Directions & Guidelines

How Many Current Events Can I Complete?

You may do up to 10 current events each marking period.  

Where Can I Find a Current Event Story?

You can choose any Current Event that I have posted to my website: either here on the home page (as below) or from any of my archive pages.  I have also provided links to a few online news sites who post their videos to YouTube.  

What if I Want to Choose My Own Current Event Story?

You can choose your own news story if you want.  The following guide are to be used regardless if you use one of the news sites I suggest or one of your own.

Guidelines for Choosing Your Own News Story:

If you decide to use a YouTube news source you may: 

• chose any video that has been published within the last 30 days.

• the video you choose should be approximately 10 minutes long or longer. 

• stories must be school appropriate.  If you need clarification on a particular story, ask me before you complete the assignment.

• NO SPORTS OR ENTERTAINMENT!!! (no news on music, movies, celebrities etc.)  The only exception is if the story pertains to a socially relevant issue that just so happens to include a celebrity.

Example: A few years ago LeBron James opened up his own charter school in Cleveland.  It was a school just for 3rd grade.  He talked about how research studies have shown that if children are academically behind at the end of 3rd grade they are likely to never catch up.  So, while this story included LeBron James, it had nothing to do with basketball and so it would be a good story to use for a current event.

How Do I Navigate Your Website?

To access the different pages on my website, just click on the HOME tab on the left side of this page and you can then choose any of the pages from the drop down menu.

To go to a particular YouTube page/channel, just click on the link below.  These channels are listed in no particular order.

I Have Found an Interesting Story, Now How Do I Complete the Current Event Assignment?

1) CITING YOUR SOURCE: Tell me:

• The name of the news story you are writing about

• The date it was published 

• PROVIDE ME THE LINK TO IT!!! - if is one that you found on my website, just tell me.

Example: 

Old Electric Car Batteries Used to Power Stadiums

 July 9, 2019

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZMjXSZtLfg&t=115s

2) SUMMARY: Provide me with a summary of the story - minimum of 1 paragraph.  The summary should include all of the important information such as the: who, what, when, where, why?  OR what were some of the key points discussed in the video?  What was the news story about?

3) OPINION: Provide me with your thoughts and opinions on the story: Why do you feel this story is this important?  Why did you find this story interesting? - minimum of 1 paragraph.  If you do not have any educated thoughts or opinions on the story, then I suggest choosing a different story.

**4) I may ask you additional questions about the story.  You will need to reply to these in order to earn your credit.

How & Where Do I Submit My Completed Assignment?

All Current Events assignments must be typed and emailed OR shared with me at: 

                                                    Mr.McManus31@gmail.com

These can be typed in a Word document and sent as an attachment.  You can type it as a Google doc and then just shared it with me, or you can just simply type it in the body of your email and send it to me.  YOU MUST use proper grammar, punctuation and spelling.  The only exception I give is for not indenting your paragraphs.  Paragraphs can be separated simply by a blank line, similar to how I have things on this page.

Some Interesting Stories: