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The Long and Short of It
Learners take a look back at the week's news by exploring the news summaries article offered in The New York Times' Week in Review section each week. They look further into ongoing news stories of interest to them in order to create...
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Pressing Cases
Students investigate famous criminal cases in which the media has played a significant role and reflect on how the news helps to shape attitudes and behaviors in their own lives.
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Make It or Break It
Students study about "breaking news" by analyzing the New York Times' coverage of the July 2006 bombing of seven commuter trains in Mumbai, India. They write their own breaking news stories for homework.
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Funny Business
Students discuss how much they understand of satire and parody. They read an article about an Iraq news parody show. They create and act out their own parody skit. They write an essay about using humor in grave situations.
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Got the Picture?
Students explore the power of photographic images to influence public opinion. Then, using both news images and personal photographs, they create dual timelines documenting their own life experiences and memories.
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Where Were You?
Students examine various New York Times readers' reflections on the life and death of President John F. Kennedy, by reading and discussing "Readers Reflect on President John F. Kennedy." Students then write their own personal...
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This Just In…
Learners consider the impact a reporter has on broadcast journalism. They research a famous broadcast journalist to prepare a mock news report.
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2004 Better and For Worse
Students identify the significant events that helped shape 2004. After reading an article, they take a 2004 news quiz and discuss the impact of each event. They create their own quizzes to be given to their classmates on the same...
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Angling for a Story
Students explore different news angles relating to a local sporting event, then create a detailed treatment of the story prior to reporting it.
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Separate But Equal Opinions
Students examine the ways in which editorials and Op-Ed pieces respond to current events. They write editorials in response to news items from the New York Times.
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Photo Forgery
Students inspect examples of manipulated photos and explore the technology and issues behind doctored photos. They hold an in-depth discussion about the responsibility of the photojournalist and news editor to show true photos.
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Executive Exchanges
Students explore the April, 2006, overhaul of the White House staff. They research the positions in transition and stage a press conference to introduce these changes to the public.
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Gorillas In The Midst
Students consider the idea of the eco-tour, and examine different aspects of the Mountain Gorilla Project eco-tour in Rwanda. They synthesize their understanding by acting as expert panelists on a morning news show that focuses on the...
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Bringing Facts Into Science Fiction
Students develop a setting, plot and characters for a science fiction story based on current news themes, and then individually write drafts of the story.
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Current Contexts
Students examine how they are affected by world affairs. After reading an article, they examine Otto Frank's attempts to immigrate to America. Using the New York Times, they identify examples of news, advertisements and photographs...
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Without Limits
Seventh graders research about the important contributions of two scientists they chose from the list. In this science lesson, 7th graders develop a creative presentation such as skits or news program about their research. They present...
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The Winter Olympics' Tale
Students look back at the athletes, events and related news surrounding the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City and present brief newscasts recapping the highlights of individual sports.
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Willie the Worm
Students explore Earth science by participating in a compost activity in class. In this worm lesson, students discuss the importance of worms in the creation of plants. Students cut out pieces from a print out to assemble a paper worm in...
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Editor Travels U.S. Fixing Errors on Signs
An interesting article on editors helps young writers understand the conventions of written English. They read a news article about an editor traveling America correcting spelling and punctuation errors on signs. They discuss proper...
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Working on the Slant
Compare and contrast a major news story from various newspapers. How does the perspective change? Are certain things included in some of the stories and left out of others? Have pupils complete a graphic organizer to compare how...
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The Daily Athenian: A Greek Newspaper Project
Students work together to gather information from the internet and print sources about the Ancient Greeks. They discover what everyday life was like in Ancient Greece. They develop a newspaper to share the information they gathered.
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The Art of Violence
Violence and human suffering, as represented in art and film, are the focus of an investigation of the power of visual images and the moral implications of such representations. Class members examine “Guernica,” Pablo Picasso’s massive...
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Critical Path
Students widen their understanding of the different points of view surrounding current news topics. They research a current controversy on which public opinion is divided and write a concise commentary on the topic expressing a strong...
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It's a Small World After All
Students link important individuals who shaped the news in 2002 by playing a variation of a game based on the idea that all people can be connected with 6 or less associations between them. They propose appropriate New Year's resolutions.