6.

1 Your headlines, my stories

LEVEL Upper-elementary and above

TIME 15 minutes per story

MATERIALS Very short, simple newspaper stories

SKILLS Planning newspaper story outlines

ACTIVITY Predicting newspaper story content

PREPARATION Choose two or three simple, very short stories with very distinctive headlines.
('Bottom pincher owned up after wrong man held' (see page 75) or 'Skyway
robber steals half a million' (see page 76) would be perfect examples.)

PROCEDURE 1 Ask the students to work in groups of three.

2 Read the headline aloud and write it on the board. Allow three to five
minutes' absolute silence while each student imagines the story that
follows. They may make notes if they wish.

3 Allow up to 10 minutes while the groups compare their imagined versions

and decide on the likeliest.

4 Read the original story aloud.

This procedure can be repeated with a second story.

VARIATION Let each group choose their own headline and story. You can then use these
in class. Remember to find an alternative activity for the group whose story
you are using.