Current Event

Name
__________________________ #______
Please attach your article or a copy of it to the back.
Date Due _______________
Unfamiliar words (5)
Meaning of new words (use context clues or a dictionary)

Write important details [facts] from the text in your own

words.

Write the central idea of the

text in one sentence.

Summary (1 paragraph using the central idea from above and the important details):

Opinion: What do you think about this topic: (a paragraph of at least 3 sentences):

Work Cited: Title of article:

____________________________________________________________________________
Date of publication: ___________________
Name of newspaper, or internet site (whole URL), or magazine title):
___________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
_
Criteria
Unfamiliar Words
(10pts)
Meaning of new words (10pts)
Important Details
(10pts)
Central idea
(10pts)

Points Earned

Comments

Summary and Opinion (45pts)

Works Cited
(5pts)
Attached copy of article (10pts)
Total Points Earned:

CURRENT EVENT PROJECTSThe current event project is a way for your child to pay attention to the
world around them as well as keep current with events/news in our country. Each week
that they have an assignment, we would like for them to read an article in the
newspaper, a magazine, or on the internet about the government, our nation, the war,
elections, or any other newsworthy thing that interests them about our state, nation, or
world. It should not be an article about sports, police reports, celebrities, or the like. The
article must be current or within two weeks. After reading the article, your child
should write a summary (a paragraph at least 5 sentences stating who, what, where,
when, and why) of the article. Next they should write a paragraph (at least 3 sentences)
responding to the article that reflects their personal opinions and beliefs about what they
have learned. A copy or the original article needs to be turned in with the writing. Below
you will find specific information of what is expected, a graphic organizer that will be
used to get them started, as well as a rubric outlining the scoring guide. We went over
this in class today and worked on an example. This assignment will be collected, graded,
and recorded as social studies and writing grades.
Every third week students are asked to turn in a current event on his/her topic of
choice. A graphic organizer is given at the beginning of that week and together we
review the rubric and expectations for the assignment. We also have put 2 links on our
websites (http://classjump.com/m/mcallisterces/ or
http://amypainter.weebly.com/ ) that can be downloaded if students want to type the
project or just print out a PDF. The purpose of making this assignment a week long is for
students to spend time researching articles on a topic that interest them. We have
newspapers and magazines in the classroom for students to choose from and they are
allowed to use the links we have marked on the internet (see below for a sample list)
These current events count as MAJOR test grades in Social Studies as well as Language
Arts. Below you will find my expectations for the current events project.
*Unfamiliar words- words that you dont know or words that you might not see too often.
If there are not 5 new/unfamiliar words, the article is likely not difficult/long enough. These are
words that are not used in everyday communications.
*Meaning of New Words- The meaning of the words- either using context clues or a
dictionary.
*Important Details- The important FACTS ONLY from the article. This should be at least 4
bulleted facts. These should be in your OWN words.
*Central Idea-The MAIN idea in ONE sentence; in your own words. Dont write the title of the
article here.
*Summary and Opinion-This is the HEART of this assignment. It is worth 45 points!!!!
The summary should be the CENTAL IDEA AND IMPORTANT DETAILS PUT IN PARAGRAPH FORM.
We expect AT least 5 GOOD fifth grade sentences with correct punctuations and correct spelling.
The opinion should be WHAT YOU THINK or FEEL about the topic. IT SHOULD ALSO BE IN
PARAGRAPH form with AT least 3 sentences as well.

*Works Cited-tell where you got the article. Tell WHICH newspaper and WHICH day it came
from. If the newspaper is continued on another page we expect to see BOTH pages attached
with the current event sheet. Also the date must be included.

Thanks for your help and support! If you have any questions please let me know.
Mrs. McAllister and Ms. Painter
Here are a few websites for you to explore.

www.foxnews.com
http://www.timeforkids.com/news
dailyherald

www.cnn.com
http://abcnews.go.com/

www.nbcnews.com
newsela.com