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Check out my Ed Week series: Making Current Events Connections to Lessons.

There are tons of resources out there for lesson ideas geared towards specific current events – I’ve written some (see All My NY Times Posts For English Language Learners – Linked With Descriptions) and others have developed many more.

In this post, though, I wanted to bring together resources that shared more “generic” ideas that could be used for just about any current event. In other words, let’s say an event is in the news that I think might have potential for a high degree of student learning and engagement, I’d like to have some accessible ideas on how I could use it in the classroom – that’s the purpose of this list.

Before I start sharing those links, however, here are a few previously-posted “Best” lists that are related:

A Collection Of Advice On Talking To Students About Race, Police & Racism

The Best News/Current Events Websites For English Language Learners (just updated!)

The Best Online “Explainer” Tools For Current Events

The Best Social Media-Created “Syllabuses” About Current Events

The Best Visually Engaging News Sites (just updated!)

The Best Ideas For Helping Students Connect Lessons To Their Interests & The World

Okay, now for the “generic” lesson ideas resources (feel free to suggest more):

50 Ways to Teach With Current Events is from The New York Times Learning Network.

Education World has lots of ideas.

Current Events Awareness is from PBS.

Current Events Worksheets is a useful Pinterest Board.

Creating ESL/EFL Lessons Based on News and Current Events is by Sean Banville.

Discussing Current Events in the ESL Classroom is from The Washington English Center.

The New York Times Learning Network announced they were beginning a new regular features: a Current Events Conversation.

Add 5 Minutes of Current Events into History Class is by Sarah Cooper.

The Past Is Present: Strategies for Bringing Current Events Into the Social Studies Classroom is from The NY Times Learning Network.

Facing History has a good guide for using Current Events in the classroom.  It’s free, but you have to give them your email address to get.

The Week has a guide on how to use their articles in the classroom, but their ideas can be used for any current events articles.

Make Some News! Current Events for ELT is from TESOL.

20 Questions To Help Students Think Critically About News is from Teach Thought.

“TEACH CURRENT EVENTS AS ‘HISTORY IN THE MAKING’”

Learning For Justice (formerly known as Teaching Tolerance) has a nice resources called “Moment.” Every weekly moment (they have an impressive archive) “contains critical materials to address what’s happening in the classroom – and the culture – right now. ”

How to Talk About What’s in the News: A Lesson Plan is from The Teaching Channel.

Teaching Current Events: Educator Guide is from Facing History, and is updated.

Teaching With The News is from Brown University, and offers a regularly updated collection of  very well-thought-out and complete lesson plans on current events – all for free.

Using Current Events is from David Deubelbeiss.

Retro Report has a large collection of videos and lessons connected to current events.