3 Benefits of Studying Current Events Plus Resources for Your Teens
As my kids have gotten older, we have incorporated studying currents events into their weekly schedules. I’m sharing why I think this is a beneficial activity for your middle school and high school students, plus I have printables and vetted sources for world and national news.
Once or twice each week, they browse the news from trusted sites and write a short summary of an article that interests them to create a current events report.
We have tried and used a variety of news sources including student’s news sites, news magazines, subscription services, and news websites for studying current events. I think that my kids have expanded their horizons as a result of knowing what’s going on in the world to create current event reports each week.
Some links in this post may be affiliate links for products that I’m using or have tried in the past and recommend. This means that if you click on them, I may make a tiny commission, at no extra cost to you. For more info, check our privacy policy.
3 Benefits of Studying Current Events
Learning Tomorrow’s History Today
When I was in school, we studied history, but usually only up to World War 2. (I think we “ran out of time” at the end of the school year) So I didn’t have a clue about anything that happened after that.
Learning about events as they are unfolding and examining how they are connected to other events creates brain connections for your kids that just aren’t there when trying to memorize random facts.
Ability to Participate in an Adult Conversation
I remember being in that awkward stage where I felt too old to play with the other kids at social gatherings, but the adult conversation was boring because I didn’t have a clue what they were talking about.
Knowing what is happening locally and worldwide creates opportunities for kids to converse with and learn from the adults in their social circle. And it gives the adults an opportunity to help the kids to think logically and to form their own opinions.
Increase their vocabulary and critical thinking skills
Sometimes when the kids read the news, they are faced with a concept, word, or geographical location with which they are not familiar.
This creates a natural reason to look up a location or word in a context that is much more likely to stick in their brains than when assigned random vocabulary or geography.
There are many more benefits to studying current events not listed here. What benefits have you noticed from your students when they stay abreast of the what is happening in their world?
Have your students read or watch some articles using these resources to write their own current events report.
Current Events Resources
My family’s favorite kid-safe source for world news is Student News Daily It’s a free resource that runs during the traditional school year. It delivers 5 articles each week along with a weekly quiz. (This resource took a break for a while, but it’s back now, with fantastic articles for your preteens and teens).
For a Christian worldview daily news source highly recommended by a HHO Squad member, you can try The Pour Over: Decaf, which is delivered to your inbox each day. Their mission is to “be a trustworthy news resource guiding people toward eternal hope”. It usually has a Quote of the Day along with 4 or 5 major news stories, plus another 5 or so smaller news briefs about smaller stories of interest.
Here’s what Rachel K. has to say about The Pour Over:
Something that might help with current events, in a gentle way, is the family friendly newsletter from The Pour Over (TPO). It’s called Decaf. It’s usually geared towards a 7th or 8th grade reading level and comes out once a week. We use it sparingly with our kids, ages 9 and under, but find it easier to tailor it to their understanding and comfort level than a regular news story.
In my opinion, the best part is that they deliver the story with an unbiased view. However, they also wrap up with a biblical worldview. For example they might tell about something terrible that’s happened in the world but remind you that as Christians are focus isn’t on things of this world but on our heavenly kingdom or how God’s plans and ways are higher than our own. Something like that. They include scripture and famous quotes as well. They give talking points in the newsletter for parents and ways to help a parent find more information that’s age appropriate for a child as well.
For a news source that truly strives to be unbiased, I recommend 1440 (so named because the printing press was invented in 1440 AD). This daily digest covers Science & Tech, Politics, Business, Sports and Entertainment, along with the top news stories of the world.
Another popular choice among homeschoolers is a premium streaming service called World Watch News which has high-quality current events videos from a Christian worldview. You can visit their Facebook page for examples of their full episodes. This resource also has a monthly print magazine in three levels, so you can choose which is most appropriate for your kids. My family began our first subscription to the print magazine back in the early Twenty-Teens.
Your elementary kids will enjoy the age-appropriate, subscription-based monthly magazine, Tuttle Times, from the Tuttle Twins. It costs around $6/month.
Printable Journal for Studying Current Events
I created these printable current events report forms to make it easier for your students to summarize an article they’ve read or watched.
It includes two cover pages from which to choose so your student can create a journal for the year. Let your student put all of their summaries into a 3 ring binder to make their own news journal.
There are two levels of current events reports.
One set is for younger students. They can answer the questions, Who, When, Where, Why, and What Happened in the four boxes. Have them write or draw pictures.
The pages for older students also list the basic questions: Who, What, Where, When, Why & How. Practice answering these basic questions will help prepare your student for research writing.
Each level of the Current Events Journal comes in full color and in black/white in case you are saving on ink costs.
Note: the newly updated version is in our HHO Shop & the older version is still available for free in the Free Resource Library under “journals”
Not a member of the HHO Squad yet? Scroll down to the light blue box at the bottom to sign up and get immediate access to the Free Resource Library.
Be sure to pin this Current Events Report post to your favorite Pinterest board so you can find it again later.
And be sure to follow Homeschool Helper Online on Pinterest for 1000s more free homeschooling resources!
