Teacher Name: Judie Goss
Grades 5/6
Lesson: Writing the news story
School: Pine Tree School
Subject Matter: Language Arts
Externship: Conway Daily Sun

The news story should begin with a bang or at a least a pop!!!

Introduce the following vocabulary to students before beginning a lesson(s)

• lead-opening sentence of the story
• headline-same as lead opening of the story
• body-supporting and background details
• news value-judged by whether the story has impact, Timeliness, closeness and/or human interest

Rule number one
Ask yourself the 5W's and H when developing a lead.
Who, what, when, where, why and how?

Rule number two
Investigate to make sure that you have correct information, interview subject and research the topic ALWAYS DOUBLE CHECK FACTS BEFORE YOU TURN IN A STORY.

Rule number three
Connections are important, news sentences and paragraphs and typically short and direct, paragraphs rarely contain more than three sentences. Each new paragraph should NOT depend on the following paragraph for explanation

Rule number four
Collecting and correcting, always edit your story. Make sure that sentences are Clear and direct, check for missing or misleading information, double check facts, names, dates and spelling.

NOTE: When I present this lesson to the class I spend time with the vocabulary and then talk about what a reporter does. I find it helpful in helping the 5th/6th grade students in seeing the relevancy for proofreading work.

Asessment:
Have the students begin by interviewing each other. A list of questions should be brainstormed prior to this activity. They should not interview friend but rather someone they do not know as well. Suggested questions are:

• Where were you born?
• Do you have any special talents?
• What is your favorite (insert word)?
• What do you plan to do in the future?
• How will you achieve that goal?

After the articles are written, the persons who was interviewed should check to make sure the information is correct. Then, have the students work in groups of 3 or 4 to proof all of the articles. These could be displayed along with pictures on a school bulletin board.

Next, interview staff members and publish one article each week in the school newsletter. The students should create a sign up list as to which members and when the interviews will take place.

Pre or post activity
Contact Mark Guerringue at the Conway Daily Sun for a tour of his offices. He will be most accommodating.Also both Mark and Bob Waters may be able to help publish school based newspapers. Stat small-one or two publications the first year.