Well, I've finally gotten around to adding something to English Raven that I've been wanting to do for a long time (years, in fact) - and that is a hybrid online/print-based world news service geared to the interests of children.
And here it is, called (simply enough) WORLD NEWS for KIDS.
WNK, as you see it above, features an online page with four news stories, each representing a slightly different level of difficulty (dove, owl, eagle, and albatross - in that order). These levels generally correspond to the four levels in my Boost! Integrated Skills Series.
In addition to an eye-catching picture for each story, there are two listening files attached. The first is the basic news article, read out loud by myself. The second is something I call "News Extra" - a follow-up article which links to, adds to, or expands the general topic in some way.
Below the listening files is a link labeled "TALK ABOUT IT", which links to a special Voxopop page with an oral prompt related to the main article. Students can then record their own oral responses to the prompt, getting some valuable practice with speaking online and sharing their opinions worldwide.
That's about the extent of the online side of things, and also the general service as it is available 100% for free for teachers and learners around the world.
For those teachers who want to go a bit further, and use this online facility in combination with classroom-based worksheets and activities, there are special study kits available to English Raven Members. Each kit consists of eight PDF-formatted pages, beginning with the basic reading passage and finishing with a writing topic, working through a variety of other skills and activities on the way.
By way of example, here is an overview of the study kit for the second level (OWL), in application to the online news articles about sharks becoming extinct and the cruel fishing practice called "finning":
News article (reading) + Reading Skills
This features the written version of the article (with a simple URL archive link if students want to go back and listen to the article while they read it here in text). On the following page is a list of important vocabulary to be checked, and some reading comprehension questions. Two things you might find different from standard textbooks here... (1) vocabulary is listed and students are encouraged to use dictionaries to check up on their meanings (hey, this is what I used to have to do when learning a new language, and I'm tired of publishers and teachers asking me to figure out the meanings of the words for the learners in advance!); (2) not all of the reading comprehension questions are multiple choice (I'm tired of publishers or teachers asking me to use multiple choice all the time, so that kids can guess correct answers even if they have no idea what they've read/are reading!).
"News Extra" (Listening) + Talk Time
The "News Extra" is a listening gap-fill activity, featuring a follow-up article linked to the main reading article above. Following the listening are some simple true/false prompts to see how well students have understood essential points in the listening. Teachers can either read out the article or use the online news page provided (which features a pre-recorded version of the News Extra text).
On the next page is "Talk Time", a little innovation I'm quite proud of and excited about. This is a dialogue, linked thematically to the content that has been presented so far in the reading and listening materials. Basically, the same dialogue is presented on two cards (to be cut out separately), with highlighting for either an A or B speaker. The idea is to get two students up in front of the class and have them perform this short dialogue (drawing on the teacher if necessary for assistance), while the rest of the class listens to them. The speaking cards for the two performers then feature simple comprehension questions for them to ask to the class. In essence, students are performing the dialogue input (rather than the usual unrealistic replication on a CD) "live", and then actually hosting the comprehension check to see how well their classmates have understood them.
Class Discussion + Write an Email
"Class Discussion" provides some prompts related to the news article theme for students to answer for themselves and then ask to 1-3 classmates. Very much integrated skills and interaction - basically a version of the "Finding Out" application I've already written a lot about (and used a lot in classes for fantastic results!).
"Write an email" provides some sort of real-world input to which the students respond via email. They may be answering an email from a friend, or sending an email to a particular organisation or online application. The idea here is for realistic-feeling real-world style writing practice.
Write about it + Talk about it (+ Teacher notes)
A more open, semi-essay style writing task follows, with a general theme-related prompt to respond to. Below this, students are then encouraged to go online and respond to the same prompt orally (and they can use the writing task to help them speak if they want, as the same prompt is applied).
The final page in the kit has teacher notes, with answer keys and links to any online help that could be relevant to teaching the unit.
So there it is, World News for Kids, in online format and in printable study kits!
Enjoy,
~ Jason
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