Overview
As we say “so long” to summer, let’s look back on the top news stories of June, July and August to see what’s been happening and how news in our world continues to unfold. Plus, a chance to win a PBS @NewsHour Real News t-shirt! For a Google doc version of this lesson, click here . You will be prompted to make a copy.Objectives
Students will:- Explore news stories from Summer 2022 to understand some of the big things that happened in the world over the summer.
- Evaluate news stories and determine the three news stories you think were most important in the world, country or to you.
- Make connections between news from today and news from the past, using Journalism in Action , Classroom’s interactive media literacy site.
Subjects
Civics, U.S. History, Social Studies, ELA, English, JournalismGrade Levels
Grades 6-12Supplemental Links
Standards
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Common CoreCCSS.RL/RI.X.11-12. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. CCSS.W.X.6-12. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.3 Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies or categories).
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College, Career, and Civic Life (3C)Participation and Deliberation: Applying Civic Virtues and Democratic Principles
Teachers, send your students' playlists to education@newshour.org for a chance for YOU and one lucky (obviously smart!) student to win a brand new PBS NewsHour Real News t-shirt!!
Include your name (and student's initials, if you'd like), grade, school and city/state, and we'll let you know if one of your students is chosen!
Overview
In this lesson, you'll explore headlines, video segments and stories from Summer 2022. As you make your playlist of top stories, think about the following questions:
- So what makes the news news?
- What types of stories are you noticing? How would you categorize them? Environmental? Political? Feel good stories? Global news?
- Explore the context of the story. When was it reported on or created? How does that matter in the context? Since the story was published, has anything changed related to the story?
- How credible is the news story and how do you know?
Create your Summer News Playlist
- Explore 5-7 news stories using the Daily News Lessons.
- Use the arrows at the bottom of the Daily News Lesson page to see more news stories from the summer. The most recent news stories appear on the first page, so use the arrows to go back in time through the summer.
- Watch the short video segment that accompanies each Daily News Lesson. Explore some of the guiding questions that you see with each story.
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Then, using the template below or using this
Google Sheet Template
, decide what are your
Top 3 Summer News Stories
and add them to your playlist.
- What makes news, news? It could be the number of people the story impacts; the seriousness of the subject matter; the consequences of the story; the type of conflicts reported on; the people or communities the story impacts or if it impacts a specific person (like a political figure or well known person).
- Song title becomes the article name. Artist? The journalist or reporter. Then, students can explain their rationale: why did this news story make your top three? What makes it important, critical or meaningful to you as the top news story from the summer?
Starting stories: Some things you have probably heard about over the summer that may make your top 3:
- The senate passes long-awaited climate bill
- Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade
- What students can learn from NASA's Webb Telescope into the cosmos
- What we learned on Day 6 of the Jan. 6 committee hearings
- Juneteenth celebrated as national holiday for second time
- Catastrophic flooding in Eastern Kentucky causes death and destruction
→ Make a copy of the Google Sheets Playlist Template here.
Plain Text Template > Copy/Paste or show on the board for students to copy into a notebook.
| Playlist Owner | ||
| News story | Journalist | Rationale |
| News story | Journalist | Rationale |
| News story | Journalist | Rationale |
Additional questions
- What genre of news does your story connect to? How do you know?
- Where do you go to find local news or news that impacts your immediate community?
- Where do you find news stories you trust? What makes a news source trustworthy?
Extension activity
Understanding the past helps us understand the world today. Using Journalism in Action , NewsHour Classroom’s sister site, compare one of the news stories you come across with one of your TOP 3 Summer News Stories.
- First, choose one of the tiles. Then scan the Introduction page.
- Discuss: Did you find any ideas or themes that overlapped with news stories you saw from over the summer? How so?
- Discuss: How did the style of reporting the news differ from the source you found in Journalism in Action to the news story from your playlist?
Kate Stevens, M.S. in Curriculum & Instruction, is a high school language arts educator. An instructional coach, global professional development leader, and former photojournalist, she currently teaches & coaches in Poudre School District (Fort Collins, CO). In 2015, Kate was honored with Colorado Department of Education’s Online & Blended Teacher of the Year. Connect with Kate on Twitter @KateTeaching.
