Enhance your middle and high schoolers' research skills with this lesson. After viewing a video clip about HIV and AIDS, high schoolers identify the facts and issues surrounding the disease. They work together to create a newspaper...

Students use video and the Internet to research the life of Nellie Bly, a famous female reporter from the 19th century. They research a writer and present their information to the class in the style of a news reporter.

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...

Students research as a reporter would and present the loyalist and patriot point of view on the American Revolution.  In this patriots versus loyalist lesson, students produce a project such as a video debate or webpage explaining...

As a journalist, would you publish everything you heard or saw? Discuss the ethics of journalism with a lesson from PBS. Young reporters imagine themselves to be the editor of their school's newspaper, and as they read five scenarios,...

The book, A Week in the Woods is the focus of the very interesting language arts lesson presented here. After the book has been read, learners engage in study of certain parts of the book in order to gain a better understanding of how...

Students study the process of creating an interview by role playing as a reporter who has the opportunity to interview one of the survivors of the Titanic disaster. They ask only five questions in this interview of a lifetime therefore...

Students read newspaper articles and watch segments on the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. In groups, they discuss how each media outlet presented the material and decide which one was more productive. As a class, they discuss...

Students research the effects of living in a hurricane zone. In this hurricane zone lesson, students research the impact of natural disasters on humans and the environment, and write a press release describing the devastation of...

Young scholars write an article to inform readers about confidentiality with reporters, attempting to find local lawyers and journalists to explain the issues as they relate to them. Students research past cases and the status of the...

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...

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?

Students write a story.  In this writing style and illustration activity, students review elements of Dr. Seuss' writing and illustration style and read a few more books written by him, examining the writing style.  Students...

Students watch the series "Unforgiveable Blackness". They examine the media's response to Jack Johnson in the film. They role-play the role of reporters to compose poems of headlines.

After processing notes from research or an interview, middle schoolers turn the information into a script or dialogue for narrative, persuasive, or expository text. Use this lesson in any writing unit to reinforce proper writing skills.

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...

Following the method used by Truman Capote, class members research a major character from his novel, In Cold Blood, and then conduct an interview with that character. The resulting research is used to craft a newspaper article about the...

Students work as magazine reporters to produce a print or multimedia magazine about rain forests.

Reporting the news is easy, right? Think again! Show young scholars the difficult choices journalists make every day through a instructional activity that includes reading, writing, and discussion elements. Individuals compare the...

Fourth graders generate an oral presentation on the weather. In this weather lesson plan, 4th graders watch the weather for a week and record the data on a chart. Students give a weather report at the end of the week.

Students investigate the link between technology and abuse among teens. They research dating abuse when cell phones or the Internet are involved. Working as a team of reporters, photographers, graphic artists, and page designers, they...

Students work in pairs to interview each other. They identify interviewing skills and methods, conduct a preliminary interview, develop a working script from the notes and participate in a final interview for the camera.

Fifth through eighth graders think of themselves as newspaper reporters as they listen to a presentation by a guest speaker. As reporters, they take notes during the presentation. Using these notes, they create a rough draft and then a...

Some books are perfect for drawing connections between multiple subjects. The book Hill of Fire becomes the hub for three very different, yet related activity ideas. First the class hones their oral language skills by creating an...