Breaking News!

Subject Area(s):

• Civics
• Geography
• Social Studies(general)
• K-12: Language Arts

Grade Level(s):

• 7th-8th Grade

Description:

Students will define what a current event is, identify current issues that fit that definition, and, in groups, select one on which to research further background information and create a presentation/ report. This is a collaborative unit involving the Social Studies teacher and teacher-librarian.

Goals & Objectives:

Instructional Goals:

Students will:

• Identify current events in newspapers and magazines;
• Select one current event and, in groups, research background information, including historical, geographical, and other data relevant to the nature of the issue or event;
• Deliver a presentation teaching their peers about the current event;
• Demonstrate understanding about numerous current events; and
• Reflect on their research strategies.

Learning Objectives:

Students will:

• Identify the essential characteristics of a current event;
• Identify at least three journals or magazines that cover current events;
• Locate relevant background information, including past, present, and potential future happenings of the event, from at least three print sources and at least three electronic or internet sources;
  
• Deliver presentations in groups to class. Presentations must include 3 instructional aides (including one map), provide thorough background knowledge to understand the nature of the current event, and answer questions the group will create for concluding activity;
• Identify and describe how the issue affects them personally;
• Answer questions about other current events; and
• Identify which strategies were effective and which were not in the research process.

Motivational Goals:

This lesson will:

• Stimulate curiosity about local and global issues;
  
• Generate student interest in global connections;
• Promote the importance of the student’s participation and role in a global society;
• Promote confidence in teaching and presenting to peers; and
  
• Raise student confidence in information-seeking strategies.

Materials:

See attached lesson plan in Supporting Files.

Procedures:

See attached lesson plan in Supporting Files.

Assessment:

See attached lesson plan in Supporting Files.

Supporting Files:

• Breaking_News.doc
  Complete lesson plan.
• current_events_and_information_sources.doc
  Graphic organizer for students to use.
• Currentevents_rubric.doc
  

Standards:

National Information Literacy Standards (K-12)

Accesses information efficiently and effectively.

• Formulates questions based on information needs.
• Identifies a variety of potential sources of information.
• Develops and uses successful strategies for locating information.

Evaluates information critically and competently.

• Determines accuracy, relevance and comprehensiveness.
• Selects information appropriate to the problem or question at hand.

Uses information accurately and creatively

• Produces and communicates information and ideas in appropriate formats

Strives for excellence in information seeking and knowledge generation.

• Devises strategies for revising, improving, and updating self-generated knowledge.

Recognizes the importance of information to a democratic society.

• Seeks information from diverse sources, contexts, disciplines, and cultures

Participates effectively in groups to pursue and generate information.

• Shares knowledge and information with others.

Information Skills and Subskills (K-16)

Definition

• Determines amount/type of information needed to complete research task

Planning

• Formulates a search strategy
• Identifies potential information sources

Collection

• Selects most appropriate information sources
• Locates relevant information within selected sources
• Identifies and extracts relevant information from selected sources
• Evaluates quality of information and information source
• Recognizes when sufficient information has been obtained

Organization

• Analyzes quality of information
• Filters out irrelevant information
• Summarizes/synthesizes/classifies final information
• Organizes final information for presentation

Presentation

• Assembles organized information for presentation

Evaluation

• Assesses the efficiency of the research process
• Subject: K-12: Language Arts

National Content Standards (K-12)

Writing

• Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process
• Gathers and uses information for research purposes

Reading

• Uses the general skills and strategies of the reading process
• Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety of informational texts

Listening and Speaking

• Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes