,000 kids worked with 1,300 educators to build go-karts, print 3-D projects, program Java to modify Minecraft, paint Italian frescoes, engineer bridges, and design fashion lines.