Current Events: A Teacher's Best Friend

Depending on the circumstances in our lives, the desire -- or ability -- to teach our kids can come and go. Some days teaching may seem impossible.

The basics are often fairly easy to get through each day, but we can't always say the same for social studies. If you're dealing with chronic illness, taking care of an aging parent, or the loss of someone close to you, trying to plan a lesson from yet another textbook can add unnecessary stress.

What I'm about to suggest may cause some of you to feel I'm being sacrilegious: Dump the book. At least for a week, a month, a year, or for however long you need to. Put it on the shelf and think nothing more of it, because from this point on, you and your students will be using the internet.

As soon as my computer has warmed up each morning, and I have my coffee, I click on the little icon that opens up our internet connection. The first page that comes up is that day's news. Some of it is Hollywood gossip (probably not appropriate for "current events" unless the person written about really is a historical icon of sorts). Most of it is genuine news. If something homeschool-worthy catches my eye, I'll save it to tell my kids about later. Often we'll read the article together. We've even been known to do further research on a topic (or subtopic) that interests us.

After the Comcast home page comes up and I've checked out those headlines, the next page I go to is the AOL home page. They'll have some of the same major headlines, but often they'll have news that's different and more interesting. Another good source for headlines is www.foxnews.com if you want to find news not typically covered by the mainstream media.

I found an article just this morning on AOL that presents a very rich learning opportunity: Pavlof Volcano on Alaska's southern peninsula is set to blow! This particular story is full of tangents that you and your kids can eagerly go out on. For example:

1. Where exactly is Pavlof Volcano? The article says it's southwest of Anchorage, and there are no towns nearby that would be in immediate danger. How far away is the nearest town? Check out the Alaska Volcano Observatory's Pavlof page to view the volcano's location and follow the real-time monitoring of its activity.

2. The article explained that international flight paths of airplanes would have to be diverted in case of an eruption, as ash could cause an airplane's engines to seize up. How does an airplane engine work, and why would ash cause it to "seize up"?

3. What kind of animals and plant life are near Pavlof Volcano? What would happen to the area in the event of an eruption, and how long would it take to return to normal? What is Alaska's topography like?

4. What is the history of Pavlof Volcano? What was happening in history at the time of it's last eruption?

And on and on. This type of brainstorming (and internet searching) can be done for any current event. Your kids (and you) will learn so much, not just about current events, but history and science (and a bit of engineering in this case) would also be covered. If you're feeling a tad industrious, you can make a current event into an entire unit study and make sure that all subjects are covered.