Writing Class Lesson Plan

Newspapers

Background

Teacher: Rebecca Roberts
Class Description:This lesson plan was designed for an intermediate level writing class at the ELC consisting of 15 adult students.
Focus Skill:Newspaper/ article design.

Organization:

This unit is organized to allow the teacher to select from the available resources rather than as a step-by-step lesson plan. Each new lesson should build on the last and include a warm-up activity from the previous day's activities or another of the suggested ideas. Students should also be assigned appropriate application activities each day. It is intended that this is a unit of at least four periods of about 65 minutes each.

Goals:

  1. Students will become more familiar with the layout and style of newspapers and will produce their own papers in groups of 3-4 people.
  2. Students will produce articles for the ELC newsletter.

Teaching Objectives:

Students will be able to:
  1. Determine the format of a newspaper and efficiently find specific information by using the index and other features of the paper to help them.
  2. Determine the style of newspaper articles and write their own articles.
  3. Be able to use jargon related to newspapers in class conversation.
  4. Demonstrate an understanding of the kinds of knowledge found in a newspaper by creating their own newspapers in groups.

Evaluation:

A number of activities in this unit can be used in summative evaluations of the student's knowledge and skills. The final evaluation of the teaching objectives will come from the finished paper produced by the groups and the individual articles written by each of the students. It may be valuable to have the students hand in written evaluations of their own performances in relation to the production of their newspaper/ newsletter.

Equipment and Materials:

To organize before class:

Helpful Resource:
Creating a Classroom Newspaper, DESERET NEWSpaper in Education,
P.O. Box 1257, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110 (237-2140)
Contains these resources as mentioned in the lesson plan:

Master copies included at the end of this unit:

Suggested Warm-up Activities:

(Please note that the days are only suggestions. You may want to also tie in something from your previous day's lesson.)

Day 1
Introduce the new newspaper topic by playing 21 questions (only answer "yes" or "no" to the students questions: uses closed question technique). You may want to use this activity to explain the mixtures of open-ended and closed questions that reporters use to glean information.
(3-5 minutes)

Day 2
Newspaper joke: "What's black and white and read all over." ELC Newsletter has a joke for the week. They might like to find appropriate jokes or create a comic strip over the next two days to include in their paper. Find the jokes or something humorous in today's paper and share with a partner.
(5 minutes)

Day3
Ask if anyone came up with any good jokes for their newspapers. Have students share with the class.
(5 Minutes)

Day 4
Share a couple of paragraphs from a feature article from the NY Times (or other major paper) and ask students to name as many of the 5Ws as possible.
(5 minutes)

Practice Activities with Evaluation:

(These activities are in a suggested order)

A. "The 5 Ws"

If you are new to the class or there is a new student in the class you may want to use them in this activity. Introduce yourself or the new student to the class by having the students ask questions using the '5 Ws' (open ended questioning technique). Use the five cards (included at the end of the unit) to elicit as many questions from each of the "5 Ws" as possible, e.g., Some possible "where" questions may include: Where are you from?; Where did you go to school?; Where did you spend your summer vacation?; Where does your family live at the moment? Encourage each member of the class to ask at least one question.
(7-10 minutes)

B. "Newspaper Scavenger Hunt"

Give a copy of the Newspaper Scavenger Hunt worksheet (included at the end of this unit) to students in pairs. The purpose of this activity is to check the students' prior knowledge and help familiarize them with the university newspaper. Have students suggest answers and check sheets together in class.
(10-15 minutes)

C. "8 Newspaper Terms"

Discuss 8 newspaper terms on the overhead. Have the students identify each of the features in their own newspapers as we work. Turn off the OHP and read the definitions out to the students in a random order. Ask them to identify each of the terms as a class.
(5-7 minutes)

D. "Domino Activity"

Copy the Domino Activity master sheet onto colored card and cut along all horizontal lines and the one vertical line as shown on the sheet. By matching the correct terms with their definitions the students should be able to make a complete circle with the cards, i.e., The last card should join with the first card if they have matched all terms correctly. You may like to make enough sets for each student to complete the task as an evaluation activity. Check for accuracy as the students complete the game and then read through as a class.
(5 minutes)

E. "Style of Newspaper Articles"

You may like to complete this the day after assigning the Day 1 application activity. Ask students what they noticed about the positioning of the '5 Ws' in the article. The first four inches of the article (or about the first paragraph) are supposed to hold most of the information so that the editor can cut the article anywhere. Read a few paragraphs of a current news story out loud to the class and have them identify answers to the '5 Ws'. Pont out that the 'how' questions are usually answered after the first couple of paragraphs. Show the students a diagram of the inverted pyramid style of newspaper writing.
(10 minutes)

F. "Roles of Reporters and Editors"

Briefly discuss the jobs of editors and reporters. Students are to take on both roles in the group exercise coming up. They will each write articles and make critical evaluations of each other's articles. Brainstorm some ideas and current issues that students could write about on the board. Have students select at least three ideas that they really like and record them in their notes. If the students in your class are familiar with cognitive organizers, you may like to have them use a fishbone graph or mind map to help them organize their ideas and help them to see which topic they would have the most interest in and ideas about.
(10-15 minutes)

G. "Criteria for Selecting a Newsworthy Story"

Introduce students to the "Criteria for Selecting a Newsworthy Story." Use this to help them decide which of their three ideas would be most suitable for them to write about. This handout also has a HW task which you may like to assign the students. Students are to write the first draft of their feature article and check it in preparation for tomorrow's class.
(10 minutes + 30 minutes for writing)

H. "Newspaper Production"

Reintroduce the jobs of reporters and editors and list features of these jobs on the board. Explain that today we will get into groups where the students will have to edit other people's work. Have students organize themselves into groups of 3 or 4 people.
(5 minutes)

I. "Student Editing of Draft Articles"

Display the inverted pyramid on the board again. Once in groups each student will list the '5Ws and How' down a page in their journals. They will swap paper with another student in their group and try to find answers to all of these 6 questions. They will need to check for the inverted pyramid style as well as punctuation, grammar and spelling. Then they will give written/ verbal feedback to the 'reporter' and make suggestions which the reporter may or may not use in the second draft.
(10-15 minutes)

J. "Planning Meeting"

Students are to work through the Reporter's Notebook activity sheet in their groups of 3-4 people to help them plan some of the basics of their newspaper. They will also use the "Criteria for Selecting a Newsworthy Story" to help them decide how to arrange their paper. Students will need to discuss other things that they will include in their paper and may start working on the layout. Check on the students as they work in their groups and make sure they are clear about what to do. Check the reporter's notebook to see that they have a clear outline for their paper.
(30-40 minutes)

K. "Production"

You may want to book sessions in a computer lab to allow students to produce and present professional looking newspapers/ newsletters. They should present a final product that is easy to read and attractively set out. They should make copies for each member of the class.
(40-60 minutes)

L. "Sharing and feedback"

Students should present copies of their newspaper/ newsletter to each member in the class. You may like them to give an oral presentation introducing their paper and talking about the types of articles and features they decided to include and why. Students in the class may like to offer positive feedback and give their first impressions of the paper.
(30+ minutes)

M. "Critique"

As an extension application activity you may like to have students write a critique on the newspaper/ newsletter of another group. You may feel it best to have the critique be a personal reaction that is only to be seen by the student and you or it may be a valuable sharing and evaluation exercise to have students critically evaluate other newspapers. It depends on the type of atmosphere in your classroom and the relationships of the students.
(30+ minutes)

Application Activities:

(The days are suggested as they correspond to the warm-up activities.)

Day 1
Assign students to find the '5 Ws' and 'how' and highlight them in two articles tonight. They are also to brainstorm three ideas that they would like to write about for their newspaper articles.
(5 minutes)

Day 2
Students are to read at least two articles and be prepared to give a brief summary in class tomorrow (to a group or the whole class).

Day 3
Students will need time to work on the drafts of their articles to have ready for class tomorrow.

Day 4
Have the students read and make notes about things they like and perhaps things that they think would improve the newspapers of other groups.

Extension Activity Ideas

Activity Materials

"The Five W's" Cards

Who?

What?

Why?

Where?

When?

How ?

Newspaper Scavenger Hunt

Complete this activity with a partner as quickly as you can. Record your answers accurately. You do not have to use full sentences.

  1. Get a copy of 'The Daily Universe'.
  2. Write down the high and low temperatures for today. High--------Low-----------
    Where did you find this information?
    Where else could you find this information?
  3. How many sections does today's newspaper have?
  4. Name something that is on sale. On what page did you find this information?
  5. Write down one headline from the front page.
  6. Write the name of two reporters who work for this newspaper.
  7. Give the names of two cartoons in this paper.
  8. How many pages does today's newspaper have?
  9. Name something to eat that you found in the paper.
  10. Where else could you read articles from this newspaper?
  11. Name two ways that the front page is made to look interesting.
  12. Which article do you think is the most important on the front page? Write the name here:
  13. Why do you think that the article you chose in #13 is the most important article? Give two reasons.
  14. Write down two things that you think might be in other papers that you couldn't find in this one.

Newspaper Terms

(Copy onto an overhead or make into handouts for the students)

Flag

A newspaper's name as it appears at the top of the first page.

News Story

An article written in the newspaper.

Jump

To continue a story from one page to another.

Dateline

Words at the beginning of a story that give the story's place of origin.

Byline

The reporter's name which appears at the head of a news story.

Index

This tells you where to find information in the newspaper.

Outline/ Caption

The explanation under a picture or piece of art.

Ear

Information written on either side of the flag.




Domino Activity Sheet

(Copy onto cardstock and cut along all horizontal lines and the middle vertical line)

When students match the correct vocabulary word from one card with the caption from another, a full loop of domino cards should be able to be formed.

The explanation under a picture or piece of art.

Flag

A newspaper's name as it appears at the top of the first page.

Dateline

Words at the beginning of a story that give the story's place of origin

News Story

An article written in the newspaper.

Byline

The reporter's name which appears at the head of a news story.

Jump

To continue a story from one page to another.

Index

This tells you where to find information in the newspaper.

Ear

Information written on either side of the flag.

Outline/Caption





The Inverted Pyramid Style of a Newspaper Article


News articles are written with most of the important information contained in the first few paragraphs of a story. This is to allow the editor of a newspaper to cut the story to fit into the available space on the page. Many people only read the first few paragraphs of news stories unless the story is of particular interest to them. It is important that as much information as possible is given in the first few paragraphs.

Who? What? Where?
When?

Why?

How?






Criteria for Selecting a Newsworthy Story


Think about these ideas in choosing your story idea. Which criteria do you think your story meets?



f Assignment:
Out of the three ideas you considered for homework, chose the one that you think would be the best for you to write about. Write the first draft for homework tonight. Don't forget to use the 'Inverted Pyramid' style in your writing. Your article should be at least five paragraphs long (but remember not to put any really important information at the end as it may have to be cut). Look at articles in the newspaper if you need to see how they are written again. If you have any photographs or pictures relating to your story, please bring them along too.