Social Studies Spotlights - Current Events Resources

There are many excellent resources to support the Social Studies curriculum, but this update focuses upon current events.

           If you are planning an inquiry activity involving print resources, please see me to 

           discuss Covid protocols.  All print resources are available to you and your students, 

           although access will look very different this year.

           Times Colonist newspaper

           There will be no hard copy deliveries this year, but digital access is available for 120 

           users simultaneously. 

           Link to digital edition:  https://digitaltimescolonist.pressreader.com/times-colonist 

           User name:  vichigh@sd61.bc.ca

           Password: vhtopaz2020

           

News4Youth - NEW for 2020-2021

This is a new online resource for teachers, from the same publishers as What in the World magazine, suited to grade 9 students, ELD students, and readers needing additional support..

News4Youth features a range of  current events, written at middle school level and including built-in audio narration. Ready-made quizzes, comprehension and higher-order thinking questions extend students' understanding and reduce prep for teachers.

Here is a sample of a few recent features:

 

Access News4Youth by accepting the email invitation I will be sending to you at your sd61learn account. If you’d like help introducing this resource to a class or help with using it, please let me know.

News Media tab -- library web site

The News Media tab on the library web site contains links to particular news sources:  local, regional, national, and international news hubs  -- and to databases that house a wide variety of vetted publications in one location.  
 
The News Media tab also includes news filters:  news aggregation tools, fact-checking tools, and our library’s curated social media feeds for news.
 
I would be happy to work with your students to access and use these tools in context of a specific assignment.  Our quarter 1 English 9 students are currently learning to use databases to find an article that connects to a short story theme;  a learning activity in Social Studies 9 would provide valuable additional practice for our grade 9 students.

Curio.ca

This subscription has been renewed for 2020-21.  It includes curated Canadian radio and television broadcasts, providing access to thousands of programs, hundreds of teacher resource guides and time-saving measures outlined at this link: https://curio.ca/en/about-us/  Highlights include News in Review, Canada:  A People's History, and collections focusing upon Truth and Reconciliation, Racism and Discrimination.

Access Curio  through the Special Subscriptions tab beneath the Staff Resources Menu. (You will need to log into this page with the password vhstaff1914). 
 
If you had an account through Vic High last year, log in as you did previously.  If not, create your log in to Curio using the instructions and access code that are provided beneath the link to the resource.

Current and Upcoming historical themes

• October: Women’s History Month (Canada
• November 5-11: Veterans’ Week

 
If you would like to plan some learning activities around these themes and library resource displays, please let me know.