Creating a Newspaper
The children’s book The Furry News by Lorreen Leady, A Reading Rainbow selection, explains how a newspaper comes together. Different animals take on the roles of publisher, editor, reporter, photographer and commentator and produce a newspaper about their community. Have students become the characters and act out the story to generate interest in their producing a classroom, grade level or school newspaper.
The Paperboy by Dav Pilkey is another book about newspapers often read in classrooms. Paperboy involves a boy and his dog getting up early to deliver newspapers. Students may interview someone whose first job was delivering newspapers and ask what the person had to do to do the job well and what the job taught them about earning money.
Draw ideas from NIE curricula available through the American Press Institute and ideas available through other sources:
Creating a classroom newspaper
Especially effective at the middle-school level, this guide offers step-by-step instructions for producing a newspaper in class over a period of five days.
Press ahead: A teacher’s guide to creating student newspapers
Middle- and high-school teachers can use the worksheets and detailed assignments in this manual to guide students in the production of a newspaper.
Eight curriculum units, designed for use in journalism classes, make up this curriculum. N The News includes lesson plans, subject content, activities and assessment tools.
Social media toolbox: A resource for student journalism programs
The “Social Media Toolbox” is a free resource for students and educators who are interested in incorporating the use of social media into student publications. The blog provides lesson plans and resources targeted toward high school journalism students and their advisers.
The International Reading Association and National Council of Teachers of English provide a lesson on Creating a Classroom Newspaper.
Journalism organizations also provide guidance for teachers and students involved in the production of newspapers. The North Carolina Scholastic Media Association provides links to sites that serve journalism teachers and professional journalists. Click here.
Search the Internet for other teaching ideas:
It’s News To Me: Teaching Students To Create A School Newspaper
By Michelle Sumlin- Long, Columbus Middle School
http://www.chatham.edu/pti/
Pinterest for class newspaper ideas:
http://www.pinterest.com/
Search North Carolina newspapers and professional journalism organizations for Codes of Ethics that apply to journalism and journalists:
Society of Professional Journalists, Code of Ethics
http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.
PewResearch, Journalism Project