Current Events Resource: CNN Student News

One of our teachers emailed me today, commenting that CNN Student News had a daily Podcast download that she used.

I have long been a supporter of using CNN Student News in the classroom, but – being out of the classroom – I had not really visited their site for a while. When I was using CNN Student News in the classroom, I had to videotape at home, review the tape (it varied in time over the years from 10 – 30 minutes), and decide if/what I wanted to use from it that day, or at some point in the near future. I was ecstatic when Student News offered a daily email summarizing the contents and offering guiding essential questions.

I went to the CNN Student News site and discovered that CNN has moved their Student News program into the 21st Century. While you can still tape it at home, it now is broadcast on the web.

But, more importantly, it has all types of whistles and bells, some of which are readily useable in our District classes, some which are not. Here are some of my discoveries:

-A daily blog entry by the host of Student News giving additional insight into the news.
-Transcripts of the topics in the news for that day, as in this February 4 example.
-The “One Sheet”, which provides a summary of a topic, such as Black History Month.
-Maps, not only of the continents, but also maps showing the specific location of topics discussed that day. On February 4 the island of Tuvalu was discussed.
-Still photos highlighting one or more of the topics
-Daily Questions (such as the 10 questions for February 4) and a weekly News Quiz reviewing the week’s shows – provided for you in pdf so you can download and print for the classroom.
-A daily podcast summarizing the news, such as the one for February 4th.

CNN Student News is broadcast on CNN Headline News, Monday - Friday, 4:00 - 4:10 AM.

I’m really impressed with the format and resources provided by CNN Student News. Check out the site and explore… you’ll find more than I’m listing.

What do you think of this resource?

Essential Question: How can we effectively use current events resources, such as CNN Student News, to enhance the understanding of our students of the world they live in?