Being able to bring current events into the classroom is a very powerful tool for teachers to use. Students have a much easier time relating to the material, and the material can be used to create understandings for new concepts. The article that I chose was about Hurricane Katrina. The article discusses how Hurricane Katrina was a devastating event that occurred in 2005, it struck millions of people's homes, businesses, families, and even took 1,700 lives. It is a time that will forever be marked in history for reasons that go far beyond what we could have imagined. This storm did not only shock us because of the magnitude and the devastation it caused, but the governments faults were put under a magnifying glass. This particular article called simply enough Hurricane Katrina by Vincent Laforet of the New York Times, sheds light on things we knew and the things that we were soon to find out. Vincent Laforet goes into detail about the Hurricane itself, describing the magnitude, where it hit, and how it left our nation. The hurricane was a category 3 storm with winds reaching 145-miles an hour and bringing 29 foot walls of water onto the land.
Bringing this article into the classroom can allow you to discuss geography, discussing where the storm hit and even why it hit this particular area. It can allow students to investigate the features of the land and how a hurricane in particular can affect it. Such topics can be that the simple fact that the area is surrounded by an ocean, feeding the storm and building 29-foot waves to wash ashore. If the concept to be taught is geography using this lesson, I would have students first map out where the storm hit using the map of the United States. I would then encourage them to do a web quest and find information about the geographical location of the area. This information will allow them to figure out how these people lived, the geographical reason why the storm hit this area, and how living in this area has affected the culture they have built.
Other concepts that were discussed was economics, the fact that this hurricane's damage ending up costing billions of dollars. Where does all this money come from and how can we provide and distribute food and necessities to these people affected. Economics is truly the study of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. When the storm hit every single person affected has lost the ability to care for themselves. They now were in the hands of the government and the people to distribute goods and the necessities that they needed to survive. If this article was used for an economics lesson, I would have students brainstorm ideas on how they could raise money. Then once they have done so they would need to find ways to produce the goods needed and distribute them evenly among those affected. They are becoming the economic system, which will help them understand the concepts of economics along with understanding the principles of decision making.
Current event articles greatly influence students in the classroom, it allows them to relate to the lesson because it is something occurring in their lives today. Studying economics may be a very boring and tedious process, but allowing students to become the economic system is much more meaningful and engaging. Creating a situation where they discover what it means to make these economic decisions and understanding how it affects them is beneficial. Current event articles are meaningful and value based, it also is challenging for students because they are forced to learn the concepts because they must make important decisions. They also want to learn the information because it is something that they are hearing their parents talk about or it is something they saw on television. They find these articles engaging simply because they can relate to them, they can see how the information directly affects them. Current event articles are a great tool for teachers to bring into the classroom because students become engaged and excited to learn.
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