Current Events - English Template, Intermediate Mid

Please Note: Many of the activities on the Pathways Project OER Repository were created by upper-division students at Boise State University and serve as a foundation that our community of practice can build upon and refine. While they are polished, we welcome and encourage collaboration from language instructors to help modify grammar, syntax, and content where needed. Kindly contact pathwaysproject@boisestate.edu with any suggestions and we will update the content in a timely manner.  — The Pathways Project

Looking for the Spanish Version of this activity to adapt for your language?CLICK HERE

About the Boise State World Languages Resource Center (WLRC) Language Activity Repository

The activities provided by the Boise State World Languages Resource Center (WLRC) serve as foundational activities which can be adapted by any language and scaled up or down on the proficiency scale. Many of these activities offer an English Version that is “language-agnostic” to provide language instructors from around the country a platform to remix these instructional materials, infusing them with their target language and culture! The activities within the Pathways Project OER Repository seek to help students solidify their interpersonal speaking and interpretive skills through task-based situations or communicative activities. These activities should be facilitated in the target language for approximately 90% (or more), per the recommendation of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

How to use the WLRC Repository’s Activities:

1. Use the Activity as is:

Before you begin:

• Most activities are 30 minutes in duration, unless otherwise specified.
• Be sure to read through the activity description, and review the list of required materials. You will notice that the activity materials are also highlighted in yellow throughout the activity instructions.

If you have any suggestions about grammar, syntax, and content, please kindly contact pathwaysproject@boisestate,edu

2. Remix for Your Language Classroom:

When you are ready to begin remixing the activity, in order to adapt it for the needs of your language classroom, simply click the blue “Remix This Resource” button at the top of your screen. This will then take you to a screen with a NEW, editable version of this activity. The text provided in purple is a suggestion of what you might say to your students in the target language, and may be altered for different levels and age groups. All activities have “NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do” statements, a warm-up, a main activity, and a wrap-up.

Many of the activities include printable cards and other instructional materials such as Google Slideshows. If you would like to make changes to these materials for your language, follow the instructions below:

• Google Slideshows:
  
• To begin, go to File -> Copy to create an editable version of the slideshow.
• Once finished with your changes, please complete the following steps to share:
• Click on Share
• Who Has Access
• Ensure link sharing is on and allow external access.
• Materials Saved as PDF: Please email pathwaysproject@boisestate.edu and we will provide you with an editable copy. Please allow up to two business days for a response. For YouTube videos and other websites, hyperlinks are provided. 

Current Events

Description:

Students will discuss current events, world and local news, as well as dangerous weather and climates. In this activity, students will learn to talk about current events and describe an event in (target language) acting as a television news reporter. 

Proficiency Level:

Intermediate Mid

Keywords:

News, crime, disasters, peace, violence

NCSSFL-ACTFL World-Readiness Standards:

• Standard 1.1 Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions.
  
• Standard 1.2 Students understand and interpret spoken and written (target language) on a variety of topics.
  
• Standard 1.3 Students present information, concepts, and ideas in (target language) to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics.
  
• Standard 2.2 Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the products and perspectives of (target culture).
  
• Standard 3.2 Students acquire information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints that are only available through the (target language) and its cultures.
  
• Standard 4.2 Students demonstrate an understanding of the concept of culture through comparisons between (target culture) and their own.
  

Idaho State World Language Standards:

• COMM 1.1 - Interact and negotiate meaning (spoken, signed, written conversation) to share information, reactions, feelings, and opinions
  
• COMM 2.1 - Understand, interpret, and analyze what is heard, read, or viewed on a variety of topics.
  
• COMM 3.1 - Present information, concepts, and ideas to inform, explain, persuade, and narrate on a variety of topics using appropriate media in the target language.
  
• CLTR 2.2- Describe the connections of products from the target culture with the practices and perspectives of the culture.
• CLTR 2.3- Justify the underlying beliefs or values of the target culture that resulted in the creation of the product.

NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements:

• I can understand a topic involving current events.
• I can talk about weather conditions and dangerous climates.
• I can understand terms about the news.
• I can present on world events.

Materials Needed:

• Google Slideshow
• Situation Cards (these are just examples of a news headline/brief article in Spanish. Find and print or share some news articles with your class in your target langauge)
• Taboo Cards

Warm-up