Retelling the events of a story can be done in fun and creative ways. One of these is by creating the front page of a newspaper! This can be done for any book, though historical fiction books may allow students to also "report" on important events that would have affected the life of characters. In this activity, students will retell key events from the story as if it were a newspaper. They should add a catchy headline, create images, and write descriptions for each to imitate the look of the front page of a newspaper highlighting the key events of the story.
To add additional templates to this assignment, check out our newspaper project templates. Teachers may choose to scaffold or tailor this assignment by having students create text for pictures the teacher has created on the template, or by assigning students specific events to cover. Be sure to update the student instructions as necessary!
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Due Date:
Objective: Create the front page of a newspaper to describe key events from the book.
Student Instructions:
Requirements:
The headline, subheadings, lead (opening paragraph), body, and conclusion are important elements of news items that students should learn to recognize and comprehend. Talk about the structure of the inverted pyramid, where the most crucial information is presented first. Teachers can give each student a newspaper from a different time period to analyze the main sections.
Encourage students to analyze the validity of sources, appraise the evidence in articles, and take into account the viewpoint and possible biases of the author in order to foster critical thinking abilities. Discuss with students why these exercises are important and how they can help them write their own sections in the newspapers if they ever decide to pursue a career in journalism.
Ask the students to analyze the kind of vocabulary used in newspaper sections, especially how the headlines are formatted and portrayed. Help the students analyze the difference between the writing style of newspapers and stories/ books. Discuss how the writing style can shape people’s opinions and shape the present and the future.
Assign the students the task of comparing newspapers from two different time periods or two different newspapers from similar time periods. This will help students analyze how the field of newspaper journalism has changed over time and how people now share the news on current affairs with the rest of the world.
Use newspaper stories to spark debates and conversations among students about current affairs. Urge them to share their thoughts, backed up by information from the articles they've read. Teachers can also ask the students to conduct discussions on how the different sections present in the newspaper enhance the overall quality of the paper.
Headlines, subheadings, bylines, pictures, captions, and a range of news articles covering various subjects should all be included on the front page. It should resemble the layout of an actual newspaper. Students can take some inspiration from famous news articles to make their papers more authentic.
Teachers can conduct this activity both individually and in groups. Students can cooperate and share responsibilities in groups, simulating a newspaper setting. Students have the opportunity to fully own the process when working on individual projects.
Yes, depending on the grade level, the project's difficulty can be changed. While older students can focus on more in-depth research and analysis, younger students can concentrate on simpler layouts and shorter essays.