Addressing disasters through Global News activities

Below are suggestions on how each of the main Global News classroom activities may be used to explore disaster situations.

Activity: What's in the news?

Activity summary
Students examine and compare the lead stories from selected global news sites, choosing three stories they think are the most important for an imaginary home page of their own global news site. They also consider the reasons why they have selected these stories and this can lead into exploring news values.

How can this activity relate to a disaster?
Students can explore different slants and perspectives given to a disaster by different news services. They can explore how newspapers in the countries affected are reporting the disaster: world-newspapers.com features listings of world newspapers, and compare this with the emphasis given by newspapers/news services outside the affected country/countries. This provides an opportunity for students to explore the 'bigger picture' and select stories that look at the broader issues rather than just the impacts of the disaster. They could also be asked to look out for positive stories rather than just the negative, hopeless, despairing stories which are common during disasters. Full details...

Activity: BBC World - Have Your Say

Activity summary
Students participate in an on-line 'Have Your Say' debate on a global issue on the BBC World News site. They research and learn about the opinions of others and consider their own opinions on the issue, submitting these to the BBC World News site.

How can this activity relate to a disaster?
When major disasters receive high media coverage, the BBC initiates 'Have Your Say' debates as the disasters unfold. Full details...

Activity: What's in the news?

Activity summary
Students examine and compare the lead stories from selected global news sites, choosing three stories they think are the most important for an imaginary home page of their own global news site. They also consider the reasons why they have selected these stories and this can lead into exploring news values.

How can this activity relate to a disaster?
Students can explore the different slant and emphasis given to the disaster by different news services. They could explore how newspapers in the countries affected are reporting the disaster. world-newspapers.com features listings of world newspapers. Is their emphasis different to newspapers/news services outside the affected countries? This would be an opportunity for students to explore the 'bigger picture' and encourage them to select stories that look at the broader issues rather than just the impacts of the earthquake or the tsunami. They could also be asked to look out for positive stories rather than just the negative, hopeless, despairing stories which are common during such disasters. Full details...

Activity: Every picture tells not the whole story

Activity summary
Photographs can reveal a mass of information about the wider world and provide an excellent stimulus for enquiry-based learning. In this activity students select news related photographs from the many that are now widely available through the internet. They personally reflect on these images and critically question and challenge the photographic portrayal of people, places, situations and issues.

How can this activity relate to a disaster?
There are always countless photographs and images relating to any given disaster to be found on-line. A disaster situation provides an excellent opportunity to explore how the media uses photographs and images. Full details...

Activity: Researching a country

Activity summary
Students select a country in the developing world that has featured heavily in recent news. They explore the reasons why the country has been in the news and research to find out some important new facts and information about the country; information that provides social, environmental, economic or political contexts to the news.

How can this activity relate to a disaster?
By selecting a country affected by a disaster students can find out issues beyond the disaster; they can look at the social, environmental, economic and political contexts to the disaster zone.
Full details...

Activity: Causes-effects-solutions

Activity summary
Using information from selected global news sites students consider the causes and effects of a major international news story. They consider whether this information constitutes fact or opinion. They also use the information provided by news services to explore the potential solutions to the issue and who might or should be involved in implementing these solutions; as part of this they consider how they or their school community might be part of the solution.

How can this activity relate to a disaster?
Through this activity students can consider the causes and effects of any given disaster and to explore solutions to address the impacts of a disaster. Full details...

Activity: The compass rose

Activity summary
Using information from selected global news sites on a particular topical global issue students explore the interrelationship between environmental, economic, social and political factors in examining causes and effects. They use a framework of enquiry, based on the 'compass rose', to help them appreciate the complexities of global issues and develop a more in-depth understanding of a particular global issue.

How can this activity relate to a disaster?
The compass rose can be used to explore critically the causes and consequences of any given disaster. This activity will help students to contextualise the disaster and to consider the social, economic and political implications of the disaster, not simply the natural or environmental causes and consequences. Full details

 

...globalnews.org.uk...

teacher zone ...classroom activities...