Current Events- Kids should know the world around them

Kids should know the world around them. So why not create an assignment that makes them learn about just that- their world. This activity is a Photo Activity. In this activity students are to find a photo a look at it answering question so that they can better understand the story behind it. In my class we were to do just that. For my picture, I chose to go online to CNN.com, but for a classroom I feel that a collection of local newspapers would be a great resource. Those papers are better used in a classroom than as wrapping paper anyway.

After students locate a picture- present them a list of questions to answer. These questions are to help them investigate deep into the meaning of the photo. They absolutely may go beyond these basic questions.

Here is a list of questions you may wish to ask:

1. What do you see? (factual items)
2. What can you infer?
3. What is the real "story"?
4. How does this story relate to your life?
5. What else do you want to know about the picture that the description/article doesn't tell you?

Here is an example of the assignment as I completed it.

Click here to see the picture I used for my assignment.

1. A Dog lying next to a grave in what looks to be a massive cemetery.
2. The dog was probably owned by the person's grave he is laying by. Something must have caused all of these people to die.
3. The story, "After the death toll from devastating flooding in Brazil continues to rise, a single picture derives home the sense of loss. Leao, a medium-sized brown mutt, lies next to the grave of her owner... who died in the catastrophic landslides caused by heave rain... At least 655 deaths were reported in a mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro state, northeast of the city of Rio" (CNN Wire Staff, 2011).
4. Death in general relates to all life (though I personally have not had to deal with it much in my life.) Also the loyalty of the dog relates to my life. I have a German Shepherd and she means a lot to me.
5. I am just curious if this flooding is common in this area. I also want to know were the people warned about the flooding or was it a flash flood? How did the dog know that her owner was buried at that exact spot. And lastly, how did the dog manage to survive?