Ways to Teach Kids About Current Events
Kids don’t live in a bubble. Check out these ways to teach kids about current events.
Teaching Current Events to Kids
As a child grows, they realize they are part of a wider world.
They become alert to what is happening around them, first in their family, then with their friends and school, and finally to their community and beyond.
Learning about current events helps promote awareness, build community, develop empathy, and develop media literacy.
Teaching current events to kids means more than just having them scroll through the News app on a phone.
Follow these age-appropriate tips and activities to teach kids about current events.
How to Teach Current Events to Kids
Follow these tips and tricks for teaching current events to kids.
Start in Kindergarten
You hardly need to read The Wall Street Journal to your baby! Kids are usually ready for an introduction to current events between the ages of four and six.
At this age, you will keep current events topics local and positive.
What is happening in your community? Focus on community helpers, weather changes (not disasters), park projects, community events, and heartwarming local news stories.
You can reinforce these conversations with picture books, class projects, and family table talk questions.
Find Age-Appropriate Resources
Once children are in upper elementary, they will notice headlines and overhear conversations about current events.
This is the time to teach about the difference between fact and opinion.
Seek out fact-based, age-appropriate news sources directed at kids in this age group.
Consider TIME for Kids, News-O-Matic, DOGOnews, and The Week Junior.
Teach Media Literacy
When kids hit middle school, it is time to start teaching media literacy.
Media literacy is the ability to critically analyze stories in the media for credibility and accuracy.
Build on your teachings on fact versus opinion.
Talk about how the news is made, the credibility of sources, bias, and misinformation.
Teach children at this age to ask questions about what they read and what they hear. “Who is the source?” and “Is this source an expert/credible?”
Model Respectful Dialogue
As kids move into the teen years, they are better able to grasp global current events and the intricacies of specific issues.
They may quickly latch onto their viewpoints. This is where respectful dialogue must come into play.
Teach and model curiosity and civil discourse. Engage in a conversation to understand other viewpoints, not to win a shouting match.
Encourage Engagement
Teens are ready and able to shape their communities and address problems in society.
Talk about voting, civic engagement, and volunteering.
Begin with What They Know
When discussing current events with a child of any age, start by asking them what they know and where they heard about it.
If it is a challenging or disturbing event, ask your child how hearing this information made them feel.
These starter questions will help you determine what your child has absorbed and how they feel about an issue.
This gives you a starting place and helps you approach a conversation with sympathy and tact.
Avoid Loaded Statements
Remember that you are trying to build understanding and model respectful dialogue about current events.
This means you need to check your anger at the door. Avoid referring to those on the other side of an issue as “bad” or even “those people.”
Instead, express both sides to your child, “Some people believe [X] because [Y].”
Of course, you can share your opinion, but introduce the issue by presenting both sides in a balanced way. Don’t denigrate those who disagree with you in front of your child.
Focus on Help and Hope
Current events can be tragic and disturbing.
If your child hears about such events (or you need to tell them), focus the conversation on how others are helping and what you all can do to help.
You can donate food or clothes, or write a thank-you card to first responders or volunteers.
Focus on hope and help. Don’t end a conversation with despair.
Current Events Activities
These activities will help you teach current events to kids.
Table Talk Questions
The dinner table is the perfect place to discuss current events. Ask one of these questions to get the conversation rolling.
- “What is something you heard in the news/heard people talking about this week?”
- “Do you know anyone who is making a difference right now?”
- “If you see a story online, how can you tell if it is true?”
- “What’s a piece of good news that you heard about today?”
Translate Headlines
Read a headline from the day’s news and rephrase it in your own words.
News of the Day
If your kids are old enough to have media access (this starts in upper elementary with the sources mentioned for news for kids), have each family member bring their summary of a news story to share.
What Would You Do?
Read a news story and ask kids, “How would you have responded to the situation if they were that leader/teacher/parent?”
Fact Vs. Opinion
Teach kids the difference between fact and opinion with these activities.
Pin the Map
Read a news story. Then use a country or world map and place a pin or sticker at the location where the story takes place.
Teaching Kids About Current Events
You can teach kids about current events with these simple and effective activities.
Remember to follow the tips in the article to make conversations and lessons age-appropriate.
