CNN Student News

Have you ever wondered how to get your students excited about current events, or how to spark an interest in reading and listening to the news? CNN Student News is a great program that provides a quick 10 minute overview of the news, including important international and domestic events from the day before, as well as some light news. The program engages students with a bit of humor and short quizzes, and brings in topics that relate to students' interests.

I've been using it often in my 8th grade class, and the students really enjoy it and have become more informed about current events. They now tell me about news that they read or watch at home, and are growing a larger knowledge base about the world. It was particularly useful for 8th grade American history during the election cycle as it explained all about the Electoral College and detailed the campaign, election, and inaugural process.

Since there's never enough time in any given day, I use it sparingly, however I do feel like it is a worthwhile use of time. I signed up for the daily email, and that has been very helpful. The night prior to the broadcast, they email with the content of the show, so I can see if it relates to a 7th or 8th grade topic.

In addition, they have some literacy materials that go with each lesson, so this can be a great way to add some discussion or writing to the lesson. The "Media Literacy Question of the Day" along with a short quiz can be found on the main page and can be printed out as well.

Let me know if you find it useful, or have any other tips for engaging students in current events!