580 current-events results | sort by:
Flash Earth
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Use a projector or whiteboard to share a location as art of the background knowledge for a lesson. Be sure to add this link to your teacher web page as a reference tool, as well. Be aware that some world locations have much "fuzzier" satellite images than others. Always preview before your lesson to be sure you can show the features you want students to see. Show elementary students where their "neighborhood" is, perhaps even their streets!You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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World Flag Database - Graham Bartram
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): flags (18), maps (222), statistics (128)
In the Classroom
This is an easy-to-use fast reference tool for students. The site also sells flags, but you can ignore the sales portion. If your students do country reports, this is a one-stop site for them to find their country's flag. Perhaps they can use these ideas to design a flag for their own mythical country as part of a unit on government.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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BBC Learning English - BBC (British Broadcasting Company)
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): news (223)
In the Classroom
For teachers, there is a weekly lesson plan to accompany a selected news feature. The lesson plan includes highlighted vocabulary, a glossary, comprehension questions, a quiz, and links to more information about the subject of the story. This site is useful for far more than just ESL/ELL. Remedial reading teachers who struggle to find interactive comprehension activities will love the variety of reading selections and cloze passages, such as "Get That Job."Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Newsround - BBC News for Kids - BBC
Grades
3 to 8In the Classroom
Note: the site is British, so spelling and topics have a UK slant! Make sure you have parent permission for students to post work to the site, and keep their identities safe by using pseudonyms or initials. Encourage those with Internet access to visit the site with mom and dad to talk about current events together (include the link on your teacher web page). If you are familiar with RSS feeds, this would be a good choice for a first feed.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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CRAYON: Create Your Own Newspaper - David Maher
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): news (223)
In the Classroom
A great way to get students involved with the news on an intimate basis!! Teachers can also create a classroom newspaper for parents and others to access. Check on your district policy regarding posting student work to the web. It would be a good idea to limit names to initials and to get written parent permission before setting up accounts. Then use YOUR teacher email account for safety reasons.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Volcano World - Department of Geosciences at Oregon State University
Grades
4 to 10In the Classroom
Use a projector to take a virtual field trip as you start the study of volcanoes, then include this site as a link on your teacher web page for students to research different volcanoes and current activity.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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NewsHour Extra Lesson Plan: Immigration Reform - PBS
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): civics (127), immigration (81), migration (45)
In the Classroom
The essential questions (labeled "My Point of View, parts 2-3") are a nice guide for helping students see this issue from multiple backgrounds.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Awesome Stories - Awesome Stories Internet Productions
Grades
3 to 8tag(s): dinosaurs (48), disasters (35), literature (213), movies (52), space (242)
In the Classroom
This is a great jumping off point for beginning researchers. You will find a wonderful compilation of photographs and other realia about the topics. Teach comprehension skills by using the first four chapters and asking students to predict or write aht they think would come next. Bring up the stories on an interactive whiteboard to highlight important terms and access the links that help students build connections to content. Maybe let students select the next topic to help engage reluctant readers.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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NewsHour Extra Lesson Plan: Checks and Balances in Supreme Court Nominations - PBS
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): supreme court (30)
In the Classroom
There is a really nice "balance of powers" exercise that goes way beyond a simple discussion of the Supreme Court. Students look at all three branches of government and determine which branch has power in a variety of contemporary situations. This lesson plan is good as a stand-alone, but also provides a lot of jumping off places for further discussion and adaptation. Use a projector, as the plan suggests, to share the short video clips, available in several formats.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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World News in Special English - VOA
Grades
4 to 8This site includes advertising.
tag(s): agriculture (53), communication (120), cultures (290), news (223), vocabulary (248)
In the Classroom
Play a short VOA Learning English video from the site or YouTube, then have students read the matching article to compare how information is presented in spoken versus written form. Assign students a short video or article and have them identify new words using the built-in Word Book. Students can create sentence cards or mini glossaries using the vocabulary in new contexts. Use science, health, or history-based VOA videos to launch short research extensions, discussions, or opinion writing tied to social studies or science standards.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Many Things.org Daily - Charles I. Kelly & Lawrence E. Kelly
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): grammar (140), idioms (29), news (223), slang (16), verbs (25)
In the Classroom
Use this to beef up vocabulary, to explore culture through idioms and proverbs, and for listening and discussion practice in response to news reports. Great to fill in 5 - 10 minutes at the beginning or end of classes! For the regular classroom teacher, this may provide an alternate way for ESL students to "study" current events. Be sure to mark it in Favorites on your classroom computer for these students to access (or place a shortcut on the desktop). Note: you need speakers for the audio!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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North Korea - CIA FactBook - CIA
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): korea (21)
In the Classroom
Include this in your supplemental teacher links pages during a unit on Asia or Korea.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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War News Radio - Swarthmore College
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Try this one as a current events source for personalized, less sensational reports on events in Iraq.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Basics of Fusion - Princeton
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): energy (138), nuclear energy (19)
In the Classroom
In addition to its obvious applications in physics, this issue could have widespread economic and environmental implications. There are lots of "What if..." questions you could develop around this one.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Science Update Podcasts - American Association for the Advancement of Science
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): news (223)
In the Classroom
Try this one for your own professional development, or play it in science class as students are getting settled in for their class period.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Grading on a Curve - New York Times
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): foreign policy (13), presidents (150)
In the Classroom
Though a bit outdated for a current events class, this would be a great lesson in a US government class looking at the Presidency of George H.W. Bush. Save this lesson as a favorite on your desktop to allow for easy retrieval later on - though be sure to look closely at the lesson and make sure that students have learned enough of the contextual information to be able to make sense of the article. For differentiation, peruse the article before-hand, creating a list of words that students may have trouble with or may not be familiar with. Create a follow-along for the article, defining those words selected to help students as they read. This will allow lower achieving readers to be able to process the information more efficiently and with more comprehension.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Avian Influenza: What You Should Know - U.S. Centers for Disease Control
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): diseases (60)
In the Classroom
Use this site as an introduction to the avian flu during the seemingly always present flu-season. Have students explore the site in cooperative learning group with the intentions of finding three things that they can do to prevent themselves from getting the flu, or what the government is doing to prevent a spread. Have students create a short presentation with the information, making online posters that summarizes their findings. Use an online poster creator, such as Padlet (reviewed here). This would be great in a Health class, or in a government class studying government responses during crises or the impact of globalization.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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John Roberts Nominated as Chief Justice - NPR
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): senate (11), supreme court (30)
In the Classroom
Though there have been judges nominated and appointed more recently than Roberts, this site provides some excellent information that makes it a great resource for a lesson on judicial nominations. Use this site as a hands-on activity after a class discussion or lecture on the topic. Have cooperative learning groups explore the site with the intentions of showing how Roberts moved through the processes to become a judge. Have students create graphic organizers or concept maps demonstrating the process. Use a tool such as bubbl.us (reviewed here) to create and share the concept maps.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Day In Pictures - Reuters
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): news (223)
In the Classroom
Use these images as writing prompts in an English or government classroom focused on providing real-world examples. Post an image on the interactive whiteboard or projector and have students respond to the image by a specific written format, or to the content presented in the picture. This is a great way to provide a face to the content being learned in a government class, or to help students stretch their imaginations with new prompts in an English class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Mount St. Helen's Teacher's Corner - National Park Service
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Science teachers will love all the summary tables and resources offered on this site. In teaching about Mt St. Helens, many of the summary tables can actually be cleared and printed to allow students to use them as a graphic organizer to follow along a lecture. This site is also great for refreshing the events of that day as well as the volcanic history of the mountain. Save this site as a favorite on your classroom computer for easy reference.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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