Curated OER
Writing a News Article
Join the newspaper business with a series of lessons and exercises focused on elements of journalism. The packet focuses on distinguishing fact from opinion, writing effective headlines, sequencing events, and editing and...
Class Antics
Leap Year: Write a Newspaper Article
Extra! Extra! Read all about leap year! Here, scholars write a newspaper article all about leap year/leap day from given facts including who, what, where, when, and why.
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation
Culminating Writing Project - Reporting on Angel Island
The unit study of Angel Island Immigration Station concludes with scholars using information from the previous lessons to craft a news story about the Angel Island program.
EngageNY
Revising the Newspaper Article: Sentence Structure and Transitions
Take two. After a mini lesson covering sentence structure and transition words, scholars revise their End of Unit 3 Assessment based on feedback. Writers self-score their assessments against row three in the Newspaper Article Rubric.
PBS
Broadcast News
Just because a story is on the news doesn't mean it's being presented fairly. Analyze news broadcasts with a lesson focused on evaluating television journalism. At home, kids watch a news show and note the stories presented, including...
Novelinks
The Martian Chronicles: Response Writing
Follow the format of Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles with a journal-writing activity. Readers choose a character and examine the character's life and circumstances through brainstorming, research, and discussion before...
Newseum
When the News Media Make Mistakes
Mistakes happen. When they happen in news reporting, be it in print or on the internet, journalism ethics requires that the errors be corrected. Young journalists use an Accuracy Checklist to track how news organizations post corrections...
California Education Partners
Summer Olympics
Quickly get to the decimal point. The last assessment in a nine-part series requires scholars to work with decimals. Pupils compare the race times of several athletes and calculate how much they have improved over time. During the second...
Curated OER
The Rumpelstiltskin Story
Why didn't Rapunzel's hair stop growing? Why did it take the fairy godmother so long to intervene in Cinderella's affairs? Young writers consider unanswered questions like these and compose news articles investigating the true...
Online Publications
Become a Journalist
Explore the newspaper as a unique entity with a detailed and extended unit. The unit requires learners to consider the newspaper's role in democracy, think about ethics, practice writing and interviewing, and examine advertising and news...
Southern Poverty Law Center
Analyzing How Words Communicate Bias
Words are powerful ... can your class choose them wisely? Scholars evaluate news articles to discover the concepts of tone, charge, and bias during a media literacy lesson. The resource focuses on recognizing implicit information and...
Newseum
Can I Trust the Creators?
It's easy to find information at the click of a mouse, but is it trustworthy? Pupils learn about the E.S.C.A.P.E. acronym for evaluating sources. Next, learners read a news story and evaluate its sources to determine credibility. Last,...
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...
Newseum
Editorials and Opinion Articles
Reading the news is fun, and that's a fact! With the lesson plan, scholars differentiate between fact and opinion as they read editorial articles. They complete a worksheet to analyze the information before writing their own editorials...
American Press Institute
Newspapers in Your Life: What’s News Where?
Big news isn't necessarily newsworthy everywhere! How do journalists decide what to cover with so much happening around them? A instructional activity on media literacy examines the factors that affect the media's choice of stories to...
Common Sense Media
Fake News: Historical Timeline
In 1874, The New York Herald falsely claimed that several animals escaped from the Central Park Zoo, and panic ensued. Using the helpful infographic, pupils discover more instances of fake news throughout history, from as far back as 63...
Turabian Teacher Collaborative
Parts of Argument II: Article Critique
Break down the parts of argumentative writing with a critical thinking activity. High schoolers read an article of your (or their choice), and use a graphic organizer to delineate the ways the author structures his or her arguments.
Carolina K-12
The Revolutionary Times
Be sure to grab a copy of the Revolutionary Times! Scholars take a step back in time to report on topics set in the revolutionary period. Events include the ride of Paul Revere, the Battle of Saratoga, and more.
Prestwick House
The House on Mango Street Activity Pack
Enrich a unit on The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros with a selection of related activities. The packet contains nine activities that go from pre-reading through wrapping up the novel. Young readers work on studying...
Historical Thinking Matters
Spanish-American War: 1 Day Lesson
After analyzing newspaper articles portraying different perspectives of the explosion of the Battleship USS Maine, your young historians will take a stand on which position is the most believable in both discussion and writing.
Southern Poverty Law Center
Evaluating Online Sources
All sources are pretty much the same, right? If this is how your class views the sources they use for writing or research projects, present them with a media literacy lesson on smart source evaluation. Groups examine several articles,...
Kenan Fellows
Letter Writing to Politicians on Environmental Issues
Let your voices be heard! Pupils research local and national environmental concerns using the Internet. Class members determine an issue they deem important and draft a letter to a local politician expressing their...
Weekly Story Book
Folk Tales and Fables
Pages and pages of engaging activities, worksheets, and writing projects on teaching folktales and fables await you! You don't want to miss this incredible resource that not only includes a wide range of topics and graphic...
CJ Hatcher & Associates, Inc.
Skill Building with the Newspaper
Extra, extra, read all about it! Use a newspaper as the primary resource in a special education classroom to teach reading, writing, and math skills. The activities help class members build their reading skills as well as their...