Curated OER
A Day in the Life of a Reporter: Planning, Organizing, Writing
Ninth graders examine how journalists use the writing process to plan, organize, and write news stories. They watch a video, analyze how reporters develop a news story, conduct research, and write a news story.
Curated OER
Using the News
Pupils give oral predictions to news articles. They discuss and revise their interpretations of the content material.
Curated OER
What are the benefits of having a Free Press?
Students examine why actual malice is necessary in libel cases. Students demonstrate the importance of a third party in libel and slander cases. They analyze why a free press is essential in American society.
Curated OER
Using the News
Students give oral predictions to news articles. They discuss and revise their interpretations of the content material.
Curated OER
Write Picture Captions
Students notice and investigate a large range of devices for presenting texts-captions. Students write original captions for several audiences. Students write a fictional news story based around a certain caption.
Curated OER
5 W Questions
Second graders practice asking the 5 W questions by reading a Boxcar Children book. In this journalism lesson, 2nd graders read a single story from the Boxcar Children series and answer the 5 W's about each specific chapter....
Macmillan Education
A Class or Company Newsletter: A Collaborative Writing Lesson
A class newsletter? The possible extensions for this activity are endless. After examining examples of news print-outs from hotels or workplaces, class members develop their own articles and produce a newsletter. A great way to keep...
Curated OER
How to Write a Biography
Looking for a great lesson on how to write a biography? Here, middle schoolers draw from magazine articles, novels, historical figures, and current events to choose a person, or character to write about in a biography. They follow a...
Curated OER
Is Social Media a Trustworthy News Outlet?
Examine the role of social media in social and political uprisings. Pupils listen to NPR audio clips about social media and the Arab Spring and read an article that proposes the idea that revolution will not happen through social media....
Curated OER
Risk Communication: Media Presentation Exercise
Students work in groups to prepare a brief broadcast or print news report from one of five possible viewpoints about an environmental contamination scenario. Students are given basic information about a chemical spill in a small town and...
Center for History Education
The Founding Fathers and the Constitutional Struggle Over Centralized Power
Believe it or not, the Constitution was America's second attempt at a democratic government. Academics travel back to the past to explore the shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation that would eventually lead to the Constitutional...
Curated OER
Celebrating 100 Years of Flight
Learners practice reading comprehension, note taking and writing skills. In this literacy and writing lesson, students read about the invention of airplanes, women pilots and the space race before writing their own news article on "100...
Curated OER
Newsworthy Fairy Tales
Third graders review common fairy tales and work in teams to rewrite the fairy tales as news articles. They answer questions using the 5 Ws (who, what, where, when, why). Student articles include eye-catching headlines.
Curated OER
Typecasting Roles
Students read and discuss various news articles where an element of surprise was present about the criminal and the crime. They research a news story, present the information in the form of a newscast, and write an opinion piece.
Curated OER
Right on Time?
Learners share their reactions to hearing a false rumor. After reading an article, they discover how a variety of newspapers responded to printing incorrect information. They prepare their own questions and contact sources for their...
Curated OER
Current Events
Students research current events and simulate a newscast of a current news story. They watch the evening news and write a summary of a story of interest, conduct Internet research and complete a worksheet on a current event, and...
Curated OER
Journalist Japes
Learners explore the job of a journalist. In this careers and writing lesson, the teacher introduces the job of a journalist, then students choose a headline and write a news story. Lesson includes extension ideas.
BBC
Writing a News Report
Young journalists try their hand at writing a news report. They go through the process of developing ideas, and collecting and organizing their information. The headline everyone works with is, "Mystery Disappearance of English Teacher:...
Southern Poverty Law Center
Evaluating Online Sources
All sources are pretty much the same, right? If this is how your class views the sources they use for writing or research projects, present them with a media literacy lesson on smart source evaluation. Groups examine several articles,...
Curated OER
A Way with Words
How do facts and opinions impact the news? After reading "How to Cover a War" from the New York Times, middle schoolers evaluate the claims in the article. They also consider the media's responsibilities in reporting during wartime....
Kenan Fellows
Letter Writing to Politicians on Environmental Issues
Let your voices be heard! Pupils research local and national environmental concerns using the Internet. Class members determine an issue they deem important and draft a letter to a local politician expressing their...
Channel Islands Film
Cache: Lesson Plan 4 - Grades 4-5
After viewing the West of the West's documentary Cache, individuals craft either a newspaper article chronicling the discovery of the cache on San Nicolas Island, a historical narrative of the placement of the cache in the cliff side, or...
Newseum
You Can’t Say That: In My Opinion
As a part of a study of the First Amendment, high schoolers research a current news story that seems to involve one of the freedoms granted by the First Amendment. Investigators decide whether they think the action presented in the story...
Curated OER
School Newspaper
Young scholars analyze the different parts of a school newspaper. In this newspaper lesson, students complete a semantic web activity for newspapers and explore a newspaper in groups. Young scholars create a write a report for the...