This course will be a weekly discussion regarding current news around the world! I provide at least one news update throughout the week of stories that I found interesting or stories learners expressed an interest in. Depending on the region of the world the learners are enrolled, I focus the stories to best engage all the students in class. I will provide  historical background on a news story. As a Social Studies teacher, I often go over events that are common on AP and Regents examinations. For example, if we are discussing a news story from Iran I will provide learners with some historical background of Persia to assist learners with developing a construction of knowledge.
I provide all the learners the opportunity to read an article out loud (if they wish to).  During the reading I will regularly check learners' comprehension on country capitals, political acronyms, political figures, legal terminology, and other vocabulary terms that often come up in nonfiction articles. Some of the terms that learners are often unfamiliar with include: Western, International Criminal Court, humanitarian, refugee/migrant, warrant, NATO, authoritarian, Sahel region, tariff, sanction, etc. 

Learners will be able to choose which current event news stories they want to discuss  and there will be regular content that exposes learners to geography, climate, and vocabulary terms related to politics, history, and government. This course is great for parents who worry their young learners aren't interested in watching the news. Learners who are interested in news but may have trouble locating their news from credible sources can strengthen their media literacy skills.