Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

         I recently presented a current events project with my co-teacher Casey. This project entailed making a mini lesson for a current events activity. We chose to use a NewsELA article titled "Saving pieces of history, one bullet or belt buckle at a time." The article was about a man that discovered and collected Civil War artifacts. Together we designed an activity that incorporated the 5 W's; who, what, when, where, and why. We imagined that the students were fifth graders, and introduced the lesson by discussing the class' prior experiences with current events. Many of the students had experienced current events in their past school experiences. We then discussed the 5 W's and read the article. The article was a very fitting topic because the class was going to participate in an artifact bag activity in the upcoming week. After the article was read, we asked the students to get into their groups and fill out their 5 W graphic organizer. By using this organizer, the students were able to figure out the important details of the article. We discussed the results as a class, and reflected on the experience. Overall, I think the presentation was successful, and the feedback from my peers was very positive. I believe it is important to use current events in the classroom. Students should be informed of the events that happen everyday, all over the world. I will definitely use various strategies and resources, such as the NewsELA website, to inform my future students on current events. I hope that with new technology, teachers can make learning about topics in the news engaging, exciting, and fun!