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CNN Student News: Daily News in 10 Minutes

Details

Main Website:
https://www.cnn.com/cnn10
Activity Website:
https://www.cnn.com/cnn10
Tech Product/Equipment:
Computer and projector, Mobile devices for students

Activity Description

 
CNN 10
Source: Story posted on March 31, 2023 (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])
 
 
Provide listening, speaking, and writing practice on current events with CNN Student News, a ten-minute, commercial-free, daily news program produced by the journalists and educators at CNN. This award-winning show and its companion Web site are available free of charge throughout the school year and transcripts for each show as well as daily discussion questions are provided for classroom use.

Preparation

  1. Visit CNN Student News and preview the day's 10-minute video and/or read the daily transcript.
  2. Preview the Daily Discussion questions to determine which questions you want to use or write your own. Once you select the questions, type them. You can share them with your students in a Google doc, Microsoft Word Doc, pdf, or print copy.
  3. Download and make available any maps or other print materials your students may need.
  4. To get information about each day's show, go to Today's news in 10 minutes. You can get a printable version of today's CNN 10 transcript by selecting the link on the page.

How-To

  1. Ask students to identify possible topics for the day's video (current events related to weather, politics, etc.). List these on the board.
  2. Tell students the topic of today's video and generate a discussion to activate background knowledge. Have students identify vocabulary associated with the topic and write these words on the board.
  3. Have students predict what kind of information will be included in the video and write these predictions on the board.
  4. Show the day's CNN Student News video and encourage the students to take notes.
  5. Review the students' predictions and have them identify which predictions were correct.
  6. Display the daily discussion questions and have students discuss them in small groups.
  7. Lead a whole-class discussion about the questions.

Teacher Tips

  • Make students aware of the pre-listening strategies used (activating background knowledge, predicting) and encourage them to use these strategies when listening outside of the classroom.
  • Also, be sure to choose news stories of interest to most of your students. You can look in the Archive section if the current day's video is not useful.

More Ways

  • You may wish to have students write their responses to the discussion questions after their small group discussions.
  • Look in the archive for older videos that you can use for other writing or discussion topics.

Program Areas

  • ABE: Adult Basic Education
  • ESL: English as a Second Language
  • ASE: High School Diploma

Levels

  • Low
  • Intermediate
  • High
  • All Levels
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OTAN activities are funded by contract CN240137 from the Adult Education Office, in the Career & College Transition Division, California Department of Education, with funds provided through Federal P.L., 105-220, Section 223. However, OTAN content does not necessarily reflect the position of that department or the U.S. Department of Education.