For our Social Studies Methods class, we had to do a project on current events and how to analyze them. My group decided to teach the 5 W's: Who, What, Where, When, and Why (and sometimes How). To do so, we decided to do an activity on how to listen and take notes when reading an article using the 5 W's.
To begin our activity we first explained what the 5 W's were and how you can use them. We then went over helpful tips to take notes and listen. The listening aspect was important because not all current events are articles, they can also be videos or news reports. We next showed a video on Hurricane Dorian. We had taken notes using the 5 W's as an example and showed the class what we came up with.
After we felt that the class had a good understanding we moved on to our task for the day. We had the students read an article and take notes using the 5 W's. They then turned and talked with a partner to summarize what they had read. Finally, they answered questions regarding the article.
Learning through current events in the classroom is important because it is a way to teach students how to analyze and synthesis information while also keeping them informed about what is occurring in the world. We chose the method we did because since we were the first group to present we felt it would be a good foundation to begin upon. We found the ideas from the websites provided to us on Eclass and also incorporated our own experience with using current events and taking notes. This assignment can be used in both grade one and grade six but of course, needs to be edited to fix their grade level. For example, for grade one, you can introduce the idea of the 5 W's and try and identify them in an article the teacher reads aloud or in a video that is played. For grade six, you can make the assignment more complex by giving them a more difficult article and asking them why they feel the event is important and how it relates to other events they have learned about.
For this assignment, I used the site Newsela. On this website, you can either sign in as a teacher or a student. If you are a teacher you are able to assign specific articles to your students. What I liked most about this website is that it allowed you to pick specific levels for different students. For example, I could choose an article at an upper or lower elementary level. If I wanted to be more specific I could choose the exact grade that I wanted to work with. If I was a third-grade teacher, I could limit my search to only third grade. This site would be effective in a social studies classroom because you can search for specific topics that you are discussing in class. If you are learning about money, you can search for all articles regarding money. If you are doing a specific unit you can use these current event articles to support what you are teaching and show the students how what they are learning is in the world today.
For next semester I feel that the assignment can be more clearly defined. My group went first and we were very confused about where to start and what to do. We tried to follow the examples as best we could but still were informed that we taught too much. Maybe providing more clear examples of what is expected could be helpful. Overall, I felt that this assignment was valuable because it showed us how to incorporate current events into our future classrooms.
To begin our activity we first explained what the 5 W's were and how you can use them. We then went over helpful tips to take notes and listen. The listening aspect was important because not all current events are articles, they can also be videos or news reports. We next showed a video on Hurricane Dorian. We had taken notes using the 5 W's as an example and showed the class what we came up with.
After we felt that the class had a good understanding we moved on to our task for the day. We had the students read an article and take notes using the 5 W's. They then turned and talked with a partner to summarize what they had read. Finally, they answered questions regarding the article.
Learning through current events in the classroom is important because it is a way to teach students how to analyze and synthesis information while also keeping them informed about what is occurring in the world. We chose the method we did because since we were the first group to present we felt it would be a good foundation to begin upon. We found the ideas from the websites provided to us on Eclass and also incorporated our own experience with using current events and taking notes. This assignment can be used in both grade one and grade six but of course, needs to be edited to fix their grade level. For example, for grade one, you can introduce the idea of the 5 W's and try and identify them in an article the teacher reads aloud or in a video that is played. For grade six, you can make the assignment more complex by giving them a more difficult article and asking them why they feel the event is important and how it relates to other events they have learned about.
For this assignment, I used the site Newsela. On this website, you can either sign in as a teacher or a student. If you are a teacher you are able to assign specific articles to your students. What I liked most about this website is that it allowed you to pick specific levels for different students. For example, I could choose an article at an upper or lower elementary level. If I wanted to be more specific I could choose the exact grade that I wanted to work with. If I was a third-grade teacher, I could limit my search to only third grade. This site would be effective in a social studies classroom because you can search for specific topics that you are discussing in class. If you are learning about money, you can search for all articles regarding money. If you are doing a specific unit you can use these current event articles to support what you are teaching and show the students how what they are learning is in the world today.
For next semester I feel that the assignment can be more clearly defined. My group went first and we were very confused about where to start and what to do. We tried to follow the examples as best we could but still were informed that we taught too much. Maybe providing more clear examples of what is expected could be helpful. Overall, I felt that this assignment was valuable because it showed us how to incorporate current events into our future classrooms.
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