Point-and-Click News
Where to find age-appropriate current-events information and activities.
Gail Junion-Metz -- School Library Journal, 11/1/1999
Every year, kids descend on your library needing to research and report on current events. What a chore that used to be! Now, locating kid-friendly news stories and current-events topics is a snap thanks to the Web. This year, be ready for the "news invasion" by checking out these nifty (and newsy) sites. Time for Kids Gr 2-6-A weekly online news magazine and companion to the printed version of Time for Kids, in two parts--"News Scoop" (grades 2-3) and"World Report"(grades 4-6). Creator: Time Magazine. Don't Miss: In "News Scoop," the "Who's News" biography and "News Update"; in"World Report," the "Kids' Views on the News" poll and "Also in This Issue" for lots of news articles. Detour: Teacher's Guides for weekly lesson ideas and activities, at pathfinder.com/TFK/teachers/teachers_guide_ns.htm (for "News Scoop") and pathfinder.com/TFK/teachers/teachers_guide_wr.htm (for "World Report").(Acrobat required for Teacher's Guides.) Scholastic News Online www.scholastic.com/scholasticnews Gr 1-6-A companion to each weekly or monthly grade-level issue of Scholastic News. Creator: Scholastic Inc. Don't Miss: The many links that relate to each issue's feature stories; the weekly news-related "Scavenger Hunt Game" (grades 4-6); the interactive quizzes for each grade level. Detour: Junior Scholastic Online at www.scholastic.com/juniorscholastic for the weekly "News Challenge" interactive quiz (grades 3-6). Yahooligans News www.yahooligans.com/content/news Gr 2-6-A daily list of kid-friendly national, world, science, and sports news stories. Each contains links to related news stories, background material, and even audio andvideo files. There is also a Teachers' Guide at www.yahooligans.com/content/tg/index.html. Creator: Yahoo! Don't Miss: Anything...a must-see site! Detour: Yahooligans Current Events at www.yahooligans.com/Arts_and_Entertainment/News/The_Big_Picture/Current_Events for a long list of current and recent events topics. Optional plug-ins: RealPlayer, Quicktime. CBC4Kids--What's New www.cbc4kids.ca/regular/whats-new Gr 2-7-A daily news site for Canadian kids (and for U.S. kids studying Canada). There is also a Teacher's Guide at teachers.cbc4kids.com. Creator: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Don't Miss: "Latin News" for the latest news translated into Latin; the "News Search" word loop puzzle; and "How to Say It Right" to learn how to pronounce names and places in the news. Optional Plug-ins: Shockwave, RealPlayer. New York Times Learning Network Gr 6-12-An outstanding daily news source and learning/teaching companion to the New York Times. Creator: New York Times. Don't Miss: Monthly"Special News Packages" on hot current-events topics; "Student Connections" and its news summaries. Also visit the daily interactive news quizzes and the "Student Voices" sectionfor student news reports. Detour: "Teacher Connections" at www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/index.html for lots of current-events lesson plans. Weekly Reader Galaxy Gr 6-10, teachers-Home page for Teen Newsweek and Weekly Reader current-events articles, related links, news contests, puzzles, and lots more. Creator: Weekly Reader Corporation. Don't Miss: "News Busters," a Jeopardy-like news game for teens; the "Your Vote Counts" weekly poll for teens. Detour: "Current Science" for the latest science news. Check out the Weekly Reader issues and especially the "Update" feature articles for grades 3-6. See Also: Newsweek's "ThisWeek" Web page for news and
