Newswriting & Reporting

All Speech is Created Equal?
This lesson in investigative journalism is designed to follow reading The Jungle. It includes the use of photographs by Jacob Riis.

And the News Is . . .
Designed for grades 3 and 4, this lesson asks students to create a news collage of 3-5 articles and decide what is the common theme.

Beginning Reporting
The information here is into 3 sections: prewriting, writing, rewriting. Each link leads to a short, well written explanation of the skill.

Bias
These exercises are meant to introduce students to the concept of "bias" or "slant". They are designed for grade 11 but may be adaptable.

Campus Weblines
Thinking of publishing your school's newspaper online? Here's how!

Communicating the News: Its Elementary!
Elementary students study the history of newspapers in America and produce one of their own.

The Cronkite Report: Headlines and Sound Bites
Vocabulary, focus questions, additional links, classroom activities. Designed to go with the Assignment Discovery video.

Exploring Your Backyard
Students research the history of their neighborhoods using newspaper stories as sources of information. Accessing this unit requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Glossary of Newspaper Terms
From "ABC" to "yellow journalism," a helpful resource for students.

Investigating Reporting Strategies
Students write ledes and investigate the breadth of articles published in The New York Times around a major news event. This lesson is related to the 2008 papal visit to the United States, but the approach will also work with other major news stories.

Itty Bitty Witties: Using the "Metropolitan Diary" to Write Anecdotes with a Local Angle
In this lesson, students read and discuss a "Metropolitan Diary" column to learn about anecdotes. They then write and compile their own anecdotes for a local version to be published in the school newspaper.

Journalism's Job: Accuracy & Honesty in the News
Students "find out how news stories can, and have, twisted the truth. [They] also explore the history and duty of news reporting, so [they] can investigate what it takes to crank out accuracy and honesty in newspaper form every day."

Lesson Plan Unit: Journalistic Writing
Lesson plans using online resources from the New York Times.

Lesson Plan Unit: the Print Media
Lesson plans using online resources from the New York Times.

News Coverage
Students compare and contrast coverage of a news event according to different media.

News on the Web
This interactive article from Socialstudies.com examines the history and technology of modern news reporting.

Newsbreaks: Speaking Truth to Power
In this carefully structured, standards-based unit, high school students explore objectivity and bias by investigating newspapers. Accessing this unit requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Newseum
The "News Museum" Web site. Excellent reference and teaching reference.

Newroom 101
Interactive exercises in grammar, usage and Associated Press Style.

Newswriting with Scholastic Editors
This site, targeted at middle school or upper elementary writers, guides students through the process of writing news stories and offers them a chance to publish their writing online.

Organization of a Newspaper and the Parts of a News Article
Students use fairy tales as the basis for news articles. Designed for grades 3-8.

Picking Up the Pieces and Putting them Back Together: Writing Breaking News
Students examine how a breaking news story is constructed, first by predicting what facts and details must appear in what order, and then by assembling the story from cut-up pieces. They then practice writing their own 'breaking news' lead paragraphs.

The Pulitzer Prizes
How the Pulitzer Prize was started, who has won since 1917, even a form for nominating someone for the prize. Searchable and easy to navigate.

Regret the Error
How better to point out the value of factchecking than by showing students a series of corrections? Some of these are really funny; all of them make the necessary point. Be sure to check the "Best of" review pages!

Research and Report on a Famous Journalist
Given a list of names, students research and prepare slide presentations. Site includes names, requirements, and a rubric.

'Retale' Value: Exploring Plot Similarities in Fiction and Nonfiction Stories
Students explore 7 basic plot lines. They compare them with newspaper articles and with fiction they are familiar with.

Right on Time? Researching and Writing a Breaking News Story on Deadline
Students share their reactions to hearing a false rumor. They then research and write an article about a current news item affecting their school, which they must submit on deadline the next day.

Tabloid Tales
Using the 5 W's, students create stories to accompany actual tabloid headlines. Headlines are provided.

Tasty Topics: Developing Narrative Feature Articles
Using the related article, "Life in the Fast-Food Lane," students explore the concepts and content necessary to write narrative feature articles and then develop their own such articles.

Ticker Text Parade
Students examine news headlines and create very brief news pieces in the style of news tickers. They then write papers reflecting upon these experiences and on the value of concisely written news reports.

Turning Points in History
Students use newspaper resources to investigate specific incidents in history. Accessing this unit requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

What and Where is the News?
Tenth grade students produce a newspaper. This unit is standards-based and incorporates technology. Accessing this unit requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Writing the Non-Fiction Narrative as Feature Story
Middle and high school students interview someone and write a feature about their experience. This unit emphasizes narrative and descriptive writing. You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader or compatible application to access it.