Give your students access to trusted, reliable, and credible sources for news, current events, and research. Do you have students working on a research paper? Are they keeping up with the news to build reading and critical thinking skills? It's easy for students to go astray and get duped by untrustworthy, deceptive news sources or research studies. This list will point students in the right direction, toward sites and apps with vetted, fact-based, and fact-checked work. There are kid-friendly news sites and apps that adapt journalism to different reading levels and kids' sensibilities as well as primary and secondary research resources from leading institutions like the Smithsonian and NASA. We've also curated a few well-known sites and apps for older kids and adults like the New York Times and NPR. Of course, all news has some measure of bias, so it's important to combine reading these news sources with news literacy lessons.
Tons of climate change info from expert sources in one easy place
Bottom Line: This is a one-stop shop for climate change info, from basic intro content to practical guides and raw data; good for middle schoolers and up.
Trusty podcast app has quality content but lacks learning supports
Bottom Line: An enticing free option for connecting current events to content through podcasts, but student engagement hinges on how you incorporate it.
Bottom Line: This is a robust resource for real and accessibly-written news stories students, but don't expect interactive elements or supporting materials.
Digital news source builds literacy and measures progress
Bottom Line: A top-notch digital news source with interactive features; a good tool to add value as students learn critical-thinking and close-reading skills.
Powerful stories and media centralize African-American history
Bottom Line: While there aren't ready-to-go curricular materials, this modern, well-curated, and well-contextualized digital collection is sure to inspire compelling lessons.
Dig into famed library's collection of research goodies
Bottom Line: The Library of Congress delivers the best of America's past and present, and with teacher support it could be a reliable research resource for students.
Stellar museum-based resources available for exploration and use
Bottom Line: This high-quality collection of museum resources -- ranging from artifacts to full-blown exhibits -- provides unlimited exploration for students, reliable primary sources for teachers.
Access U.S. history with treasure trove of docs, genealogy, and other resources
Bottom Line: NARA's website wasn't designed for kids, but they can definitely use it to research and learn about history, genealogy, and the U.S. population and government.
Well-curated art and history site inspires curious learning
Bottom Line: A beautifully presented one-stop shop for compellingly curated and contextualized art, history, and culture resources, but it's lacking educator supports.
Extensive resource collection supports teaching about the Holocaust
Bottom Line: As a valuable resource for anyone teaching or learning about the Holocaust, time to explore and plan is necessary in order to make the materials effective.
History and art intersect on the Met's vast, reading-centric site
Bottom Line: This resource from the Metropolitan Museum of Art beautifully illustrates art's evolution and is great for research, but more interactivity would help balance out the text-heavy content.
Civics site offers building blocks for meaningful dialogue
Bottom Line: This site meaningfully promotes dialogue rather than argument, and collects a lot of resources you might normally have to curate yourself.
News site offers a useful platform for research, critical thinking
Bottom Line: With some cautious supervision and adept guidance from teachers, this is a good tool for seeking, reading, and evaluating stories from multiple sources.
