US and international media and history

PBS NewsHour Classroom provides access to videos from their daily newscast. The videos are accompanied by discussion questions, lesson plans, and stories developed specifically for students. You can download the videos and change the play-back speed. In addition, printed transcripts are provided. Additional features can be accessed though a free account.

Copyrighted. Videos are available for downloading. Create an account to save and share materials.

Level - Targeting youth but most content can be readily used with adults.

The Learning Network from The New York Times has a wealth of quality, engaging activities built around articles, photos and graphs from the newspaper. 

Over 150 Lesson Plans Based on New York Times Articles

Student News Quiz

Geography Quizzes

Photos, Graphs and Videos

Writing Prompts

Copyrighted. Create an account to save and share materials.

Level - Targeting youth but most content can be readily used with adults.

Here is what the developer writes about Breaking News English:

"Free, ready-to-use EFL / ESL lesson plans on the latest breaking news -in 7 levels. New lessons uploaded twice a week. Each lesson includes a 27-Page PDF containing all-skills activities, a 2-page mini-lesson, 5-speed listening, multi-speed scrolled reading, interactive dictation, 30+ online quizzes... and more." 

The site does have advertising, which could be irritating if using the materials online, but educators can access PDF materials to share with learners. One topic includes a mini-lesson, a very comprehensive 27-page lesson and three reading levels.

Copyrighted. All articles and lessons are available as PDFs and can be downloaded. Audio files are also available for downloading.  

Easy News from the United Kingdom is a "the first news magazine designed to be accessible for people with learning disabilities, aimed to encourage discussion around news stories and keep readers informed about the world around them." The content is focused on the UK so you will have to search for appropriate topics. Examples include the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the world cup. An archive is also available. 

Level - Beginner readers and those with learning or cognitive disabilities.

No copyright or creative commons information. PDF versions are available.

Learning for Justice, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, is an extensive resource collection, including professional development resources and publications for teachers. While some classroom lessons, learning plans and student texts might be challenging to adapt for a Canadian context (they reference US history, laws and Common Core Standards) other resources are more flexible: 

Student tasks can be used with a range of content (not just from the Learning for Justice site) to support the development of writing, civic engagement and critical literacy skills. The tasks include writing prompts and rubrics. 

Teaching Strategies is a collection of 18 ideas that "nurture students' speaking and listening skills with strategies that ask them to draw upon texts during meaningful—and respectful—classroom discussions."

Film Kits are available for streaming with an account. All films include instructional support resources. 

Copyrighted. PDF files are available. Create an account to access videos, save and share.

Level - Targeting youth but most content can be readily used with adults.

The OER Project, developed by teachers and history academics with funding from the Gates Foundation, is a collection of comprehensive online courses for students at the secondary level (general range of abilities equate to Grades 6 to 12). Their main courses are:

1. Big History Project

2. WHP Origins to the Present

3. WHP 1200 to the Present

4. WHP 1750 to the present

5. World History Project Advanced Placement (university preparation level).

The site also includes shorter courses lasting 4-6 weeks:

1. Climate Project Extension

2. Project X explores the power of data

3. Project Score to support writing instruction, including automated marking.

Copyrighted. You and your students will need an account to access the courses on this site. Teachers can copy and share content with their students.

Simple English Wikipedia uses English words and grammar for children and adults who are learning English. There are 264,011 articles on the Simple English Wikipedia. All of the pages are free to use. 

CC BY-4.0