News Events

Summary: Studying news events can be a positive educational tool for students. It enables children to examine social issues in a global context and gives them a sense of belonging and social responsibility.

Still, violent or disturbing news reports can have an adverse affect on children. Teaching children how to put news information into a balanced context is critical.

By teaching our kids about the complex process of newsgathering and helping them differentiate between a "true" news story and an "entertainment" news event, will enable them to better understand the world around them.

Some of the issues or concerns you may want to discuss with your students are:

• Read newspapers and/or watch news broadcasts together. If a student is reacting negatively, start a conversation on the topic.
• Use news events to discuss issues such as racism, prejudice, and topics of moral and/or social concern. Keep the conversation to "talking points," rather than a formal discourse.
• News reports bring violent images into our homes and classrooms. Incidents such as school shootings or workplace violence can be particularly disturbing to children. Be sure your students understand that just because they saw it on the news, it does not mean it may happen to them or their parents.
• It may be necessary to provide your students with more detailed, factual information than is found in a news report. Use these opportunities as research projects.