In the News
	SNAPSHOT "Mr. Newell, look at this! In Sarajevo, they shut down the TV station yesterday because NATO didn't want the rebels to broadcast!" "You're right, Susan, I saw that in the Times, too. Did you read the whole article? The peace talks are supposed to start in Rome soonÑwhat do you think will happen? I think this is a great story for our next In the News publication. Let's bring the group together this afternoon. Meanwhile, why don't you check the Times' site for new developments?" So begins the most exciting part of Susan's week. By Friday, she and her classmates will be ready to publish their story to the rest of the world on the school's website. UNIT OF PRACTICE Invitation How do students learn to read the news critically, formulate questions and research answers? How do students begin to understand that for every breaking news story there is a series of events that lead up to it? This project engages students in actively analyzing current events, pursuing their own areas of interest, and publishing their own news stories that help give background to current events. Situation This unit takes place anywhere there is Internet access. Mr. Newell uses the school's media lab where he can get a number of students online at once. Mr. Newell publishes the student's news stories weekly, but the unit could be set up with monthly or quarterly publications. Science, math and language arts teachers can adapt this current events theme to feature timely topics in their respective areas. Tasks Students submit an idea for the week's topicÑusually a breaking story taken from the newspaper or an online source. The class brainstorms a list of questions they want answered in order to understand the background to the story. Students research these questions using a wide range of online resources: experts online; Encarta Deluxe; online newspapers; and telefield trips. When the research is complete, the group builds a Web page to share their information. Interactions Students work in teams to research topics of similar interest. Standards This unit responds most strongly to standards set by the National Council of Social Studies, the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English. Social studies standards call for experiences that provide for the study of the ways human beings view themselves in and over time; the study of people, places, and environments; the study of how people create and change structures of power, authority, and governance; and for the study of global connections and interdependence. English standards state that students should adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences; use a variety of technological and informational resources to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge; use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes; and participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities. In addition, the unit can fulfill expectations of standards set by other national teachers' groups representing science, the arts, math, and so on. Assessment Mr. Newell sets standards for journalistic practice and publication which he shares with his students frequently throughout the year. Students are graded for factual content as well as good journalistic habits of accuracy, timeliness, and writing style. Tools ¥ Computers, printers, browser software, and an Internet connection ¥ Internet, the City; Web Buddy; Encarta Deluxe; Myrmidon; Scholastic Network; and Electric Library Classroom Edition ¥ Electronic Teacher's Guide for direct links to the sites referred to in this Unit of Practice Getting Started As you think about setting up a project like this one, you'll need to do the following: ¥ Introducing the Internet: Make the program, Internet, the City, available to your students so that they can learn more about the World Wide Web. If you expect your students to send e-mail to experts, they can also spend time on the e-mail tutorial. Spend some time showing students how to get onto the Internet. This can be done as a whole class activity, using the overhead and inviting students to suggest search strategies while you carry out their directions. Or, it can be done by individuals or small groups on one computer. You show one or two students how to get around, they show a few more who show a few more. ¥ Student Research: Assign students to research teams according to their area of interest. Create DragNet documents and hot lists with the URLs of reliable newspaper sites. Copy these DragNet files to each computer. This will create a quick reference list of newspapers for students. An excellent site with links to hundreds of newspapers can be found at http://www.newo.com/news/index.html. Students can add new URLs to the hot list as they find them. Students can also use the two subscription services, Electronic Library and Scholastic Network, for information on current topics. The "How To...Access Information" section of this guide provides some more tips for using the software in this kit to help make searching the Internet safe and efficient if you have limited access to computers with Internet connections. ¥ To get answers to a specific question after exhausting all the usual sources for answers (online searches, library and classroom resources), try the Pitsco index where you'll find many experts donating their time responding to students. Apple's Global Education site also has an extensive list of links. ¥ Publishing: Students can write their reports using a word processor, and then convert their reports to HTML format for posting to a web site using Myrmidon. The "How To...Publish" section of this guide gives you some more ideas and tips on how to publish using the software in this kit, including ways to create your own class or lab "intranet." Extensions and Adaptations This project is easily adapted to science, the arts, and language arts. Students can research and respond to current events in each of these areas. Students in foreign language classes can investigate current events in a foreign country by reading the many online foreign language newspapers.