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Introductory Activity:
1) Show the students the paper shopping bag and tell them that it contains a "mystery object." It will be the students' task to identify what is inside the bag by asking questions to you, the teacher. Explain the guidelines for the questions (this is similar to the game "Twenty Questions" with which the students may be familiar):
a. The questions must be "yes-no" questions: each question must be answerable with a "yes" or a "no."
b. The students may ask you up to twenty questions.
c. No looking inside the bag!
2) Proceed to play Twenty Questions with the class. Assign one student to track the number of questions asked by the class. Once the class has either identified the object or asked their twenty questions, reveal the object inside the bag.
3) Ask the students to think back on how they were able to figure out what the bag might contain. For example, how did they know that the bag did not contain a car? How could they tell that there was nothing alive inside the bag? (The students should realize that they were able to observe certain things about the object, such as its approximate size and the fact that it was not moving around inside the bag, that helped them narrow down what might be inside). Then, ask the students if they can remember any questions asked by the class that were particularly useful to determining the identity of the object in the bag (answers will vary). You, or the students, might point out that overly specific questions about the object might have been less productive than questions that were broader and allowed the students to narrow down the scope of possibilities: for example, "Can it be eaten?" may provide more useful information initially than direct guesses, like "Is it an apple?" If time allows, you may want to repeat the game with the students, using a different mystery object.
4) Tell the students that the process they just used to determine the object in the bag is similar to the work that reporters do when they are trying to cover news stories: reporters have to talk to people who might have information for the story, they have to choose questions to ask these people that will help them with their stories, and they often have a limited time period in which to conduct their work. In the next activity, the students will look at some news stories and try to determine who the reporter might have spoken to and the questions he or she might have asked while researching the story.
5) Divide the class into groups of 3-4 students each. Distribute a news story to each of the groups, along with the "Who Asked What?" Student Organizer. Tell the students that in their groups, they should read the news story and think about how the reporter might have gotten the information contained in the story. Who did the reporter interview? Where did the reporter go? What questions do the students think the reporter might have asked? Ask the students to complete the "Who Asked What?" Student Organizer with this information and be prepared to report back to the class. Allow ten or fifteen minutes for this activity.
6) Ask each student group to report back to the class, summarizing the news story their group was assigned and telling the class about the people the reporter spoke to and the questions he or she might have asked.
Learning Activity:
1) Explain to your students that news reporters, who research stories and report the news, are very busy people with many tasks to accomplish for their jobs! News reporters need to travel to different locations, find people to interview, choose good interview questions, and do additional research on the topics they report. The students will have the chance to try their hand at all these aspects of following and reporting a story in the next activity.
2) Keep the students in their cooperative groups, and distribute the "Get the Scoop" Student Organizer to each group. Explain that the students will visit a Web site where they will be given an assignment to report on a "breaking news" story. They will try to "get the scoop" on the story by visiting different locations where they will interview people who may be involved in the story. At the end of the activity, their story will be written up in a newspaper, and their skill at reporting will be assessed by anchorman Ben.
3) Direct the student groups to the Web site for "Get the Scoop," at http://www.pbskids.org/pbskids2008/newsflashfive/scoop/index.html. Provide the students with a FOCUS FOR MEDIA INTERACTION, asking them to complete the interactivity, recording the locations they visit and the names of people they speak to on the "Get the Scoop" Student Organizer. Also direct them to record the advice provided by members of the newsroom ñ found by clicking on the "hint from a cell phone" at each location. Explain to the students that they can visit as many or as few location as they like.
4) Allow the students approximately 20 minutes to complete the interactivity and record their notes in the organizer. When a group has finished, the results of their work will appear in a written news story that can be printed. Each group will also receive an assessment of their reporting skill, focusing on the number of locations visited and the group's ability to choose relevant and appropriate questions to ask their interviewees.
5) When all the groups have completed the interactivity, ask them to discuss what they learned about researching a news story. Ask the groups to discuss the tips they received "via cell phone" from the staff of the newsroom.
6) It time permits, allow the students to complete the interactivity again, trying to improve on their previous assessment.
Culminating Activity/Assessment:
1) Tell the students that they will now have a chance to try their hand at reporting a real story about news happening at their school!
2) To become efficient reporters, the students will first need to learn about the structure of a news story. Explain that all news stories are written pretty much the same way, and the stories the students write should follow the same format. Pass out the "Parts of a News Story" Student Organizer to the students. They will use this to identify the parts of the news story "Mysterious Bones Found on Farm" that they researched during the "Get the Scoop!" online activity.
3) Review the definitions of the parts of a news story one by one with the students. Ask them to complete the bottom half of the "Parts of a News Story" Student Organizer by reading the short version of "Mysterious Bones Found on Farm" and identifying the various parts of the story. Also, review the meaning of the "5 W's and an H" with the students, and ask them to identify them in the "Mysterious Bones Found on Farm" news story. An answer key is provided.
4) Next, assemble "reporting teams" ñ groups of 3 or 4 students. Each group will be responsible for researching and writing a different news story. The topics should be fairly easy to investigate at the school by interviewing two or three people and by consulting one or two references for further information. Depending on their level, you may have the class brainstorm ideas for stories to report, or you may assign them topics. Some possible story topics to assign:
What is the opinion of students and teachers on the cafeteria food?
What did students learn on last week's field trip?
If a new class, activity, or club is being offered at the school, have the students research write a story on it.
Investigate the history of an upcoming holiday and find out what students will do to celebrate it.
5) Once the students have their reporting assignments, distribute the "Follow the News!" Student Organizer to each reporting team. Have them use this organizer to outline how they will research their story -- who will they interview? Which questions will they ask? What other research sources will they use? Remind the students that their goal is to investigate the 5 W's and an H for their particular news topic.
6) Assist the students in formulating their plan for following their news story, then assign the students particular times to complete their research and interviews. Remind the students to take notes as they complete their interviews and research.
7) Once the interviewing and research has been completed, the students will write their news stories. Remind the students to use the "Parts of a News Story" Student Organizer to organize their research into the proper news story format. The stories may be written collaboratively or individually. Have the student groups share their news stories with the class when all groups have finished.
Cross-Curricular Extensions:
Math
Have the students report on a story that involves a survey of classmates. The survey results can be presented in the news report using graphs and percentages.
Social Studies
Investigate the concept of freedom of the press, as guaranteed by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Explore the meaning of this right, and compare regulations on the media in several different countries.
Community Connections:
Invite a journalist from a local newspaper, radio station, or television program to visit your class to talk about his or her work.
Arrange a tour of the offices of a local newspaper, radio or television news station for your class.
Ask the staff of the high school newspaper come to your class to talk about how students might get involved in the school paper when they get older.
About the Author:
Ashlinn Quinn is an Outreach Producer in Thirteen/WNET New York's Educational and Community Outreach department, the LAB@Thirteen. She develops and coordinates educational outreach projects associated with PBS broadcasts. Recent projects have included the creation of educational materials associated with the 2006 PBS broadcast series African American Lives; production of an online video bank and resource for Global Studies teachers, WIDE ANGLE: Window into Global History; and the production and coordination of outreach events associated with the PBS newsmagazine program Religion & Ethics Newsweekly. She was a co-creator of the online interactivity "Get the Scoop!" for the PBSKidsNews Web site.
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