A popular KS2 QCA unit is What’s in the News and at KS3 pupils should be taught “places and environments in the news”. GCSE and A-level students are encouraged to use topical examples. At its simplest, they could plot the location of the different stories on a world map. At KS3 pupils should learn about the significance of the International Date Line - one country’s breakfast news is another country’s teatime news. Some interesting details are given about the weather. At KS3, this information could be plotted and the pattern explained. January 29 saw limited tectonic activity but an earthquake in Dudley is newsworthy! Why are earthquakes unusual in Britain but common in Costa Rica?
