Keeping Students In The Know - October 3rd, 2007

The daily news has long been catered towards a grownup audience, providing information on one's local community as well as presenting international stories that peek our interest.

But it's also very important for students to know what's happening in the world around them, and to have this information delivered in a way that makes learning about their world fun.

While there are many websites on the internet that are aimed at children, only a handful are dedicated to keeping students interested in their world and what happens around them.

So, I decided to search high and low for the best internet news sites that work towards delivering the news to students in the best way possible. In wanting to help students stay in touch with their world, CNN has dedicated a section of their website to delivering the top stories of the day that informs students of the current news.

CNN's Student News not only provides a daily 10-minute news broadcast over the internet, but aims at
improving students' knowledge of their world with related quizzes and discussion questions.

Another website offering extensive coverage of the daily news and being exclusively formatted for students, is NewsHour Extra.
This website not only aims to provide the news, but students are encouraged to participate in group discussions and submit their own views on a sub-branch of NewsHour, Newz Crew, which is designed to help students not become passive watchers of the news, but involved in the world around them.

Student News Net is another great website that provides school-aged children with top stories of the day and fun facts, as well as highlighting a day in history, and different careers that children can learn about. While some news stories are free to read, a yearly subscription fee is required for children to access other content on the website.

Many student-based websites are geared at providing news to middle and highschool students, but younger children can also enjoy learning about their world and reading the news, no matter what school grade.

The BBC offers a kids-only website, CBCC Newsround Online, and Time Magazine manages a website dedicated to kids, Time for Kids, which provide fun and entertaining ways of keeping younger children informed about stories across the world and also in their own communities.

All of the stories are written for a younger audience which makes it even easier for children to stay in touch with the news.

Reading the news isn't just for adults anymore. Young people are genuinely interested in learning about their world and keeping in touch with current affairs, and the internet is a great place for students to access the news while in the classroom.

So encourage your students to get involved in the news and become active citizens of not just a classroom, but their world.

http://www.cnn.com/studentnews
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/students
http://www.studentnewsnet.com
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/default.stm
http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/

Written by Rachel Oakley

Educational Writer for Gigglepotz.com