Topic: The communicator

Objectives & Outcomes

-Students will be able to identify the role of a school newspaper and give examples of stories that
might be published in it.

Materials
-Copies of the school newspaper -Internet access
-Writing materials

Warm-up
-Ask students if they have heard of a school newspaper and if they know what it is used for. -Write
their answers on the board and discuss as a class.

Direct Instruction
-Explain to students that a school newspaper is a publication that is produced by students and is
usually published on a regular basis (e.g. weekly, monthly).
-Discuss the role of a school newspaper and its importance in communicating information to the
school community.
-Introduce the concept of journalistic writing and explain the different elements of a news article
(e.g. heading, lead, body, quotes, summary).
-Demonstrate how to write a news article, including the use of proper grammar, punctuation, and
spelling.

Guided Practice
-Divide the class into small groups and provide each group with a topic for a news article.
-Have each group work together to write a news article using the journalistic writing techniques
that were demonstrated.
-Allow time for each group to present their news article to the class and provide feedback on their
writing.
-As a class, discuss the role of a school newspaper in communicating information to the school
community. How is a school newspaper able to effectively communicate information to the school
community?

Independent Practice and Closure

-As a class, review the key concepts and skills learned during the lesson and discuss how they can
be applied in the context of school journalism.
-Have students choose a topic that is relevant to the school community and write a news article on
that topic using the journalistic writing techniques that were demonstrated.

Follow up
-Have students share their news articles with the school editorial and discuss any challenges or
successes they experienced while writing their articles.

Assessment:
-Collect and grade the news articles that students wrote as independent practice.