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Building Wings

News Currents® is the ONLY Inclusive Educator-Led Current Events Program for Learners in Grades 3-12+.

Overview
Benefits
Features
Pricing
News Currents by Building Wings logo in several shades of blue with an illustration of a globe.

News Currents® is the ONLY Inclusive
Educator-Led Current Events 
Program for Learners in Grades 3-12+

Free Samples
News Currents sample instructional materials including features stories, where in the world and a word jumble.

Develop Citizens of the World Through Differentiated Current Events Instruction with News Currents®

Teaching current events helps learners develop critical thinking skills, understand different perspectives, and become informed citizens of the world.  Lessons that incorporate news articles  are also a way to incorporate nonfiction text, and develop communication and language skills.

Sharing news about a discovery in space, animal behavior, or a sports achievement can be used by educators to foster communication and classroom engagement. Providing background knowledge about current and world events helps all learners in reading comprehension, can be applied across subject areas, and prepares learners to participate in discussions in classrooms and with peers.

News Currents® is an online current events program designed for special education and inclusive classrooms.

Each week, educators receive ready-to-use current events lessons with adapted news articles, videos, and instructional slides. Built-in, educator-led supports help students with diverse and complex learning needs build background knowledge, develop vocabulary, and actively participate in meaningful discussions about real-world events.

Benefits of Using News Currents®

Blue icon with illustrations of multiple heads to depict how News Currents Accommodates ALL Learners.

Accommodate ALL Learners

Instructional materials are provided at multiple levels to provide differentiated instruction and equitable access to the same instruction by all learners, including those who are non-speaking using the Newstopia portal.

Blue icon with illustration of a person juggling books, a globe and a graduation cap depicting how News Currents builds background knowledge.

Background Knowledge

Expand knowledge of the world for reading comprehension and global awareness including geography, cultures, government, people in the news, history, science and nature.

Blue icon with white conversation bubbles depicting how News Currents facilitates communication and discussion.

Communication and Discussion

Encourage critical thinking skills and communication through educator-led discussion. Engaging topics help learners share opinions and learn about different perspectives.

Blue icon with an illustration of a hand holding a clock depicting educator efficiency.

Educator Efficiency

Teach current events with done-for-you instructional materials, saving educators time and providing consistency of instruction.
Blue icon with illustrations of five hands depicting student engagement with Newstopia.

Learner Engagement

Provide a platform for learners to become citizens of the world through civic engagement and discussion of national and world events.

Blue icon with an illustration of a book with A-Z on the cover depicting how News Currents builds vocabulary.

Vocabulary Development

Provide repetition with variety to increase understanding of word uses and meanings. Learners learn related vocabulary in context in multiple formats with visual support.

Illustration of a laptop with a screenshot of an article on wildfires from the MyNewstopia.com website

Real-World News for Special Education Classrooms

Connect classroom learning to real-world events with a weekly current events curriculum designed for special education. News Currents provides age-respectful, engaging news for students, helping build background knowledge, expand vocabulary, and support meaningful classroom discussion. Each week, educators get ready-to-use lessons that replace passive worksheets with interactive, multimedia learning experiences. By combining real-world topics with literacy-focused instruction, News Currents helps students with diverse learning needs stay engaged, improve comprehension, and connect what they learn to the world around them.

Multimedia Resources

Screenshot from the Newstopia product website showing an example of the rich media resources including this video of a volcano.

Each lesson integrates age-respectful, engaging multimedia including videos, instructional slideshows, and authentic photos to support comprehension and connection. Grounded in research-based literacy practices, News Currents prioritizes text-based learning while using visual supports to enhance access without replacing the critical role of alphabetic reading. The result is an inclusive, educator-led program that supports diverse learners while keeping literacy at the center.

Critical Thinking

Screenshot of one of the pieces of instructional materials within Newstopia - an interactive document with questions about map directions to promote critical thinking.
News Currents encourages critical thinking skills by prompting students through teacher-led discussions. Additional lessons are provided to get the most out of every story without valuable time spent by a classroom teacher to connect these articles to standards based learning.

Teacher Resources and Support for Special Education

Providing comprehensive teacher resources for special education, including ready-to-use lesson plans, weekly instructional materials, and built-in professional development support. Educators and Literacy teams get practical tools to plan faster, implement with confidence, and deliver engaging, standards-aligned current events instruction that supports diverse learners and strengthens literacy outcomes.

Real-World Application

An examples of the real-world application instructional materials within Newstopia - a diagram of a neighborhood, a key and a compass
News Currents emphasizes the application of knowledge to real-life scenarios. Students are encouraged to identify connections between classroom learning and their own experiences, fostering a deeper sense of relevance.

Reinforcing Secondary Transition Planning

An example of how Newstopia empowers transitional learners - a life skill lesson using a Yellowstone visitor guide
Stepping beyond the K-12 environment is a pivotal moment, especially for exceptional learners. With thoughtfully developed lessons, News Currents provides a love of learning and cultivates essential life skills. Through engaging personalized lessons and a comprehensive approach to real-world events, News Currents provides a bridge for success. Empower your secondary transition program with tools that enhance communication, critical thinking and global understanding.

Interactive Weekly Lessons for Special Education

An example of an Interactive Lesson within Readtopia with images and informative text about the Yellowstone National Park

Delivers interactive, standards-aligned weekly lessons designed for special education classrooms. Each lesson build background knowledge, strengthens vocabulary, and supports comprehension through discussions, projects, and multimedia activities. Educators can replace worksheets with engaging, real-world learning experiences that make meaningful connections across subjects like science, social studies, and current events.

Inclusive Education

A black and white iimage with text: Focal Pop - this is a video element that is included in Newstopia to provide optimized video images for students with CVI and visual disabilities.
Recognizing the diverse needs of learners, News Currents articles are designed to be inclusive. We provide resources that support students with different learning styles and abilities.

Global Awareness

A screenshot from Newstopia with images of Yellowstone National Park
News Currents promotes a global perspective by covering a wide range of topics from different parts of the world. This helps students gain cultural awareness and a broader understanding of global interconnectedness.

Lifelong Learning

By nurturing curiosity and a passion for learning, News Currents instills a lifelong love for knowledge and encourages students to stay informed and engaged even beyond their formal education.

News Currents® Story Features

  • Current Events
  • Destinations
  • This Week in History
  • Time Capsule
  • Where in the World?

News Currents Pricing

News Currents subscribers also have access to Newstopia.

Individual Educator

$225 USD / year
(per educator)

Homeschool/Parents: If you’d like to bring News Currents into your home, call us at 847-238-8889 for a discounted license
Inquire Now

School District or
Organization

5-30%
Savings

Discounts are
available for
districts/facilities with
multiple licenses or who select multi-year options.

INQUIRE NOW

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Karen A. Erickson, Ph.D.​

Karen A. Erickson, Ph.D. is Director of the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies at University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill. Her focus is on understanding the best ways to assess and teach reading and writing to children with the most severe disabilities. As a special education teacher, Dr. Erickson has worked to support students with a range of disabilities in a variety of classroom settings, particularly students who do not use speech as their primary means of communication.

Website: https://www.med.unc.edu/ahs/clds

Author Profile: https://products.brookespublishing.com/cw_Contributorinfo.aspx?ContribID=110&Name=Karen+Erickson,Ph.D.​

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