current events assignments

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50 Ways to Teach With Current Events

Current Events

Teaching ideas based on New York Times content.

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Updated, July, 2016

How can we make sure that students are informed about what’s going on around the world? That they are armed with the tools to be able to distinguish between opinion and fact; between evidence-based statements and empty rhetoric; between sensationalism and solid journalism? Just like most other things in life, the best way to do all that is through practice.

In honor of National News Engagement Day , here are 50 ideas to help teachers bring current events into the classroom, grouped below by category:

Reading and Writing

Speaking and Listening

Games and Quizzes

Photographs, Illustrations, Videos and Infographics

• Design and Creativity

Making Connections

Building Skills

Some ideas work best as regular routines, others as one-shot activities. Many might be easier to use together with the new K-12 New York Times school subscription , but all of them could be implemented using the free links to Times articles on The Learning Network — or with any other trusted news source.

In our comments section, we hope you’ll share how you teach current events.

1. Read the Paper and Find What Interests You: If we could recommend just one thing teenagers should do with the news, it’s this. Just read and discover what you care about. Every summer we try to promote this with our Summer Reading Contest , and we hope teachers are continuing this student-centered approach now that school has started.

You might invite your students to pick one article each week and write about why they chose it, perhaps using student winners from our summer contest as models. Our Reading Log (PDF) might also help.

Then, set aside time for students to share their picks with a partner, or even with a wider audience through social media.

2. Share Your Opinion: Each school day we publish a new Student Opinion question about an article in The Times. Students can participate in our moderated discussions online, or you can borrow from hundreds of published questions for class discussions or personal writing from 2016 , 2015 , 2014 and beyond .

3. Read About News-Making Teenagers: Every month we publish a collection of all the recent Times articles and multimedia that feature teenagers . Students can use this list to identify someone they admire, learn how other teenagers are taking action or make connections to issues in their own school and community.

4. Find ‘News You Can Use': Use The Times, or any other news source, to find things like movie or video game reviews, recipes , sports scores, health information , and how-to’s on subjects from social media to personal finance that can help improve your life.

5. Ask and Answer Questions: Each day we choose an important or interesting Times story and pose the basic news questions — Who, What, Where, When, Why and How — in our News Q’s feature. Students can first answer the “right there” questions that test reading comprehension, then move on to the deeper critical thinking questions, then write their own “News Q’s” about articles they select.

6. Write an Editorial: Have your students pick an issue that matters to them, whether climate change, gender roles or police brutality, and then write an evidence-based persuasive essay like the editorials The New York Times publishes every day. They can practice all year, but save their best work to submit in our Student Editorial Contest in February. Each year we select 10 winners along with dozens of runners-up and honorable mentions from nearly 5,000 student editorials.

7. Compare News Sources: Different papers, magazines and websites treat the news differently. You might have students compare lead stories or, via the Newseum’s daily gallery, front pages . Or, you might just pick one article about a divisive topic (politics, war, social issues) and see how different news sources have handled the subject.

8. Be a Journalist Yourself: Perhaps the most powerful way to engage with current events is to document them yourself, as a student journalist . Write articles or opinion pieces for your school or community paper about how a national or global issue is playing out in your community. Contribute comments online or letters to the editor reacting to news stories you’ve read. Use social media to document what you witness when news happens near you. Take video of local events and interview participants. Or, suggest ways that you and others your age can take action on an issue you care about. The National News Engagement Day Pinterest board has ideas like this and many more.

9. Hold a Debate: Want your students to be able to develop arguments and support a point of view on current issues? We offer numerous resources to help, including: ideas for different classroom debate formats ; ways to use The Times’ Room for Debate feature in the classroom; and a graphic organizer for gathering evidence on both sides of an argument (PDF).

10. Interview Fellow Students: Ask students to generate a question related to an issue they’re reading about, and then conduct a one-question interview (PDF) with their classmates. The room will be buzzing with students asking and answering questions. For more detailed instructions on this activity, consult our teacher instructions .

11. Brainstorm Solutions to the World’s Problems: Why not put students in the role of policymakers? They can look closely at an issue covered in The Times and brainstorm possible solutions together, using our Problem-Solution handout (PDF) to take notes. Then they can work together to draft a policy proposal, perhaps one that suggests a local solution to the problem, and present it to the class or to the school board or city council.

12. Create a News-Inspired Theatrical Performance: Whether a simple monologue or a full Reader’s Theater event, our series, Drama Strategies to Use With Any Day’s Times, can help you use simple theater exercises to spur discussion and thinking about current events.

13. Hold a Mock Campaign and Election: Looking to teach an upcoming election? Let students take the role of campaign strategists and candidates. Our Election Unit can be adapted for any election to get students researching candidates, studying issues, trying out campaign strategies and holding their own mock election. Or, choose another approach from our 10 ways to teach about Election Day or our list of resources for the 2016 presidential election .

14. Organize a Teach-In, Gallery Walk or Social Action on a Topic: Our country and world face complex issues — war, drug abuse, climate change, poverty — to name a few. Students working in groups can follow a topic in The Times, and then organize a classroom or whole school “teach-in” to inform their peers about topics in the news and decide how to take action. Alternatively, they can create a classroom gallery of photographs, maps, infographics, articles, editorial cartoons, essays, videos and whatever else they can find to immerse others in the topic. Ask yourself and your classmates, what can people our age do to effect change around this issue?

15. See How You Do Compared to Others on Our Weekly News Quiz: Have students test how well they’ve been keeping up with the week’s news with our 10-question current events quiz. The answers provide an explanation along with links to relevant Times articles so students can learn more. Then, in December, students can take our annual year-end news quiz, like this one from 2015 .

16. Play Fantasy Geopolitics: Have students draft teams of countries, similar to how they might draft players in a fantasy sports league, and then accumulate points based on how often those countries appear in The New York Times . Classrooms can track point scores and trade countries using the resources on the Fantasy Geopolitics site, a game created by Eric Nelson, a social studies teacher in Minnesota.

17. Battle Others in Bingo: Encourage students to get to know the newspaper — digital or print — by playing one of our many versions of bingo: Page One Bingo , Science, Health and Technology Bingo , World History Bingo or Geography Bingo (PDF).

18. Do a Scavenger Hunt: Send your students searching for answers to our New York Times Scavenger Hunt (PDF) as a way to become more familiar with how a newspaper covers the day’s news.

19. Mix and Match Headlines, Stories and Photos: Cut up articles, headlines and photos into three separate piles and mix them up, then challenge students in groups to see who can correctly match them in the shortest amount of time. When they’re done, they can fill out our related handout (PDF). Our teacher instructions provide more details.

20. Hunt for the Three Branches of Government in the Paper: What articles can you find in a week’s worth of papers about the different branches of the United States government? Record what you find with our Branching Out handout (PDF).

21. Analyze Photographs to Build Visual Literacy Skills: On Mondays we ask students to look closely at an image using the three-question facilitation method created by our partners at Visual Thinking Strategies: What’s going on in this picture? What do you see that makes you say that? What more can you find? Students can participate in the activity by commenting in our weekly “What’s Going On In This Picture?” moderated conversation.

Alternatively, you might prefer to select your own news photos. Slideshows, such as the regular “Pictures of the Day” feature, are always a great place to find compelling images related to current events.

22. Interpret Editorial Cartoons and “Op-Art”: Patrick Chappatte publishes editorial cartoons on topics ranging from ISIS to the Ukraine. You can use the Visual Thinking Strategies facilitation method to ask open-ended questions, letting students make meaning out of the cartoons. Or, have students analyze some of the “Op-Art” on the Opinion pages of The Times. How do these images make an argument? Students can also try their hand at drawing their own editorial cartoons , and then enter them into our annual editorial cartoon contest .

23. Decipher an Infographic: Take an infographic or chart in The Times and have students explain what it shows using sentences. Our handout “A Graph Is Worth a Thousand Words, or At Least 50″ (PDF) can serve as a guide.

24. Create an Infographic: Or, do the opposite, and have students take the data provided in a Times article to create their own graph or chart (PDF). The Reader Ideas “From Article to Infographic: Translating Information About ‘Sneakerheads’” and “Telling Stories With Data” suggest ways to approach this task.

25. Illustrate the News: Students can draw an illustration that captures some aspect of an article. Using our handout “The One-Pager” (PDF), students accompany their illustration with a quote from the article as well as a question for the journalist or someone mentioned in the article.

26. Write a Postcard: Or, maybe having students create a mock postcard to or from a subject in a Times article would work better for your class.

27. Say What’s Unsaid: Another option is assigning students to add speech and thought bubbles (PDF) to a Times photograph to communicate something they learned by reading an article.

28. Create Storyboards: Students can break a story into various scenes that they illustrate (PDF), like a storyboard, and then write a caption or choose a quote from the article that captures the essence of each frame. Our teacher instructions can help with this activity, as can a recent lesson plan on using storyboards to inspire close reading .

Creative Writing and Design

29. Write a Rap or Song: Each December, we ask students to compose a rap about important and memorable events from the past year. Get inspired by the winners from our 2015 contest , and start polishing your rhymes for this year.

30. Make a Timeline: Students can design their own timelines, using photographs, captions and selected quotes, to understand and keep track of complex current events topics. Times models can help since the paper regularly publishes timelines on all kinds of topics, whether Mariano Rivera’s career, the evolution of Facebook or the Ferguson protests

31. Create a Twitter Feed: Or, students can create a fake Twitter feed documenting a news story, paying attention to time stamps and author tone, such as we suggested in this lesson about the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor.

32. Explore a Particular Community: Find reporting on a community of which you’re a member — whether an ethnic, religious, professional, school or artistic group, or any other — and analyze how it has been reported on. Then use these ideas for finding ways you can help express what, in your experience, makes this group unique. What do you think people need to know about this community and how can you communicate that?

33. Write a Found Poem: Every year we invite students to take any Times article or articles published since 1851 and mix and combine the words and phrases in them into a new piece. Take a look at the work of our winners for inspiration, but the exercise can be done with anything from a science essay to an obituary to an archival article reporting on a famous event from history.

34. Make a News Broadcast: Students can turn an article they read in The Times into an evening news broadcast , with an anchor, on-the-ground reporter and interview subjects.

35. Create an Audio Podcast: Listen to some Times models , then get students to create a podcast (PDF) of a news story instead.

36. Connect the Past to Today: Help students tie what they’re studying in history class to what’s going on in the world today. We regularly do this in both our Text to Text feature as well as our social-studies-focused lesson plans . You might also consider following @nytarchives on Twitter and our own “Throwback Thursday” posts to see echoes of the past in today’s headlines — or, visit Times Machine on your own to view by date or through search terms 129 years of Times journalism as it originally appeared.

37. Pair the News With Literature and Poetry: Encourage students to look for connections between literary themes and current events. Our Poetry Pairings and Text to Text lesson plans can provide inspiration, as can our Classic Literature posts .

38. Think Like a Historian: What events make the history books? How and from whose point of view are they told? Have students research a current events topic, and then write a paper arguing whether this topic will make “history” and how it will be remembered.

39. Connect The Times to Your Own Life: Have students make connections between the articles they read in The New York Times and their own life, other texts and the world around them using our Connecting The New York Times to Your World (PDF) handout.

40. Consider Censorship Through Any Day’s Front Page: What if we didn’t have freedom of the press? Ask students to take the front page of any New York Times and put an X over the stories that might be censored if our government controlled the press. You might use our Censoring the Press (PDF) handout to help.

41. Take Informed Action: When students become more informed about the world, they can get inspired to become civically active and engaged in their communities . Have students brainstorm issues that matter to them, either at the local, national or global level, and then design a plan of action for how they can begin to make the change they hope to see in the world.

42. Determine Reliability of Sources : How do we distinguish good journalism from propaganda or just shoddy reporting? Students can use simple mnemonics, like those developed at the Center for News Literacy , to evaluate the reliability of an article and the sources it relies on. For example, apply the acronym “IMVAIN” (PDF) to an article to surface whether sources (and the information they provide) are Independent, Multiple, Verifiable, Authoritative, Informed and Named. This and many other strategies can be found in our lesson on “fake news vs. real news .

43. Distinguish Fact From Opinion: Even within The Times, students can get confused when navigating between news and opinion. What’s the difference? Use our Skills Practice lesson on distinguishing between the two to help students learn the basics, then go on to our lesson “News and ‘News Analysis’,” to help students learn how to navigate between news reporting and Opinion pieces within news outlets.

44. Start With What Students Already Know: Students are often aware of current events on their own, even before topics come up in school. When delving into a subject, start by asking students what they’ve heard or seen, and what questions they already have. Use our K/W/L Chart (PDF) or a concept map to chart what students say and think. And this post , about reading strategies for informational text, has much more.

45. Identify Cause and Effect: Much of journalism involves tracking the ripple effects of big news events or societal trends. Our handout (PDF) can help students get started, as can this Facing History “iceberg” strategy that helps learners think about what’s “under the surface.” Another resource? This Skills Practice lesson .

46. Compare and Contrast: Venn diagrams and T-charts (PDF) are often useful for comparing two topics or issues in the news, and our Text-to-Text handout can help students compare two or more texts, such as an article and a historical document.

47. Read Closely: By using a double-entry journal (PDF), students can become better readers of informational text by noting comments, questions and observations alongside lines or details they select from a text.

48. Support Opinions With Facts: Whether students are writing their own persuasive arguments, or reading those written by other people, they need to understand how authors support opinions with facts. Students can practice by reading Times Opinion pieces and identifying how authors construct arguments using opinions supported by facts (PDF). Then they can develop their own evidence-based counterpoints.

49. Summarize an Article: Having students pull out the basic information of a news story — the five W’s and an H (PDF) can help them better understand a current events topic. Here is a lesson plan with a summary quiz and many ideas for practice.

And Finally…

50. Learn From Our Mistakes: There are several places in the newspaper where you can see corrections and analysis of where The Times has made a misstep. For a weekly critique of grammar, usage and style in The Times, see the After Deadline series. For a list of each day’s corrections, go to the bottom of the Today’s Paper section and click “corrections.” And for a full discussion of issues readers and the public raise around Times coverage, visit the Public Editor column . What can you learn from the mistakes The Times makes, and from how they are addressed publicly?

Let us know in the comment section below how you teach current events in your class, or which ideas from the above list inspired you.

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Great ideas! Thanks for sharing.

I am currently a graduate student working towards a certificate and Masters in Special Education. One of the biggest pushes in our program is to ensure that we are doing the things necessary within the classroom to become a critical transformative multicultural educator. Through my studies and observational experiences, I believe there is no better way to prepare studenst for the real world than connecting them to current events. It can often be comfotable to keep students in a world within the walls of the classroom. Yet, in doing so students only adapt to only being able to staticly think about the environments they are exposed to. Through these amazing and creative ways students can evolve their thought processes and become dynamic learners interest in the how the world around them works. It is through current events that we as educators can empower our students to become advocates for their own lives. Thanks so much for sharing and could not agree more with message.

Here are some more current event brain boosters: //www.educationworld.com/a_special/current_events.shtml

! Use current events as an activator to start each class and sometimes we follow the topic the full school year. Great short videos as well. Thanks for the lesson plans ideas as well.

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Seven Ways to Bring Current Events Into the Classroom

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The news always seems to be moving a thousand miles an hour, with much of it impacting our students’ lives—either now or in the future.

This two-part series will explore ways we connect those current events to what we’re teaching in the classroom.

Today, Suzie Boss, Kristen Koppers, Sarah Cooper, Mike Kaechele, Jessica Torres, and Renee Hobbs share their ideas. You can listen to a 10-minute conversation I had with Suzie and Kristen on my BAM! Radio Show . You can also find a list of, and links to, previous shows here.

You might also find addiitonal useful resources at The Best Resources & Ideas For Teaching About Current Events.

Project-Based Learning

Suzie Boss is a PBL (Project-Based Learning) advocate, author, and member of the PBLWorks National Faculty. Her latest books are Project Based Teaching and Reinventing Project-Based Learning, 3 rd Ed :

One of the best ways to amplify the authenticity of school is to connect the curriculum to current events. I call this “ripped-from-the-headlines” teaching. For many students, the invitation to focus on timely topics—from pop culture to political controversies—is a surefire way to increase engagement.

Current events can inform lesson plans in small ways. For example, English teachers can make free-writes more relevant by using hashtags from social media as writing prompts. Elementary teachers might focus morning meetings on events that are in the news—and, likely, on students’ minds. Science teachers might connect a lesson to a health-related headline.

To maximize the learning potential, however, I encourage teachers to look to the headlines as inspiration for more extended, project-based learning. Well-designed projects invite students to go deeper and make their own connections between academics and the world beyond the classroom. In the process, they will likely need to think critically about everything from the reliability and biases of news sources to the echoes of history in events unfolding today.

Let’s consider a few examples.

Chemistry teacher Ray Ahmed leveraged the Flint, Mich., water crisis to launch his students in Brooklyn, N.Y., on an investigation of how to prevent lead from leaching into drinking water. They had to think as chemists to design experiments about corrosive inhibitors, analyze data, propose solutions, and explain their results in a scientific journal article. Although they live hundreds of miles from Flint, Brooklyn students made personal connections to the larger issue of environmental racism, which has affected the quality of life in their own community. (Ahmed was one of the inspiring teachers I interviewed for a recent book, Project Based Teaching: How to Create Rigorous and Engaging Learning Experiences . This video from PBLWorks documents the Water Quality Project from start to finish.)

Immigration issues not only dominate headlines, they also reflect the life experiences of many of our students and their families. Connecting today’s immigration stories with academic content about human migration is a way to bring human geography to life. For example, Texas teacher Ryan Sprott is co-founder of a collaboration between educators and artists called the Borderland Collective , which invites students to take part in storytelling, photography, and art making.

Election cycles offer social studies teachers real-time connections to their content. Projects might culminate in debates, with students basing arguments on evidence; candidate fairs that students host, with a focus on issues they care about; or public-service campaigns to increase turnout of first-time voters.

If you overhear students buzzing about pop culture, listen closely for connections to learning goals. For Delaware English teacher Dara Laws Savage, it was the #oscarssowhite controversy a couple years back—when few actors of color were nominated for Academy Awards—that generated the idea for an annual awards event honoring African American icons. It’s become an annual event during Black History Month. Students develop criteria for excellence in different categories, make nominations, and persuade voters to share their opinions. Listen to an interview about the project here .

If you’re looking for timely connections for your next PBL unit, ask yourself:

• Is there a topic or event that could provide an entry event for your next project?
• Do you see natural connections between the topic and your upcoming content goals?
• Does the topic involve a problem or challenge that your students could attempt to solve or debate through an extended inquiry project?

As you design your next project, take advantage of resources that will help your students think critically about current events. For example, Project Look Sharp is a K-12 resource for building media literacy. Pro/Con challenges readers to consider both sides of controversial issues.

Don’t be surprised if your students wind up making headlines themselves as a result of their projects.

Connecting George Orwell & Harper Lee to current events

Kristen Koppers is a national-board-certified teacher. She earned her bachelor of arts degree in English from Western Michigan University, a master of arts in English and a master of arts in educational administration from Governors State University. She is a public high school public English teacher. Her book Differentiated Instruction in the Teaching Profession was released in July, 2019:

Connecting current events with lessons in the classroom isn’t as difficult as it seems. Practically every lesson that’s taught from kindergarten through high school, and even postsecondary, can connect to a news article worldwide. It’s difficult to get students to watch the news or even listen to it. Because what they see on social media is the extent of their knowledge. Social-media news, at least from what I can see, is not all accurate. How can we as teachers make sure students are aware of credible information to information that is missing important facts?

The problem isn’t that many don’t take the time to read, listen, or even watch current events. The problem is that it’s not researched. As an ELA secondary education teacher, I not only connect current events to almost every lesson but I make it as authentic as possible. When I teach 1984 , by George Orwell, we focus on the aspect of the First Amendment. Even as an English teacher, I bring in the other subjects, such as history, social sciences, math, and even fine arts to connect with my students. For this particular lesson, I mainly focus on history and political science.

In the novel 1984 , privacy both public and private did not exist. Orwell’s slogan: ‘Ignorance is Strength’ is truer than we know. The less one knows the better. Before beginning the novel, I play a small video clip of Orwell, himself, just before he died warning about the future. Since Orwell wrote the novel in 1948, no one believed what he said was true. Many even thought that he was delusional during his last year. (I mean the title of the novel was just switching the last two digits of the year 48 to 84). However, whether it was coincidence or not, the Apple computer came out in 1984. After showing the short video clip of George Orwell’s warning, I showed the original 1984 commercial of the Macintosh computer. This got the students to talk.

I collected various articles beginning in 1984 through 2018. In their groups, the students read over them one by one where they started to make connections between what was similar about how technology evolved. I then pull out my iPhone to open the app “find my iPhone” to locate my husband. Now, normally, I do not have my phone in class. But for this particular lesson, I wanted to show how easily technology has not only evolved but our privacy has diminished.

I locate my husband and start pinging his phone for location. He knows what I’m going to do in class so he calls me (I have him on speaker) and asks me why I’m tracking him. Now before he calls, I tell the students where he is located. When he calls, I ask him his location. The reason he was on speaker was for the students to hear where he was located. Prior to the call, I told my students that he was located off Route 6 next to the gas station. When asked his location, he confirmed it. The phone conversation ends, and the class conversation begins.

This all connects to current events. This activity takes about two days because I want them to go home and think before the next lesson. Many actually went home to research “invasion of privacy” on their school computers. Because, after all, I can track what they research outside of my classroom. When they find this out, they say I violated their First Amendment rights. So, I have them look up First Amendment rights and I asked them what I exactly infringed upon. What they didn’t realize is that it’s the Fourth Amendment rights they were thinking about not the First. They were speechless.

With this one activity, my students are becoming more aware of current events. However, it wasn’t this one lesson that we connected to current events. Every day was a new lesson; whether we were reading the novel or not, I was able to relate to what was happening in the news.

Even studying short stories and past news about events, such as the lynching of Emmett Till, students were appalled at what happened. We studied a brief overview of the Civil Rights Movement and connected it to To Kill A Mockingbird , by Harper Lee. In 2017, evidence came out that the woman, Carolyn Bryant, Till “whistled” at wasn’t telling the truth. This encouraged them to find other articles about those wrongly accused no matter of race, gender, or religion.

It’s not just lessons that we teach based on the curriculum. If we can connect those lessons to skills students need to succeed, then we are doing our job.

Discussing currect events across subject areas

Sarah Cooper teaches 8th grade U.S. history and is dean of studies at Flintridge Preparatory School in La Canada, Calif. She is the author of two books, Creating Citizens (Routledge, 2018) and Making History Mine (Stenhouse, 2009). Sarah speaks at conferences and writes for MiddleWeb’s Future of History blog, and she lives just outside Los Angeles with her husband and two sons:

We can link current events to what we teach in the classroom in at least two ways—through content and through character.

With content, teachers sometimes wonder how they can justify adding current events to their lessons if they’re not teaching contemporary history or politics.

A surefire way to make such connections is through themes, layering relevant pieces over the planks of an existing curriculum.

For instance, a science teacher can bring in articles all year about scientific ethics, and an English teacher can discuss pieces about group identity or the perils and promises of technology. A teacher of ancient world history can talk about the thrills of modern archaeology. World-language teachers can find pieces about contemporary cultures and politics, and arts teachers can check out the arts section of their local newspaper or alternative weekly.

With character, the relevance of current events expands even more. Many classroom teachers, from math to P.E., build norms with their students as school starts. Later in the year, if you see an article or video that reinforces one of these expectations, you can bring it in to discuss.

In my experience, students especially love stories that focus on positive human interactions, to lighten the daily news litany they scroll through online. One excellent resource for such stories is the Huffington Post’s Good News page . Such stories also generally avoid political partisanship, which even veteran social studies teachers can find hard to navigate.

Finally, don’t feel you have to do a lot! Even five minutes each day, or each week, can open up conversations you never would have had otherwise. And, if you bring in articles frequently enough, your students may start sending you what they find, creating a dialogue that can last far beyond a year in your classroom.

Don’t avoid controversial topics

Mike Kaechele is a history teacher in Grand Rapids, Mich., and National Faculty for PBLWorks. He believes in student-centered learning by giving kids authentic opportunities to do real work with local community partners:

Current events are a great way to engage students in the classroom. Project-Based Learning is an excellent structure to introduce current events. One of the key components of PBL is “authenticity,” and current events make content relevant. I use current events as “entry events” to get kids fired up about the launch of a project. My final products often ask kids to apply lessons from history to propose solutions to current issues that they present to community partners.

In social studies, current events can be used as an entry point to have students trace the causes of current problems to their source. The past can give both warnings and solutions to current problems that need to be addressed. I always use current contexts to launch history projects to give students motivation to learn about the past. For example the Driving Question, “Why do terrorists hate the United States?” requires students to do an in-depth study of American foreign policy of the last century to understand why certain countries do not see the United States as the “hero” on the world stage.

Current events engage students by shedding light on the tensions between American ideals and realities. They force students to be critical thinkers, considering multiple perspectives throughout history. Oftentimes, content is centered around sterile textbooks that do not address current realities. Embracing the controversy of current events engages students in critical thinking. For example, current arguments about immigration could lead to an exploration of our complex history of both welcoming some groups of immigrants while simultaneously discriminating against others with quotas and unjust laws. Students should be shown that current events do not happen in a vacuum but often are seated in a long history of controversy in our country.

Ideally. current events lead students to be proactive in coming up with solutions to the complex, connected society that they are inheriting. If we want students to awaken to the importance of our core content, then current events can be the hook for engagement by addressing real-world issues that their generation will be forced to solve. So instead of avoiding controversy, embrace it and teach students to consider all sides of current issues before taking up a strong position.

Articles & Podcasts

Jessica Torres serves as an educational specialist for ESC Region 12 in the heart of Texas. Formerly an assistant principal and Montessori teacher, Mrs. Torres is passionate about developing educators to provide innovative approaches and experiences for all learners as they pursue their unique interests and learning passions:

Our world has become a very small global community. Social media has allowed our news to become instantaneous in our society, allowing us to “know” what is happening before all of the facts have been clarified and the details are drawn out. For anyone living in today’s media-driven world, it is imperative that they be able to decipher between the facts and the rest, including propaganda, bias, disinformation, and click-bait. With this in mind, discussing current events in the classroom has become more than a fleeting idea—it has become an integral part of ensuring that our students are informed and prepared to face tough topics head-on with a background of knowledge and facts to support their opinions. Here are a few ideas and resources that I use to easily weave current events into the classroom each day and help students decipher between the muck and the news.

• Newsela - The article archive provides access to the world’s news in a student-friendly format that allows the teacher to differentiate for Lexile level or reading ability. Teachers can create assignments from the articles on Google Classroom or share them with the whole group. Each article comes with its own comprehension questions and writing prompt that can be used to engage students in conversation. Allowing students time to discuss their thoughts and emotions in a safe space, such as the classroom, encourages them to listen and think about other perspectives.
• Fact vs. Fiction book by Jennifer LaGarde and Darren Hudgins - Everyone needs help determining what’s real and what’s been spun lately. This book, written by two engaging educators, helps us develop strategies to use with ourselves and our students to safeguard our hearts and minds from inaccurate news and sources. Developing strong critical-thinking skills are the focus of this book, and a variety of resources are provided to help teachers as they share news items in their classrooms.
• Podcasts - Either listening to podcasts or having students create their own podcasts based on what they have learned from news stories can be extremely powerful and clarifying. Many students thoroughly enjoy listening to someone “talk” about the news rather than read about it. For other students, having the opportunity to express their own thoughts or perspective on an event feels personal and encourages ownership. Additionally, podcasts are known to be brief and completely scalable to fit the needs of the classroom.

“The worst ways to bring current events into the classroom”

Renee Hobbs is professor of communication studies and director of the Media Education Lab at the University of Rhode Island’s Harrington School of Communication and Media. An expert on digital and media literacy, Hobbs is the author of the forthcoming book Mind Over Media: Propaganda Education for a Digital Age . Hobbs provides media-literacy curriculum resources for K-12 and college faculty and has offered professional-development programs on four continents:

Let’s start with identifying two of the worst ways to bring current events into the classroom: require students to maintain a current events journal or stage a debate about ongoing news and current events topic. The current events journal is a too-common assignment in middle school and high school where students must write short summaries of news, following a particular format. It’s an assignment that makes paying attention to news and current events a chore, a form of homework, and something to be dreaded. Assignments like this are not likely to inspire students to want to be informed on current events or encourage their intellectual curiosity about the news.

Classroom debate activities are well-meaning efforts intended to promote understanding of controversial public issues. But when students are positioned to take opposing sides and encouraged to gather evidence, argue their side and “win,” this legalistic practice actually leads adolescents in the wrong direction. As an instructional practice, debate can work against the development of genuine understanding and knowledge. Because debates promote competition, it does not model the deliberative and reflective practice of activating intellectual curiosity and modeling humility. When it comes to learning, the goal is not winning—it’s understanding.

Learning Civil Discourse

Instead of debate, students need to practice the art of perspective-taking on news and current events. In a five-minute daily discussion, start with a question to the whole group: “What are all the things you have heard about this topic, regardless of whether you believe them or not?” This invites general sharing and gathering of ideas, and it frees students up to offer ideas without being associated with or having to defend them.

In this kind of activity, students can share information without isolating themselves from their group. Plus, this method does not alienate the students who aren’t familiar with the news event or controversy under discussion. There’s no penalty for not knowing. Students can learn about current events from their peers.

Some teachers maintain a classroom rule for current events discussions: “You only have a right to an opinion if you have evidence or experience to back it up. If you don’t, then ask questions and listen and learn.” When students hear this, they feel a sense of relief. Students can show that they are participating by asking questions and taking notes. High school social studies teacher Emily Glankler explains it this way: “I’m trying to address a social problem we have in society today. Part of the problem is that people think they are entitled to an opinion on everything.” The everyday ritual of talking about current events for five minutes a day all year long models the practice of becoming a lifelong learner and an engaged citizen.

(This is the first post in a two-part series. You can see Part 2 here. )

The question of the week is:

What are the best ways to connect current events to what we’re teaching in the classroom?

Thanks to Suzie, Kristen, Sarah, Mike, Jessica, and Renee for their contributions.

Please feel free to leave a comment with your reactions to the topic or directly to anything that has been said in this post.

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at [email protected] . When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it’s selected or if you’d prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

You can also contact me on Twitter at @Larryferlazzo .

Education Week has published a collection of posts from this blog, along with new material, in an e-book form. It’s titled Classroom Management Q&As: Expert Strategies for Teaching .

Just a reminder; you can subscribe and receive updates from this blog via email or RSS Reader.

The opinions expressed in Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.

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Teaching About Current Events

Introduction

Studying current events helps students better understand their global community and the different cultures across the world. It is very easy to get caught up in our own lives and problems, and learning about current events can both ground and remind students of the world that exists beyond their communities. By teaching students about current events, educators are not only helping students stay informed about world news and social problems but also giving them the chance to build important life skills. The resources below can help educators implement current events into their curriculum. 

There are various online resources available for teaching students about current events. With students constantly receiving floods of false information via social media and the like, this topic may serve as a good opportunity for them to learn about using reliable sources and keeping up with world events.

Lesson Plans

• Academy 4SC : Find videos related to current events at Academy 4SC, like United States Postal Service: Neither Rain Nor Snow , Epidemics vs. Pandemics: Defining Global Diseases , and Legal vs. Moral: Written vs. Right , among others. Teachers have access to resources like worksheets, activity ideas, discussion questions, and more included in each topic’s lesson plan. Explore Academy 4SC’s full library of applicable content under the tag Current Events .   Academy also has a Connections blog post series, which applies classroom material to what’s currently happening in the news.
• Teaching with Current Events in Your Classroom : Facing History and Ourselves has put together resources on COVID-19 and current events to help students “understand the complexity of the ongoing pandemic and its connection to history and current events.” They also feature collections on other topics that may appeal to educators, such as global immigration, democracy and civic engagement, and violence and injustice. In addition, the site is planning to release new teaching ideas and current event resources in mid-August, tailored for this upcoming school year!
• Teaching with Current Events : The Bill of Rights Institute provides many current events resources that fall into various categories, including gun rights, federalism, criminal procedure & due process, citizen juries, freedom of speech, individual liberties, separation of powers, student rights, etc. Using this resource, students can access dozens of articles on current issues related to politics and the American government.
• 50 Ways to Teach With Current Events : The New York Times’ The Learning Network offers fifty ideas for bringing current events into the classroom, grouped into a handful of categories: reading and writing, speaking and listening, games and quizzes, and more. Each of these ideas is accompanied by an explanation of the activity or project along with links which will guide educators on their journey to teaching about current events.
• Teaching Current Events in the Age of Social Media : Edutopia has published an article about teaching current events in the age of social media. The article recommends differentiating informational reading levels. The hope is that students can recognize the difference between true and false stories, as well as the importance of taking “breaks” from technology! This resource can give educators a better sense of direction on how to begin teaching students about current events.
• 8 Smart Ways to Teach Current Events in the Classroom in 2017 : WeAreTeachers provides a list of eight ways to bring current events to the classroom, specifically for educators who teach younger students. The author recommends things such as analyzing data with websites like Flocabulary , reading picture books, gamifying current events, creating podcasts, and more. Educators can take a lot away from this resource, and these tips will help them make learning about current events more exciting for students!
• The Best Way to Teach Current Events? Let Students Lead : The organization KQED advises educators on a specific way of teaching current events, namely to let the students lead. The author, an educator herself, describes how she spoke with her own students about teaching current events and how to make it more meaningful. If students are able to choose the current event or issue they want to research, they are more likely to take something away from the assignment. This would be an ideal resource for high school educators who are looking for their students to take initiative. 

Informational Sites

There are numerous news outlets, national and international, and other organizations that report current news on topics such as history, science, travel, culture, weather, politics, technology, health, and world events. Depending on the grade levels educators are teaching and which topics they want students to focus on, the websites below may come in handy:

• StudentNewsDaily
• Smithsonian Magazine
• National Geographic
• The New York Times
• The Washington Post

Teaching students about current events isn’t an easy task, especially since the majority of the stories in the news are unfortunately negative. When discussing current events in the classroom, it is important to also provide students with the necessary resources to cope with these negative stories. Because the news can be tough to talk about, educators should do their best to be honest about events but focus on the positive aspects. If a terrible accident occurred, was there anything positive that stemmed from it? Did the community band together to honor those who passed or create a new foundation in their memory? It may seem that the world pays more attention to the negative than the positive, but this is a chance for educators to change that narrative.

Additional Resources

• Current Events Lesson Plans & Activities : Share My Lesson provides an abundance of current events lesson plans and activities for elementary, middle, and high school students. Various resources of different topics are available, including activities, assessments, presentations, videos, and worksheets. 
• Twenty-Five Great Ideas for Teaching Current Events : Education World offers twenty-five great ideas for teaching current events in the classroom. For educators looking for general ideas to start with, this resource does a good job of providing unique activities and outlining the activity’s directions. Take a look!
• Engaging Ways to Relate to Current Events – News, Historians and Zombies : Resilient Educator presents four ways for educators to connect current events to social studies, including the PBS NewsHour Extra , a DIY NewsHour, Reading Like a Historian (which asks students to examine primary source documents as if they were historians), and Zombie-Based Learning (which was created by a social studies educator who used zombies to teach his students about geography, economics, and the patterns of human behavior). 

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It’s important for students not only to pay close attention to the events that are going on in their lives, but also to the events that are going on in the city, state, region, country and the world in which they live. Yes, current events are important. And arguably today, more so than ever, students are only preoccupied with what’s going on in their immediate lives and not what’s going on elsewhere. And with the 24/7 news cycle and the plethora of ways that information is now garnered (i.e., TV, radio, social media, etc), staying on top of current events can be a challenge.

That’s why it’s important for teachers to instill the importance of staying on top of current events at an early age. This can be accomplished through various activities and assignments in the classroom. Here are some ideas for current events elementary education assignments that teachers can use in their classrooms:

Events presentations

One way to really get students to pay attention to the news and what’s happening in the world is to assign event presentations. Consider dividing students up into groups and having one group present an “Event of the Week” of a current event that they find interesting to the class every Friday. This encourages the students to read newspapers, do Internet research, watch the news and understand for themselves why such an event is so important. Encourage the students to answer the questions of who, what, where, when, why and how in their presentations. Also encourage students to back up their presentations with newspaper clippings, TV news segments and any historical context that needs to be shared. Have groups rotate throughout the year presenting on current events each week.

CNN is one of the best TV resources for staying on top of everything that’s happening domestically and internationally. Consider setting aside some time each day or each week to tune into a CNN broadcast with students. While this isn’t particularly an assignment, per say, doing so can tune students in on some of the most popular stories going on in the world. If a teacher is unable to set aside time per day or per week to devote to CNN, consider doing so for important national and world events, like presidential elections and inaugurations and anything breaking news that is appropriate for school children to observe.

Create a newspaper

While print newspapers may have taken a hit with the rise of the Internet, they are still an ideal way to learn about what’s going on in the world. And studies indicate that students who have access to newspapers are more likely to be interested in reading them and learning about what’s going on in the world. Hence, teachers should consider having students make their own newspaper as part of a class assignment, including city, state, national and world sections. This encourages students to pay more attention to everyday happenings, as they’ll need to decide what to give precedent to in their newspaper. Have students complete this project using the Internet to print out stories and photos, and be sure to have art supplies and art paper on hand for them to layout and design their own newspaper. Also encourage students to look at existing newspapers to get design ideas for theirs. This can be an enjoyable project that yields a lot of unique results.

City Council assignment

Every city has a city council that meets, typically on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. As part of a way to make students understand the important issues that their city faces, make them attend a city council meeting and write a report about what was talked about, what issues were brought to the table and what the council did to resolve any issues. Not only can this help keep students in touch with their community, but it can also introduce ways that they can help their city thrive and overcome obstacles – all at an early age. If the city is small and intimate enough, the student may even be able to interview the mayor or some city council members about some of the big issues the city is facing before or after the meeting to enhance the written report.

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Categorized as: Tips for Teachers and Classroom Resources

Tagged as: Early Childhood and Elementary (Grades: PreK-5) ,  History and Social Studies

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Faculty Development Center

Learning with current events.

How do you respond when students disrupt your carefully planned learning opportunity with emerging news? Student responses to current events can create tension in the classroom, or  hot moments , and you may experience anxiety or stress in these situations. Teaching and learning research suggests that advance preparation can help faculty to transform these types of disruptions into moments of deep learning. See The Diverse Classroom to prepare for difficult conversations by becoming familiar with best practices in the welcoming classroom.

Below we offer a sample scenario to help you prepare to respond effectively to students who seek help in unpacking news stories. For help with more heated situations, see  Handling Hot Moments .

Sample Scenario

• Take a moment to gather your thoughts. If possible, count to ten and breathe deeply. Use that brief silence to assess the situation and prepare to respond.
• Acknowledge the student who raised the issue. “_________ (student name) , you’ve introduced ________________, a current event that raises challenging and controversial questions.”
• Observe that people in (and out of) the classroom may have a range of viewpoints on the issues related to this event. “Our class readings and discussions have helped us to see that there are multiple viewpoints related to this topic, and your classmates’ views may differ from yours.”
• Assess your students’ interest in pursuing the topic. “What do the rest of you think? Would it be useful to pursue this topic in more detail? Would it help us to achieve the learning goals for this course?”
• Assess your own readiness to discuss the issue right now. If you’d like to continue the discussion right now, try to connect it to your course goals. If students need time to prepare, ask them to freewrite for 5-10 minutes on the topic, or give them time to review a related reading that can build common ground. “Okay, let’s explore this idea. How does it connect to the concepts we’ve been learning? Do you need a few minutes to reflect before we continue?”
• If you want more time to prepare, schedule the discussion for another time. If possible, link it to an upcoming lesson or reading. “Since so many of you are interested in exploring this further, let’s plan to discuss it next week. The readings for Tuesday will give you some additional insights for our discussion.”

Current Events Assignment Ideas

Link below to resources that could help you brainstorm ideas for integrating current events into your learning opportunities:

• Tips for Difficult Classroom Discussions about Politics by Laura Hussey, November 5, 2020.
• Facing History offers a series of lessons called Facing Ferguson: News Literacy in a Digital Age .
• Towson University lists 25 ways to use current events.
• PBS presents lessons and videos to help student explore current events.
• For an assignment in geoscience, see Camann, E. J. (2016, November 16). Current events presentation activity for introductory geoscience classes. Retrieved from http://serc.carleton.edu/geo2yc/activities/46197.html .
• For a sample biology assignment using current events, see Miller, A. (2011). The use of current events as assessment tools. The Journal of Microbiology Education 12 (1): 59–60. doi:10.1128/jmbe.v12i1.263 f Retrieved from  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3577201/
• Huston, T., & M. DiPietro. (2007). In the eye of the storm: Students’ perceptions of helpful faculty actions following a collective tragedy. In To Improve the Academy: Resources for Faculty, Instructional and Organizational Development  25:207–224. Available from http://podnetwork.org/content/uploads/In_the_Eye.pdf . Huston and DiPietro use a survey to measure students’ perceptions of faculty in-class responses after September 11th; the results suggest that students found a range of responses very helpful.
• Portland State University Office of Academic Innovation .   (2017). Supporting students through political discussions .
• University of Michigan Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT). (2016). Teaching and learning in a tense election season. Retrieved from http://www.crlt.umich.edu/node/92763 .
• University of Michigan Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT). (2016). Returning to the classroom after the election. Retrieved from http://www.crlt.umich.edu/node/93815 .

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How to Write a Current Events Summary

Last Updated: February 12, 2023 Fact Checked

Choosing a News Article

Preparing to write, summary section, reflection section, final touches.

This article was co-authored by Richard Perkins . Richard Perkins is a Writing Coach, Academic English Coordinator, and the Founder of PLC Learning Center. With over 24 years of education experience, he gives teachers tools to teach writing to students and works with elementary to university level students to become proficient, confident writers. Richard is a fellow at the National Writing Project. As a teacher leader and consultant at California State University Long Beach's Global Education Project, Mr. Perkins creates and presents teacher workshops that integrate the U.N.'s 17 Sustainable Development Goals in the K-12 curriculum. He holds a BA in Communications and TV from The University of Southern California and an MEd from California State University Dominguez Hills. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 262,998 times.

A current events summary is a short description of an event that has recently happened or is going to happen. Current events summaries are often assigned by junior and senior high school educators for the purpose of teaching research, writing, and editing skills. The following steps will help you create a current events summary that is accurate, informative, and readable.

• Some possible news sources might include your local newspaper or larger newspapers such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and others.
• Check with your teacher for suggestions. He may have specific news sources to use.

• Most major newspapers have sections on their websites dedicated to certain topics. For example, the Washington Post has a section dedicated to “Tech.”
• Search online for an article on one of these topics. For example, try searching “healthcare news” to find new information.

• An article that is one to two paragraphs long is probably not going to be lengthy enough.

• Look up any words you don’t know.
• Take notes on the article or highlight passages that you think are important.

• The headline typically indicates the article’s main idea, but the article will likely include more information that is relevant to your summary.
• Choose five main points from the article that you think are important.
• Find some keywords to get the main idea across to the people. [1] X Research source

• Who: This is the person or group involved in the story. For a story on a recent arson case, you might say, “The people involved are four teenage boys who were charged with arson, a police investigation team, and the community that lost its historic baseball stadium.”
• What: This is the event or the action discussed in the story. In an arson case, it might be: “The oldest wooden baseball stadium in the country burned to the ground.”
• When: This is the date and time when the event took place: “The stadium burned down at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, June 29.”
• Where: This is where the event took place: “The baseball stadium was in the middle of the city, surrounded by residences.”
• Why: This is the cause or reason for the event: “The summer has been unusually dry and hot. The stadium had been sitting empty for five years and was not patrolled by security.”
• How: This point explains the ways in which the events took place and the connections between them: “The teenagers walked into the stadium and began playing with lighters and loose debris. Once the fire was set, they ran off.”

• Think about the story’s connection to your community, the nation, or the world, for example.

• When you recounted the article to someone else, you highlighted the most important parts of the article. These things will go in your outline. Now your job is to put them in an order that makes sense.

• Depending on your assignment, this might be three or four sentences, or it might be seven to nine sentences. Check your assignment for your length requirement.

• Even though the reflection is short (usually just a paragraph), you should still aim to make an argument , at least to some degree. Determine the main point that you want to make and think about how you will support that main point.

• Some teachers don’t allow the use of “I” (first person) in these reflections. Check with your teacher to determine if you can write in first person or not.

• Don’t just string together random thoughts about why the news story is important.

• Take a look at your verbs. If you use boring or the same verbs, your audience will get bored. See if you can make efficient choices of great action verbs.
• If you are handwriting your summary, you may need to write it out again as a clean copy after you’ve corrected any errors. For this reason, it may be preferable to type out the summary. Some teachers may require a typed paper.

• If you have a grading rubric for the assignment, review this before turning in the assignment. Make sure you have met all the requirements to ensure a good grade.

• Lee, Morgan. “California Regulators Approve Higher Electricity Rates for Most Residents.” The Los Angeles Times. The Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2015. Web. 4 July 2015.

Community Q&A

• Every teacher’s assignment is going to be a little bit different. Make sure you follow your assignment exactly. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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• ↑ https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/how-to-write-summary-example
• ↑ https://k12.thoughtfullearning.com/minilesson/asking-and-answering-5-ws-and-h-questions
• ↑ http://coe.jmu.edu/learningtoolbox/5w1h.html
• ↑ www.acisd.org/getFile.cfm?serverFileName=3D7039FC7A-D973-59AD-3C95BCBCFDC1039D.pdf
• ↑ http://alt-resource.teams.leedsmet.ac.uk/how-to-write-a-reflection
• ↑ https://owlcation.com/academia/How-to-Write-a-Summary

About This Article

A current events summary is a short review of a recent news story. To write your own, start by finding an interesting story from a reputable source, like a popular newspaper or news website. Read the full article and look up any words or phrases you don’t understand. Then, read the article again and take note of the most important facts, like who was involved, where and when the story took place, why it happened, and how it happened. Use these notes to write your summary. In your first sentence or 2, give a brief summary of what happened. Then, write a few more sentences to give your readers the extra details they need to know. For more tips from our Education co-author, including how to write a reflection on your current events summary, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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130 + best current event essay topics & current event essay example, bob cardens.

• July 29, 2022

This article covers a list over 130 Current Event Essay Topics and a Current Event Essay Example. It also discusses the ho to choose a Current Event Essay Topic that best fits your interests.

Current events essays are common assignments given by English professors which means learning to write them is a key to passing and succeeding in English class. Writing an essay may seem like a simple assignment, but when it is due tomorrow, a blank word document and piles of books can seem paralyzing.

What You'll Learn

Current Event Essay

A current events essay is a written description of a recent situation, issue, or happening. Current events essays are often assigned by English professors as a way to teach students about the research, writing, and editing process.

Properties of Current Events Essays

• Are written in standard essay format
• Include in-text citations and follow a specific citation format
• Summarize a recent or upcoming event known to the public

You may also be interested to read about Argumentative business essay topics

How to choose your topic

Sometimes a current events essay assignment will provide specific instructions about what topic to write about.

Other times, students will have more flexibility in choosing a topic. Be sure to carefully review your assignment’s rubric and instructions.

If you will be choosing your own topic, make note of the following before you narrow down topic choices:

1. Do the instructions place any time constraints on your topic? In other words, does your current event have to be something that happened within the last year or can it be something that happened five years ago?

2. Does your topic need to relate to a specific industry or genre such as politics, sports, or business?

3. Are there any analytical components that are supposed to be addressed by your essay or are it purely descriptive?

How to Research Efficiently

Tackling the research process can, no doubt, feel a bit intimidating. Here are some basic steps for getting started:

1. Know how many sources you will need  so that you can allow enough time to research.

2. Choose credible sources.  This will depend on the instructions you are given. some professors allow business or media articles while others will only want scholarly sources.

3. Know exactly what you are looking for  before you start your research. Jot down three or four main bullet points of what you will be looking for while you are researching.

Think of these points like a road map. They will guide your reading so you know what passages will be relevant to your paper.

Usually, you will be looking for information that relates to the  What, Where, When, Who, Why,  and  How  aspects of your topic.

Best Current Event Essay Topics

Politics current event essay topics.

• How will Black Lives Matter affect the 2020 elections?
• Should the police be defunded?
• How is the Trump presidency changing international relationships?
• How should the U.S. respond to cyber hacking by Russia, China, and other countries?
• Should the United States raise the minimum wage for workers?
• How can cities in the U.S. be better designed to create a safer and more economically productive community?
• Is the U.S. economy becoming stronger or weaker?
• How will COVID-19 change working in America? Around the world?
• Getting “off the grid” is a current trend. What is the benefit of becoming self-sufficient? Is it worth the cost?
• Does better health care for everyone make a better and stronger economy in the U.S.?
• Does it make sense to give U.S. citizenship to all babies born in the United States?
• Gallup polls show that Americans view Unemployment and the economy as the top problem in the United States. Does evidence suggest they are right?
• What are the different sides of the current debate over immigration reform in the U.S.?
• Does the United States have a good or a poor educational system compared to the rest of the world?
• How important is it to reduce the Federal budget deficit?
• What will be the most important issues in the next Presidential election cycle?
• What is causing the increasingly high cost of healthcare in the United States?
• Should the U.S. continue using drone strikes against terrorists?
• How is the current U.S. drought going to affect the fire season and food supply?
• Should the death penalty be outlawed throughout the U.S.?
• Should the U.S. aggressively work to change towards alternative energies like solar and wind power?
• What is the best way to create new jobs in the United States to get people back to work?
• Is the United States responsible for keeping peace around the world? What role should the U.S. play in preventing or intervening in wars and abusive governments?
• Should the United States fund college education more for people? What should be the rules for the repayment of loans?
• Should the United States make it easier for educated people or people with valuable skills to immigrate to the United States?
• How can the Borders of the United States be made more secure? How important is border security?
• Should it be easier for people to become United States citizens?
• What infrastructure projects should be the top domestic priority in the United States?
• How has the high incarceration rate in the United States affected the economy? What Federal and State policies have driven up this incarceration rate?
• How has the Black Lives Matter movement affected the debate about racism in the United States?

You may also be interested to read about Argumentative Essay Topics about Social Media

Sports Current Event Essay Topics

• Should sports teams play to empty stands rather than not play at all?
• How will COVID-19 affect sports in the future?
• Should college football players receive a salary or other compensation for their playing?
• Should the owner of a professional team be held accountable for the comments he makes in a private conversation?
• Is it worth it for a city to invest in building a bigger and better stadium for its professional sports team?
• What is the value of a college sports team for a college? How does this help the college in terms of getting financial support from alumni? Attracting students? Supporting the economy of their community?
• What is the difference between sports and entertainment?
• How have new technologies made by watching sports different? Is the experience of watching sports better or worse than it was before?
• Which is more interesting to watch, college or professional sports?
• What sports should be taken out or added to the Olympic games?
• Should performance-enhancing drugs be allowed in sports? What should be the rules about these drugs? Should athletes who used them in the past before they were outlawed be prevented from being entered into Hall of Fame?
• Is racism in sports a problem?
• Should athletes protest racism in America by not participating in the National Anthem or Pledge of Allegiance?
• Is participating in organized sports a good or bad idea for young people?
• Is it better for young people to specialize in one sport from a young age? Or should they try a variety of sports?
• Choose your favorite sport. What is the best way for coaches to identify the best talent in their specific sport? Are there better ways to pick a team?
• How much of a role do parents play in developing top talent in their children? What is the best way parents can help develop their children’s sports career? What are the worst mistakes parents make?
• Can fan-owned teams solve sports problems?

World Issues Current Event Essay Topics

• How will COVID-19 change the world economy?
• Is WHO and organization that provides the information we can trust?
• Is the International Space Station a good way to bridge differences between nations, or is it vulnerable to become a political tool?
• Are we heading towards a 3rd World War?
• Is N.A.T.O. and an effective organization?
• How can the International Community prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons? How important is it that Iran not be allowed nuclear weaponry?
• What is the effect on Africa on the fact that many children have been forced to be soldiers?
• Is the EU going to survive the current economic problems countries have been having? Should the EU nations separate their economies?
• Is violence along the border of Mexico getting better?
• How can ethnic killings be stopped in Sudan?
• Is China easing up in restrictions for Religion or not? Are human rights better or worse in China than in the past?
• Should women’s issues be more important in international affairs?
• Is China about to overtake the United States economically?
• What is the effect of piracy on the stability of world commerce? How important is it to stop African pirates?
• Is there a better way to fight the war against drugs internationally?
• Is China starting to deal with their pollution problem?
• How has social media helped positively influence the world?
• Is India a poor nation or an emerging superpower?
• How can we stop the world population from reaching 9 billion in 2050? Is it important to work to limit world population growth?
• Should the world follow Bhutan’s development model?
• How healthy is the Indian Judicial System?
• Why do African nations have so many civil wars?
• Has foreign aid hurt Africa more than helping it?
• How has the influence of western media hurt underdeveloped nations?
• Does Colonialism still affect the nations that were colonized? Pick a nation and explain the continuing problems in that nation due to the history of being colonized.

Health and Medicine Current Event EssayTopics

• What can we do to better prepare ourselves for pandemics in the future?
• What are the lessons the medical community will learn from COVID-19?
• Are E-Cigarettes less harmful than smoking?
• Why do people oppose the Affordable Care Act?
• Does spending time on media cause children to have mental health problems?
• How is the job of frontline health workers like pharmacists, nurses, and doctors going to change?
• Is it possible to get AIDS infection rates to zero?
• What is preventing the world from eradicating polio?
• How are new technologies changing health care?
• What are the current trends in research about helping people break out of addictive behaviors?
• Traditional Chinese Medicine birth practices like eating the placenta (which in Western countries is usually encapsulated by being steamed dried and ground into pills) are becoming popular among some celebrities. What is the benefit of this practice? Is there any scientific evidence it works?
• Does making a city a “no smoking zone” really benefit health? Does it stop people from smoking, or help them quit? Does it result in fewer smokers in that city?
• What is the best diet for people with heart disease in their family history?
• The length of the average life continues to increase. What does current research say about the best lifestyle for someone who wants to live to be 100?
• Research is finding that what we think a medicine or food will do sometimes affects the way our body reacts. What is the evidence that our mind controls our body?
• Current health food trends include eating “superfoods” or going “gluten-free.” Take a current food trend and investigate the scientific evidence that this helps people have better health.
• What is the benefit of taking a daily low dose of Aspirin for older people?

As you continue, thestudycorp.com has the top and most qualified writers to help with any of your assignments. All you need to do is  place an order  with us. (Current Event Essay Topics )

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Media and Entertainment Current Event Essay Topics

• How has Twitter changed Entertainment news? What are the most recent scandals made bigger because of Tweets?
• Is it inevitable that teenage stars eventually turn to drugs, alcohol, or other destructive behavior?
• Are female stars fighting back effectively against being judged by their looks, and especially by their weight?
• Which celebrity does the best job of seeming to be authentic? Is there a celebrity who seems to be as nice as they appear? How can fans know?
• How have shows like “Project Runway” influenced fashion? Have they motivated people to become more creative and personal in what they wear?
• In what way does the attention of the media on religious figures like The Pope affect the way they behave?
• Are the recent Christian movies helping win the culture wars?
• Why are cooking shows like “Chopped” popular?
• What is the best recent film adapted from a novel?
• What are the best movies in the current year? Do the Academy Awards winners reflect the very best movies?
• Is recap culture hurting television?
• Recently, scripts from pro-wrestling have been released showing that the storyline is written even though the wrestling is improved. Analyze how pro-wrestling is similar to other forms of live or taped entertainment.
• Which current actors from Bollywood or other film industry outside of the U.S. seem most likely to make it big in Hollywood?
• Does getting involved in a scandal hurt or help a celebrity’s career?
• Does being on American Idol, The Voice or other singing contest help an artist’s career? Do winners do better than other contestants?
• Pick one of the current Reality T.V. shows to investigate. How “Real” are these shows? What is done for entertainment value more than for depicting real life? Do these shows hurt or help the people on them?

Controversial Issues Current Event Essay Topics

• Affirmative Action
• Alternative medicine
• America’s global influence
• Artificial intelligence
• Assisted suicide
• Bilingual education
• Capital punishment
• Charter schools
• Childhood obesity
• Civil rights
• Climate change
• Cryptocurrency
• Cyber bullying
• Drug legalization
• Eating disorders
• Factory farming
• Foreign aid
• Freedom of speech
• Genetic engineering
• Health insurance
• Immigration
• Labor unions
• Minimum wage
• Nuclear energy
• Organic food
• Offshore drilling
• Outsourcing
• Racial profiling
• Reparations
• Screen addiction
• Self-driving cars
• Sex education
• Smart speakers
• Social security
• Standardized testing
• Urban agriculture
• Violence in the media
• Women’s rights
• Zero tolerance policies

Current Event Essay Example

The negative social impacts of “tomorrowland music festival” essay.

“Tomorrowland” is among the biggest global music events that were first launched in 2005. Despite the benefits of this festival for the local community, such as increased economic activity and employment, “Tomorrowland” has also been criticized for the presence of drugs on-site, the issues with cleaning up the location after the festival, local community’s quality of life, and noise pollution.

According to Turner (2017), during events such as Tomorrowland, “police generally occupy a low-key role at festivals with a focus on the seizure of drugs, rather than arrests” (241). Hence, the youth attending this event is exposed to drugs and seeing people around them be under the influence.

Another issue with Tomorrowland is the effect that this festival has on the local community. According to Pavluković et al. (2018), the governments and organizers of festivals usually cite the economic benefits of these events but fail to acknowledge the discomfort the locals feel. An obvious environmental impact is trash left behind by the visitors, which requires the administration of the festival to invest in clearing the site after “Tomorrowland” is over.

Adbulredha et al. (2017) argue that major music festivals generate substantial quantities of solid waste, an estimated “0.89 kg per guest” (p. 388). This problem affects the environment negatively since this waste includes non-recyclable objects or items that need to be collected and send for recycling.

Finally, noise pollution due to the powerful sound systems used by “Tomorrowland’s” performers, which can affect the hearing of the people attending the festival and cause discomfort to the community members, is also a problem.

Overall, although “Tomorrowland” is an important cultural event that has multiple benefits, it also endangers the youth and the environment and causes discomfort for the locals.

Abdulredha, M., Al Khaddar, R., Jordan, D., Kot, P., Abdulridha, A., & Hashim, K. (2018). Estimating solid waste generation by hospitality industry during major festivals: A quantification model based on multiple regression.  Waste Management, 77 , 388-400. Web.

Pavluković V., Armenski T., Alcántara-Pilar J.M. (2019) The impact of music festivals on local communities and their quality of life: Comparation of Serbia and Hungary. In A. Campón-Cerro A., J. Hernández-Mogollón, & J. Folgado-Fernández (Eds.), Best practices in hospitality and tourism marketing and management. Applying quality of life research (pp. 217-237). Springer.

Turner, T. (2017). Space, drugs and Disneyfication. An Ethnography of British youth in Ibiza. [Doctoral dissertation, Coventry University]. CURVE.

You can also check out Best Classification Essay Topics 

Related FAQs

1. what are the components of a current events essay.

A well-written, “current events essay” has four main components: Research: Make sure that you’re getting your news from a reputable source. Online news sources like Google News and any national news syndication Web site are good, convenient sources from which to gather reputable information and compile research data.

2. How to write a narrative discussion analysis article about current events?

The eply a narrative discussion analysis article, Current Event, include: (1)’s significance, relevance, relationship PUBLIC ADMINISTATION, (2) student’s opinion article’s public administration issue / problem, (3) supported (4) -text reference citations pages text 300 words.

3. How to write an essay about a recent event?

Select a recent article. Your task is to write about a current event; therefore, you have to choose the material that is one or two days old, maximum, one week old. The topic must be appropriate.

4. How to write a summary for a current event assignment?

Choose an article that is fresh since the assignment is to write about a current event. In addition, choose an article on the correct topic and make sure that the article gives enough information. Prepare to write the summary by reading the entire article.

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SOC101: Principles of Sociology

• Current Events Assignment

Step 1: Choose a Current Event Article

Browse through these news sites to choose an article: 

• NPR (National Public Radio)
• New York Times
• Washington Post
• Wall Street Journal
• Reuters News Service
• The Week Magazine

For More Help on Conducting Research

• Do a search then limit to e-books, articles (limit to scholarly if wanted), or videos. 
• Click  Advanced Search  to overlap another subject. 
• To borrow a print book, contact a librarian ([email protected]) to arrange to pick it up. 
• Depending on your subject and research needs, you can also search individual databases below.   
• How Do I... Offers video tutorials for various library databases.
• Starting Your Research
• Ask a Librarian! Reference librarians are available to help you with your research, by chat, email, text or Zoom.

Step 2: Choose a Journal Article

A. Search for the accepted sociology journals listed to the right below. 

• "Annual Review of Sociology" OR "American Sociological Review" OR "American Journal of Sociology" OR "Sociological Methodology" OR "Sociological Theory" OR "Sociology of Education" OR "Social Networks" OR "Gender & Society" OR "Journal of Marriage and Family" OR "Population and Development Review" OR "Social Forces" OR "European Sociological Review"
• Add a subject on the second line.
• Limit to the last 10 years.  
• Click the Search Criteria to add a second or third subject.
• This search is limited to last 10 years (2012-2023). 
• Library databases search for sociology journal titles

B. To find more, click the JSTOR link below and follow these tips:

• Click  Advanced Search .
• Enter a subject.
• Choose these limits:   - Click  Articles   -  Limit the search to the   last 10 years -  Under Return results for , click Sociology (145 titles) then   Search. 
• Make sure to choose top sociology journals! See the list to the right. 

C. For more, search these databases: 

• Gale Academic OneFile
• ProQuest Central
• ScienceDirect
• Google Scholar Go to Settings > Library Links > add SUNY Adirondack to the search. Use Advanced Search. more... less... Indexes selected scholarly journals; open access as well as articles in SUNY Adirondack subscription databases. Search with non-technical keywords, but it's harder to narrow the search to the most relevant articles.

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Recommended Sociology Journals

Look for articles from these journals when you search the databases: 

• Annual Review of Sociology
• American Sociological Review
• American Journal of Sociology 
• Sociological Methodology
• Sociological Theory  
• Sociology of Education  
• Social Networks  
• Gender & Society 
• Journal of Marriage and Family 
• Population and Development Review 
• Social Forces  
• European Sociological Review 
• Last Updated: Oct 4, 2022 10:37 AM
• URL: https://library.sunyacc.edu/soc101

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Current Events Templates

Customize current events templates.

If you're assigning this to your students, copy the worksheet to your account and save. When creating an assignment, just select it as a template!

Engaging Students with Current Events Worksheets: Fostering Critical Thinking and Global Awareness

Real world current events serve as a powerful educational tool, as students learn tangible examples and relatable context to explore societal topics and understand their relevance in the broader world. Studying a current event and completing a current events assignment keeps students informed and is essential for their development as engaged and informed citizens. One effective tool for achieving this goal is the use of free current events worksheets. These worksheets provide a structured approach to help children learn and stay updated on the latest news, while also promoting critical thinking and global awareness.

When students engage with these handouts, they not only learn about what is happening in the world, but also develop essential analytical skills and learn about possible bias and what's going on in their city, country, and the world in the present day. By examining news articles and answering questions related to the content, children are encouraged to think critically about the information presented. They learn different ways to assess the credibility and reliability of news sources, ensuring they become discerning consumers of information. Through these activities, students gain media literacy skills and become better equipped to navigate the vast amount of news available to them.

What is a Current Events Worksheet?

It serves as a valuable resource for teachers and students alike. It offers a structured format that includes essential components such as a summary of the news article, questions to assess comprehension, and opportunities for reflection. Teachers can provide a blank sheet for kids to fill in with information from news articles they find, or they can use pre-selected articles and provide a sheet with answers. By using these worksheets, teachers can guide the class in analyzing news articles effectively and guide classroom discussions on important topics.

Implementing current events lessons in the classroom provides an interactive and engaging way for kids to learn about the world around them. By discussing current events and sharing their perspectives, they develop a deeper understanding of real-world issues and their impact on society. With these and other resources, teachers can facilitate classroom debates, encourage collaborative activities, and encourage students to express their opinions on the news articles they explore together.

To make these more effective, it's important to choose a variety of news articles that cover diverse topics and perspectives. This ensures children are exposed to different viewpoints and fosters empathy and understanding in preparation for life as they get older. Educators can also integrate multimedia elements such as videos, infographics, links, and newspaper clips to enhance the learning experience and cater to different learning styles. Another great idea it to let kids choose their own article relating to a current event in the world today.

Components of Effective Current Events Worksheets

To maximize the benefits of a current event handout, be sure to include components that provide a structured format for learners to engage with news articles. This can include sections for recording the title and date of the news article, allowing students to keep track of the articles they have explored. Additionally, including a section for students to write a summary of the article helps them condense information and identify the main points. To promote critical thinking, the handout can also include questions to answer that encourage students to analyze the main idea, supporting details, and different perspectives presented in the article.

Implementing Current Events Worksheets in the Classroom

These lessons offer a valuable opportunity for kids to delve into real-world issues, fostering critical thinking, empathy, and a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness between their lives and the events shaping the world. A current events activity provides a dynamic and hands-on approach to learning, as students actively explore and analyze real-world issues through engaging exercises and interactive tasks. Teachers can provide a selection of templates with different topics and difficulty levels, allowing students to choose worksheets that align with their interests and grade level. It's important to provide resources and materials such as a variety of news articles, websites, and other relevant sources to support students in completing the worksheets. To illustrate the relevance of current events in the classroom, educators can provide students with a compelling example of current events news articles during their discussion.

Examples of Current Events Worksheets and Activities

A current events report sheet serves as a valuable tool for all grades to structure their research, gather relevant information, and craft a well-organized report on the news article they have analyzed, fostering effective communication and critical thinking skills.

Engaging in classroom discussions allows the class to exchange perspectives, broaden their understanding, and develop critical thinking skills by critically analyzing and debating various aspects of the news articles. By discussing recent events, students not only gain a deeper understanding of the world around them but also sharpen their communication skills as they articulate their thoughts, listen to others' viewpoints, and engage in respectful debates on pressing global issues.

To make these worksheets engaging and interactive, use activities like comparing articles from different sources, creating presentations or podcasts, and conducting in-depth research. These activities promote analysis, communication skills, critical thinking, and a deeper understanding of global issues.

Worksheet Making Tips

• Find a News Article: Look for a relevant and age-appropriate news article from a reliable news source or consider allowing students to choose their own articles within certain guidelines.
• Determine the Focus: Decide on the main issues or themes you want to explore through the assignment.
• Provide Resources: Gather additional resources such as articles, videos, or websites that can supplement the students' understanding of the topic.
• Create a Template: Design a format that includes sections for reading the article, answering questions, summarizing key points, and reflecting on the moral or ethical questions it raises.
• Prepare the Worksheet: Write clear and concise questions that prompt critical thinking and analysis of the news article. Answer questions as they arise.
• Engage Class in Reading and Research: Encourage students to read the news article carefully and use additional resources to gain a broader understanding of the topic.
• Complete the Worksheet: Have kids fill out the worksheet, answering the questions and summarizing the main points of the article in their own words.
• Make Use of Available Resources: Explore the curriculum corner or utilize educational websites on the internet, newspapers, or community resources to find additional articles and materials for future current events worksheets.

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Give Your Worksheet a Name!

Be sure to call it something related to the topic so that you can easily find it in the future.

Edit Your Worksheet

This is where you will include directions, specific images, and make any aesthetic changes that you would like. The options are endless!

Click "Save and Exit"

When you are finished, click this button in the lower right hand corner to exit your storyboard.

From here you can print, download as a PDF, attach it to an assignment and use it digitally, and more!

Happy Creating!

Frequently Asked Questions About Current Events

Why is it important to keep students informed about current events.

Keeping kids informed about current events helps them understand the world they live in, fosters critical thinking, and encourages active citizenship. It promotes global awareness, empathy, and the ability to make informed decisions. Teachers can provide engaging and age-appropriate current events for kids worksheets to spark children's curiosity about the world and encourage their active involvement in understanding global issues.

How do current events worksheets promote critical thinking?

They require learners to analyze news articles, identify bias, evaluate sources, and discern between facts and opinions. These activities challenge students to think critically, consider multiple perspectives, and develop their own informed opinions. Students can assess their understanding and compare their interpretations by discussing the current events worksheet answers during classroom conversations.

How can current events worksheets enhance media literacy skills?

They play a crucial role in enhancing media literacy skills by providing students with opportunities to evaluate news sources, analyze media elements, fact-check information, recognize bias, and critically analyze news articles. By engaging with real-world current events through these worksheets, children can bridge the gap between classroom learning and the complexities of the world.

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Us open wrestling championships, ohio tournament of champions, north region mawa championships, 2024 jet ironman, 2024 alaska usaw state folkstyle champio, iswa freestyle state, 2024 missouri usa girls greco state, iswa fs/greco state, eastern national mawa championships, ultimate club girls freestyle duals, mn/usa 6u-16u, junior, girls state fs/gr, vawa fs/greco state champs, 2024 missouri usa fs/gr state, 2024 us wrestling olympic trials schedule and brackets, check out the schedule and brackets for the 2024 us wrestling olympic trials which go down friday april 19 and saturday april 20 in state college, pa..

The 2024 US Wrestling Olympic Trials take place on Friday and Saturday, April 19-20 in State College, Pennsylvania. They will be streamed on Peacock. FloWrestling will host a watch-party as a second-screen experience during all four sessions of the event. Check out the brackets and schedule for this weekend's competition.

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2024 wrestling olympic trials brackets.

Official Olympic Trials brackets will be available on Trackwrestling here.

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2024 Olympic Trials Schedule

*all times listed are Eastern Standard Time

Friday, April 19

Session 1: 10:00 AM - 3:30 PM

Challenge Tournament: Preliminaries, Quarterfinals and Consolation Rounds* 

(ALL STYLES AND WEIGHTS)

*All championship matches will wrestle prior to consolation rounds

Session 2: 6:30 PM - 10:00 PM

Challange Tournament: Semifinals and Finals

Saturday, April 20

Session 3: 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Final 2 out of 3 Championship Series Round 1**

**Weights not currently qualified for the Olympics will wrestle match 2 in this session

Challenge Tournament: Consolations, Consolation Semi-finals, 3rd place and True 3rd (if needed)

Session 4: 6:30 PM - 10:00 PM

Final 2 out of 3 Championship Series Round 2**

**Weights not currently qualified for the Olympics will wrestle match 3 at beginning of session (if needed)

Final 2 out of 3 Championship Series Round 3 (If Needed)

USA Wrestling Trials Brackets 

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2024 Olympic Wrestling Qualifiers

For an updated list of everyone who has qualified for the 2024 Olympics, Click Here.  

How To Watch the 2024 Olympic Wrestling Trials

Live coverage of all four mats at the U.S Olympic Team Trials will be streamed on Peacock from April 19-20. 

Streaming will begin on Friday, April 19 with Session 1 at 10 a.m. ET

When are the US Olympic Trials?

The U.S Olympic Trials will be held over two days from April 19-20 in State College, Pennsylvania.

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Although it’s not the main event that Buckley (18-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) asked for when he crashed the UFC 300 pre-fight press conference, “New Mansa” gets a big spot in his hometown against a fellow finisher in Ruziboev (34-8-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC).

Buckley has been on a tear since dropping from middleweight to welterweight. He made the shift last May, and has racked up three wins, including a big ground and pound finish over Vicente Luque at UFC on ESPN 54 in March.

Ruziboev hasn’t seen Round 2 since 2019. He’s currently running super hot on a 10-fight, first-round stoppage streak that includes finishes of Brunno Ferreira and Sedriques Dumas under the UFC banner. He will be dropping down to 170 pounds for the first time since 2021, when he won the fight to spark his current streak.

Joaquin Buckley set on making UFC change St. Louis headliner – to himself vs. somebody

Joaquin buckley def. vicente luque at ufc on espn 54: best photos, nursulton ruziboev def. sedriques dumas at ufc on espn 54: best photos.

With the addition, the current UFC on ESPN 56 lineup includes:

• Derrick Lewis vs. Rodrigo Nascimento
• Joaquin Buckley vs. Nursulton Ruziboev
• Alonzo Menifield vs. Carlos Ulberg
• Jared Gooden vs. Kevin Jousset
• Tabatha Ricci vs. Tecia Torres
• Alex Caceres vs. Sean Woodson
• Jake Hadley vs. Charles Johnson
• Terrance McKinney vs. Esteban Ribovics
• Viacheslav Borshchev vs. Chase Hooper
• Billy Goff vs. Trey Waters
• Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Robelis Despaigne
• Diego Ferreira vs. Mateusz Rebecki

Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.

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