Read New York
Times : 20 mins
Browse news sites: 50 mins
Create lesson: 50 mins
Group interaction: 40 mins
Adapt lesson: 20 mins
Use lesson: 50 mins
Submit lesson to portal: 10 mins
4 hrs
The purpose of
this activity is for you to
get ideas on how the news has been used
in classrooms elsewhere, and to decide whether you would
like to use similar strategies.
create an assessment tool for a lesson
activity that includes using online news resources
We will refer you to examples of how the
news has been used to create lesson material. We would then
like you to create your own lesson, based on local news stories.
Have a look
at the resources in the
lesson plans archive on the New York Times
page that you have just read. You will have
to log on to the Internet to see these. Look
at the ways in which news stories have been
used in the classroom. Here is an example
of how to navigate
through these pages.
Go to a newspaper website in your country such as one of
these below, and find a current or past news
story in your learning area that you think
will appeal to your learners.
Copy and
paste the story using your word processor
and save it into your personal folder.
Read
through the story, and, using the ideas you
saw in the examples given in the newspaper
sites, create a lesson activity around
the story. These guidelines
for planning a news lesson will help you.
Develop an
assessment tool (if you do not already have
one that is perfect for this purpose) that
will assess your learners' ability to use
online news resources.
Implement
the lesson. As the lesson progresses, provide
ongoing formative assessment.
Conclude the lesson by asking
someone in each group to describe their group's
experience (positive and negative). Complete
the assessment for your learners and provide
one example of a completed assessment tool to
your group.
Send a message to
your group (using the subject heading "Using the news") in which you
- describe how the class managed. Mention difficulties
as well as successes.
- attach your lesson activity and completed
assessment tool.
Adapt
your lesson activity based on feedback from
your group and mentor.
NEXT
If you would like to view the other optional
activities:
Module Outline
on the New York Times
page that you have just read. You will have
to log on to the Internet to see these. Look
at the ways in which news stories have been
used in the classroom. Here is an example
of how to 
