photo by The U.S. Army www.flickr.com
When I was a fifth grade classroom teacher, I remember struggling with teaching current events. I looked around for teaching strategies for current events and pop culture, but then I realized I just had to go with my gut. The biggest challenge was, of course, September 12, 2001 when I was scared to death to walk into that fifth grade classroom with my students’ huge eyes, scared faces, and confused minds. Our school counselor helped with teaching strategies, and I decided to tackle it head on with a journal prompt on the board that said, “Open your journals and write about anything you want, including what happened yesterday. If you don’t feel like writing a paragraph, you can draw, make a list, or even write some questions.” Students actually looked relieved when they saw this on the board–almost like, “Oh, thank goodness,she is going to talk about the terrorists’ attacks with us today because it is on our minds.”
I’ve been thinking about this subject a bit more now that I am out of the classroom on a regular basis and aware of several issues that everybody is talking about. Using teaching strategies for current events about the war in Afghanistan or the health care debate can range from journal entries to high school classroom debates to Powerpoint presentations or bulletin boards full of newspaper clippings. Talking about these issues in a history, social studies, or government class is appropriate, important, and probably satisfies part of the curriculum.
photo by R’Eyes www.flickr.com
But what do you do as a teacher at any level when current events such as the Tiger Woods scandal, Jon and Kate divorce, or even David Letterman confession are on everyone’s minds and your students’ lips? Do you do what I did on September 12th and just let them write about their thoughts and opinions and then discuss them in class? Do you tell them that it’s inappropriate for class? What do you do when these subjects come up? What do you do when you homeschool, turn on the computer, and the news headlines stare your children in the face? Do they want to talk about them?
I’m under the belief that it’s important to address issues head on, but you also have to be aware of the fact that some kids lead very sheltered lives, and they may not even know about the hot topic that most of the other kids are talking about. That’s why I think giving students open journal writing prompts at least once a week is the best. Kids and teens can write about their feelings about the current events, you can read them, and then you can decide what to discuss in class and what is good enough for just a journal entry. If kids really want to talk about these issues, then maybe you can eat lunch with them one day; or in elementary schools, you can talk with them at recess.
What do you do about teaching strategies for current events? How do you handle it when pop culture works its way into your classroom or even into your home and your kids want to discuss these news stories? Share with us, and let us learn from you!
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