Explore these blogs to learn how to use engaging, age-appropriate podcasts to teach current events with your k12 students.
On May 24th, 2022, a school shooting took the lives of 19 children and 2 adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. This tragedy joins Parkland and Sandy Hook on the list of horrific school shootings that have taken place in the United States in the last 10 years. Along with the rest of…
Like many of you, Listenwise is following news about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with an eye for information and perspectives that could be useful for classroom instruction. We’ve heard from many teachers that they are struggling to find sufficient age-appropriate content from trustworthy sources to share with their students. We see ourselves as uniquely positioned…
Talk of fake news is everywhere but how do you begin to teach about it in the classroom? Start with an exploration of the rise of fake news, and why kids should care. Then, delve into the media literacy skills that students need to evaluate news critically. Teaching your students about fake news and how…
We should be centering LGBTQ stories and experiences in our classrooms all year round, but especially during LGBTQ+ History Month in October and Pride Month in June. June is Pride Month, which is held each year to honor the June 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan, an event that kicked off the movement for gay rights…
May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month! Listenwise features a variety of stories about the experiences and contributions of Asian and Pacific Americans, addressing a range of topics, such as exclusionary immigration policies, sword fighting traditions, and representation of Asian Americans in Hollywood films. Explore Listenwise’s AAPI podcast lessons that highlight the challenges and triumphs…
As tragedy and violent news show up in the world you may be asking yourself, “What can I do to help my students feel safe, and how do I ensure that my classroom is a place that de-escalates hatred and fear?” There have been many tragic incidents in the news since 2019 and a rise…
One thing we consistently hear from teachers who use Listenwise is how much they like using our Current Events podcasts in the classroom. Published every weekday during the school year, our Current Events lessons are focused on topics currently in the news. They cover recent events, such as the the COVID-19 pandemic, seasonal topics such…
Many teachers would like to teach current events but do not feel that they have time to incorporate them into an already jam-packed curriculum. There are many ways, however, to optimize instructional time by integrating learning about current events with other learning goals, such as developing Common Core skills related to listening and speaking, as…
Addressing news in the classroom can be a source of unease for some. The abundance of inflammatory language in the public sphere, attacks on journalists, and frequent confusion between fact and opinion can present challenges when trying to teach current events. All of the information and disinformation circling around the media can make having productive…
Listenwise is a flexible resource and can be used to meet many different goals for your students. Podcast lessons enhance student engagement, content knowledge, and build on skills such as media literacy and empathy. We describe ways to approach this with a few activities in this blog. Our previous blog highlighted how to enhance language…
