Local news in the classroom: Weekly roundup May 21 – 27
Good afternoon,
I hope everyone’s final weeks of school are going smoothly. I know you’ve all worked so hard this year and that you’re looking forward to summer break. But before you break and you have a few minutes to answer a quick survey we created about the educator services we provided this year, we would greatly appreciate it.
Current events to use in your classroom
Explore the linked lesson plans below for simple ways to facilitate reflection on these local events. Interested in more stories? Browse all our recent coverage here.
LOCAL NEWS
‘Alarming’: UCSC budget cuts ‘affect the whole ecosystem’
By Hillary Ojeda
Even before the rolling effects of the Trump administration’s budget cuts were fully known, UCSC faculty members describe the possible breadth of the university’s cuts on teaching and learning on campus from its pre-existing budget deficit.
‘The governor is running for president’: Newsom’s homelessness critique finds few fans in Santa Cruz County
By Christopher Neely
Gov. Gavin Newsom wants local jurisdictions to “take back the sidewalks” from homeless encampments; leaders in Santa Cruz County have largely pushed back against what they say is mostly talk from the state’s top political leader.
Memorial Day 2025: What they died for then is still worth the fight now
By Wallace Baine
In recent years, Memorial Day has been misunderstood as a celebration of the military. It’s really a time to remember those who never came back and to find the relevance of their sacrifice to our lives today.
About 100,000 monkeys are captive in U.S. labs; we urge a shift to humane, human-based research
By Emily Talkington and Mikalah Singer
Over 100,000 monkeys are used in U.S. biomedical research and endure severe suffering with little benefit to human health, argue Santa Cruz wildlife veterinarian Emily Talkington and attorney Mikalah Singer. They call on Congress to halt funding for primate research and support the National Institutes of Health’s new initiative promoting human-based alternatives like organoids and tissue chips. They point to innovative engineering work at UC Santa Cruz to grow brain organoids from human cells and stress that research on primates is cruel. Modern methods offer more ethical and effective paths to medical progress, they write.
CALIFORNIA NEWS
U.S. Senate blocks California’s electric car mandate in historic vote
By Alejandro Lazo / CalMatters and Alejandra Reyes-Velarde / CalMatters
Thursday’s vote in Washington could upend California’s phaseout of gas-powered cars and its decadeslong battle against air pollution. Some experts say Congress’ move is illegal and is likely to trigger a court battle.
Student Stories
Student Stories
Student Stories is a place for students to have their voices heard by the community and the rest of Santa Cruz County. It is designed to showcase stories, events, clubs, and opinions authored by students in Santa Cruz County. Students can either submit ideas or completed stories. Learn more here and reach out if you have any questions.
Here is our prompt for this quarter: “If you can make any change to your community/city, what would it be? What sort of changes would you make and what would you like to see done? Shoot for at least one realistic idea and at least one idea that you think isn’t as realistic but you would still like to see at some point.”
News Quiz
Interactive Map News Quiz
A news quiz that tests students’ ability to quickly read, analyze, and synthesize information from multiple articles. This aims to familiarize students with Santa Cruz County by using Lookout’s interactive story map. Students will be prompted to find stories indicated by icons on the map, read the articles, and answer a series of questions. I built this in a way to lean into SAT and AP style tests. Check out the new news quiz by clicking here.
Lookout in the Classroom is proudly supported by:
EDUCATOR RESOURCES
Current Event Discussion Guide
- Our current event discussion guide is a great activity to engage with local news and can be used for any article. Below is the lesson plan and the bilingual guide.
- Current Event Discussion Guide Lesson Plan (PDF)
- Bilingual Current Event Discussion Guide (PDF)
Educator Page
- You can find more resources on our Educator Page, including a media literacy guide, specific new quizzes and more.
Reminder on student access
- If any of your students are having trouble with their free access, have them sign up for their free student membership with their personal email address at this link.
Thank you for all the hard work you do in the community and for supporting our educational programs, helping the younger generations learn media literacy skills, and become invested community members and democratic citizens. If you’d like to learn more about our school programs, get more involved or have any questions, please reach out.
Best,
Eetai