App of the Week: Daily news and events, just for kids

Ed. note: App of the Week picks are now being curated with help from Graphite by Common Sense Media. Click here to read the full app review.

What’s It Like? News-O-Matic, School Edition, 2015-16 is a daily news and activity app for kids in grades 2–5. Teachers and kids can read five current events articles daily, answer questions, chat with classmates about the stories, and send comments or questions to the editor. Topics include everything from religion and politics to scientific discoveries and kid entrepreneurs.

Rating: 4/5…Read More

New partnership yields current-events resources

newsresizedShare My Lesson, an online community with free lesson plans and other teaching resources, has announced a new partnership with PBS NewsHour Extra. The deal will make current-events content from PBS NewsHour Extra available on the Share My Lesson platform for middle and high school teachers to use free of charge.

“We are thrilled to partner with PBS NewsHour Extra to increase the available resources we provide to our members,” said Share My Lesson General Manager Scott Noon. “Together, we will offer the best timely and teacher-friendly resources associated with current events that are also aligned to the Common Core.”

Most recently, PBS NewsHour Extra linked a Share My Lesson resource to a story on Syria. The lesson plan provided an engaging simulation activity for students, as well as accompanying text and video resources designed to help students understand the conflict in depth.  Because of its success, Share My Lesson is building a segment called “Today’s News, Tomorrow’s Lesson,” which connects resources and lesson plans that help teach students about current-events taking place around the world.…Read More