1 - Mrs. Graves' 6th Grade



Current Events Research & Speech

Every two weeks (approximately), students will present a short current events speech to the class. This activity promotes social awareness of events happening locally, regionally, nationally, and globally, as well as strengthens skills in writing, reading comprehension, reading fluency, speaking and critical thinking. Grades for this assignment will be listed under Social Studies in the Moodle grade book and will also count toward the Speaking grade on report cards

The due dates for all speeches are listed below. Students must submit the research form (see below) the morning of the due date and speeches will be presented that day. Students will be able to use their research form as a guide when presenting their speech to the class. Speeches should last for no more than 3 minutes. For the first due date, research will be conducted at school so students have the opportunity to learn research techniques and how to complete the research form. The rubric for grading the research form and speech is listed below.

Current Events Research & Speech RUBRIC

|ITEM |POINTS |

|Research Form typed or written NEATLY in black or blue ink |5 |

|Numbers 1 to 5 filled in with correct information. Source should include the full name of the magazine, newspaper, etc., as well as the | |

|ENTIRE URL (Internet address) if found on the Internet |10 |

|Number 6 contains accurate information and Lat/Lon is in the correct format |5 |

|Number 7 has appropriate, meaningful vocabulary words from the source and have been defined in the same context as used in the source |15 |

|Number 8 summary paragraph contains 8 or more sentences that explain WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY/HOW, and tell about the MAIN THEME of | |

|the current event |25 |

|Number 9 response paragraph contains 5 or more sentences that describe your reaction to the article in your own words |10 |

|Number 10 picture relates to your event and adds visual value to your speech |5 |

|Speech contains all of the main information from both the summary and response paragraphs (it’s ok to read them off the research form) |8 |

|Speech is 2 to 3 minutes in length |2 |

|Speaker’s body is still with feet about shoulder width apart |5 |

|Speaker makes eye contact with audience |5 |

|Speaker uses a clear speaking voice that can be heard by entire audience |5 |

|TOTAL |100 |

Research Forms/Speech Due Dates**:

|Oct. 1 |Oct. 15 |Nov. 5 |Nov. 19 |Dec. 3 |Jan. 14 |Jan. 28 |Feb. 11 |

|Feb. 25 |Mar. 11 |Mar. 25 |Apr. 8 |Apr. 22 |Jun. 3 |Jun. 17 | |

**Note: These dates are all Fridays and may be shifted due to holidays or other unforeseen events such as field trips. Students will be notified in advance of date changes.

Suggested Sources (look for meaningful, interesting events):

|CNN () |Time For Kids () |

|National Public Radio () |LA Times Newspaper () |

|ABC News () |National Geographic () |

Current Events

1. Name: ______________________________________ Date:

2. Title of article:

3. Source of article:

4. Author of article:

5. Date of article:

6. Exact location: Latitude: Longitude:

City & State: Country: Continent:

7. Three vocabulary words with definitions that are appropriate to the article:

1. :

2. :

3. :

8. Summary paragraph (8+ sentences that summarize the article in your own words):

HINTS: Make sure your summary paragraph explains WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY/HOW, and that you tell about the MAIN THEME of the current event.

9. Response paragraph (5+ sentences that describe your reaction to the article in your own words):

HINT: When I read this article I thought about……… Reading this article made me remember a time when……. This article made me feel……. After reading about this event, I am concerned about the future because…….. This article gives me hope for the future because……

10. Print or draw a picture related to your current event that can be shown to the class when you give your speech.

SAMPLE CURRENT EVENTS

Joan Smith 9-16-03

Title of article: “Too much rain hits the Northeast”

Source: New York Times,

Author: Jeff Doe

Date: 9-10-04

Exact Location: 76º N, 93º W, Albany, New York, USA, North America

3 Vocabulary words:

1. Torrential: An abundance of something, usually refers to water

2. Inundated: to cover with or as if with a flood

3. Humidity: the amount of atmospheric moisture

Summary Paragraph:

The article writes about flooding in the northeast. There is too much rain and the land is inundated. According to one expert, “The water table in many areas is much higher than it has been in past years.” This means good things for the farmers. It is a bad thing because the water has no where to go and the roads get flooded. Some houses were washed away in the floods. According to an eye-witness during the last storm, “People were not driving through the streets, they were in boats, paddling their way to other houses.” While rain is usually good for the land, this rain needs to stop so that the ground can absorb the water that has already fallen and people can “get their lives back in order.” This article was informational in that it described what can happen to people and the land when there is too much rain.

Response Paragraph

When I read this article I became alarmed and frightened thinking about how powerful Mother Nature can be. This article gave me hope for the future of our national food supply because the farmers got much needed rain. I know that there have been terrible droughts in that area in previous years, causing the loss of many food crops. On the other hand, I am also worried that this type of flooding may be a sign of changing weather patterns that scientists have predicted will occur with global warming. I hope that the citizens

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download