Outdoor School Week Current Events -

What is Going On?

1
Current Events - What is Going On?
I can find a news article that is controversial.
I can read my article and pull out important information.

Studying current events helps students understand the importance

of people, events, and issues in the news; it stimulates students to
explore and learn more about the news, and to pay attention to the
news they see and hear outside of school.

Task: Find an article that you want to read or watch in order to

understand What is Going On?
2
Steps:
1. Find your article /video - You can use any news source you
want but I also have some on the next slide (from May 1 to
the Present)
Current Events - What is Going On?
I can find an news article that is controversial.
I can read my article and pull out important information.

Task: Find an article that you want to read and share with the class.
Today you will spend some just looking for an article.

Use any of the following new sources to find your article

Newsela - via CANVAS YourCommonwealth

Newseum
CNN 3
YR Media - It’s Your Media The Economist
CNN 10 The Learning Network
National Geographic Kids
New York Times PBS NewsHours Extra
Time for Kids
You will choose two articles to read. Both should be about the
same topic or issue, but with opposing viewpoints. Choose
one “Pro” (an article supporting a specific view, activity, or
group) and one “Con” (an article opposing this view).

Article 1
PRO
Insert the link to your article here:https://www.cnn.com/opinions/electric-vehicles-fossil-fuels-economic-pai
index.html

Why EV’s (Electric vehicles) are suddenly contreversial

Meg Jacob

n Oct 3 2023

National news
 y

I feel that the article is slightly biased because at the end,

the author started to say that electric cars can lead to a
better future without much statistics.
“You can be loyal to American labor or loyal to lower prices and greater convenience.
environmental lunatics. You can’t be loyal to both,”
former President Donald Trump said

This quote is important because it is This part is biased because now the author is
controversial. Some people believe that being saying that electric vehicles have greater
loyal to environmentalists is a good thing, but convenience and lower prices, and that's not
the former president is clearly saying necessarily true.
otherwise.
A lot on non-environmentalists would be impacted

A lot on non-environmentalists would be impacted because the article is trying to tell the reader
that EV’s are very good. The article may impact them in a way that they start believing that EV’s
are good.
If we want to reduce fossil fuel usage, we need to go in to history of the problem. This first
started during the 1970s, when countries stopped exporting oil to the united states due to USA
supporting Isreal in the Yon kippur war. This meant that oil was extremely expensive, so america
tried to switch to a greener life. In 1970, president Rickerd Nixon signed the National
Environment Policy act. But americans didn’t want to leave their gas cars, so this broke the
environmental policy. Now, in 2023, people are starting to like greener ways of life, and electric
cars are gaining popularity.
 I do not understand why people do not like EV’s. EV’s will possibly lead to a
● Think about what greener and better america, but some people just do not like it. I fully support
you are seeing in Ev’s because they are good for the environment and don’t even cost that much
the news. compared to a gas car. Well, indirectly cheaper than a gas car. Directly, an
● Ask yourself, why average sedan non-luxury car is about $25k, and the cheapest tesla model is
are people acting about $40k without upgrades. When you buy a gas car, you have to pay for the
this way? For gas. You may be thinking,”Hey, but you do have to pay for the electricity for
example, why are EV’s”. Yes that may be true, but electricity is definitely cheaper, AND if you
people have solar panels, it’s practically free! But gas nowadays is expensive, with
protesting? Why one gallon of gas for $5! Aside from gas, you would also have to pay for
is there maintenance, which costs $800 a year, and the average owner owns their car
sometimes for 15 years, so that means $12k out of your pocket. EV’s do not need
violence? maintenance very often, and on top of that, the average EV lasts 20 years.
● What are When you sum it all up, a gas car technically costs $110k, and an electric car
protestors costs $40k. Plus, the EV’s last longer than a gas car. And this is why I think
getting right and gas cars are better than EV’s.
Article 2
CON
 n

I don’t think that a bias is present because I have read

over the article, and everything is based on logic and
facts.
It matters how the electricity is made. Raw material is problematic

This is pretty important because this shows This shows that EV’s may not be the best way
that even though EV’s run on electricity, a lot of to go, because batteries are made of lithium,
electricity is made from fossil fuels and burning which needs to be mined. The mining process
coal. is not very climate friendly.
People who have EV’s or want to get one.

1. They maybe will rethink everything about purchasing an EV’s

2. Those who have an EV may want to stop using it, or sell it, because they do not want to
support climate change.
Ev’s may not be as good for the environment because they use electricity, and some grids
contain a lot of fossil fuel electricity. Ev’s also need batteries to store the electricity, and those
are made of a rare and expensive material called lithium. When mining, it uses gas powered
mining tools, and mining in general is very bad for the environment. Also, lithium batteries that
are dead still contain valuable material, but people do not recycle them but throw them away.
This is just pure waste.
● Think about what
you are seeing in
I think that this may change a lot of peoples perspectives on Ev’s, but not mine.
the news.
Even though electricity is not clean, but there are lots of renewable energy
● Ask yourself, why
sources to be used like solar panels and windmills. Even though some of the
are people acting
electricity is not climate friendly, at least it is not as bad as feeding pure gas to
this way? For
a car. Lithium is rare and mining for it increases the carbon footprint, but these
example, why are
batteries last for 10-20 years, and that is worth it.
people
protesting? Why
is there
sometimes
violence?
● What are
protestors
getting right and
Compare the two articles! Write what they have in common in the middle of the Venn diagram.

Article 1 - Pro Article 2 - Con

Ev’s are good Ev’s are bad

SLIDESMANIA.

Rubric
Academic Learning Target #2: Critical Thinking
I can develop and demonstrate deep, analytical, historical thinking and analysis skills.

- Relevant Conclusion: I can accurately analyze information to reach a relevant conclusion.

- Compelling Evidence: I support my thinking with compelling and well-organized evidence.

4 3 2 1
Highly Proficient Proficient Nearly Proficient Developing

• I develop • I accurately analyze • I provide a simplistic • I attempt to analyze

sophisticated analysis information to reach a analysis of information to information to reach a
of information to reach relevant conclusion. reach a relevant conclusion that is
a relevant conclusion. conclusion. inaccurate or incomplete.
• I support my
• I support my thinking with • I support my thinking • I support my thinking
thinking with precisely sufficient, relevant with basic evidence. with insufficient evidence.
chosen evidence. evidence.
SLIDESMANIA.

Rubric
Research Skills Rubric – Analyzing an Article

Objective: I can gather and organize information from a news source.

4 3 2 1
Highly Proficient Proficient Nearly Proficient Developing
● I use a well-chosen, ● I use a minimum of one ● I use basic and/or limited ● I may use unreliable or
relevant and credible relevant and credible sources to gather my limited sources to gather
source. source. information. my information.

● I collect and record ● I collect and record ● I collect and record a ● I collect little or no
extensive, relevant relevant information from little relevant relevant information from
information from my my article. information from my my article.
article. article.
● I show an understanding ● I show a limited
● I show a deep of the main points and ● I show some understanding of the
understanding of the some supporting details understanding of the main points of my article.
main points and of my article. main points and
significant supporting supporting details of my ● I show little or no
details of my article. ● I demonstrate some article. awareness of the
awareness of the perspective of the
● I demonstrate an perspective of the ● I may show an article’s author.
awareness of the article’s author. awareness of the
perspective of the perspective of the