World History Current Events Assignment
Find an article from the international news or business section of a print newspaper (or printed in normal text size from on-line) which focuses on a story set outside the United States and has a story text at least 12-column inches. The article must fall within the two-week span of time prior to the Tuesday deadline.
Acceptable Print Newspapers: Los Angeles Times, New York Times, L.A. Daily News (talk to us about other papers)
Acceptable Websites: New York Times (http://classroom.nytimes.com; username and password: 200277762) or Los Angeles Times (http://eedition.latimes.com/cgi-bin/cie.cgi; student log-in ckdavis; password humanities)
Cut the article out neatly (don’t tear it). Make sure you have the entire article. Many continue on other pages.
Read the headline, look up any words you don’t know. Understand the headline before you read the article. Look at any photos, graphics, and captions. Finally, read the article, highlighting important parts.
Attach with glue, tape or staples (no paper clips) the article on the left-hand side of your notebook. Fix the article in such a way that we can easily unfold it if necessary to view the whole article. Write the name of the newspaper and the date of the article on the same page to which you have affixed your article. This must be done prior to class starting.
Draw a quad on the right-hand side of the notebook. Follow the specifications for each quad. Use only blue or black ink pen as you do your writing.
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In this quad write a 50-60 word summary of the entire article. Do not summarize only the opening paragraph of the news story. This summary should all be in your own words (nothing quoted from the article). It should be a summary of the main ideas of the whole article. |
In this quad write a few (2-3) good questions that can serve as discussion questions for your group. They should be phrased so that anyone who listens to your summary of the article would be able to answer your question with an informed opinion. Ask no basic recall questions. |
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In this quad give context for your story. Show evidence of your reading by giving essential background to understand why this story has significance. This should be in your own words; no quoting from article; you should use new background details from the article not found in your summary. This quad should show understanding of the article beyond what you wrote in the summary. (75-90) |
In this quad write about the connections you can make regarding this current event. These connections can be to previous articles you’ve read, or to stories that you may have heard on TV or radio, or to things we have studied in class, another class, or on your own. Avoid writing about connections here to your own life and experience. (75-90 words) |
This is usually scored as a credit/no credit (no Pro. Pass) assignment (except for when we pick it up; then we use the Scoring Guide in the box below). Make sure you’ve done the following or you will receive a no credit.
_____ Include article fastened in current events notebook (not another notebook such as your class notes)
_____ Your writing is in blue/black ink
_____ Writing meets word count guidelines described above
_____ Include full article with headline
_____ Use article that is 12+ column inches
_____ Use article from international news/business section
_____ Writing shows reading of the entire article
_____ Article is cut out neatly
_____ Your writing is legible
_____ All work is done prior to the beginning of class
_____ All work is in your own words
_____ The current event comes from the range of time specified
Scoring Guide
√+ -- Work meets all requirements; writing shows insight into newspaper story and thoughtful analysis of story text
√ -- Work meets all or nearly all requirements; writing shows some insight into story and perhaps superficial analysis
√- -- Work may not meet requirements; writing shows limited understanding of story text and little analysis of important ideas