NovaNEWS is an international current events forum that gives students the opportunity to discuss a variety of issues on a supervised bulletin board. This collaborative learning environment enhances students' critical reading and thinking skills by encouraging them to analyze, discuss, and debate recent events in the world of politics, national and foreign affairs, economics, the environment, and even entertainment. It also improves the students' ability to express themselves through the written word by prompting them to write responses to a variety of thought-provoking questions.

Each of the articles selected for NovaNEWS is followed by a series of questions designed to promote critical thinking about challenging issues of the day.

This month's edition is titled "Aftermath of Arizona Shooting." It includes articles that focus on the recent shooting in Tucson, Arizona, which claimed the lives of six people and caused injuries to Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 14 other people. The articles discuss key issues surrounding the shooting, including the role that inflammatory rhetoric may have played, gun control, and the possible effects the shooting may have on the political climate of the United States. Students assess important aspects of these issues and are encouraged to come to their own conclusions about the effects the Arizona shooting may have on American society and politics.

The article "Attack Prompts Jolting Retreat to Civility" describes the early reactions to the shooting in Arizona. The article discusses the intense political rhetoric directed at the Obama administration and how some people believe that it may have contributed to the mass shooting in Arizona.

The article "Taking on Gun Lobby Proved Step Too Far for Obama" focuses on the issue of gun control in light of the recent shooting in Arizona. The article describes how the Arizona shooting has not caused much debate about gun control in Congress and offers possible reasons why President Obama and other politicians have been unwilling to challenge gun lobby groups.

And finally, the article "Obama Praised by Left and Right for Arizona Tone" reports on the speech given by President Obama at a memorial service for the victims of the Arizona shooting. It discusses how Obama has received praise for his speech by both Democrats and Republicans and speculates on the approach the Obama administration may take as a result of the shooting.

NovaNEWS resides as a lesson in every social studies alignment, as well as in the Additional Areas folder under Student Forums in the All Curricula location. NovaNEWS can be assigned alone or as part of a course. As with NovaKEYS, you might want to make NovaNEWS an initial assignment for your students. Once NovaNEWS is assigned, it is always available to students.