NIE Week 2012 – March 5-9
Give Them the Keys: Promoting Adolescent Literacy through Newspapers
Newspaper In Education Week is celebrated annually during the first full school week of March. For 2012, the NAA Foundation is providing a teacher's guide. First introduced for NIE Week 2002, this year the curriculum has been updated to include standardized lesson plans which include common core standards, technology standards, leveled activities and assessments. Everything can be downloaded right here, right now, free of charge.
In all their forms, newspapers remain one of the most remarkable, multifaceted and effective educational resources available to teachers. In their print, e-edition or Web versions, newspapers expose students to an ever-widening range of subjects and give teachers fresh resources for teaching both core and enrichment topics.
With newspapers, teachers can engage students with contemporary informational texts that not only bring academics to life but also deepen learning by grounding it in real-world experiences.
Our curriculum for NIE Week 2012 celebrates the power of newspapers as a vehicle for engagement as students read nonfiction text and learn about the world around them. Furthermore, in using the newspaper as a primary source, students learn how to navigate varied text features. Newspapers also help students understand and relate to current events, practice valuable reading and writing skills, and learn how to make informed decisions. Integration of newspapers is an excellent way to introduce students to expository text with the added benefit of teaching a variety of topics. News stories and columns about government, current events, technology, public affairs and international relations can be connected directly to subjects students are learning in their content-area classes while cultivating valuable literacy skills.
This curriculum is organized by units, so teachers can pick and choose what works in conjunction with their curriculum and students. Each unit includes several lessons that can be taught consecutively in two, three, four or five days, or used independently. Each lesson is specifically designed to include instructional objectives, applicable standards, a list of materials, an anticipatory set, instructional procedures, a formative assessment for each lesson within a unit and resources associated with that particular lesson, if applicable. Adaptations and accommodations for ELL students and those with special learning needs are provided, as well as summative assessment tools.
Teachers can adapt these lessons to fit class schedules and/or needs. Each lesson can stand alone or be used within the applicable unit.
2012