There are a ton of resources for online slideshows about current events, most of which are listed on my website under Multimedia Resources From News Outlets.

There are many online news video resources, including many on different sections of these same links. However, most don’t have closed-captioning, and the English that’s spoken is very fast — usually too fast for English Language Learners. Also, many school districts, like mine, block streaming media, so the videos aren’t even accessible at our school sites.

Slideshows, on the other, work much better — the captions are usually short, and the user can control the speed of the show.

I thought I’d create another “The Best…” list and highlight a few of what I think are the best sites in this category. I’ve also tried to include sites from around the world. It’s always interesting for my students to see how the same news event is covered in different countries.

I’m not going to rank them in any order of preference and nor am I going to describe each one. They’re all very similar, and the links will take you directly to the section of the website where slideshows are located.

Here are my picks for The Best Online Slideshows About Current Events (by the way, you might also be interested in The Best News/Current Events Websites For English Language Learners, too):

* MSNBC

* TIME Magazine

* The New York Times

* The Washington Post

* Reuters

* Associated Press

* The Times Of London

* Mail and Guardian (South Africa)

* China Daily

* Times Of India

* Pixcetra

* The Big Picture

* BBC

* Sidney Morning Herald

* We Say (You might want to read my post about this site before you use it with students)

* The Wall Street Journal

* CBC News (thanks to Nathan Hall for the tip)

The newest addition to this list is the LIFE site sharing millions of photos from the LIFE Magazine archives and Getty Images.

What’s great about this new site is that, unlike Google’s previous hosting of many of the same photos (which are just listed by decades), LIFE’s site shows them in thematic slideshows with accessible captions. Plus, they include daily updates of slideshows about current events.  You can also subscribe to a weekly email newsletter that gives you updates on new content.Both the historical and current slideshows are fabulous.

As always, feedback is welcome.

If you found this post useful, you might want to look at previous “The Best…” lists and also consider subscribing to this blog for free.

Cesar Chavez Day is recognized as a holiday by eight states in the U.S., and falls on March 31st — his birthday (or a Monday/Friday that is closest to a weekend). Of course, it’s certainly appropriate to teach about his life at any time during the year, too. I thought I’d take this opportunity, though, to publish a “The Best…” list that might be helpful to teachers.

Here are my picks as The Best Sites For Learning About Cesar Chavez (that are accessible to English Language Learners). They aren’t in any order of preference:

El Civics has a good Cesar Chavez Lesson.

Voice of America Special English has a short text with audio support describing his life. It has a similar presentation on the famous Grape Boycott sponsored by the United Farm Workers Union (and where I happened to get my start working in social justice).

The Library of Congress has some nice accessible features on Chavez.

The United Farm Workers Union itself has a great resource page on Chavez, including videos and E-Cards.

The Cesar Chavez Foundation has a lot of multimedia and Cesar Chavez Toolkits available.

The California Department of Education has a Model Curriculum and Resources For Teachers
on Chavez that you may find useful.

Viva la Causa is a DVD and lesson plan packet available for free from Teaching Tolerance.

Enchanted Learning has a cloze (fill-in-the-gap) biography that can be printed-out.

Glencoe has a short video and additional materials.

Here’s an online lesson for English Language Learners on Chavez from Famous People Lessons.

The National Museum of American History has a great activity related to Chavez and the banning of the terrible short-handled hoe. Students can create their own online virtual museum exhibit.

Brainpop has a Cesar Chavez movie but, unless it’s in the free category for this month, you’ll need to either pay for a subscription or sign-up for a free trial. Generally, it appears they make it available for free during March.

The San Francisco Chronicle has a slideshow about a Cesar Chavez March in that city.

Harcourt has a short, accessible biography.

Cesar Chavez’s Crop of Change is a video from ABC News.

Rose Named After Farmworkers’ Hero is a fascinating story by CBS News.

A very nice new addition to this list is a proclamation issued by President Obama in 2010. Here’s an excerpt:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 31, 2010, as Cesar Chavez Day. I call upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate service, community, and education programs to honor Cesar Chavez’s enduring legacy.

The Poway Unified School District has an excellent listing, with links, of additional Chavez resources.

The headquarters of the United Farm Workers Union has recently received National Landmark Status.

President Obama issued a new proclamation for 2011 declaring Cesar Chavez Day.

California Governor Jerry Brown did the same.

A Not-Quite National Holiday: Eight States Celebrate Cesar Chavez Day is from TIME Magazine.

Si Se Puede: Cesar Chavez’s Work Is More Relevant Than Ever is from GOOD Magazine and includes some useful links.

You might also want to see The Best Resources For Hispanic Heritage Month.

Suggestions are always welcome.

If you found this post useful, you might want to look at previous “The Best…” lists and also consider subscribing to this blog for free