FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How are stories selected each week?

The editors of NewsCurrents are careful to only choose stories that have educational significance.The first question that is asked when selecting a story is “What can I teach with this story?” Stories that have no teaching value will not be included even if they are prominent in the mainstream media. On the other hand, we go out of our way to find interesting and important stories that may not be making big headlines, but provide a great opportunity to teach something meaningful that will relate to your required curriculum.

Does NewsCurrents have any political bias?

Absolutely not. The NewsCurrents editorial team is made up of former educators and journalists who are trained to be objective and who recognize the importance of presenting bias-free information in the classroom. Controversial and political stories are written to include several points of view and to balance those equally. We encourage students to think for themselves after getting all the relevant information.

Do you avoid controversial issues in NewsCurrents?

No. We feel students are capable of understanding and debating almost any topic when the information is presented to them in an objective and sensitive way. In fact, we like to include controversial issues because they encourage debate and critical thinking. Debates over gun control, affirmative action, capital punishment, and the Middle East situation, to name a few, have all appeared in NewsCurrents. However, the teacher is the final editor of the program. If you feel a story isn’t appropriate for your students, simply skip over it. You are the best judge of what’s appropriate for your students.

What grade level is NewsCurrents written for?

NewsCurrents is designed to be used in grades 3 through 12. Each issue is written on three distinct vocabulary and concept levels. All three levels are contained in one teacher’s guide for maximum flexibility within a class or school. Because of the different levels, the universality of the content, and the adaptability of its discussion format, the program has also been used successfully by teachers in early primary grades as well as in adult education, in prison settings, in GED programs, and in adult literacy programs.

How much class time does NewsCurrents take?

This is completely at the discretion of the individual teacher. You can adapt NewsCurrents to any schedule. Most educators allow 20 to 60 minutes or one class period each week for their NewsCurrents lessons. Some teachers tell us they use it every day, and others build their entire social studies curriculum around the program.

Why does NewsCurrents use still images instead of moving film footage and why is there no soundtrack?

Using still images is most effective for the way people learn. A still image helps to focus the attention and allows for discussion. Many of the images are maps, graphs, charts, editorial cartoons, and other teaching visuals that require more than a few seconds for viewing. By the same token, videos with soundtracks encourage passive listening as well as passive viewing. NewsCurrents is an interactive program that promotes discussion. With NewsCurrents, you and your students provide the soundtrack.

What do the students receive each week?

NewsCurrents is primarily a discussion program — students’ attention should be focused on the teaching visuals and the discussion prompted by the teacher rather than on any printed material during the lesson. However, NewsCurrents will motivate your students to follow up with news reading and watching. We like to think that the newspaper is the textbook for NewsCurrents. The NewsCurrents program also comes with reproduced activities in every issue. These can be reproduced and assigned for homework or following a lesson.