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Read All About It! Ten Terrific Newspaper Lessons!
Education World celebrates National Newspaper Week with ten lessons to help you integrate the newspaper into your classroom curriculum. Included: Activities that involve students in interviewing a local newspaper reporter, creating editorial cartoons, comparing newspapers, and much more!
According to Facts About Newspapers, the statistical summary of the newspaper industry conducted by the Newspaper Association of America, more than 56 million newspapers are sold each day in the United States and each newspaper sold is read by an average of 2.1 readers. On Sundays, more than 60 million newspapers are sold, averaging 2.2 readers for each copy sold.
Each year, Americans recognize the important role newspapers play in our daily lives by celebrating National Newspaper Week during the first week of October.
Do you have a favorite lesson or Web site that you use in teaching students about the newspaper? Share your resource on an Education World message board so that others might benefit from your experience!
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Today, Education World offers ten activities to help teachers integrate the newspaper and the news into their curriculum. So start the presses -- and the lessons! A brief description of each lesson is provided below. (Appropriate grade levels for each activity are provided in parentheses.) Click on any lesson headline for a complete teaching resource!
Report on a Reporter
Students invite a local newspaper reporter to speak to the class and write a newspaper-style article about the visit. (Grades 3-5, 6-8, 9-12)
Front Page News
Students compare and contrast front-page stories from two local or state newspapers. (Grades 6-8, 9-12)
Editorial Cartoons
Students create editorial cartoons about topics in the news. (Grades 9-12)
Headline News
Students create stories using words cut from newspaper headlines. (Grades 3-5, 6-8, 9-12)
Classified Ads of the Future
Students brainstorm jobs people might have in the future and write classified ads for those jobs. (Grades 3-5, 6-8, 9-12)
Catchy Captions
Students write captions for pictures cut from newspapers and then match the real captions to the pictures. (Grades K-2, 3-5)
Cutting Costs With Coupons
Students clip coupons for food items, create a menu using those items, and add up the total savings. (Grades 3-5, 6-8)
Johannes Gutenberg and the Printing Press
Students use library or online resources to create time lines on the life of Johannes Gutenberg and tell the impact his invention, the printing press, had on the development of newspapers. (Grades 6-8, 9-12)
Language Arts Lesson Plan
Students use a variety of synonyms to write headlines and articles that resemble a model article. (Grades 3-5)
Exploring a Newspaper
Students learn about the parts of a newspaper and identify the main idea of a newspaper article. (Grades 3-5)
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
School Newspaper
Students in grades 6 through 8 design and publish a school newspaper using a computer software drawing program (for example, ClarisWorks). Activities include designing a layout for articles and adding headlines, clip art, pictures, and borders.
Messages & Meanings: A Guide to Understanding Media
This unit from The School Zone: Newspapers in Education (NIE) Curricula and Lesson Plans offers a host of activities to help students in grades 6 through 12 access, analyze, evaluate, and communicate media messages.
Lois Lewis
Education World®
Copyright © 2007 Education World
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Originally published 10/09/2000
Last updated 05/29/2007
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