Youngzine - News for kids

 

Looking for a current events site for kids?  Check out Youngzine.  Using this site, students are able to read current events articles, comment on those articles, and even submit some of their own writing  to the site.  The comments are moderated by the staff at the site, as are any submitted articles.  If you sign up as a teacher, you are even able to create a "classroom" where students use a unique code to join your class.  Once the students are associated with you, you are able to see what they commented on and all their site activity.

A unique defining feature of Youngzine is the students' ability to earn points as they use the site.  As they read articles, comment, rate, and take quizzes (yes there are even pre-made quizzes!) they earn points that go towards earning them a spot on the Hall of Fame!

The news is split up into World News, Science and Tech, Our Earth, Society and Arts, and Sports.  There is also a games section where users can read comic strips and play games (to be used if a student has finished their work). So, check out this kid-friendly, Slide-approved current events site!

TweenTribune

I was alerted to this site by a Massena principal.  I am thrilled with how easy to use and kid-friendly this site is!  I took the description from the site itself because they explain it so well:

 "Engage, inform, and educate your students with TweenTribune. TweenTribune lets students interact with the news, while fulfilling requirements for language arts, computer skills, and other classes.

Customize TweenTribune for your classroom. Register your classroom with TweenTribune using the form at the right [When you click  "For Teachers"].  Then ask your students to sign up. (They’ll need to create a username and password, then select your classroom.) Once your class starts using TweenTribune, the site will automatically generate custom pages showing:

• The stories your class has commented upon
• Individual comments by each student, on his or her own page
• All comments by your students, in one report that can be sorted by students’ names, comments, or dates

And don't worry – you can moderate, edit, or delete your students’ comments before they’re published."

Basically, students can look for stories that are interesting to them or read articles you direct them to.  Then they can leave comments and have forum-like discussions with kids all over the country and even the world.  (Some classes from Australia, Canada, Japan, and Taiwan exist in this online community.)