TRY THIS TOMORROW: CURRENT EVENTS CONVERSATIONS ON THE NEW YORK TIMES LEARNING NETWORK
Every Thursday, the New York Times Learning Network releases a new Current Events Conversation where they publish comments from teenagers who replied to one of the daily writing prompts. Students from anywhere in the world can join the conversation. The editors also highlight schools that took part, which means a class might see a public shout out to their school while taking part in a global dialogue.
After reading the article to build background on the topic, this feature offers several meaningful opportunities, including:
- reading with the purpose of taking a stand on a topic
- engaging with an authentic audience beyond the classroom
- gaining new perspectives that broaden and deepen their thinking
- participating in conversations with teens from many places and backgrounds
There are also many low-pressure ways to participate, especially helpful for students who have not yet discovered what they want to say on a topic. Students can:
- choose a comment that most closely aligns with their thinking and explain how or why
- choose a comment that changed or expanded their thinking and reflect on what caused the shift
- join the discussion later, once they feel ready to contribute a fully formed idea
For those who do submit a comment, the editors revise and condense student writing before publication, creating a unique opportunity for feedback. Students can compare their original comment with the edited version to notice changes in clarity, tone, concision, or organization. They can reflect on which revisions strengthened their writing and which ones surprised them.
The series also offers powerful curriculum connections. It is an easy way to show the three strands of the NB Curriculum Framework working together.
- They read for meaning, nuance, and perspective.
- They represent their own ideas by crafting a thoughtful written comment.
- Students interact with peers from around the world through written dialogue.
This serves to show students the interconnected nature of the curriculum strands.
Because this is a long running feature, teachers have countless mentor texts ready to use. These models can help students notice what makes a comment effective. They also pair beautifully with a Must and Might chart. Teachers can gather a handful of comments and invite students to identify writing moves that appear in every example and moves that appear only sometimes. This work supports drafting, revising, and building genre awareness. You can explore a fuller explanation of Must and Might charts here.
Try this tomorrow and let students explore what it feels like to join a community of young thinkers who are learning from one another.