Today’s Tech Tuesday today is a real gem from Google. The Google News Timeline was selected primarily for social studies teachers, but others may have fun ideas for using it in their classrooms as well. This site posts the key news stories from Google News in a calendar-like format. You can scroll down to see more stories or you can search for specific topics.
The timeline view gives users a glimpse of the key stories each day. Time Magazine covers are included in the searches (others can be added) and provide a nice visual for students who need that type of support.
One of the best uses of this site is to choose a topic or story and see how it unfolds over a period of time. This may be one way to capture the attention of struggling or disengaged students. By entering the name of a favorite athlete or pop star, students can track their careers by reading related news stories and magazine articles. Events of interest can also be studied in this way. For example, a search of “Harry Potter release” can help students see how that phenomenon evolved over time. This feature can also add interest to a unit if different students search different aspects of an event. One group can search “BP oil spill Obama” and another can search “BP oil spill local businesses” and still another can search “BP oil spill animals”. One benefit of search by topic is that students may learn as much about journalism and how events are covered as they do the topics themselves.
About Paula Kluth
