With the quickly changing events in today's wired global village, news outlets have quickly developed an online presence as a natural extension of their news gathering and reporting capabilities. This makes news access in the classroom even easier, as teachers can tap into current events and breaking stories as they find it instructionally appropriate.

Still, each news service has its own approach to covering news. One might be geared to presenting hard news items while another emphasizes analysis and points of view. While one may be more conservative in its newshandling, another may be more liberal. Teachers will want to find a good match for their students' age group and their instructional objectives. This week's issue offers a dozen top online news sources.

Thanks to Jerry B for his recommended sites. I'm always glad to hear from any of my subscribers with resources to consider for inclusion in upcoming issues!

• ABC News 4 Kids - http://abcnews.go.com/abcnews4kids/kids/index.html
  ABC News presents this very child-friendly news service wherein each story pops up in a kid-safe window and runs a Flash presentation for students. Students control the flow of information and pop-up glossary terms are embedded right in the text. Graphics are warm and inviting, and information is delivered in bite-size chunks perfect for elementary students. There's also a schedule for the daily ABC News Radio program for kids, which is promised to be available through the website in the near future.
• CNN Newsroom - http://learning.turner.com/newsroom/index.html
  CNN Newsroom is an instructional guide for teachers wishing to incorporate television news into their curriculum. There are archived articles on all kinds of hot stories, and the daily desk feature covers the environment, health, business and science on different days of the week. There is also a CNN Newsroom cablecast from 4:30-5:00 AM ET weekdays which enrolled schools may record and use it at their convenience by enrolling for free on this website.
• C-SPAN Online - http://www.c-span.org/
  From the folks who bring Congress into our homes as a public service, this site provides live online programming using RealPlayer, this site provides news, schedule and program information, as well as special series: Washington Journal: Every Day, 7 AM ET, America & the Courts: Saturdays, 7 PM ET, American Politics: Sundays, 6:30 & 9:30 PM ET, American Political Archive: Saturdays, 10:10 AM ET & Mondays, 10 PM ET , and the LBJ White House Tapes: Saturdays, 3-5 PM ET.
• Global Gang - http://www.globalgang.org.uk/
  This Christian Aid non-profit group host this kid's site with a multicultural flare. What's Up deals directly with international news and reactions from students around the globe, Real Life shares common everyday living in communities worldwide, and Global Gossip allows students to participate in surveys and provide feedback on current news stories on the site. Be sure to examine Planet Teacher to get a preview of upcoming features too.
• MetaGrid - http://www.metagrid.com/
  Subtitled the Newspaper and Magazine Database on the Web, Metagrid is set up like a directory with a number of common sense categories as well as a search field for specific content. I didn't find the search tool to be that effective, but the working categories were certainly useful. There's also a Random News feature which lets you play roulette in locating current events and stories of interest by chance. This site is best used with secondary students (note the category on sexuality).
• National Public Radio - http://www.npr.org/
  This classic noncommercial radio coverage of hard news, current events, popular trends, and Americana, is presented in a well-rounded, responsible style suitable for use with High School classes. It serves as an alternative to the commercial news services, breaking the rules about what to cover and how it should be covered. The searchable database for when you know exactly what you're looking for.
• New York Times Learning Network - http://www.nytimes.com/learning/index.html
  With all the news that's fit to teach, the Learning Network boasts the resources of this grand old newspaper with daily lessons, lesson archives, a daily news quiz, the word of the day, test prep questions, daily snapshots, an ask a reporter feature, and even the famed crossword puzzles. You won't find better materials anywhere online, and they can be adapted for use with upper elementary on through secondary school students.
• Newsweek Education Program - http://school.newsweek.com/
  This weekly teacher's guide helps make connections to current news and events by tying activities into current Newsweek magazine articles and features. For example, this week the activities are designed around the pullout map "The Base Camp of Global Terrorism," in the October 1, 2001 edition of Newsweek. High School curriculum materials, a cross-curriculum manual and a schedule of education conferences Newsweek will be attending are all available through this site.
• Scholastic News Zone - http://teacher.scholastic.com/newszone/index.asp
  If you subscribe to the Scholastic news magazine for kids, this site can help you expand your weekly subscription with information and activities that will increase the depth of your students' understanding. In addition to the news itself, consider the Games and Quizzes link which offers Write the Caption, Mapman and You're the President. Even if you don't subscribe, there's lots of information and activities here that are available for your students. There's also a Junior Scholastic online at http://teacher.scholastic.com/newszone/snjunior/index.asp.
• Time for Kids - http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/news/index.html
  This online newsmagazine is suitable for upper elementary/middle school-aged students because TIME's content has been geared down for younger readers. Many of the articles focus on subjects of particular interest to kids, and there's a complete archive and a futuristic multimedia section. The Teacher section contains lots of lesson ideas and opportunities for extending your use of TFK in the classroom, and the Parent section is a great tool to share with your families.
• Washington Post KidsPost - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/education/kidspost/
  This great American newspaper hosts this online kid's site to promote awareness and understanding of global news. In addition to first class news reporting, KidsPost offers special functions like Brain Food features a daily BrainPop movie and Poll and Speak Up which allow students to interactively express their opinions and see immediate results. Be sure to look at the Features link which includes animals, books, school science and sports.
• Yak's Corner - http://216.247.63.129/yakfront.htm
  This elementary site boasts a cartoon-like Yak who showcases news and current events written by the Detroit Free Press and Knight Ridder. Planet Yak brings human interest stories from around the world to promote a greater understanding of varied cultures and peoples. There are snacks, crafts and activities and a succinct collection of animal close-ups. The teacher guides are nicely formatted in .pdf format and are worth examining as you consider this site.
  
  

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