Before Heritage Middle School began working with the Participate Learning team to connect lessons to real-world issues, the teachers and leadership had established a goal to encourage students to become more empathic about issues in their community. Although a handful of students and teachers who participated in the school's gardening club were…

A 2018 study conducted by the independent, non-profit organization The Commission on Fake News and The Teaching of Critical Literacy Skills reported that only 2% of children have the literacy skills they need to determine if a news story is real or fake. Over 50% of the teachers in the study believe that current curriculum does not equip children…

This article describes how a teacher changed all his plans to teach the hurricane. When the Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, kids become naturally curious and seek answers in an event this big. The author suggests the use of tragedies to help them grow as students and as citizens.

What part, if any, should momentous current events play in the curriculum? This article suggests that some events are so significant they impose themselves on the curriculum, that children need to discuss political events, and that teachers should be realistic, respectful, and reassuring in dealing with these matters. (Author/RH)

Reprints may be obtained from Association of Childhood Education International, 3615 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20016. (DS)