Grades

Lesson Plan Type

Estimated Time

Lesson Author

35
Unit
Ten 50-minute sessions

Laurie A. Henry, Ph.D.

Lexington, Kentucky

Publisher

Preview

OVERVIEW
Students will enjoy this creative, exciting, and stimulating lesson in writing as they create
authentic newspaper stories. As they are transformed into reporters and editors, they will become
effective users of ICT in order to publish their own classroom newspaper. Various aspects of
newspapers are covered, including parts of a newspaper, writing an article, online newspapers,
newspaper reading habits, and layout and design techniques.
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FEATURED RESOURCES

Printing Press: In this online interactive tool, your students can choose the "newspaper"
option to help them complete their newspaper section.

Newspaper Story Format: Your students will find completing their newspaper article a
snap by first filling out this useful handout that helps them identify each key element of
an authentic newspaper article.

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FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE

Lund, D.M., & Sanderson, D.A. (1999). From printed page to multimedia: Evolution of a
second-grade class newspaper. Reading Online. Available:
http://www.readingonline.org/articles/art_index.asp?HREF=lund/index.html.

Encouraging children to read and write in ways that allow them to make sense of real
language in real contexts is more likely to help them develop the skills necessary to
become fluent readers and writers. Creation of a class newspaper provides such a real
context, and thus makes an excellent choice as the basis for a project designed with this
goal in mind.

Use of the computer motivates students to learn and students' attitudes toward the
newspaper genre are affected by active participation in the production of an authentic and
original newspaper of their own.

Abilities in formal writing are best developed with a "process approach" that goes
through five distinct phases: prewriting, composing or drafting, revising, editing, and
publishing. Using this approach helps students more fully understand the process of
producing formal written documents, such as magazines and newspapers.

NCTE/IRA NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

ARTS
4.
Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style,
vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

5.
Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process
elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

6.
Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and
punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss
print and nonprint texts.

8.
Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases,
computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate
knowledge.

11.
Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of
literacy communities.

MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGY

Computer lab with Internet access

Multimedia software

Access to a library of images/graphics

Scanner (optional)

Digital camera (optional)

Deadline! From News to Newspaper by Gail Gibbons (HarperCollins, 1987)

The Furry News: How to Make a Newspaper by Loreen Leedy (Holiday House, 1993)

Freddy and the Bean Home News by Walter R. Brooks (Puffin, 2002)

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STUDENT INTERACTIVES

Grades K 12 | Student Interactive | Writing & Publishing Prose

Printing Press
The interactive Printing Press is designed to assist students in creating newspapers, brochures,
and flyers.

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PRINTOUTS

Inverted Pyramid Format

Newspaper Story Format

Story Feedback Form

Newspaper Writing Assessment

Reporting Tips

Reporter's Guide

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WEBSITES

Junior Seahawk Newsletter

Internet Public Library (Access to newspapers worldwide)

Grandview Newspaper lesson plan

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PREPARATION
*Prerequisite skills: Familiarization with an appropriate multimedia software program

1. Review and bookmark sample of classroom newsletters from Websites list. Review and
bookmark the Internet Public Library website.
2. Obtain copies of books from Materials and Technology list, and secure copies of local,
state, and/or national newspapers (at least 6-8).
3. Access the Grandview Newspaper lesson plan, and print a copy of the "Bad Fall Injures
Children" news article.
4. Make an overhead of Inverted Pyramid Format and Reporting Tips sheet
5. Make student copies of Newspaper Story Format sheet, Story Feedback Form, Reporter's
Guide handout, and Newspaper Writing Assessment sheet.
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STUDENT OBJECTIVES
Students will

Identify the parts of a newspaper

Identify the format of a news article

Write a newspaper story

Edit newspaper articles

Use ICT equipment and software

Layout and publish a classroom newspaper

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Session 1
Hold up a sample front page from a selected newspaper. Ask students what they notice about the
format that is different from other texts they read (e.g., black and white ink, graphics, headline,
column format).
Divide the students into groups of three to four members. Explain to the students that they will
explore a newspaper, paying attention to the layout and format. Instruct students to study the

front page first and discuss what different parts they notice.
Ask each group to report back to the whole class what members noticed was contained on the
front page. Make a list of parts on the board. (e.g., title, headlines, pictures or graphics, captions,
date, subtitles, table of contents/index, etc.). Students should notice similarities between different
newspapers.
Discuss with the class how newspapers use a standard format.
In their groups, have students continue to explore copies of newspapers. What kinds of things do
they notice? Students should begin to identify sections and features that are specific to
newspapers. Have the groups again report to the whole class what types of items they noticed in
their paper. Continue keeping the list of items on the board. (Additional items may include:
editorials, cartoons, horoscope, local news, weddings, classifieds, advertising, etc.)
Explain to the class that people read newspapers differently than other types of texts. Discuss
how people read newspapers. Reading a newspaper matches people's interests in certain things.
They scan headlines, subtitles, and images to see if the story interests them or not.
Read some sample headlines from newspapers. Ask, "How many of you would be interested in
reading this story?"
For homework, have students ask their family members what newspapers they read regularly and
what sections they read most often. Give an example of your own newspaper reading habits. (For
example, "First I check the weather to help me decide what to wear to school. Then I go to the
local news to see what is happening in my town. Finally, I scan the headlines to see what is
happening in the world. If I have time, I start the crossword puzzle.")
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Session 2
Ask the students to report about their family's newspaper reading habits. Make a list of
newspapers that are read and determine which are the most common.
List the words who, what, where, when, and why on the board, overhead, or chart paper. Answer
each of the five W questions using the popular rhyme "Jack & Jill."
Example:

Who? Jack and Jill

What? Fell down and broke crown

Where? On the hill

When? Sometime in the past

Why? Trying to fetch water

Read "Bad Fall Injures Children" article from page 4 of the Grandview Newspaper lesson plan.
Students clarify their previous responses to the five Ws according to the article. Explain how
these five questions help to summarize a news story.
Put students in groups of three to four members. Ask the students to choose another famous
rhyme or fairy tale and answer the five W questions. Have each group read just the answers to
their questions, and then have the class try to guess what fairy tale or rhyme it is. Explain that
these five Ws help with the organization of a news story and that they make up the most
important details of the story.
Demonstrate to the class the organization of a good news story using the Inverted Pyramid
Format overhead. Use a sample newspaper story to illustrate an example of this format
For homework, ask students to select a newspaper article that they are interested in reading and
bring it to school the next day.
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Session 3
Give students time to read the newspaper article they brought from home. Hand out the
Newspaper Story Format sheet. Students should then complete the sheet using details from their
particular article and share the summary of their newspaper article.
Ask the students to rewrite the newspaper article in their own words as if they were a reporter for
their local newspaper. What changes would they make and why?
Have the students share their stories with a classmate using the following questions to guide their
discussion:

Were changes made to the lead? Why?

Were changes made to the five Ws? Why?

Were changes made to the details? Why?

As a class, discuss fact versus opinion. Explain that news articles do not include the reporter's
opinion. Have students go back and see if the changes that were made to their articles were
strictly factual. Refer to original articles as needed for examples of fact-based stories.
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Session 4
Read-aloud to the class from one or more of the suggested titles:

Deadline! From News to Newspaper by Gail Gibbons

The Furry News: How to Make a Newspaper by Loreen Leedy

Freddy and the Bean Home News by Walter R. Brooks

Have students brainstorm the types of articles they would like to write and list them on the board.
Look at the list and ask students if the articles could be grouped into categories or "newspaper
sections."
Use the Reporting Tips overhead to present how to make newspaper articles more interesting. Go
over each point and clarify any questions that students may raise.
Group students based on interests to form an "editorial staff" for each newspaper section. Have
the groups meet to decide who will write which stories. Students can use the Reporter's Guide
handout as a guideline. When they have finished, students can begin collecting facts for their
stories.
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Session 5 and 6
Take students to the computer lab and have them write their first draft. They should not worry
about font, size, or columns at this point. Be sure that they save their work and print a hard copy
of their article for editing.
Students' stories should then be self-edited and edited by two other members of their editorial
staff (using the Story Feedback Form). Students should make necessary revisions to their stories
based on the comments from the Story Feedback Form.
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Session 7
In the computer lab, have students access the Internet Public Library website and explore
newspapers from around the world. They should pay particular attention to the design and layout
elements. For example, some articles may include graphics (e.g., photos, charts, graphs). Discuss
what patterns of layout design the students noticed.
As a whole class, discuss newspaper layout, addressing the following points:

Headline News: Top priority articles are near the front (1-2 pages). These are typically of
high interest to your entire audience of readers (e.g., town news such as a new park or
community center). Long front-page articles can be continued on an inside page to
provide room for other headline news.

Feature Articles: Stories about topics or events that are of interest to a certain group of
readers (e.g., sports, animal stories, academic topics, interviews with school staff, book
reviews). These are typically grouped into sections.

Pictures or graphics: The image should always appear with the story. A caption can be
included. The size usually depends on how much space is available in the layout.

Give students the opportunity to explore these layout items in newspapers in the classroom and
online. Students should look at the Junior Seahawk Newsletter to get ideas for their own layout.
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Session 8 and 9
In the computer lab, students should complete final story revisions. They may then begin the
newspaper layout using appropriate software. The ReadWriteThink Printing Press includes an
option for creating a newspaper. Each editorial staff works together to complete their newspaper
section.
Note: 8 X 11 size pages are optimal. They can be printed and copied back to back on 11 X 17
paper that can be folded like a real newspaper. The completed paper must have an even number
of pages for this format.
Pictures can be drawn or pasted into the layout. Depending on the available resources, pictures
can also be scanned or downloaded from a digital camera. Tell students to play around with fonts
and columns. They should experiment and be creative!

Once pages are completed, they should be printed. The editorial staff should do a final reading
for errors. Pages are then submitted to the teacher for publishing.
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Session 10
Distribute the class newspaper to the students and allow them time to read it. When they have
finished, hand out the Newspaper Writing Assessment sheet and ask them to fill it out.
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STUDENT ASSESSMENT/REFLECTIONS
Assess students' comments from the Newspaper Writing Assessment sheet.

LESSON PLANS

Grades 5 8 | Lesson Plan | Standard Lesson

Book Report Alternative: Sharing Info from Informational Reading
Reporting on an informational book doesnt have to be boring! Instead of the traditional book
report format, students create newspapers using a Printing Press interactive to share what they
have learned from reading informational books.

Grades 4 8 | Lesson Plan | Standard Lesson

Picture This: Using Instagram to Report
After taking a field trip that students document using mobile app Instagram, students become
new reporters as they use the interactive Printing Press to tell about their experiences.

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STUDENT INTERACTIVES

Grades K 12 | Student Interactive | Writing & Publishing Prose

Printing Press
The interactive Printing Press is designed to assist students in creating newspapers, brochures,
and flyers.

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CALENDAR ACTIVITIES

Grades 7 12 | Calendar Activity | February 10

The New York Times used the slogan "All the News That's Fit to Print."
After discussing newspapers and their different points of view, students choose a current event,
read editorials on the event, and share them with the class to identify the editor's point of view.

Grades 3 8 | Calendar Activity | August 13

The first English printer, William Caxton, was born on this day in 1422.
Students consider how the printing press affects their world by completing a printing inventory,
comparing lists, and developing a "super" list of all printed materials that they interact with.

Grades 7 12 | Calendar Activity | July 16

African American journalist Ida B. Wells was born in 1862.
Students brainstorm a list of human rights issues, research their group's issue in depth, examine
the way journalists cover a story, and create articles for a classroom newspaper.

Grades 5 10 | Calendar Activity | June 15

Brian Jacques, author of the Redwall series, was born in 1939.
After students have read one of Brian Jacques' Redwall stories, a class newspaper is created
based on the story.

COMMUNITY STORIES

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