By Valerie Bennett
Third Grade Teacher
Wrights Mill Road Elementary School

Want a “new” education tool? Not really new-it’s been around for more than 300 years! But, it can be new to your classroom! What is it? A newspaper! There are endless educational opportunities when using a newspaper - you just need one in your classroom!

NIE (Newspapers in Education) is not only kid-friendly, but also is a great classroom resource. Start with the basics - read it to your class! Each Wednesday, my 3rd grade class loves to hear what The Cub Reporter from our own Opelika-Auburn News has discovered! “Knowledge is power,” I tell my class!
 

Are you studying Current Events? Get more information straight from the newspaper! Studying Geography? What places are mentioned in the paper! Map them!

A classic newspaper activity is “The Scavenger Hunt.” Is your class learning about nouns and verbs? Antonyms? Homophones? Pass out a section from the paper to a pair or group of students and have them “hunt” for those words that you are studying! Students love it!

Are you a “Techie?” We love technology at Wrights Mill Road! Scan a grocery ad and show it on the SMART Board. For math, have students “purchase” items and spend their allotted $50 to buy items from the ad-what will they buy and how much will it cost? Or use it for Nutrition-have students plan and price several meals that correlate with the Food Guide Pyramid! Using your SMART Board, display a “Letter to the Editor” and have students write a response in return.

Publish a classroom newspaper! Study a newspaper and have students write their own: they name it, write front page articles (tied in to your current curriculum), advertisements, surveys, editorials, even classifieds!

It just takes a few steps in the right direction to reintroduce a classic educational tool-the newspaper!

The possibilities are endless, so get out there with your class and “read all about it!”