American Press Institute
Introductory News Literacy
Aspiring journalists learn about media literacy, journalism, and the press. Units come complete with handouts, assignment rubrics, notes, and extension suggestions. Each unit also comes with a list of vocabulary words and learning...
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...
Curated OER
Reporting Live from the Twentieth Century
Students create a news story on one of the top 100 news stories of the 20th century.choose one past news event. They write a news story about that event, and provide a continuation of the story based on their research.
Curated OER
Don't Lose Your Way in the News
Students explore language arts by participating in a newspaper analysis activity. In this journalism instructional activity, students identify how newspapers present stories, who is writing them and how they can obtain information from...
Newspaper Association of America
Using the Newspaper to Teach the Five Freedoms of the First Amendment
Of all the amendments found in The Bill of Rights, the First Amendment contains some of the most important freedoms for American citizens. A unit plan on the First Amendment features interactive lesson plans designed to teach about those...
Curated OER
Identify the Parts of a Newspaper features of informational text, newspaper format
Young readers make sense out of the wealth of information in newspapers with this helpful reference document. Pointing out basic features like headings, articles, bylines, and captions this resource is a great tool for introducing...
Curated OER
Hurricane Katrina: You Be the Reporter
Students work in a small group to create news stories, feature stories and editorials/letters to the editor and organize them in a podcast, video-based program, or newspaper/magazine focused on Hurricane Katrina.
Curated OER
This Just in! Nile Network News Update
Have your young reporters research contributions of the ancient Egyptians, draft scripts, and broadcast their stories live on the Nile Network News. Depending on class size and age, topics may be brainstormed or assigned. The detailed...
Curated OER
Where Do I Begin: Writing an Effective Feature Story
High schoolers write an effective feature story. In this journalism lesson plan, young scholars learn through 6 activities to ask open-ended questions, write effective leads, and handle quotes, and write headlines for news stories.
Curated OER
Two Sources of Story Ideas for Our Paper
Students research and identify story ideas for the school newspaper. In this story ideas lesson, students pitch story ideas to their teacher on a weekly basis using a specific format. Students find the majority of their ideas from print...
Curated OER
Easy Access: Creating Annotated Versions of News Articles
How can news coverage be made more accessible for teens? Model for your class how to use technology to annotate news stories containing unfamiliar references that hinder their interest in and understanding of a news story. Use the...
Curated OER
Understanding the News
Students work in small groups to identify the following categories of news articles: hard news, features, announcements, and opinion/personal reflection.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Alexander Graham Bell
Study the features of nonfiction text with a set of comprehension and analysis materials. Readers learn about Alexander Graham Bell with questions about the text, writing prompts, and proofreading activities.
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...
Curated OER
Ancient Cultures News Broadcast
How does geography influence daily life? Guided by an essential question, class groups select and then research an ancient culture, and develop a news broadcast about the geographical setting and its impact on the culture. Teams select...
Curated OER
Mapping the News
Students explore cartography. For this map skills and map making lesson, Students work in groups to create wall size world maps including legends, compass roses, latitude and longitude, and physical features. Students collect current...
Curated OER
News Magazine: Special Issue on Iran. (It's about Perspective)
Students take on the role of journalists. In this Iran lesson, students explore the condition of the country at this point in history and collaborate to create a news magazine that features current events and cultural issues pertaining...
Curated OER
Newspapers
Have your class learn about the features of a newspaper. Learners identify the parts of a newspaper and an article. They discuss the elements of good writing and describe how to add photos and captions to a story. Informative and useful!
Curated OER
Creating a Newspaper
Get the scoop with a fun, engaging newspaper project. After analyzing the parts of a newspaper, including the headline, subtitles, and pictures or images, young journalists get to work by writing their own stories in a newspaper article...
Curated OER
The Electric Experience
Students investigate the effects of television and radio on culture. In this journalism lesson, students consider how electronic media has shaped journalism as they create timelines that feature the changes and compare and contrast print...
Curated OER
Beyond the Printed Word
Students investigate the effects of television and radio on culture. In this journalism instructional activity, students consider how electronic media has shaped journalism as they create timelines that feature the changes and compare...
Curated OER
Beneath the News: Who's Doing What to Whom, and Who Cares?
Students investigate the differences between various forms of media (print, radio, TV, Internet). They determine the target audience for each and compare exposure around the world. They write a short story and share it with the class.
Curated OER
Struggle for Equality
Students read and discuss a selection of news clippings, sermons, and narratives that depict the continued struggle for equality and mistreatment of African American citizens. They present a "60 Minutes"-style news program with the...
Curated OER
Law: Requiring HPV Vaccine
Learners research the HPV vaccine and estimate its cost. They interview doctors and local health officials about it. Students write feature stories based on their research focusing on the timelines for implementation in their states or...