All the current events info from the blog
www.ce8.weebly.com
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the current events blog. This is where you will submit your articles, thought questions, and
responses to the thought questions of your classmates. Here's how it works:
Articles: Students will pick, post, and write about an article approximately twice a semester. (see the
"Posting Rotation" page for your turn). 1/3 of the class at a time (group A, B, or C) will be responsible
for:
 Posting an article (each student will submit his/her own article - you are not working together,
even if you are posting on the same week)
 Summarizing it
 Analyzing/reacting to it
 Writing “thought questions” for other students to answer
Responses: Every time articles are posted, you will need to write a one-paragraph response to one of the
thought questions your friends have written (you post comments when it is not your turn to post the
article). You are only required to respond to one of the articles; you are welcome to write additional
comments if you choose.
Discussion: Students will discuss their articles at the beginning of class periods throughout the week.
Due Dates: Please see the POSTING ROTATION page for all due dates.
Grading: The week where you choose the article is worth a larger percentage of your grade than the oneparagraph responses. That being said, current events in general - completing assignments with care and
attention and on time - are a large part of your overall grade, so please be vigilant about your effort.
Rubrics for each type of assignment and some examples to help you understand what I'm looking for are
below.
ADVICE FOR CHOOSING AN ARTICLE AND WRITING AN ANALYSIS
You will find an article from a daily newspaper, a weekly magazine, or an internet-based news site. A
few examples of good sources are The Boston Globe, The New York Times, Time Magazine,
nytimes.com, wsj.com, bbc.com, nbcnews.com, etc.
You are looking for an article that is important, whether locally, nationally, or globally. Stay away from
articles that are trivial or sensational, as well as daily sports reports.
YOUR ARTICLE MUST COME FROM ONE OF THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:
 World News
 U.S. News
 Social Issues (issues that impact society, such as environmental policy, poverty/inequality, social
justice, etc.)
 Science/Technology.
 You must choose an article from each category before repeating a category.
IF YOU ARE HAVING TROUBLE FINDING AN ARTICLE, please see me! I am more than happy
to help you.
After the article, write a summary of the article. Your summary should be one good paragraph (it can be
longer) that covers the most important information in the article. It should be in your own words (not
plagiarized!). Your goal should be that reading the summary to the class will give everyone enough
information to know the main issues and necessary information. (see rubric for even more detail).
After your summary, write another paragraph (or paragraphs) that explains the significance of the article
and/or is your reaction to the information in the article. This paragraph is your opinion, but you must
refer to the information in the article. You may also write about larger or connected issues, personal
connections, or even larger philosophical issues. (see rubric for even more detail).
WHAT DOES A STRONG THOUGHT QUESTION LOOK LIKE?
Here are some examples of the types of questions I would like you to include. You can modify these or
make up your own. If you are unsure of whether a question is a strong question, don't hesitate to ask.
 If you were (in charge/the President/person of authority in this situation), how would you respond
to this event? What changes would you make?
 What impact do you think this event will have on (our relationship with country X/the next
generation/our education policy/our ability to fight future wars/etc.). How do you know? Give an
example to back up your response.
 Does this article demonstrate bias? How do you know? Give an example to back up your response.
 What historical events of the past does this remind you of? Why? Give a detailed example to back
up your response.
 Did this article raise larger issues that you thought about? What issue(s)? Explain the connection
you made and your thoughts about it.
HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR WORK
WHEN IT IS YOUR TURN TO SUBMIT AN ARTICLE/ANALYSIS:
Please share it as a google doc or email it as an attachment to rachel.katz@ssdsboston.org. Please also
attach a completed copy of the "Current Events Submission Rubric" (above).
WHEN IT IS YOUR TURN TO COMMENT:
Simply hit the "comment" button and submit a comment. You do not need to submit the response rubric,
but you should use it as a guide to make sure your response meets the requirements. Your comment will
not appear on the blog right away - all comments are sent to me to moderate.
REMEMBER!
Because this is a communal blog, your classmates will be able to see your articles and responses. This
means that you should strive to do your very best work, and that you should be vigilant about your
spelling, punctuation and grammar (if you need help, I am always happy to look at a draft before you
post).
ESPECIALLY REMEMBER!
I am always happy to help you at any stage before your assignment is due. You can meet with me in
person or contact me via (polite) email. I am confident in your abilities and look forward to learning with
and from you!
RUBRIC FOR SUBMITTING AN ARTICLE FOR CURRENT EVENTS
CRITERIA
Student includes working link to article
SUMMARY PARAGRAPH
The topic of the article is clear from the topic sentence
Student provides at least two main points of the article
Each main point is backed up with evidence and detail
from the text
ANALYSIS PARAGRAPH
Student gives two reasons why this article is significant
Reasons are backed up with details and explanations
THOUGHT QUESTIONS
Student includes three thought questions for classmates
Questions are analytical and would prompt a reader to be
able to write a paragraph answer in response
FORMATTING/OTHER
What category does your article fall under? (World News,
U.S. News, Social Issues, Science/Technology)
Assignment is turned in on time
Assignment is proofread and free of grammatical and
mechanical errors
Student fills out rubric in thoughtful detail
STUDENT
EVALUATION
TEACHER
EVALUATION
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RUBRIC FOR RESPONDING TO A CLASSMATE’S ARTICLE (commenting)
CRITERIA
Paragraph begins with a topic sentence that restates the
question (and makes it clear which question you are
answering)
Paragraph includes details and explanations to back up
your response
FORMATTING/OTHER
Paragraph is turned in on time
Paragraph is proofread and free of grammatical and
mechanical errors
Student’s work meets requirements set out in the rubric
STUDENT
EVALUATION
TEACHER
EVALUATION
---------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------
GROUP A
Maya Applbaum
Micah Bernat
Josh Cafaro
Roxy Eagle
Shoshi Gordon
Mariana Gubert
GROUP B
Harry Baker
Noah Basson
Zoe Denbow
Dore Fish-Bieler
David Gerard
Levi Gershon
GS3
Hyman, Gabrielle
Levy, Ethan
Linden, Justin
Magnani, Ilan
Melnick, Hannah
Ovadia, Ben
Jacob Hamermesh
Nadav Konstantine
Shira McGinity
Sam Orelowitz
Sophie Ostrovitz
Evette Roy
GS4
Sasson, Jaclyn
Shaevel, Samantha
Simansky, Aaron
Weissmann, Eliana
Winn, Jacob
Zilber, Zoey-O
Haley Schwabel
Jessica Siegal
Adina Smith
Dylan Suckerman
Max Weisman
Jonah Wyett
GS1
B
C
Thursday, September 17th
comment
comment
Thursday, October 1st
article
Thursday, September 10th
Monday, October 12th
A
article
GROUP C
Peri Barest
Garrett Barth
Zandra Baskin
Jacob Finkielsztein
Sophie Goodman
Josh Gruber
Ava Hirshberg
Adina Kraus
Adam Marcus
Yoni Preuss
Gideon Rabson
Serena Rumpler
Zoe Shay-Tannas
Ben Shure
Jacob Starr
Zachary Wald
Samuel Waller
Andrew Weinfeld
Mikey Weiskopf
Stephanie Weiss
Adam Wener
comment
Thursday, October 15th
Thursday, October 22nd
Comment
Thursday, October 29th
article
comment
article
comment
Thursday, November 5th
comment
Thursday, November 12th
article
Thursday, November 19th
Thursday, December 3rd
Comment
comment
comment
article