Current Events
I believe that this age it is extremely important that students start to pay more attention to things that are happening around the world. I also think it is important for students to have a chance to engage in topics that they might not otherwise hear about or feel comfortable discussing.
To help facilitate this, all students are expected to do a short Current Event (CE) presentation once per quarter on the topics of history, politics, society, or the environment (other topics may be acceptable as well - see below). The calendar for these presentations will be created at the beginning of/prior to the start of each quarter. Students will always have at least one week's notice before it is their day to present. The current week's and next week's schedule is presented daily in all classes. Students are also asked to write their date in their planners when the schedule is made. It is very important that students are prepared for their presentation on the date they are assigned. Points will be taken off for every day they are in class but not ready to present. See the rubric for specifics.
Students should look for an article on a reputable news organization's website (several are linked below). Once an article is chosen that satisfies the requirements on the Rubric, it needs to be printed off and the write-up needs to be done on the Current Event form. Both the Rubric and CE form are available on the classroom handouts page. The website Print Friendly is a great resource to use before printing articles. It allows you to cut out the advertisements and unnecessary pictures. More info about Print Friendly and suggestions for choosing topics below.
I know that many people do not like public speaking; I used to be one of them. I hated public speaking. The thing is... the only way to get over that uneasiness is to do it. ALL students are expected to do Current Event presentations unless there is a documented (504 or IEP) reason why they cannot.
Current Event Writing Form.pdfCurrent Event Writing Form
Your current event should be hand-written on this form. As per the rubric, points will be deducted if your current event is not on this form.
Make sure to read it closely, as it contains directions that must be followed!
Current Event Rubric 2.0 - Single.pdfCurrent Event Rubric
Use this as a reference when selecting your article, and then while writing. Pay close attention to the top item in the "Article Choice" section. It is important to choose a topic that fits with one of those categories!
If you are unsure if the topic you want to do your presentation on fits with one of those categories or not, email me! I will sometimes make exceptions for certain topics.
While you certainly can, it is not necessary to print this out to turn in.
Copies of both of these handouts are available in my classroom.
The following are good places to look for current event topics:
You can also look for current event topics in magazines such as Time, Newsweek, National Geographic, etc.or (gasp!) actual newspapers.
Print Friendly
As you can see on the image to the left, to use PrintFriendly, all you need to do is copy/paste the URL of the news article into field on the print friendly website (shown on the left) and click Preview.
Once you have opened the preview, you simply mouse over and click on portions of the article that you want to delete (shown to the left in yellow). This is great for getting rid of advertisements, empty space, and unnecessary pictures.
Save ink!
Save paper!
What does my summary need to have?
Your summary paragraph should have a:
- Topic Sentence (This gets the reader into the right place to understand what you’re going to say next; it’s the main idea of the article.)
- Body (facts that support the main idea)
- Closing Sentence (summarizes main idea; something interesting)
The summary should include answers to each of these questions (if applicable to the article - some articles may not have all 6 things) somewhere in your summary. DON'T just write them out as a list:
- Who?
- What?
- Where?
- When?
- Why?
- How?
Suggestions for choosing a topic
- Choose an article that is interesting to you, that you understand, and that has something to teach the class (not simply the first one you find.)
- Not everything from a news source is an acceptable current events article. Do not use weather reports (or stories about the weather), sports, entertainment, celebrity news or opinion pieces (including blogs). Check with me if unsure.
Writing tips
- Read & reread. Look up words or concepts you don't understand.
- Mark up the article and make notes if that helps you figure out or organize the main point or points of the article.
- Be brief. Your summary should be a single paragraph, which is likely far less than 1/3 the length of the article.
- Paraphrase the information in your own words. Copying phrases or sentences will result in a 0 for the assignment.
Presentation tips
- Practice!
- Do your best to figure out how to pronounce names or titles before you present.
- While presenting, don't just read off your sheet. Make eye contact.
- Show interest and enthusiasm. You picked this topic! Make us like it!