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Kid Scoop is a weekly educational activity feature that helps teachers help their young readers! Teachers, Teacher Scoop and NIE Lesson Library provide standards-based lesson ideas and activities using the newspaper.
About NIE
Newspaper in Education (NIE) is a dynamic educational program that enriches young minds by providing students with the most current information available in a learning tool: The Birmingham News.
News and information are like food for the brain, helping children grow and develop into strong, critical thinkers. The Birmingham News is committed to providing students in Alabama with copies of the newspaper, as well as instructional support to ensure classroom success.
Every day, The News is filled with articles and news items that reflect the current events of the world. From math to government to history, The Birmingham News NIE program can be used to augment any subject. The Birmingham News provides an innovative learning experience based on current, real life events that move beyond textbooks.
Mission
The mission of the NIE program is to create community partnerships with educational systems and businesses in Alabama to promote literacy, life-long learning and to increase reading comprehension through the use of the most current and accurate textbook available-the newspaper.
Why NIE
The effectiveness of Newspaper in Education (NIE) programs has been documented through studies conducted by colleges and universities including Florida State University and the Newspaper Association of America Foundation. These studies measured the effect of NIE programs on student achievement. The studies found the following:
- That schools with a high enrollment of students of color who utilize a Newspaper In Education program score 30% higher on standardized tests than similarly populated schools.
- That NIE programs are particularly effective with immigrants and students from non-English speaking homes.
- That having a Newspaper In Education program at a school can increase overall performance of the school by 10%. These effects are greater in large metro areas and greater at elementary and middle school levels.
- That reading skills increased by two grade levels for students who used newspapers, as compared to those using traditional methods.
- That the intensity of service i.e., a larger number of classrooms and students participating in the program has a larger and more significant effect on test scores.
- That 61% of adults who had newspapers used in class when they were school age, voted in local elections in 2006 versus 44% of adults who had no newspaper influence.
- That 72% of those adults voted in the 2004 presidential election versus 58% who had no newspaper influence.
- That 31% of adults who had newspapers used in class when they were school age, had been an active member of a community or national voluntary group versus 17% of adults who had no newspaper influence.
Teacher Benefits
The Newspaper In Education program:
- Provides teachers with a substantial, highly motivating supplement to classroom resources.
- Increases literacy and builds reading, comprehension and critical thinking skills.
- Bridges the gap between the classroom and the "real" world.
- Builds life-skills with classroom exercises in job search, budgeting and citizenship.
- Contains something for every student including the comics, the editorials, the sports, real math problems and science as it happens.
- Builds self-esteem through a successful learning experience.
- Builds accountability through measurable curriculum activities.
- Expands areas of interest and promotes local and global understanding.
- Prompts students to search, identify and retrieve their own individual answers.
Teacher Resources
- Classroom newspapers: NIE matches teachers with sponsors to provide daily copies of the newspaper for classroom use at no charge to teachers or schools.
- Teaching guides: NIE offers a wide range of teacher materials for all grades. These materials contain classroom activities using the daily newspaper to learn math, science, language arts and social studies. There are also guides created for adult, special education and gifted classes.
- Student activity tabloids: NIE offers a wide selection of tabloids of special interest to the students.
- Custom workshops: NIE provides customized workshops to meet the needs of any audience. Topics range from subject specific use (i.e. how to reinforce math or science skills), to cross-curricular presentation for a faculty that wants to use the newspaper in all its classrooms, to using the newspaper to teach character education or to increase family engagement.
- Instructional materials that are aligned with Alabama Course of Study Objectives as set by the Alabama Department of Education.
Electronic Edition (e-Edition)
The Newspaper in Education (NIE) office recognizes that children live in an increasingly digital world. In keeping with that reality, the NIE program is expanding its teaching tools by offering the electronic edition or E-edition of the newspaper that is available to all schools who wish to participate this school year.
- An exact replica of The Birmingham News that teachers and students access through their computer.
- Searchable and interactive to quickly find exactly what teachers and students are looking for using key words to research any topic, person or event in articles in that days' paper or the archive.
- Through E-notify you can create a list of topics or words that will be searched every day when you access the paper allowing teachers and students to keep track of multiple topics they are studying or researching.
- Easy to navigate with a click on the Section Index that offers quick access to any section or page of the newspaper. You may also access all daily special sections, ads, and classifieds.
- Customizable by changing screen layouts and by moving easily through pages and sections.
- A "Green" alternative with no paper to dispose of or recycle.
Student Benefits
Every day of the week, the News provides a fresh learning tool for teachers and students. Studies have shown that using the newspaper in the classroom will help students:
- Improve reading and writing skills by analyzing feature articles, entertainment reviews and the comics.
- Build vocabulary with crossword puzzles and word games.
- Cultivate critical thinking skills through the News' prize-winning coverage of local, national and international news.
- Clarify values and develop real-life decision-making skills through human-interest stories and advice columns.
- Sharpen math and problem-solving abilities using sports statistics, stock market listings, weather forecasts and retails ads.
- Broaden their perspective with political cartoons, opinion columns and editorials.
- Apply life skills through classified ads, business and consumer news and recipes.
School Benefits
It is the goal of NIE to develop and present methods of teaching with The Birmingham News to create an interactive and motivational learning environment. Through instructor support, newsletters, and curriculum guides, The Birmingham News and participating sponsors are committed to meeting the needs of area teachers as they work to develop tomorrow's leaders.
Schools benefit by:
- Receiving classroom sets of the print edition of The Birmingham News and teaching materials at a significantly discounted rate. Classroom sets of the Electronic edition of The Birmingham News are provided at no cost to the school or teacher. Both the print and electronic editions of the newspaper are provided through generous corporate sponsors.
- Having access to timely content from the newspaper to use in all areas of their instructional programs.
- Enhancing teacher professional development and allowing them to earn Continuing Education Units through instructor programs and workshops.
Join NIE
To participate in our Newspaper in Education program , e-mail decholes@bhamnews.com. Our NIE Manager will provide you with lesson plans, guides and other teaching tools. In addition, the NIE manager will also visit your school, meet with individual teachers, the principal, or the faculty and give a brief presentation about the NIE program. When an NIE program is established at the school, teachers may schedule training sessions and demonstration classes to help use the newspaper most effectively in their classrooms.