Writing Detectives & Extra! Write All About It!

Brittani McAnnally

Writing Detectives & Extra! Write All About It!

Journalism

SEW 2011

Essential Understandings

Journalism is an important way to communicate and understand what takes place in your community and around the world.
Journalism has helped write our history for hundreds of years.
Journalism is an exciting career with many choices.

Essential Questions

How is journalism a part of my life?
What motivates someone to become a journalist?
Why is it important to communicate through journalism?
How would history be changed if journalism didn’t exist?
What career in journalism is most interesting to you?

Knowledge and Skills

Students will be able to:

-Identify various attributes of a newspaper and magazine

-Write using the inverted triangle used by journalists

-Write appropriate leads for an article

-Identify the different careers choices in journalism

-Create a school/classroom newspaper or magazine

-Conduct an interview

-Use various critical thinking skills

-Use the internet and other resources to research a topic

-Use a blog for online journal writing

-Edit a piece of writing

-Use a camera and/or video recorder

Type I Activities

Learn about the process of creating a newspaper by reading Deadline! From News to Newspaper by Gail Gibbons. Before reading the book, use a KWL chart to document what you already know about the process of creating a newspaper and any questions you still have. After reading the book, record what you discovered about the process.
Examine different tools used by reporters, such as notebook, camera, pencils, pens, voice recorders, etc. Practice using the tools with a partner by jotting down notes, recorder your voice and asking questions.

Become familiar with different leads by sorting various lead sentences from newspaper and magazine articles into categories such as quotes, exciting facts, questions, and interesting words.

Read Muckrakers by Ann Bausum to learn more about famous journalists.

Take a survey to discover what type of journalist you want to be (sports, entertainment, reporter, world news, columnists, fashion, etc.).

Examine different newspapers and magazines from around the country, paying attention to the titles and where they’re from. Discuss how a city often has a title that fits with the culture of that city. As a group, use your productive thinking talent to think of many, varied and unusual examples of titles we could use for a classroom newspaper based on our classroom culture.

Watch a Power Point about famous journalists and their accomplishments. Compare yourself to the journalists and decide who you’re most like.

Create an acrostic poem for the words Journalism, Reporter, Editor, or Newspaper.

Explore different newspapers and journalism websites for kids by going to

Read an opinion column and write a response.

Look through different magazines and newspapers. Pay close attention to the layout of each paper. How are they alike? How are they different? What aspects of each paper make it appealing? Write your thoughts on a graphic organizer.

Look at pictures taken at important events. Based on the photograph, write a short article about the news event.

Read a short article and brainstorm different headlines for the story.

Explore different books about journalism, famous events in world news, and people who made a difference in journalism.

Listen to an actual news reporter, Mathew McCoy from WVUA, talk about his experiences as a journalist and what it takes to become one.

Watch The Big Newspaper, a documentary on the workings of USA Today.

Take a virtual field trip of a Newsroom and the people who bring you the news every day.

Preview a slideshow with examples of different leads.

Type II Activities

Learn to use your productive thinking talent by thinking of many, varied and unusual transformation for the letter J. Think of as many transformations as you can. Be sure to think of different and unusual transformations. Choose the one you think is the most unique and draw a picture using the letter J. (Talents; BT – Synthesis; MI – VS)

With a partner, learn about proper interview etiquette by discussing why you would want to interview someone. Using your communication talent, skill 5, write a network of ideas in the form of a list, using many, varied complete thoughts. As a group, share what you discussed with your partner. Discuss different steps in conducting an appropriate interview, and follow up by practicing with a partner. (Talents; BT – Comp., Application; MI – VL, Inter)
Pull a story topic out of a bag and practice writing different leads to start the story. Focus on leads that capture the reader’s attention and get them hooked to the story, such as writing a question, starting with an important fact, or starting with the conclusion.

As a group, look at different examples of writing that are in need of editing. Prompt the students to discover that the papers need to be edited and discuss why this is important. Review the editing marks, and work as a group to edit a piece of writing. Divide students in to small groups and have them work together to edit an article. Share it with another group for review.

Prepare a journalist toolkit with all the necessary things a journalist might need (folder, notepad, pencils, pens, erasers, voice recorder).

Using your notebook, walk around the school looking for news events, looking into other rooms and reporting what is going on around Mathews during SEW.

Talk about the role of the reporter. Use your communication skill 3 to think of many, varied comparisons in the form of a simile for a reporter.

Learn to use a camera to capture photographs of important events, while also taking important notes about what is taking place.

Discuss the Inverted Triangle and its importance in writing newspaper and journal articles. Why should a journalist put the most important information first in a newspaper article? Should this be done in all writing? Practice writing an article, and have a peer review. (BT – Application; MI – VL)

Rotate through centers to learn more about the different types of journalism (sports, entertainment, reporter, world news, columnists, fashion, etc.).

Use your decision making talent to decide which area of journalism you are most interested in. Create a graph showing which area of journalism was most popular. (Talents; MI – LM)

Learn to use the internet as an important resource in finding information about a news event. Research people, places, and events and write your findings in your reporter notebook. Use your findings to write an article for the classroom newspaper or magazine. (BT – Application, Synthesis; MI – VL)

Use your Planning talent to plan for a meal that will be used during a food critique.

Learn to become a food critic by sampling a meal and writing a review. After tasting the food, use your communication talent, skill 1 to think of many, varied single words that describe the dish. List these words and use them in your critique.

Learn to become a sports journalist by interviewing athletes, finding resources online, and watching sports events.

Discover how to construct an attractive page layout by working in groups to place pictures and articles in the most attractive positions on the page, experimenting with colors and fonts. (BL – Application; MI – VS, Inter)

Use your Forecasting Talent, skill 2, to make many, varied predictions about the effects of there being no journalism. (Talents)

Learn to construct an online blog to share your articles with classmates and learn how to become an online journalist.

Examine an editorial cartoon, and, using your communication talent, skill 2, orally share many, varied single words that describe how the characters felt in this cartoon. We will write your words on the board and discuss the purpose of editorial cartoons. (Talents)

Write a response to the editorial cartoon using your communication talent, skill 4, to make a network of ideas in the form of an article using many, different complete thoughts. (Talents)

Create your own editorial cartoon using your communication talent, skill 5, to express many, varied thoughts without using words. (Talents)

Type II ½ Activities

Use your planning talent to plan for a class newspaper.

Create a website with news articles and photographs.

Develop a pamphlet for future students your age about the different career options in journalism.

Write a book about a specific area of journalism.

Create a news report on a video.

Write a play about a journalist/reporter writing a story about an important event.

Resources

Boraas, T. (1999) TV Reporters. Mankato, MN: Bridgestone Books

Christelow, E. (1995) What Do Authors Do? New York, NY: Clarion Books.

Culham, R. (2003) 6+1 Traits of Writing. New York, NY: Scholastic Professional Books.

Hayward, L. (2001) A Day in the Life of a TV Reporter. New York, NY: DK Publishing, Inc.

Gibbons, G. (1987) DEADLINE! From News to Newspaper. New York, NY.

Gilbert, S. (2009) Write Your Own Article: Newspaper, Magazine, Online. Mankato, MN: Compass Point Books

Greenberg, B. N., Lipson, G.B. (1981) Extra! Extra! Read All About It! How to use the newspaper in the classroom. Carthidge, IL: Good Apple, Inc.

Leedy, L. (1990) The Furry News: How to Make a Newspaper. USA: Holiday House.

Levin, M. (2004). Kids in Print: Publishing a School Newspaper (2nd Ed.). Kearney, NE: Morris Publishing

Mabery, D.L. (1985) Tell Me About Yourself: How to interview anyone from your friends to famous people. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications Company

Mattern, J. (2003) The Printing Press: An Information Revolution. New York, NY: PowerKids’ Press

The Newspaper In Education Resource Unit Teacher’s Guide. By Knowledge Unlimited.

Reeves, D.L. (1998) Career Ideas for Kids Who Like Writing. New York, NY: Checkmark Books.

Thomas, W.D. (2009) Journalist. Pleasantville, NY: Gareth Stevens Publishing.

Extra! Extra! Write All About It!

2011 S.E.W. Menu

Chet Huey

Guiding Question: Why is journalism important?

Knowledge Summary

Journalism is defined as the practice of investigation and reporting of issues, events, and trends to a vast audience. Besides covering institutions such as business and government, journalism also covers cultural aspects of society such as arts and entertainment. In America, the most traditional form of journalism is print media. However, in recent years there has been a sharp decline in printed forms of media, as Internet based materials are becoming the method of choice.

Journalism can trace its roots back to Germany in 1456 with the invention of the modern printing press by Johannes Gutenburg. His press made it possible to move the type around in a more efficient manner, speeding up the process by days, even weeks. However, it wasn’t until 1665 that the first weekly newspaper would be created in England. Up to that point, most people (if they could even read) mainly read the Bible. The printing process would be end up being a major factor in Colonial America and its fight for independence.

At least 89 newspapers in 35 cities were running in Colonial America during the time of the Revolution. These early forms of journalism served as outlets for the Colonists to inform the citizens of their town to the latest acts imposed by the British government and rally up anti-Crown support. After the war, newspapers grew rapidly. Over 200 were being published in America at the start of the 19th century. However, most papers were very biased as to what they printed and were not often reliable sources of information.

Horace Greeley’s New York Tribune and his competitor, the New York Times were among the first to have fair and balanced reporting. Because of this, their circulation skyrocketed. At the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century, muckraking became the trend in journalism. Massive scandals or unsafe practices were being reported by journalists that led to many ground breaking reforms, such as meat packing sanitation and the break up of Standard Oil.

Magazines were also becoming more popular during this time and were the first different form of journalism other than newspapers. Newspapers and magazines would soon give way to radio as the latest trend in journalism. Radio and newspapers dominated the market of journalism for some time, until the invention of television. Once most Americans could afford televisions, news broadcasts emerged as a leading source of journalism for people.

As we fast forward to today, once again technology dominates the way journalism is brought to us. The Internet is the main way most people get their news today. It has put such dent into newspaper circulation and subscriptions, that many newspapers have gone bankrupt or are heading that way. The Internet has also made every genre of journalism available to us instantly.

Today, journalism is not just the reporting of government news as it once was. Sports, fashion, food, movies, music, traffic and weather are just a few of the many things we can read about in newspapers, magazines or online. Journalism is an aspect of society that has transformed many, many times over the years since the invention of the printing press. It continues to evolve to this day from print based materials to Internet based sources. No matter how it’s presented to the public, one thing is clear: the need for the news to be relayed to the citizens has never gone away, nor will it ever. Journalism will be around for years to come, even as modern, technological avenues replace traditional outlets.

Twelve Big Ideas About Journalism

Journalism is the investigation and reporting of issues, events, and trends to an audience.
The first and most important obligation of a journalist is to the truth.
A journalist’s first loyalty is to the citizens.
In today’s society, the traditional media outlets of presenting current news, print media (newspapers, magazines) and broadcast media (radio, television), are increasingly being replaced by Internet based forms of media (websites, blogs).
Due to decreased circulation and subscriptions, it is becoming increasingly harder to find a career in traditional forms of print journalism.
Although most commonly associated with writing or print, journalism can be performed in a variety of ways, such as broadcasts, radio, photos, online, etc.
One of the issues developing with the advancement of Internet technology is that it is now possible for anyone to be a journalist, whether they are credible or not.
The Internet has made the reporting of news, no matter how far way, instantaneous.
Journalistic style answers the who, what, when, where, why and how of a particular event, also called the inverted pyramid.
Journalism is an independent monitor of power; a watchdog for the common man.
The most effective journalism is rooted in facts, connects with the public and educates without having any bias. By definition, it is the act of reporting news. A journalist seeks to spread knowledge, not opinions.
A good journalist finds a topic that is relevant, timely and of interest to their target audience. The next step in effective journalism is to gather facts and information on the topic, from reputable sources.

Type I Activities

Take a field trip to the Tuscaloosa News, Birmingham News or any local newspaper headquarters where a tour could be given to see how a newspaper is made, an article is written, or what sorts of jobs are available in the newspaper field. (Careers, Genres)

Listen to a guest speaker who is an authority to gain expert insight into a writing career. (Ex. If a class was studying sports journalism, they might ask Cecil Hurt of the Tuscaloosa News if he would come in and speak to them. Or if the class were focusing on literature from Southern Writers, maybe they would ask Rick Bragg to stop by and talk.) (Careers, Genres)

Listen to excerpts of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle to discover how investigative journalism can bring about social changes and is responsible for many of the laws and protections that are in place today. (Social Impact, Genres)

Watch the history of the printing press, from its invention by Johannes Gutenburg all the way to today’s modern presses at (Social Impact, History)

Read popular publications (Tuscaloosa News, Sports Illustrated For Kids, Nickelodeon Magazine, TIME, Rolling Stone, etc.) to examine how professionals write. (Techniques, Careers, Areas)

Read the steps of the writing process that journalists use at (Techniques)

Take a virtual field trip of the Newseum in Washington, DC at to discover some of the most treasured news artifacts the world has ever known. (History)

Watch clips from full motion pictures that are about writing, such as:

Shakespeare In Love

Capote

Sideways

Dead Poet’s Society

Adaptation

to gain a perspective on how writing is used in everyday life. (Careers, Social Impact)

Read guides on becoming better writers, such as this one:

(Techniques)

Examine materials that writers use in today’s field:

Pens

Paper

Word Processor

Laptop

Memo Pad

Recorder

(Materials)

Peruse magazines from different decades to see how they have evolved over the decades. (History)

Watch a video on the history of journalism. (History)

Look at political cartoons to learn about another form of journalism. (Genres)

Watch the noon news to see how broadcast journalists work. (Genres, Careers, Areas)

Examine articles to see how the author uses the headline to catch the reader’s attention. (Techniques, Areas, Genres)

Type II Activities

Track current events and each day decide upon which would be the lead story, second story, etc. in a classroom newspaper or news channel to practice the decision-making editors make each day. The decision making talent could also be used to help determine. (News, Entertainment)
Use forecasting talent #1 to predict the many varied causes of the continual decline in newspaper circulation and subscriptions. (Present, Decline of print media)
Follow up by using forecasting talent #2 to predict the many varied effects of the continual decline in newspaper circulation and subscriptions. (Future, Decline of print media)
After initially stimulating their interest by discussing their career, an expert will come back and instruct “how to ______” for their particular field. An example would be for my friend Evie Adsetts, a photojournalist, to come in and teach proper techniques for picture taking such as use of light, angles, composition, use of flash, etc. (Techniques)
Using your own personal digital camera, experiment with various techniques that were taught to you by Evie Adsetts, to capture photos in a new and exciting manner about a topic you want to communicate to others. (Skills)
Use the productive thinking talent to think of many, varied and unusual names for an S.E.W. newspaper. (News, Entertainment)
Use communication talent #1 to list many varied single words that describe the first story on a news broadcast. (News)
Write an entry for the class blog, describing what we did that day. (Online, News, Entertainment)
Eat at a local restaurant and then write a review, practicing the how-to skills you learned. (Entertainment, Opinion, Skills)
Practice interview how-to skills and take notes, as a reporter would, on someone in your family who lived during a significant event in the past such as the Great Depression, World War II, September 11th, etc. (Skills, Tools, Reporting)
Follow up your interview by going to the library and researching the event your family member discussed. Write an article based upon your research and interview. (Skills, Reporting, Tools)
Read an article from a magazine or newspaper. Using markers, crayons, pencils, construction paper, etc., illustrate the main idea of the article.
Observe the weather for a few days and write an article on the various types of weather that occurred. (Reporting, Weather)

Type III Activities