Newspaper In Education serves as classroom learning tool
It’s never too early to evoke an interest in the news and current events when it comes to young readership. Several studies point to significant gains in reading and comprehension skills among children as a result of regularly reading the newspaper, which is why Anton Media Group offers its newspapers at no cost to teachers around Long Island.
“Our Newspaper In Education (NIE) initiative connects local students to their communities while strengthening their education,” reads the website. “In addition, learning about current events will spark interesting topics of conversation between teachers and students.”
Weekly topics may focus on, but are not limited to, math, science, writing, health and political science. Lesson plans come with a range of activities that are applicable to students at the elementary, middle or high school level.
For children in elementary school who are just beginning to learn the fundamental skills of reading and writing, newspapers can play a key role in igniting a passion for an awareness of current events.
For middle and high schoolers, lesson plans aid students in navigating the ins and outs of a newspaper. By actively reading credible articles, students are learning the tools necessary to recognize legitimate sources, versus sources that may be misleading or outright false.
“The Tribune serves as a model to help my students understand what good journalism looks like in our community, and helps me to set standards for quality reporting,” said Sue Valenza, a journalism teacher at Jericho High School who makes use of the Syosset-Jericho Tribune on a weekly basis.
Greg Reinbold, a teacher at Plainview-Old Bethpage Middle School, described a similar use for the Plainview-Old Bethpage Herald in his eighth-grade classrooms.
“The students learn how to identify and write leads and hooks. We talk about proofreading, editing, fact-checking and accuracy of the news in print, especially now since it’s such a hot topic,” said Reinbold.
Each of Anton’s town-specific papers continue to be a worthwhile learning tool in a variety of local school districts. For more information about Anton’s NIE section, visit www.antonmediagroup.com or contact Joy DiDonato at 516-403-5183 or jdidonato@antonmediagroup.com.
