Making the News

Now tell students that you will be making the front page of a class newspaper together.

Have students access the student chapter Making the News or display it using a digital whiteboard or digital projector.

Have the class brainstorm a list of at least ten possible news stories, based on things that have happened in your class, your school, and your community. Remind them of the three types of news articles — news, opinion, and explainer — but point out that opinion articles and explainers usually have a “news hook” that connects them to a news story. (For instance, the “news hook” in the examples in What’s in the News? was the moon cheese discovery.)

You may choose to have students brainstorm in groups and then share their lists with the whole class if you prefer.

Now have students evaluate each possible article for “newsworthiness” based on the factors you discussed earlier:

• Is it true?
• Is it recent?
• Is it unusual?
• Is it important? (Remind them the question is not whether these stories would be included in a “real” news outlet, but whether they’re things that would be of interest to them and their friends and family.)

Next, have students discuss what they think their newspaper’s selling point will be. How much does their audience want to be entertained by a news outlet? How much do they want to be informed? How important is it for them to feel a news outlet is on their side?

Based on the discussion, have the students choose five news stories. For each of the five stories, have students write a headline and subhead (like in the What’s in the News? handout) as well as a lede paragraph that contains the “five Ws.” (Depending on the age of your students, you may want to assign each story to a group or to do this as a whole-class activity.) Finally, have the class choose a name for your news outlet and a motto that reflects its selling point.

Optional: Assemble the articles into a print or online newspaper and share with students and families.