News reading is an important literacy practice that, among other things, helps students become responsible citizens, raises their critical media awareness, and connects them to the global world. News websites are abundantly present in the virtual sphere, this has been amplified with the use of social media websites to the extent that it becomes increasingly hard to weed out fake news from real news.
Actually, the widespread of fake news has become a real concern especially when it comes to young and unwitting recipients who are unaware of the intricacies involved in news production and dissemination.
As teachers and educators, we need to make sure our students and kids have the tools and know-how that can enable them to critically evaluate news sources and determine their credibility. We have already published a guide that you can use with you students in class to help them spot fake news.
Another step to take in this direction is to provide students with news sources that are age-appropriate and student-friendly. These are websites that provide news stories curated specifically for a young audience. Some of these websites, besides covering timely news stories and events, also include literacy tools and assessment activities to aid students in their comprehension.
In today’s post we are introducing you to 9 of our favourite news sources to use with students and even kids. For more options, check out this page from Common Sense Media where we have curated the collection below where you can find over 20 more titles.
1- HuffPost Teens
The popular Huffington Post has this special section where it features news specifically for a young audience.
‘TIME, the trusted name in journalism, offers authentic journalism tailored for students. Explore how TIME for Kids supports your standards-based daily instruction while inspiring students to join the national discourse on current topics.’
3- National Geographic Kids
‘Nat Geo Kids inspires young adventurers to explore the world through award-winning magazines, books, apps, games, toys, videos, events, and a website, and is the only kids brand with a world-class scientific organization at its core. National Geographic Kids magazine (10 issues per year) and Little Kids magazine (six issues per year) are photo-driven publications and are available on newsstands or by subscription in print and on tablets.’
4- Newsela
‘Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject…It starts with interesting articles about tons of topics—each available at 5 reading levels. Assessments are included with the articles to help readers engage with the content.’
5- News-O-Matic
‘News-O-Matic is the first daily newspaper just for kids. It provides an exciting and engaging nonfiction experience for children, complete with valuable literacy tools for the classroom…Thanks to its unique combination of editorial and technology, News-O-Matic creates innovative solutions to help children become tomorrow’s responsible citizens. It gives young readers a window into the world — and a reason to love reading news.’
‘Here There Everywhere is a news website/blog designed for elementary and older school-aged children. Its purpose is to show kids how they are connected to their world and introduce them to the people and events shaping it. It credits children with being interested in and being able to understand some of the more newsy topics (though there will be lots of the fun stuff, too!).’
7- DOGOnews
‘With award-winning content written for children, DOGOnews is a favorite for ELA, science & social studies in the classroom and at home. It offers over 3000 article for 2000 assignments and work sheets for Comprehension, Critical Thinking and Vocab in Contex…t’
8- Google News
Google News is also another good source of news for students. They can search for news using categories such as Wold, Business, Sport, Science, Health…etc. They can also search for news on geographical area or in nearby places.
Adapted from this post
