Welcome to the WORLD News Group family!
We come into the world eager to understand it. Maturing from early childhood to adulthood is a process that involves accessing information and learning to filter and apply it. WORLD News Group recognizes the stages of development in that process and offers age-appropriate products to help maximize learning as well as the development of biblical wisdom.
As adults, our primary source of knowledge about the world and culture where God has placed us is news media. But so much of the news is tragic, discouraging, and even misrepresented. How do we consume the news appropriately, sift it for truth, and find ways to apply it to real life effectively? All year round, our editors bring readers news events with specific biblical applications, leading early readers to discover, young independent readers to explore, young teens to discern, and those approaching adulthood to apply. The good news underlying every story is that God is working His purposes out in all things, and He uses His people to bring about His kingdom work on Earth.
How to Use WORLDteen
Know What’s Real
Pre-teens and young teenagers are beginning to develop the ability for abstract thought. The base of knowledge they have acquired from the God’s Big WORLD and WORLDkids years gives them some context for world news events, but now they are beginning to form opinions about those events. Young teens want to know what it means, why it matters, and how events work together.
WORLDteen editors select news that gives young teens the opportunity to develop discernment while becoming more aware of world issues. Content becomes more challenging, often comparing different angles and allowing readers to grapple with their own conclusions.
What you will find: WORLDteen helps move 11- to 14-year-olds from knowledge to wisdom.
Perspective: Every story in WORLDteen is written from an underlying biblical perspective, often integrated into the story. This integration is intentional, so that young teens begin to pick up on the subtlety of perspective that is implicit in communication—further enabling them to discern for themselves as they mature.
Content and Arrangement: Similar to an adult news publication, WORLDteen content is grouped into sections called Topics. Topics cover economics, civics, popular culture, geography, technology, and more. Each bi-monthly issue offers much variety while the website simultaneously presents many more stories that are not in print, keeping young teens engaged even when the magazine has been consumed.
Timeliness: News Bytes online are updated every weekday, so there is always fresh news for young teens to think about. News is always happening, and WORLDteen is on top of appropriate world events for today’s young people.
More Visual Content: If it’s true that a picture is worth a thousand words, young teens will find each story dramatically expanded with the accompanying slide shows on the WORLDteen website. Scrolling through several images with informative captions develops visual literacy while rounding out their reading.
Comment option: Young teens can practice expressing their opinions and responses by commenting on the stories online. They can engage in positive debate and discussion with their peers, helping to ready them for the exchange of ideas they will participate in as young adults. This option is available only to registered WORLDteen members.
Quizzes: Each topic includes a quiz to test your young teens’ reading comprehension and application. Results with a graded score let you see quickly how much they retain.
Teaching Guide and Worksheets: Helpful Teaching Guides corresponding to the current WORLDteen issue are available online and by email. The guides include example lessons, pacing recommendations, and printable worksheets to aid your current events instruction.
As teens mature, consider using WORLD magazine. Older teens and adults are ready to interact in their world. WORLD offers full-coverage news with hard-hitting content for those ready to take on the real and often difficult issues of the day, and apply a biblical response.
Tips for Parents and Teachers:
1) Let young teens read alone. At this age, they are developing an independence to sift and grasp the content themselves.
2) You may want to set a schedule for discussing or using the content. We suggest the following each week: Every day, check the website for that morning’s News Byte. Then read one of the main news stories from a given topic section until all four have been covered, Monday through Thursday. On Friday, read the day’s News Byte, take the quiz for that topic, and complete a worksheet.
3) Consider how your family’s faith would respond to each story situation. Seek opportunities to discuss together.
4) Encourage your young teens to explore the slide shows online, and to engage in respectful debate or discussion with their peers in the comments section following each story.
5) Ask teens what they think about the news rather than telling them what to think. Affirm the positive. Gently correct or redirect if needed.
6) Remind young teens that God loves them and is in control of all world events. He has promised to work all things for good. Point out how He uses His people to respond to difficulty with mercy and justice.
7) Refer to the Teaching Guide for ideas on further Christian worldview application, and then expand to create your own together with your young teens.
