Social Studies 30-2

Isherwood

Current Events Presentation

Name: __________
________

Presentation Date:

Social studies fosters the development of citizens who are informed and
engaged in current affairs. Accordingly, current affairs play a central role in
learning and are integrated throughout the program. Ongoing reference to
current affairs adds relevance, interest and immediacy to social studies issues.
Investigating current affairs from multiple perspectives motivates students to
engage in meaningful dialogue on relevant historical and contemporary issues,
helping them to make informed and reasoned decisions on local, provincial,
national and global issues.
Program Rationale & Philosophy, pg. 6
Your Assignment

During the course of the semester each of you will have the
opportunity to share a current events with the class. Your
presentation should be between 3-5 minutes long and meet the
criteria below. Follow the steps to complete this assignment.
Task 1: Publication Info
Choose and read an article on a relevant and timely current event. (Check
the Current Events tab @ missisherwood.weebly.com for links that will
lead you to articles from a wide variety of perspectives).
Take

note of the following information:

Article Title:

Author:

Publisher:

Publication Date:

Link (if applicable):

Task 2: Article Summary

Write a short summary of the article. Include the following:
Who:

Where:
What:

Why:
When:

Adapted from moodle.lethsd.ab.ca

Social Studies 30-2

Task 3: Geographic Thinking

Where is the story taking place?

Why is this important to the

story?

Adapted from moodle.lethsd.ab.ca

Isherwood

Provide a visual in your

presentation to show the
location.

 Task 4: Why is this news?

Each day, newspaper editors around the world must make decisions
about which stories they will publish. Stories make it into newspapers
for many different reasons. Consider the reasons below and chose
those that apply to your current event. Use them to explain why your
article is in the news.

Timeliness
News that is happening right now, news of
interest to readers right now.
Relevance
The story happened nearby or is about a concern
of local interest.
Magnitude
The story is great in size or number; for example,
a tornado that destroys a couple houses might
not make the news, but a story about a tornado
that devastates a community would be very
newsworthy.
Unexpecte
Something unusual, or something that occurs
dness
without warning.
Impact
News that will affect a large number of readers.
Reference
News about a prominent person or personality.
to someone
famous or
important
Oddity
A unique or unusual situation.
Conflict
A major struggle in the news.
Reference
Bad news often sells better than good news.
to
something
negative
Continuity
A follow-up or continuation to a story that has
been in the news or is familiar.
Emotions
Emotions (such as fear, jealousy, love, or hate)
increase interest in a story.
Progress
News of new hope, achievement, or new
improvements.

Task 5: Historical Thinking

Is there context or historical background that helps us understand the
story? Do your research! Share it with the class.

Task 6: Critical Thinking

 Determine if there is a bias

present in your current event.
Use the following questions to
guide your critical thinking:
Does the journalist/author
insert opinions into the
article?
Are multiple perspectives on
the issue provided?/Is there
more than one side to the
story provided?
Are the people being interviewed in the article sharing facts or
opinions?
Are stereotypes being used in the article?
Is the language used objective and neutral or emotional and loaded?
Is there a company or corporation that has vested interest in the
story?
Is the article published by a reputable organization?

http://www.redstate.com/uploads/2015/06/media-spoonfeeding-cartoon.jpg

Task 7: Connections to Ideology

How does the current event relate to ideologies and the concepts
weve been discussing in class? Does the article answer the
questions: should ideology be the foundation of identity? , is
resistance to liberalism justified? , are the principles of liberalism
viable?, should my actions as a citizen be shaped by ideology?

Task 8: Communication
Compile your answers to tasks 1-7 and share them with the class in
an engaging way.
Please provide a visual component to your presentation.
(Powerpoint/Prezi, Poster, Short Video, etc).

You will need to hand in the following after your presentation:

o A written copy of your answers to Tasks 1-7
o Hard copy or link to your article

For information on how you will be assessed, please see the attached
rubric.

Current Events Presentation Rubric

Level
Criteria

Excel
lent
2

Prof
cient
1.5

Adequa
te
1

Limi
ted
0.5

Publicati
on Info

Pub.
info.
is
preci
se.

Pub.
info.
is
logica
l.

Pub.
info. is
partially
correct.

Article
Summar
y

Sum
mary
is
perce
ptive.

Sum
mary
is
thoug
htful.

Summar
y is
basic.

Pub.
info.
is
conf
usin
g.
Sum
mar
y is
que
stio

Ins
uf
c./
Bla
nk
No
sco
res
aw
ard
ed.

 Geograp
hical
Thinking

Geog
raphy
analy
sis is
insig
htful.

Geogr
aphy
analy
sis is
thoug
htful.

Geograp
hy
analysis
is
routine.

Why is
this
news?

Analy
sis is
insig
htful.

Analy
sis is
thoug
htful.

Analysis
is
routine.

Historic
al
Thinking

Histo
rical
analy
sis is
insig
htful.

Histor
ical
analy
sis is
thoug
htful.

Historica
l
analysis
is
routine.

Critical
Thinking

Critic
al
thinki
ng
analy
sis is
insig
htful.

Critic
al
thinki
ng
analy
sis is
thoug
htful.

Critical
thinking
analysis
is
routine.

Connecti
ons to
Ideologi
es

Conn
ectio
ns
are
insig
htful.

Conn
ectio
ns
are
logica
l.

Connecti
ons are
simplisti
c.

Commun
ication

Com
muni
catio

Com
munic
ation

Commu
nication
is

nabl
e.
Geo
grap
hic
anal
ysis
is
trivi
al.
Anal
ysis
is
trivi
al.
Hist
oric
al
anal
ysis
is
trivi
al.
Criti
cal
thin
king
anal
ysis
is
trivi
al.
Con
nect
ions
are
uns
upp
orte
d.
Com
mun
icati

n is
enga
ging.

Total: _____/16
Percentage: _____%

Comments:

is
intere
sting.

straightf
orward.

on is
ineff
ecti
ve.