Teaching Science, Math, More with Current Events
Teach a Variety of Educational Subjects with the News
Nov 24, 2008
Research indicates that using current events as instructive material in the homeschool or public school classroom helps children become competent, lifelong learners [Why Teach Current Events?]
Newspaper in Education
In his book, The Newspaper: A Reference for Teachers and Librarians [ABC-CLIO, Inc., 1991)] author and University of San Diego School of Education dean, Edward F. DeRoche, sites research evidence for the value of using newspapers in education:
- Students who use newspapers usually get better standardized test scores than those who don't.
- Newspapers help students become more effective, critical readers by helping develop and improve vocabulary and comprehension.
- Newspapers help teach math concepts in meaningful, applicable ways, especially fractions, decimals, currency, and averages.
- Students who read newspapers tend to continue being lifelong newspaper readers, remaining informed about current events into adulthood.
Caring about Current Events
Results of the 1996 National Household Education Survey (NHES) also showed that students for who studied current events as part of their curriculum reported increased interest in this topic outside of school, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
- 65 percent of students who took at least one such course during the last two years reported their interest in politics and national issues increase "some" or "a good deal" as a result.
- 71 percent of those who had taken a course utilizing current events responded that their interest had increased.
- And they were more likely to engage in discussions about the news or watch or listen to the national news with parents.
That early interest can translate into civicly active young adults who care about the world around them and are more likely to be involved adults.
Ways to Use Current Events in Education
There are numerous ways to make current events interesting and far reaching in the classroom, across a broad array of subjects.
- Science can be taught both from reading about science in the news, to using the newspaper to demonstrate science. One classic exercise involves preserving newspaper clippings by soaking them in a solution of 1 tablet of milk of magnesia in a quart of water. The magnesium carbide in the milk of magnesia neutralizes the acid that typically yellows newsprint with age.
- Geography and Social Studies can be taught together by mapping the news on community, state, US or world maps, and exploring distances from where students live to where news is occurring.
- Students can graph and sequence news items about the economy, stories about population or other related stories.
- Understanding what qualifies as news and why is also an important skill that can be employed in understanding the difference between fact and opinion, relevance and perspective, impact and importance.
Stories that Interest Youth
Some stories will lend themselves more readily to classroom instruction than others. Try to connect known youth interests to contemporary events. An effective way to match stories and students is to use the Internet and search on the relevant topic in something like Google News.
If a student is interested in robots, for instance, search on “robotics news” and see what comes up. Better yet, teach students to search for news of interest to them, helping them identify real vs. pseudo or “spoofed” news, an important skill in our information laden world.
Challenge students to collect articles on different topics throughout the school year, and teach them to cross reference the stories they find against other news stories and quality resources. Help them see how stories that may not seem relevant to them – like stories about the economy – might be more relevant than they think, affecting their immediate community, and their families.
The New York Times Learning Network does a good job of helping make a variety of news stories relevant to youth, linking stories by age and subject.
Bringing current events into your classroom can help make subjects like geography, math and science, pertinent, personal and meaningful. Reading the newspaper expands the vocabulary, improves comprehension, and helps create lifelong learners who are civicly engaged and interested in the world around them.
Reference
Chapman, Chris (ESSI); Nolin, Mary Jo; and Kline, Karen ((Westat, Inc.). Student Interest in National News and its Relation to School Courses. National Center for Education Statistics, 1997
