Category: Current Event Connection

“Current Event Connection” posts will connect educators with news stories and relevant discussion ideas featuring content from the NG Education website.

Current Event Connection, Geography In the News, Main

What Caused the ‘Shamrock Shake’?

SCIENCE This week, a small crack unzipped under the Santa Monica Mountains north of Los Angeles, waking millions of people with a magnitude 4.4 earthquake. (LiveScience) Feel the Earth move under your feet? Watch “Earthquakes 101” to understand why. Discussion Ideas Read through the short, great LiveScience article, then take a quick look at the overview of earthquakes in our “Forces of Nature” interactive. (Earthquakes are … Continue reading What Caused the ‘Shamrock Shake’?

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Current Event Connection, Geography In the News, Main

The Incredible Shrinking Planet

SCIENCE Like a raisin spinning around the sun, Mercury is shrinking and wrinkling. The planet is now about 14 kilometers (8.6 miles) smaller in diameter than it was nearly four billion years ago. (National Geographic News) Use our resources to learn more about Mercury and the other planets in our solar system. Discussion Ideas The Nat Geo News article mentions scarps and rupes—”Mercury’s version of … Continue reading The Incredible Shrinking Planet

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Current Event Connection, Geography In the News, Main

Bright Lights, Makati City

WORLD Makati City, known as the financial center of the Philippines, can now boast another distinction: It is the Selfie Capital of the World. (Time) Use our resources to explore self-identity through media. Discussion Ideas Watch our “picture of practice” video “Understanding Self through Media.” Seventh-grade teacher Karen Daley works to create “media-to-self and peer-to-self connections.” Adapt the classroom discussion for the Time article on … Continue reading Bright Lights, Makati City

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Current Event Connection, Geography In the News, Main

Shark Tracked Across the Atlantic

ENVIRONMENT Ever since researchers tagged a great white shark nicknamed Lydia off Jacksonville, Florida, a year ago, they’ve been keeping a close eye on her. Their vigilance was rewarded when the 907-kilogram (2,000-pound) fish became the first great white observed to cross the Atlantic Ocean. (National Geographic News) Use our resources to compare Lydia with other long-distance marine migrators. Discussion Ideas Take a look at … Continue reading Shark Tracked Across the Atlantic

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Current Event Connection, Geography In the News, Main

Volunteers Search Photos for Missing Jet

WORLD A new crowdsourcing platform is using satellite imagery to allow the public to help experts solve the mystery of what happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. (CNN) Use our resources to get acquainted with the Gulf of Thailand and Malacca Strait, where the missing jet may have veered off-course. Watch this video to see how planes and helicopters are searching for the missing plane … Continue reading Volunteers Search Photos for Missing Jet

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