Thoughtful Planning: Nicole and I determined the focus of our current events lesson through careful consideration of the resources at our disposal: a list of suggestions for teaching current events and the available articles on Newsela. Newsela, with the slogan, "Read closely. Think critically. Be worldly," is a website dedicated to improving students' reading comprehension of nonfiction text with international news articles. First presented with this website when using it as a student, I grew to love its user-friendly annotating capabilities. Considering it from a teacher's perspective, I also appreciated that every article could be read at five lexile levels which ensures that all students can engage in high-success reading: "Whenever we design intervention for struggling readers, the single-most critical factor that will determine the success of the effort is matching struggling readers with texts they can actually read with a high level 
Nicole and I then planned to show a world map in our Google Presentation as the activity suggested. However, we also decided to have students utilize Google Earth so that they could appreciate what life looked like in the countries their articles featured, to expand the role of the geography discipline within the lesson.
Reflecting on Teaching:
On March 27, 2015, Nicole and I taught our current events lesson, employing a cooperative learning method, to our colleagues as if we were teaching a fourth-grade class as we did for other lessons in our unit on the American Revolution. We began the lesson by showing students a clip of the role of women in the American Revolution, drawing particular attention to the Daughters of Liberty whose boycotting we discussed in the direct instruction lesson. Students shared ideas about the role of women following the clip, and connected the video to the Newsela articles that they had read the previous night for homework. Students were asked to agree or disagree with peers' statements by moving thumbs up or down. Also as part of the introduction, students reviewed the concept of teamwork to prepare them to meet the social interaction learning objective.
Students who had read the same article for homework came together into groups to prepare for the presentations they would make to the class. Each group was provided with a Presentation Preparation Form, that way they could
prepare to answer specific questions as part of their presentations. To ensure positive interdependence, groups had to fill out one form together and prepare a joint presentation. However, to promote individual accountability and involve all students, the questions on the presentation preparation form were color coded so that each group member needed to answer certain questions. The presentation preparation form required that students answer literal, interpretive, and applied questions in conjunction with Bloom's Taxonomy. Specifically, groups were challenged by the following questions which required them to consider both what they read in the articles, their personal experiences and viewpoints, as well as the reconciliation of those viewpoints with the viewpoints of their peers with whom they were working:
As the groups worked through their forms discussing the Newsela articles and their larger views on women's empowerment, spurred by the different levels of questions, Nicole and I circulated around the room to offer assistance and ask additional thought-provoking questions to groups in need. We were particularly impressed with how the first group, Christine and Ainsley, focused in on the individual questions assigned to them but also asked for assistance and clarification from their partners when necessary indicating promotive social interaction skills. Specifically, Christine answered one of the questions on the form and then asked Ainsley, "Do you agree with this or do I need to add something else?" This simple question led to a larger discussion on the point the group wanted to get across in their presentation.
Next, the groups began their well-prepared presentations following the outline provided by the presentation preparation form. Additionally, the groups were able to pull up Google Earth images to share their geographic region of the world with the entire class. After every group presented, each demonstrating how women's empowerment is an issue in areas very geographically distant and culturally diverse, the class was able to agree that women's empowerment is an international issue. As a teacher and a woman, it was particularly interesting to hear peers' responses to the last question, "What does women's empowerment mean to you?" Their responses indicated an ability to evaluate a complex issue which is indicative of deep, as opposed to fragile, understanding. Similarly, by evaluating this global issue, students were develop their civic competence, specifically targeting the Common Core Social Studies Practice Standard for Civic Participation, that fourth-graders: "Participate in activities that focus on a classroom, school, community, state, or national issue or problem."
As closure, groups met the group processing element of cooperative learning by filling our peer and group evaluation forms. The students evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of their peers independently, and then discussed with each other areas in need of improvement to target in future cooperative learning experiences. Lastly, for independent practice, students were asked to post to the "twitter board" as a more creative exit-ticket style independent practice assessment. In a classroom with accessible technology allowing for a computer or iPad for every student, it would be wise to actually have students post on a social media interface or classroom forum, such as padlet which colleagues of mine utilized in their current events project. However, for classrooms without easy access to technology, using a twitter board like the one we created will allow students to easily post their thoughts in a creative and motivating way. If the twitter board was placed next to the classroom door, students could quickly post their comments as they walked out the door. For this lesson, to meet both content and social interaction objectives, students had to answer two questions according to a rubric provided to them through the Google Presentation.
At the end of the lesson, together, as teacher candidates, we discussed how this lesson could be adapted for other grade levels. We all unanimously agreed that in younger grades, it would be more effective to have all students read the same article, especially if the teacher still wanted to use a Newsela article because he or she would most likely need to read it aloud first as the lowest lexiles available for Newsela are aligned with the upper elementary grades. First and second graders, after listening to the article read aloud, could engage in conversations with each other on certain elements of the article. Similarly, the teacher could assign each group a certain W question. For example, group one could answer the question WHO?, looking at personality traits, while another group answers the WHERE? question and explores the geographic region featured in the article using pictures provided by the teacher.
The current events lesson achieved the five principles for powerful social studies teaching and learning. The lesson was meaningful as it emphasized deep understanding of one issue "for understanding, appreciation, and life application," as opposed to covering many topics which would lead students to only develop fragile knowledge (NCSS). Secondly, the lesson successfully integrated technology through the use of a Google Presentation, video clips, and Google Earth. Similarly, the lesson integrated many disciplines within social studies, such as geography, history, politics and philosophy, and also incorporated Common Core English Language Arts standards. Thirdly, the lesson was value-based because it tackled the controversial issue of women's empowerment around the world which reflects the value-based characteristic that: "Powerful social studies teaching considers the ethical dimensions of topics and addresses controversial issues, providing an arena for reflective development of concern for the common good and application of social values" (NCSS). Students were asked to consider the significance of women's empowerment and evaluate it in terms of their own lives. Fourthly, the lesson challenged students "to strive to accomplish the instructional goals, both as individuals and as group members" and required "well-reasoned arguments" as a part of their group presentations and independent practice responses (NCSS). Lastly, the lesson was active in that students had to evaluate a controversial issue from the information provided to them in the nonfiction articles featuring women around the world. Students engaged in reflective thinking and peer discussions in order to develop generalizations beyond the knowledge provided to them in the Newsela readings.
Personally, I love discussing current events and am excited to share this love with my students. I believe current events provide an excellent entry point for integrating many different disciplines within social studies to one topic. Similarly, students recognize how all of the disciplines play in role in understanding the world around us presently. Thus, current events lessons are beneficial additions to unit plans as they help to meet the National Council for the Social Studies' goal that: "K–12 social studies programs integrate knowledge, skills, and attitudes within and across disciplines."
On March 27, 2015, Nicole and I taught our current events lesson, employing a cooperative learning method, to our colleagues as if we were teaching a fourth-grade class as we did for other lessons in our unit on the American Revolution. We began the lesson by showing students a clip of the role of women in the American Revolution, drawing particular attention to the Daughters of Liberty whose boycotting we discussed in the direct instruction lesson. Students shared ideas about the role of women following the clip, and connected the video to the Newsela articles that they had read the previous night for homework. Students were asked to agree or disagree with peers' statements by moving thumbs up or down. Also as part of the introduction, students reviewed the concept of teamwork to prepare them to meet the social interaction learning objective.
Students who had read the same article for homework came together into groups to prepare for the presentations they would make to the class. Each group was provided with a Presentation Preparation Form, that way they could
- Where in the world are women being empowered?
- What sense of this part of the world do you get from reading the article?
- Who is empowering women (Organization, Person, Government)?
- How are women being empowered? What message is being sent?
- What does women’s empowerment mean to you? Why is it important?
As the groups worked through their forms discussing the Newsela articles and their larger views on women's empowerment, spurred by the different levels of questions, Nicole and I circulated around the room to offer assistance and ask additional thought-provoking questions to groups in need. We were particularly impressed with how the first group, Christine and Ainsley, focused in on the individual questions assigned to them but also asked for assistance and clarification from their partners when necessary indicating promotive social interaction skills. Specifically, Christine answered one of the questions on the form and then asked Ainsley, "Do you agree with this or do I need to add something else?" This simple question led to a larger discussion on the point the group wanted to get across in their presentation.
Next, the groups began their well-prepared presentations following the outline provided by the presentation preparation form. Additionally, the groups were able to pull up Google Earth images to share their geographic region of the world with the entire class. After every group presented, each demonstrating how women's empowerment is an issue in areas very geographically distant and culturally diverse, the class was able to agree that women's empowerment is an international issue. As a teacher and a woman, it was particularly interesting to hear peers' responses to the last question, "What does women's empowerment mean to you?" Their responses indicated an ability to evaluate a complex issue which is indicative of deep, as opposed to fragile, understanding. Similarly, by evaluating this global issue, students were develop their civic competence, specifically targeting the Common Core Social Studies Practice Standard for Civic Participation, that fourth-graders: "Participate in activities that focus on a classroom, school, community, state, or national issue or problem."
As closure, groups met the group processing element of cooperative learning by filling our peer and group evaluation forms. The students evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of their peers independently, and then discussed with each other areas in need of improvement to target in future cooperative learning experiences. Lastly, for independent practice, students were asked to post to the "twitter board" as a more creative exit-ticket style independent practice assessment. In a classroom with accessible technology allowing for a computer or iPad for every student, it would be wise to actually have students post on a social media interface or classroom forum, such as padlet which colleagues of mine utilized in their current events project. However, for classrooms without easy access to technology, using a twitter board like the one we created will allow students to easily post their thoughts in a creative and motivating way. If the twitter board was placed next to the classroom door, students could quickly post their comments as they walked out the door. For this lesson, to meet both content and social interaction objectives, students had to answer two questions according to a rubric provided to them through the Google Presentation. At the end of the lesson, together, as teacher candidates, we discussed how this lesson could be adapted for other grade levels. We all unanimously agreed that in younger grades, it would be more effective to have all students read the same article, especially if the teacher still wanted to use a Newsela article because he or she would most likely need to read it aloud first as the lowest lexiles available for Newsela are aligned with the upper elementary grades. First and second graders, after listening to the article read aloud, could engage in conversations with each other on certain elements of the article. Similarly, the teacher could assign each group a certain W question. For example, group one could answer the question WHO?, looking at personality traits, while another group answers the WHERE? question and explores the geographic region featured in the article using pictures provided by the teacher.
The current events lesson achieved the five principles for powerful social studies teaching and learning. The lesson was meaningful as it emphasized deep understanding of one issue "for understanding, appreciation, and life application," as opposed to covering many topics which would lead students to only develop fragile knowledge (NCSS). Secondly, the lesson successfully integrated technology through the use of a Google Presentation, video clips, and Google Earth. Similarly, the lesson integrated many disciplines within social studies, such as geography, history, politics and philosophy, and also incorporated Common Core English Language Arts standards. Thirdly, the lesson was value-based because it tackled the controversial issue of women's empowerment around the world which reflects the value-based characteristic that: "Powerful social studies teaching considers the ethical dimensions of topics and addresses controversial issues, providing an arena for reflective development of concern for the common good and application of social values" (NCSS). Students were asked to consider the significance of women's empowerment and evaluate it in terms of their own lives. Fourthly, the lesson challenged students "to strive to accomplish the instructional goals, both as individuals and as group members" and required "well-reasoned arguments" as a part of their group presentations and independent practice responses (NCSS). Lastly, the lesson was active in that students had to evaluate a controversial issue from the information provided to them in the nonfiction articles featuring women around the world. Students engaged in reflective thinking and peer discussions in order to develop generalizations beyond the knowledge provided to them in the Newsela readings.
Personally, I love discussing current events and am excited to share this love with my students. I believe current events provide an excellent entry point for integrating many different disciplines within social studies to one topic. Similarly, students recognize how all of the disciplines play in role in understanding the world around us presently. Thus, current events lessons are beneficial additions to unit plans as they help to meet the National Council for the Social Studies' goal that: "K–12 social studies programs integrate knowledge, skills, and attitudes within and across disciplines."
References
Allington, R.L. (2009). What really matters in response to intervention: Research-based designs. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Lozoya, A., Farias, D., Trevino, P., Mar, E., & Vera, G. (2010, April 30). The Daughters of Liberty. Retrieved April 6, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2I4FmaCJXM
More information about questioning. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2015, from http://www.consultfourkids.com/free/materials/Blooms_Taxonomy.pdf
National Council for the Social Studies. “Principles of Teaching and Learning.” Expectations of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Studies.
National Council for the Social Studies. (1994). “What Is Social Studies?” Expectations of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Studies.
Newsela | Nonfiction Literacy and Current Events. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2015, from https://newsela.com/
New York State Education Department. (2015). New York State K-12 social studies framework. Retrieved April 4, 2015, from https://www.engageny.org/resource/new-york-state-k-12-social-studies-framework
More information about questioning. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2015, from http://www.consultfourkids.com/free/materials/Blooms_Taxonomy.pdf
National Council for the Social Studies. “Principles of Teaching and Learning.” Expectations of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Studies.
National Council for the Social Studies. (1994). “What Is Social Studies?” Expectations of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Studies.
Newsela | Nonfiction Literacy and Current Events. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2015, from https://newsela.com/
New York State Education Department. (2015). New York State K-12 social studies framework. Retrieved April 4, 2015, from https://www.engageny.org/resource/new-york-state-k-12-social-studies-framework
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