First News – current affairs and teaching literacy

First News is the UK’s only newspaper for young people and the widest-read children’s publication in the country, with almost half of primary schools subscribing to it. In response to primary teachers saying they wanted to make better use of current affairs as a tool to teach literacy, First News are now developing the Hub.

The Hub is a digital news and activity tool, with the overall aim of exciting children about reading and building their literacy skills through comprehensions, word puzzles and topical debates. Content will be updated weekly and linked to coverage in the First News newspaper, adding to the fantastic archive of resources available to pupils from Years 2 to 6 to help them extend their core literacy skills. Children will be able to earn points and badges to work their way up score tables, and teachers will be able to track each child’s progress.

We are working to support First News with this excellent resource by positioning it as a valuable tool for improving literacy in primary education. For more information on the excellent work First News is doing to transform the ways in which literacy is taught in the classroom, take a look at their website and register your interest.