As our regular readers know, the mission of this blog is to find New York Times content suitable for teaching and learning — then, via lesson plans,writing prompts, quizzes and more, suggest ways for teachers to use it.
In the course of our daily scavenging, we naturally pay close attention to the sections and features that most people think of first when they think “New York Times”: breaking news, Op-Eds and editorials, reviews, multimedia andphotojournalism, important special reports and, increasingly, video.
But we also regularly search a number of other, less well-known features of the paper that reliably yield curricular gold. When we present them at workshops and conferences, however, many teachers tell us they’re hearing about them for the first time.
Below, we’ve compiled our essential list, categorized by subject area. Under each feature’s name, we include the Times description for it in italics, then two recent classroom-worthy pieces as examples.
How do you use these features? What else would you add to our list? Let us know, below.
General
Screenshot of the Times Topics homepage on Jan. 9, 2014.Times Topics
Topic pages aggregate useful news, archival information, photos, graphics, audio and video published on thousands of topics covered in the New York Times.
Op-Docs
The New York Times editorial department’s forum for short, opinionated documentaries, produced with wide creative latitude and a range of artistic styles, covering current affairs, contemporary life and historical subjects.
Most Popular Lists
Articles most frequently emailed, viewed, blogged and tweeted. Two articles on the list this week:
Current Events, Civics and Politics
Times Minute
Top headlines from The Times throughout a day, explained in one-minute videos.
- Jan. 9, 2014, 12:18 pm: Chris Christie, Iraq and Mikaela Shiffrin
- Jan. 7, 2014, 12:15 pm: Polar Vortex, Run Run Shaw, S.N.L.
Room for Debate
The Times invites knowledgeable outside contributors to discuss news events and other timely issues.
Fixes
Fixes explores solutions to major social problems by examining creative initiatives that can tell us about the difference between success and failure.
The Stone
The Stone features the writing of contemporary philosophers and other thinkers on issues both timely and timeless.
History
Retro Report
A documentary series which re-examines leading stories of decades past.
Disunion: Civil War Blog and Interactive Timeline
Disunion uses contemporary accounts, diaries, images and historical assessments to follow the Civil War as it unfolded.
Obituaries, Last Word Videos and The Lives They Lived
Obituaries and other features about the deaths of notable people, with links to archival material.
- Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s Liberator as Prisoner and President,...
- Maurice Sendak, Author of Splendid Nightmares, Dies at 83
English Language Arts and Journalism
Julie Glassberg for The New York TimesSteven J. Backman, a toothpick artist, said: “Toothpicks are like people. Each one is different.”This profile is part of the Character Study series.Lives
Short, first-person pieces, published weekly on the back page of the New York Times Magazine.
Draft
Essays by grammarians, historians, linguists, journalists, novelists and others on the art of writing — from the comma to the tweet to the novel — and why a well-crafted sentence matters more than ever in the digital age.
Private Lives
Personal essays from writers around the globe, on the news of the world and the news of individual lives.
After Deadline
Newsroom notes on usage and style.
Character Study
Reporter Corey Kilgannon’s weekly column about the people who make New York what it is.
Maximum Shakespeare
An online discussion of the playwright and his works
The Public Editor’s Journal
Margaret Sullivan writes about the Times and its journalism, handles questions and comments from readers and investigates matters of journalistic integrity.
- Accuracy, Secrecy and Equality: What Mattered to Times Readers in 2013
- A ‘Powerful’ Image of Breast Cancer Offends Some Times Readers
Science and Health
Science Take
Short, engaging videos about scientific phenomena.
Really?
Anahad O’Connor investigates the facts behind common claims.
- The Claim: Musicians have a greater risk of hearing loss.
- The Claim: Drinking Extra Fluids Helps Beat a Cold
Q. and A.
What would kill you if you fell into a black hole? C. Claiborne Ray answers questions like these from readers of the Science section.
Well
Tara Parker-Pope reports on medical science, nutrition, fitness and family health.
Times Health Guide
More than 3,000 topics described, illustrated and investigated.
Math, Economics and Finance
Sketch Guy: Personal Finance on a Napkin
In a series of back-of-the-napkin drawings, a financial planner explains the basics of money through simple graphs and diagrams.
Crosswords and Games
A daily crossword, plus these other daily games:
Numberplay
Mathematical or logical problems, with occasional forays into physics and other branches of science.
Economix
Explaining the science of everyday life.
Arts
Film |Anatomy of a Scene
Directors offer behind-the-scenes narration on their films.
Photography | Lens
A blog featuring photography, video and visual journalism from Times photographers, other news organizations and around the Web.
Photography | The Lively Morgue
A Tumblr blog showcasing photographs from The Times’s archives.
Drawings and Op-Art | Abstract Sunday
Christoph Niemann’s illustrated reflections of life.
Education, Family and Leadership
Michal Czerwonka for The New York TimesManny Roque lived in seven foster homes and attended five high schools but is now enrolled at Los Angeles City College. Read a related article, from Education Life.Education Life
A quarterly Times supplement, focusing on higher education.
Motherlode
Raising healthy, happy, well-adjusted kids isn’t easy. Motherlode covers it all — homework, sex, child care, eating habits, sports, technology, the work-family balance and much more.
Corner Office
Adam Bryant offers highlights from conversations about leadership and management.
