Lesson Plan
Pulitzer Center

The Paradise Papers: A Lesson in Investigative Journalism

For Teachers 6th - Higher Ed Standards
The Paradise Papers, a year-long research project from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ) exposed how political leaders, business people, and wealthy individuals used offshore entities to avoid taxes and hide...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Journalism in War Time: What Does the Public Need to Know?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
A viewing of the documentary War Feels Like War, launches an exploration of the importance of accurate and comprehensive war reporting. Groups investigate various news agencies and assess the factors that influence their stories. A...
Lesson Plan
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Newseum

Reporting Part III: Staying Objective

For Teachers 7th - Higher Ed Standards
The third and final lesson in the Reporting series tests young journalists' ability to be objective in reporting contentious topics. After brainstorming a list of contentious topics that interest them, the class selects one, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

School Newspaper

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate writing a school newspaper. In this writing a school newspaper lesson, students choose topics that will be included in the school newspaper. Students view online sites about writing articles and break into groups to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Journalism 101

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students understand the writing style in a newspaper. In this journalism lesson, students recognize that a newspaper has a catchy headline and objective writing. Students interview someone in an area of interest and write a news article.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

So You Want to Be a Copy Editor?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Explore what a copy editor does and take a copyediting test. Pupils practice spelling while identifying the skills and knowledge necessary for a career in journalism. The resource is well done.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Citizen Journalism

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine the role of citizen journalism, freedom of the press, and the First Amendment. They analyze the results of an Internet survey, discuss the ethics of downloading copyrighted material on the Internet, and write a news story.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

School Newspaper

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students analyze the different parts of a school newspaper. In this newspaper lesson, students complete a semantic web activity for newspapers and explore a newspaper in groups. Students create a write a report for the information....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Five Ws of Journalism

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students write a mock article. In this journalism lesson plan, students define the word "article" and learn the five W's of article writing. Students complete a worksheet and write a paragraph using what they have learned.
Lesson Plan
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Social Media Toolbox

Reporting with Social Media

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
What does it take to create news stories that are both informative and objective? Aspiring journalists walk the line between engagement and activism with lesson 15 of a 16-part series titled The Social Media Toolbox. Grouped pupils...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Journalism in the Halls

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine the Lane Tech murals on the Web or at the school. They conduct interviews with students and professionals as a method of researching the subjects of these murals. They write an article for a special "mural" edition of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"War of the Worlds": A Broadcast Re-Creation

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Why did Orson Welles' 1938 Broadcast of a adaptation of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds cause such a panic? To answer this question, class members listen to the original broadcast and research the panic that resulted. They then engage...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Case Studies in Journalistic Ethics - Number 3

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Learners investigate ethical decision making when using photos in journalism. In this ethics in journalism lesson plan, students read about the ethical use of images in media, discuss recent controversial photos, and look at online case...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Anonymous Sources in the Media

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
When do people ask for anonymity? Why? After reading the New York Times article "For a Reporter and a Source, Echoes of Broken Promise," young readers participate in a roundtable discussion focusing on freedom of the press and the use of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Right to Remain Silent(?)

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners consider the rights of journalists regarding source confidentiality, then create presentations on the New York Times' use of sources. They write guidelines to aid journalists in evaluating the trustworthiness of their sources.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Journalism: Underage Drinking

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students research underage drinking and read a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association about the issue. They interview experts on substance abuse and liquor store owners about their policies. Students publish their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Second Sun

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Explore the elements of newspaper from the view of the front page. Young analysts create a front page of a newspaper geared toward teen readers. They use their inference skills to determine why some front pages are more eye-catching than...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Expressing Your Views to the Letter

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Analyze the motivation, purpose, and value of letters to the editor by examining letters written in response to the violence at Columbine High School. For homework, middle and high schoolers write their own letters to the editor about an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

This Just In…

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students consider the impact a reporter has on broadcast journalism. They research a famous broadcast journalist to prepare a mock news report.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Anchors Away

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine forms of broadcast journalism. they identify roles played by journalists in various news formats.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Editing a Newspaper Article

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students investigate article editing in today's society by writing their own news articles.  In this journalism lesson, students create a word web based on the word "editing."  Students write their own news articles and peer...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Inquiring Minds: News and Philanthropy

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students recognize philanthropy and collect samples from the newspaper or other literary sources. In this newspaper writing lesson, students observe acts of kindness and write about them in a newsletter.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Paragraph Development In News Journalism

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars identify the qualities of a new paragraph. They develop news paragraphs. They gain an introduction to appropriate paragraph development in news journalism using professional models as a guide.
Lesson Plan
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National Endowment for the Humanities

“Read All About It”: Primary Source Reading in “Chronicling America”

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Can investigative journalism become too sensationalistic and accusatory, or is it vital for the survival of a democracy? Middle schoolers analyze primary source documents from early 20th-century newspapers as well as Theodore...