A new frontier in teaching informational text standards

Teaching nonfiction can feel challenging, but it doesn’t have to be. Using current events provides an engaging and relevant way to teach essential nonfiction standards, making the process enjoyable and impactful. Whether you’re focusing on identifying main ideas, understanding craft and structure, or integrating knowledge and ideas, informational texts tied to real-world issues bring lessons to life.

You can use ELA news articles and current event lesson plans to effectively teach nonfiction standards while building critical thinking and real-world connections.

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The Power of Current Events in Teaching Nonfiction

Current events make nonfiction lessons relevant and meaningful. Capitalize on students’ natural curiosity about the world around them, and tie nonfiction skills to current issues to get them to connect classroom learning to real life. Using informational text lessons tied to current events from The Juice, teachers can encourage students to explore topics they care about while mastering nonfiction standards.

Benefits of Teaching Nonfiction with Current Events:

• Engagement: Students are more likely to stay interested in reading and analyzing informational texts when they connect to real-world topics.
• Relevance: Current events help contextualize skills like identifying the main idea or analyzing text structure.
• Practicality: Incorporating formative assessment tools like The Juice with current events ensures students are prepared for both standardized tests and real-world critical thinking.

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Teaching Main Idea and Key Details Standards

Understanding the main idea and supporting details is foundational to nonfiction literacy. Current events from The Juice are an excellent tool for teaching this standard. Juice articles are short form and present clear main ideas with supporting facts.

Strategies for Teaching Main Idea with Current Events:

1. Use Headlines to Practice Identifying the Main Idea
   • Teach with newspaper headlines. Separate headlines from ELA news articles and have students match the newspaper headline with the correct articles. This activity hones their ability to pinpoint main ideas quickly.

2. Create Graphic Organizers
   • Provide tools like charts or webs to help students outline the main idea and supporting details in ELA news articles or news for ESL students.

3. Assign ELA News Articles with Main Idea Comprehension Questions
   • With The Juice, teachers can search our database of current events articles for students by the nonfiction standard they assess. Look for ones that align with your state’s nonfiction ELA standards on main idea and key details.

4. Daily Summaries
   • Assign a short-form ELA news article and have students write one-sentence summaries to capture the main idea. Use a current events lesson plan template to scaffold this activity by utilizing some of the accommodation features in The Juice like text-leveling, text highlighting and audio, and highlighted vocabulary.

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Teaching Craft and Structure Standards

Understanding how an author constructs a text is a critical skill in nonfiction literacy. Analyzing the structure, word choice, and point of view in informational texts helps students appreciate how authors convey their messages.

Activities to Teach Craft and Structure:

• Compare Different ELA News Articles on the Same Topic
  • Use current events from multiple sources for students to show how structure and tone vary. Have students analyze the tones of the authors. Was one using a persuasive tone while another uses an explanatory approach?
• Dissect Headline Choices
  • Incorporate teaching newspaper headlines to examine how word choice in headlines influences readers’ perceptions of an article or how likely they are to read it.
• Author’s Purpose Discussions
  • After reading a current events article, have students identify whether the purpose is to inform, persuade, or entertain. Use formative assessment tools like exit slips from The Juice to track their understanding.

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Integration of Knowledge and Ideas Standards

The ability to integrate information from multiple sources is vital for students to form well-rounded opinions. Current events from The Juice naturally provide opportunities for students to synthesize knowledge across articles, videos, infographics, and other media.

Techniques to Teach Integration of Knowledge:

1. Pair ELA News Articles with Multimedia
   • Assign a Juice video and an article on the same topic, such as climate change. Ask students to compare the information presented in each.
     1. Did one have more information?
     2. Was one more memorable?
     3. How long did it take to read/listen to each?
2. Debates and Discussions
   • Use articles from informational text lessons to set up classroom debates. Encourage students to cite evidence from multiple sources during discussions. Don’t be afraid to discuss tricky subjects, follow tried and tested tips for having classroom discussions around current events.
3. Project-Based Learning
   • Having students create presentations on topics using information from several informative reading articles and other resources helps them synthesize information and draw conclusions.

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Teaching Nonfiction Standards with English Language Learners (ELLs)

Current events are particularly effective for ELL students because they combine language development with cultural immersion. ESL students are often immigrants or the children of immigrants. News for ESL students provides a jumping-off point for understanding the systems and institutions of the US and their interactions with other countries around the world. Additionally, features of The Juice’s current events articles for ESL students like translations, leveled reading options, and audio help ELLs build confidence while learning about relevant topics.

Tips for Teaching Current Events to ELLs:

• Use Read-Alouds
  • Pair ELA news articles with audio to reinforce pronunciation and comprehension.
• Focus on Visuals
  • Juice articles with infographics or images support understanding for visual learners.
• Highlight Key Vocabulary
  • Pre-teach essential terms using informational text lessons to prepare students for reading.

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Creating a Current Events Lesson Plan

Incorporating current events for students into your curriculum is simple with the right planning. A well-structured current event lesson plan ensures students focus on both content and nonfiction skill development.

Current Event Lesson Plan Example:

1. Introduction
   • Begin with a brief discussion of the topic using teaching newspaper headlines to spark curiosity.
2. Solidify Background Knowledge
   • Cover any background knowledge students might need to understand the ELA news article. The Juice highlights key background information with “Extra Juices” that are embedded in articles.
3. Reading Activity
   • Assign an article from a trusted source like The Juice based on the nonfiction standard you’re working on.
4. Skill Practice
   • Use a current events lesson plan template to guide students in identifying the main idea, analyzing structure, or synthesizing information.
5. Discussion
   • Facilitate a class conversation on the topic to deepen understanding and practice critical thinking.
6. Formative Assessment
   • Use comprehension questions or writing prompts to assess student thinking.

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Why Current Events Work for Nonfiction Standards

By using current event articles for students, teachers provide a dynamic way to teach nonfiction. Real-world stories resonate with students, making it easier to master main idea, craft and structure, and integration of knowledge standards. The use of formative assessment tools like The Juice also ensures these lessons are trackable for teachers.

The best way to teach nonfiction is with current events. These real-world connections improve literacy skills and prepare students to engage thoughtfully with the world around them.

Using current events to teach nonfiction standards transforms classrooms into spaces where students learn to think critically, connect ideas, and engage with the world. Start incorporating informational texts and current events lesson plans into your curriculum to make nonfiction learning meaningful and relevant for every student for the future by helping them recognize the importance of being informed about the world around them.