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Overview:
Researching and reporting a news story requires many skills. Effective news reporters must visit relevant locations and interview a variety of involved people. They must also choose interview questions that provide meaningful details for the story. Finally, they must synthesize the information they have learned into a concise and precise format. In this lesson, students will practice and hone the skills necessary for reporting a news story. The lesson begins with a game of Twenty Questions to encourage students to use effective questioning techniques. It continues with the online activity titled "Get the Scoop!" ñ a news reporting simulation whereby students track a breaking news story in a variety of locations, interviewing people as they go. Finally, students will learn the structure of a news report and will have a chance to exercise reporting skills in the real world, researching and writing a news story of importance to them and their classmates.
Grade Level: 4-6
Time Allotment: Approximately three 45-minute class periods (excluding additional time for Culminating Activity, if needed)
Subject Matter: English/Language Arts, Journalism
Learning Objectives:
Students will be able to:
Summarize and analyze a news story;
Determine the questions a reporter might have asked to gather information for a news story;
Identify the parts of a news story, including the headline, lead, and body
List the main elements covered in every news story: the "5 W's and an H";
Research a news story using interviews and outside research;
Write a news story that follows standard news reporting format.
Standards:
Standards for the English Language Arts (from the National Council of Teachers of English, available online at: http://www.ncte.org/about/over/standards/110846.htm)
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.
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.
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 non-print texts.
Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
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.
Media Components:
Web sites:
PBSKids News "Get the Scoop," http://pbskids.org/pbskids2008/newsflashfive/scoop/index.html
In this interactive online activity, students try their hand at news reporting, covering a "breaking news" story assigned to them by the school newsroom anchorman. Students choose which locations to visit and which interview questions to ask while researching the story, and their choices are reflected in an assessment at the end of the interactivity.
Materials:
For the class:
Computers with Internet access
Paper shopping bag
"Mystery object" (can be an item from the classroom) for Twenty Questions
Five brief news stories drawn from newspapers, magazines, or the Internet, at a reading level appropriate for your students and on topics that will be of interest to them. Make enough copies of the news stories that each group of 3-4 students will have one to read.
"Parts of a News Story" ANSWER KEY (download here)
For each group of 3-4 students:
"Who Asked What?" Student Organizer (download here)
"Get the Scoop" Student Organizer (download here)
"Follow the News!" Student Organizer (download here)
For each student:
"Parts of a News Story" Student Organizer (download here)
Prep for Teachers:
Place the "mystery object" to be used for the Twenty Questions game in the Introductory Activity into the paper shopping bag so it cannot be seen by the students.
Procure five brief news stories to be used in the Introductory Activity. These stories should be at a reading level appropriate for your students, and on topics of interest to them. Each story should contain quotations gathered from interviews.
Make copies of the Student Organizers for the students and groups.
Come up with a list of possible news stories around the school for your students to cover in the Culminating Activity (see step 5 of the Culminating Activity for a few ideas).
Bookmark the "Get the Scoop" online activity on each computer in your classroom, or upload the link to an online bookmarking utility such as www.portaportal.com. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the Web site and activity before asking the students to do it.
Preview all of the Web sites used in the lesson to make certain that they are appropriate for your students, currently available, and accessible from your classroom.
When using media, provide students with a FOCUS FOR MEDIA INTERACTION, a specific task to complete and/or information to identify during or after viewing video segments, Web sites, or other multimedia elements.
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