Grades 5-8; Social Studies; Weekly 15-minute program on Monday & Friday afternoons; CC

Sample lesson plans: Bulls Eye      Voices of History

To use the password-protected resources for teachers, available at www.atwonline.org, contact EdServices@SDPB.org for the 2008-2009 password.

Assignment: The World (ATW) is a children's current events program designed to be used in the classroom. It is a fast-paced, interactive program that covers the top news stories of the week from around the world. ATW helps its viewers to understand the world around them and how events in other countries can and do effect their lives. Instant pop quizzes, clues in the news and issue questions offer interactive opportunities for the student to test their comprehension, improve their research skills, and practice writing exercises while viewing the series.

The following segments appear regularly:
News Stories - Coverage of five to seven of the week's top stories.
Clues in the News - Jumbled words, fill-in-the-blank statements, keywords, etc.
Back Track - A brief story about an historic event occurring on the same date.
Feature Story - A related story shot on location.
Pop Quizzes - Challenges student's comprehension of the material, presented earlier in the program.
Issue - Encourages students to engage in dialog and contribute their opinions via email.
Mail Bag - A report on student's responses to earlier programs.

Teachers are encouraged to build lesson plans around current events and use ATW to bring those weekly events into their classrooms. The pop quizzes, clues in the news and issue questions all encourage its viewers to actively participate in the program. It is a fast-paced news program, not unlike the nightly news you might see on your local station or on the network and cable channels, but geared to 4th to 8th graders.