By Malini Nathan

EACH week in a Pei Hwa Secondary School classroom, about 40 students discuss current affairs while poring over newspaper articles.

They then organise their thoughts in scrapbooks to demonstrate what they have learnt. It is how their teacher, Mr Tan Aik Fong, gets the whole class involved in grasping the myriad of global and local current events reported.

The use of media articles as a dynamic, relevant source for teaching will be among the tips and ideas teachers will share at The Straits Times' fourth annual Teachers Forum on Sept 24.

The session, which is free, will show how articles can be used to teach English, social studies as well as national education.

It will be split into primary and secondary school sections.

There will also be seven breakout sessions, led by eight teachers from primary and secondary schools, showcasing their lessons and strategies for incorporating newspapers into the curriculum.

Speakers will share how newspaper stories can help young learners prepare for examinations and analyse different types of text.

Educational consultant Sonia Sng, one of the forum presenters, said: 'Newspapers provide excellent language samples and can be used to craft worksheets in a very short time.'

Using articles as a springboard for e-learning, through the use of blogs, is another idea that will be shared at the forum.

Teachers from Canossa Convent Primary School will show how they developed a shared blog based on what pupils read in newspapers.

The forum will begin with two plenary sessions on the benefits of using authentic materials like newspapers to develop critical thinking.

They will be conducted by four speakers, including Mr Michael Muhunthan and Ms Esther Yeo, curriculum officers from the Ministry of Education's English language unit, as well as Mrs Soo Kim Bee, a gifted education officer from the ministry's education programmes division.

Mrs Soo said: 'Newspaper articles, carefully selected, provide worthy real-time content for engaged discussions and the teaching of critical thinking skills.'

The forum will be held at Da Qiao Primary School in Ang Mo Kio from 2pm to 5.30pm.

The first round of workshops will begin at 3.40pm, followed by another at 4.30pm.

Primary and secondary school principals, vice-principals, heads of department and teachers may sign up for up to two workshops, with places limited to two teachers per school.

Formal invitations to the event were sent to schools on Sept 4. Educators interested in signing up may call Ms Theresa Ling on 6319-2166 or Mr David Tan on 6319-1005. Alternatively, e-mail requests to davtan@sph.com.sg

This article was first published in The Straits Times.