Common Sense Media Review
By Polly Conway
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
PBS site gives kids reasons to care about the news.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
What's It About?
PBS NEWSHOUR CLASSROOM is a website that provides news for kids and resources for teachers. An offshoot of the daily TV program PBS NewsHour, its mission is "to help high school students understand world events and national issues and answer the question 'why should I care?' about the news." The site is broken down into sections: Lesson Plans, Articles, Student Voices, Video, and Subject Areas. Click the i next to any heading, and a little window with more information pops up. The Student Reporting Labs contain student-generated news reports about how national and global issues affect local communities. Journalism training curriculum is available for teachers to use (including Jim Lehrer's "10 Rules of Journalism," which includes tenets such as, "Assume the viewer is as smart and as caring and as good a person as I am"). Kids also can suggest ideas or send their own content by filling out and submitting a form, although it's unclear what they must do next to complete the process.
Is It Any Good?
Kids who might find the regular PBS NewsHour boring will be pleasantly surprised by PBS NewsHour Classroom. It covers the same issues, but it makes the content livelier and provides extra context. Without oversimplifying content, the site shares news in a straightforward manner and takes kids' perspectives into consideration. It also organizes content into special lesson plans tailored to kids' particular interests. For example, the feature "Neuroscience and Zombies" includes materials explaining how zombies' brain chemistry differs from humans'. The site isn't flashy, but it has a clean interface that's easy for kids to navigate without getting overwhelmed.
Website Details
- Subjects : Language & Reading : discussion , forming arguments , reading , Social Studies : events , global awareness , government , Arts : film , music
- Skills : Thinking & Reasoning : asking questions , making conclusions , thinking critically , Emotional Development : perspective taking , Communication : listening , Collaboration : respecting other viewpoints , Responsibility & Ethics : honoring the community , Tech Skills : evaluating media messages , social media
- Genre : Educational
- Pricing structure : Free
- Last updated : April 21, 2026
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