PBS
Facts vs. Opinions vs. Informed Opinions and their Role in Journalism
Do reporters write about what they see, or what they think? Examine the differences between investigative writing and opinion writing with a lesson from PBS. Learners look over different examples of each kind of reporting, and convince...
PBS
Interviewing: The Art of Asking Questions
Interviewing skills are important, even outside of a news reporter's desk or employer's office. Take your class through the process of interviewing people they don't know with a set of case studies featuring journalists and various...
Prestwick House
Understanding Language: Slant, Spin, and Bias in the News
We live in a time of fake news, alternative realities, and media bias. What could be more timely than an activity that asks class members to research how different sources report the same topic in the news?
Curated OER
Language Arts Lesson Plan
Young scholars use a variety of synonyms to write headlines and articles that resemble a model article.
Roald Dahl
Matilda - The Third Miracle
Magnus takes a visit to the classroom in the 20th chapter of Matilda. Or does he? After reading, learners interview the person in the hot seat to get a detailed account of what happened during this chapter. Then, they write individual...
NPR
Journalism Lesson Plan
Honor women in journalism with an online exhibit called Women with a Deadline. Class members demonstrate their understanding of the topic in a final assessment by writing a newspaper article on the information they learned in...
Curated OER
Beyond Media Messages: Media Portrayal of Global Issues
Take a close look at news reporting techniques and global issues. Begin by creating a graphic representation of developing nations and defining the term. After class discussion, the second day's activities pick up by deconstructing news...
Curated OER
Mars Bars To Remain Vegetarian
Students read, analyze and critique a newspaper article about a chocolate manufacturer that reverses their decision to change ingredients. They assess key vocabulary terms found in the article and explore how to write a recipe.
Curated OER
Writing a News Report
Students explore journalism by analyzing current events. In this news report instructional activity, students identify important questions to ask during an interview and discuss a fictitious news story about a missing teacher. Students...
Curated OER
Comments
Students evaluate newspaper articles. In this newspaper article lesson students compare newspaper articles. They comment on headlines, language choices, quality and clarity, and impact on the reader.
Curated OER
France Introduces Smoking Ban
Students read, discuss and analyze a newspaper article about France introducing a ban on smoking in bars, cafes and restaurants. They assess the key vocabulary words used in the article and view the grammar side of the article.
Curated OER
What's the Scoop on Casey
Third graders read "Casey at the Bat" by Ernest L. Thayer and create a newspaper article about Casey's infamous at-bat.
Curated OER
What Do People Know About Radon?
In this radon worksheet, students read a short newspaper article about radon. Students complete 7 pages of exercises about the article. Students answer questions, define words, conduct a survey and tally the data.
Curated OER
Newspaper Articles
Seventh graders summarize a newspaper article. In this writing activity students choose a newspaper article about an environmental issue. The students summarize the article and devise a solution to the environmental issue.
Curated OER
Writing to Persuade
Young scholars discover effective writing techniques to create persuasive essays. In this writing instructional activity, students investigate ways to express facts and points of view through persuasive essays. Finally, the young...
Curated OER
Breaking News English; Deadly E. Coli Strikes Europe
Read a breaking news article relating to a deadly bacteria while building vocabulary and writing skills. Critical thinkers work with a partner to write down the different words they have found in the article. They complete...
Macmillan Education
A Class or Company Newsletter: A Collaborative Writing Lesson
A class newsletter? The possible extensions for this activity are endless. After examining examples of news print-outs from hotels or workplaces, class members develop their own articles and produce a newsletter. A great way to keep...
Curated OER
Strong Convictions
How can the rhetorical structure of an editorial help to develop its argument? Use this New York Times editorial to emphasize the importance of structure in a piece of informational text. Adolescent writers then use the editorial as a...
Curated OER
How to Write a Biography
Looking for a great lesson on how to write a biography? Here, middle schoolers draw from magazine articles, novels, historical figures, and current events to choose a person, or character to write about in a biography. They follow a...
Newseum
Journalists Code of Ethics
Journalists are supposed to adhere to a Code of Ethics. To determine the degree to which reporters follow this code, individuals select three recent stories with photographs from newspapers, magazines, online news sites, or television...
EngageNY
Evaluating Eyewitness Accounts
That sounds like a plan! Scholars complete the Newspaper Article Planning graphic organizer to understand the process of writing a newspaper article. They also use what they learned about researching factual information and...
Curated OER
Journey to America
Fifth graders carefully analyze the artwork, Les Emigrants, and explore the reasons that people emigrated to the United States, and what life was like for new arrivals. They discuss what things immigrants were able to bring with them and...
Curated OER
Being Responsible for Earth
Eighth graders explore the characteristics of responsibility. In this character lesson, 8th graders complete a self-evaluation. Students view a responsibility video. Students write a newspaper article on selected environmental issue.
Center for History Education
Reshaping American Society: How did Immigration and Urbanization Affect America in the mid 1800s?
From the Know-Nothings to the Bible Riots, immigration and urbanization changed the face of America in the middle of the 1800s. Using documents that range from immigrant experiences to renderings of violent conflict between immigrants...