TEEN TRIBUNE IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL CLASSROOM

1. Using Technology and News To Develop Life-long Readers TEEN TRIBUNE IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL CLASSROOM Also available: Tween Tribune

2. What is Teen/Tween Tribune? Here’s how TweenTribune and TeenTribune work: Monday through Friday, the editors search the Web for age-appropriate news stories that will interest adolescents and invite them read and to post comments. All comments are moderated by their teachers before they are published. Click on the banner to go directly to Teen Tribune.

3. What is Teen/Tween Tribune? After a teacher signs up his/her class, the site will automatically generate custom pages showing: • The stories the class has commented upon • Individual comments by each student, on his or her own page • All comments by the students, in one report that can be sorted by students’ names, comments, or dates • Teachers can moderate, edit, or delete students’ comments before they’re published.

4. What are the benefits? • Encouraging students to read can be tough, especially non readers. Teen Tribune increases autonomy and makes the task of reading more meaningful. • In order to have a positive attitude towards reading, the students need to think that the information they are learning is both important and relevant to their lives. Because Teen Tribune is news based, it is both important and relevant.

5. What are the benefits? The most important benefit of Teen Tribune is element of choice. Students choose what articles they want to read and feel both a sense of empowerment and an increase in motivation by being allowed to choose. CHOICE MOTIVATION EMPOWERMENT

6. Choice = Motivation to Read • “Choice develops confidence, fosters independence, creates a sense of responsibility, and gives students ownership in learning… An expert on brain research refers to choices as key motivators” (Chapman & King, 2005, Differentiated Assessment Strategies: One Tool Doesn't Fit All, p. 144).

7. Choice increases Interest Teen Tribune topic choices: • By letting the students pick their topics, it ensures that the student is interested in his/her topic. Studies show that if a student is interested • in a topic, there is a • much higher instance • of learning.

8. What are the benefits? • Students feel a sense of relatedness with the other students in the class, and also with other students elsewhere who have commented on the articles. In a world of facebook, twitter, and other social networking sites, students are more apt to discuss things through messaging and comments than in the traditional classroom group work setting. • Teachers can teach / discuss tone and effective persuasion in message boards, encouraging students to voice their opinions respectfully yet effectively.

9. What are the benefits? • By implementing Friday Teen Tribune reading time, the students can have technology access and learn how to properly use the internet and discussion boards. • Teens can be very absorbed in their own lives, and Teen Tribune broadens their awareness of the world around them.

10. What teachers are saying… “I like that my students are engaged in an authentic task. Just as I read the news and comment, so can they. This is giving them a life-long skill.” Carrie Okland, McCombs Middle School, Des Moines, IA “The kids are not intimidated because the articles are short — they can all find something they're interested in- even reluctant readers.” Erin E Wallace, Farnsley Middle School, Louisville, KY

11. What teachers are saying… Click on the picture below to watch the video. Click on the picture below to see the video.