The Bottom Line
Pros
- Engages tweens and encourages interest in current events, world news, etc.
- Timely articles are updated and published throughout the week
- Offers a teacher section to incorporate the site into lesson plans and research
- Tweens can comment on stories, publish stories and photos, and make requests
- Part of the Newspapers-in-Education program
Cons
- Not as well known as other sites such as Scholastic.com or WeeklyReader.com
Description
- News is presented from a tween's perspective.
- Articles are timely and updated Monday through Friday, giving the site a fresh appearance.
- Includes a mix of stories, from celebrity news to hard-hitting news stories.
Guide Review - Children's Websites - A Review of TweenTribune.com
Part of the Newspapers-in-Education program, this children's website uploads several timely stories each weekday for tweens to read and consider. Stories are chosen by tweens and journalists.
The idea behind TweenTribune is to encourage tweens to want to know more about the world and to foster a habit of daily news reading.
Topics covered by the site include animals, art, books, entertainment, fashion, food and health, national news, odd news, technology, tweens in the news, and more.
Stories published by TweenTribune are open for comment, and comments are moderated before publishing, making the site kid and family-friendly.
In addition to the Teacher Section, the site gives newspapers and television stations the opportunity to use the site's interface to upload their own daily stories for viewing.
Other children's educational websites may be better known, but they tend to format their sites on a magazine's template, with occasional updates and periodic issues. TweenTribune's format mimics a daily newspaper, with quick reaction to news, events, and issues of the day.
