Book Description

Based on the premise that students can learn a great deal by reading and writing a newspaper, this book was created by preservice instructors to teach upper elementary students (grades 3-5) newspaper concepts, journalism, and how to write newspaper articles. It shows how to use newspaper concepts to help students integrate knowledge from multiple disciplines as they write about current events and the lives of others in an unbiased and accurate way. Based on the Newspaper in Education program--a cooperative venture between newspaper publishers and schools that offers newspaper activities to teach reading and content skills and strategies--the book takes the concept further and incorporates a focus on writing. The result of these lessons is an actual newspaper that students can publish for their classroom or school. Following an Introduction, the book's seven chapters are as follows: (1) Background Information for Teachers; (2) Teaching Journalism Basics; (3) Interviewing, Writing Quotes, and Using Figurative Language; (4) Elements and Organizational Structure of News Stories; (5) Writing Different Types of Newspaper Stories; (6) The Final Steps: Revision, Editing, Layout, and Publication; and (7) Student Evaluation of Concept Units. Contains 12 references. Appendixes provide student worksheets, two sample articles, a layout and design sheet, a glossary of newspaper terms, a stylebook, and a listing of additional resources. (SR)