A Gazette-in-Education current events teaching package · key considerations. The answers to these and related questions help editors judge the “newsworthiness” of a news story

A Gazette-in-Education current events teaching package

Written by Ellen Lee

TEACHER INFORMATION2 1. Introduction3 2. Objectives3 3. Supplementary resources4 4. Evaluating students’ newspaper literacy4 5. Suggestions for using this package with students who

have learning difficulties4 6. Suggestions for using this package with gifted children5 7. Evaluation strategies5 8. Helpful hints for using the newspaper in your classroom

THE ROLE OF THE NEWSPAPER6 1. What is news?8 2. News and feature stories9 3. Opinion

10 4. Freedom of the press11 5. Advertising content12 6. Newspaper terminology

NEWSPAPER ACTIVITIES14 1. Scavenger hunt15 2. Newspaper quiz16 3. Daily newspaper activities17 4. Long-term newspaper projects18 5. Government and its role19 6. Human rights20 7. Environmental issues21 8. Law and order23 9. The community24 10. Polls and surveys25 11. Social issues26 12. Natural disasters27 13. Consumer awareness28 14. Community events, the arts, sports,

leisure and travel29 15. Opinion pieces about current events30 16. Miscellaneous activities

SUPPLEMENTARY RESOURCES31 1. Problem-solving model32 2. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights34 3. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms38 4. The Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms43 5. The Youth Criminal Justice Act

CONTENTS

What in the World is Going On?is a Gazette-in-Education current

events teaching package. It was written by Ellen Lee, edited

by Gary George. Revised andadapted for online use by

Ellen Laughlin, with design byLaleah Tanguay.

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Awareness of the world takes place in stages. It begins within the childand progressively extends to the family, neighbourhood, town, province,country and finally to the world beyond. To participate in society meaningfully, we must be informed about events – both near and far –that affect us. These events may touch our lives directly or indirectly.

The daily newspaper contains material that reflects our world, both locally and globally. Newspapers help bring the real world into the classroom. It is the most current and relevant “textbook” you can usewith your students.

This package is designed to help students use the newspaper to becomebetter informed and more responsible citizens of the world.

The activities can be completed using either the print version or the digital version of The Gazette. The digital edition contains everything inthe printed Gazette, as well as extra features, summaries, archives, searchcapability and oral reading of each article. Online subscribers also haveaccess to other Canwest newspapers across the country.

Whichever version they use, students need a basic understanding of theformat and contents of the newspaper before they begin the activities inthis guide. The information and teacher-directed activities in “The Roleof the Newspaper” will help you introduce the newspaper to your class.A “getting acquainted” period is recommended to ensure that studentshave the skills needed to complete the lessons. Suggestions are alsoincluded to help you evaluate your students’ knowledge of the newspaper.

Although Current Events has traditionally been taught as part of SocialStudies, it easily lends itself to an integrated approach. Many lessons in Language Arts, Science, Moral Education, etc. can be built aroundactivities in this package. And being “newspaper-literate” is a life skill in itself.

We strongly encourage the use of maps in conjunction with newspaper articles and activities, so that your students’ geographical awareness will be improved and reinforced.

TEACHER INFORMATION

1. INTRODUCTION

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3. SUPPLEMENTARY RESOURCES

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a. Problem-Solving Model

This will help your students analyze the factors involved in socialissues, determine their feelings about them and identify possible solutions to the problems.

TEACHER INFORMATION

2. OBJECTIVESThe goal of this package is to guide your students toward a betterunderstanding of the world through current events. The activities aimto develop awareness and understanding in the following areas:

Both teacher-directed and independent student activities are provided for each theme.

• Government and its role• Human rights• Environmental issues• Law and order• The community• Polls and surveys

• Social issues• Natural disasters• Consumer awareness• Community events, the arts,

sports, leisure and travel• Opinion pieces about current events

b. Universal Declaration of Human Rights

c. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

d. The Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms

e. The Youth Criminal Justice Act

To familiarize students with the Problem-Solving Model,choose an appropriate article from the newspaper andfollow the model as a class activity, discussing each stepalong the way. (You may need to discuss the concept ofa “model” in this context.)

Discuss documents b – e and their implications with yourstudents. You may decide to have students research thebackground of the documents – when they were written,under what circumstances, etc.

• Tell students the objective of each activity / lesson.

• Break up tasks into short segments. Set shorterdeadlines for each step of a project.

• Have students repeat instructions.• Give students a choice of activities.• Begin the activity with the students and allow

them to finish it on their own.• Tailor activities to students’ abilities.• Pair students for activities, putting higher-ability

students with lower-ability students.• Put more emphasis on discussion than

on written work.

• Be creative and varied in your presentations tostudents, being sure to use a variety of sensemodalities (auditory, visual, etc.)

• Point out relationships; give cues and promptsas needed.

• Speak in concrete terms, not abstractions.Relate information to students’ experienceswhenever possible.

• Use vocabulary that students understand.• Ask questions to verify students’ understanding.• Explain to students how the information will

affect them.• Give immediate feedback.• Set realistic expectations.

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5. SUGGESTIONS FOR USING THIS PACKAGE WITH STUDENTS WHO HAVE LEARNING DIFFICULTIES

TEACHER INFORMATION

• Tailor the activities to match (and challenge)students’ abilities. For example, ask them to findtwo articles instead of one, make inferences,test assumptions, etc.

• Use students’ curiosity as a motivational factor.• Have students give more presentations.• Have students work individually rather

than in groups.

• Pair students with lower-ability students.• Assign more long-term projects.• Have students assume more responsibility

when working in groups.• Encourage students to develop their

leadership skills.• Encourage originality (uncommon or

unusual responses, etc.)

6. SUGGESTIONS FOR USING THIS PACKAGE WITH GIFTED CHILDREN

4. EVALUATING STUDENTS’ NEWSPAPER LITERACY

• Have students complete a scavenger hunt foritems in the newspaper. (A sample is includedon page 14.)

• Conduct races in which the first student (or team) to find a specified item wins a point. (This is similar to the scavenger hunt, but broken down into single items.)

• Give an oral or written quiz on newspaper contents and terminology.

• Prepare worksheets from your newspaper.• Divide the class into groups and have each

group design a scavenger hunt, prepare work-sheets or make up an oral or written quiz foranother group or the whole class.

Here are some suggestions for reviewing and/or evaluating your students’ newspaper knowledge:

• Call The Gazette to order a subscription to the digital or print version of the newspaper.

• If using the print version, confirm your newspaper delivery dates,and advise the school secretary or custodian that you are expectinga newspaper delivery.

• Store printed newspapers on a special shelf or in partitioned boxes(such as those from the liquor store). If possible, let students takethem home at the end of the lessons.

• Prior to introducing the newspaper to your students, make sure youare familiar with its content and special features. If using the digitalversion, familiarize yourself with the navigation tools and additionalfeatures.

• Provide a folder for each student’s work, to be collected periodicallyfor evaluation.

• Reading newspaper articles aloud to your students on a regular basisis a valid activity in itself.

7. EVALUATION STRATEGIES

8. HELPFUL HINTS FOR USING THE NEWSPAPER IN YOUR CLASSROOM

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In order to evaluate your students’ performance on the activities in this package, you can assign grades based on any of the following:

TEACHER INFORMATION

• Oral reports or presentations• Worksheets• Class / group discussions• Debates• Long-term projects• Homework• Class activities or exercises• Position papers or editorials• Oral / written quizzes or tests• Student’s self evaluation• Peer evaluation for group activities• Student’s newspaper file or folder (at the end of each term)

THE ROLE OF THE NEWSPAPER

1. WHAT IS NEWS?

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The newspaper has a number of functions in our society: to inform, to educate, to influence, to entertain and to provide a print marketplace for goods and services.Different items in the newspaper perform these different roles.

The following summaries provide information about the newspaper’s content and writingstyles. Discuss them with your class before you begin the current events activities.

• Local NewsLocal news focuses on events taking place in and around the city or community – e.g. local crime, politics, business, sports, entertainment, etc.

• National NewsEvents that interest or affect people across the country fall under the categoryof national news. Federal and provincial politics, natural or man-made disasters, events involving a national company, and scandals involving important people on the national scene are major sources of national news.National news is usually reported by a national correspondent (a reporterspecifically assigned to cover stories of national interest), or obtained through a wire service (a company that gathers major news stories and electronicallydistributes them to newspapers across the country and, in some cases, internationally as well).

• International NewsNews from around the world can affect us just as much as – and sometimes more than – news from across town. World politics, war, scientific discoveries, natural and man-made disasters are just a few of the topics covered under the heading of international news.Like national news stories, international news usually makes its way into the newspaper through a wire service or correspondent.

a. News categories:

In 20 words or less:News is accurate, concise, up-to-date information about the local,national and international events taking place around us.

b. What gets published . . . and what doesn’t?

c. Newspaper policies

ImportanceIs the story important enoughto report? Is it recent? Does it affect the general public or the world around us in an important way? Does the event stand out whencompared to all other eventstaking place?

InterestWould people who read thenewspaper on a regular basiswant to know about the eventin question? Would thesereaders be angry or upset ifthe newspaper did NOTreport the story? Would mostreaders be interested in thestory, or only a few?

ReliabilityCan the story in question besupported by facts? Are thesources (people providinginformation about the story)reliable?

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Every newspaper is different in terms of style, content and readership. As a result, each newspaper has its own functional definition of “news.” In the minds of mostnewspaper editors, however, deciding what is news and what isn’t boils down to a fewkey considerations. The answers to these and related questions help editors judge the“newsworthiness” of a news story and, in the end, decide what news gets publishedand what doesn’t.

Each newspaper has a set of guidelines that reporters must follow as they gather information and write their stories. Although these policies vary from one newspaperto the next, most newspapers would rank “being objective” as the most important rule of all.For a reporter, being objective involves presenting both sides of a story, not becomingpersonally involved in the situation, and not stating a personal opinion. (The writer’sopinion is encouraged in some parts of the newspaper – e.g., editorials and columns –but not in news stories.)The objectivity of the reporter – and of the newspaper as a whole – is vital to the average reader, who relies on balanced and objective reporting to help form his or her own opinion on an issue or event.A newspaper must respect the laws of the land when gathering and reporting thenews. False, misleading or derogatory statements printed in the newspaper couldresult in a libel suit or other form of legal action against the newspaper.Newspapers must also respect the rights of individuals. Invasion of privacy is an areathat is closely monitored in Canada. As a general rule, for instance, suicides are notreported as news in The Gazette, unless the circumstances of the event make it newsworthy. (For example, a murder / suicide would likely be reported, as would the suicide of a national figure.)Orders of the court, such as a publication ban on a trial, must be upheld when reporting the news. Likewise, the names of parties involved in a divorce action could,at the discretion of the judge, be banned from publication. Civil law also ensures thatchildren involved in legal proceedings can not be identified.Most newspapers have a legal department and a number of editorial policies to ensure that sources are reliable, that facts are accurate, and that legal boundaries are not overstepped.


2. NEWS AND FEATURE STORIES

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ACTIVITIES:Choose a front-page news story and circle the answersto the 5Ws (Who? What? When? Where? Why?). Wheredid you find most of this information? How does this format help readers?What is the purpose of a hard news story?

ACTIVITY: Write a soft news story basedon an event in your own life.

News stories are reported in a variety of ways. Quite often, it is the nature ofthe story itself that determines how it is reported.

• As the name suggests, hard news deals with the cold, hard facts surround-ing an event. Opinion may be included in the story only through the useof direct quotations.

• A headline above the story usually summarizes the event in a few words.In the story itself, the facts (Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How?)are presented in descending order of importance, with the most impor-tant facts being “played up” in the opening sentences (the lead). Politics,crime, business and war are just a few of the many hard-news topics.

a. “Hard news”

• Soft news focuses on human interest stories andevents. “Dog saves boy from drowning” couldeasily be a headline for a soft news story.

• Soft news also includes areas of general interest,such as sports, fashion, food, entertainment and so on.

Feature stories give readers more in-depth coverage of an event. As compared to a straightnews story, features provide more backgroundmaterial and tend to include more quotations,observations and analysis from the peopleinvolved. Features can be either “hard” or “soft.” They are often written as a follow-upto a straight news story.

c. Features

b. “Soft news”

ACTIVITY: Identify and read a featurestory. Is it “hard” or “soft”news? Why?

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ACTIVITIES: • Find an example of each of the opinion pieces listed

above. Underline or write down the writer’s opinionand the supporting facts used.

• Do you agree with the opinion presented?• What was the author’s purpose in each case?

ACTIVITIES:• Find several editorial cartoons and

identify the issue in each.• What was the cartoonist’s opinion in

each case, and how was it achievedin the cartoon?

• What was the cartoonist’s purposefor drawing each cartoon?

3. OPINION

Although a journalist’s opinion is not allowed in a news story, it is encouraged in other parts of the newspaper:

• Editorials express the collective opinion of the newspaper’s editorial boardon an issue or event in the news. The editorial board is a group of seniorwriters chosen by the management of the newspaper.

• An editorial is a short essay in which an opinion is stated, then supportedby fact and background information. It ends with a concluding sentenceor paragraph.

• Letters to the editor express readers’ opinions about issues and events inthe news. They are written in the same basic format as editorials.

• Columns vary greatly in content, but all contain a journalist’s opinion.Columns can be humorous or political; provide advice; review films, book,music or food; or simply talk about city happenings. Columnists have thefreedom to develop their personal style of presentation.

a. Editorials

b. Letters to the editor

c. Columns

• Editorial cartoons express the cartoonist’sopinion on a “hot” issue of the day, butdrawings replace or work together withwords.

d. Editorial Cartoons

4. FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

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If a newspaper is to properly reflect our society, it must have thefreedom to publish the facts as known. Without freedom of thepress, the public could not be fully informed locally, nationallyor internationally.Although we enjoy a free press in our country, this liberty is notknown worldwide.

ACTIVITIES: • Imagine that our government had the right to censor

any news item that reflected badly on it, or indicatedthat perhaps there were faults in our society.In groups, examine the front page of today’s newspaper. With a marker or pen, eliminate all criticism and negative mention of the government or our society. Decide if the story should be entirelyeliminated, or whether it could be “reworded” to be more flattering.

• How is the reader affected by censorship? As a group,make two short radio news briefs using your newsstory leads. One brief should be written from today’sreal newspaper, and the other from your censorednewspaper. Present both to your class.

• Discuss: What is the danger of censorship? Why mighta government want to censor the press?

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5. ADVERTISING CONTENT

Unlike classified advertisements, display ads are found throughout the newspaper.They can be almost any size, often use different styles of letters, and contain photosand illustrations.Display ads are usually designed by professionals who use different techniques tocatch the reader’s attention. These techniques include a clever use of words, interesting graphics, uncrowded white spaces, and/or an appeal to the reader’s emotions.

ACTIVITIES: • Find a display advertisement that you like. Make a list of the techniques used to

catch your attention and make the advertiser’s message effective.• Find an advertisement that appeals to your sense of reason, and another that

appeals to your sense of emotion. - How are these types of appeal different?- Compare the words, graphics and information used.- What group of people do you think was the target for each ad?- What purpose does advertising serve for the reader and for the advertiser?

ACTIVITIES: • Read several classified ads and make a list of the type of

information they must contain to be useful to both theseller and the buyer.

• Create an imaginary new machine. Write a classified ad to sell it.

Classified ads are grouped together in the classified section(s) ofthe newspaper and are organized by an index. They contain only text and are usually very brief. They are writtenby newspaper readers who pay for each word printed.

a. Classified Advertisements

b. Display Advertisements

Advertisment (ad) – a message printed in the newspaper inspace paid for by an advertiser

Banner – a headline in large type running across the entirewidth of the page

Byline – the name of the writer of an article, usually appearing above the news or feature story

Columnist – a writer who regularly has a column appearingin a newspaper or distributed by a newspaper syndicate

Credit line – acknowledging the source of a photograph

Cutline – information below a picture which describes it

Dateline – line that tells where the story originated (London, Paris, etc.)

Ears – space at the top of the front page on each side of thenewspaper’s nameplate; usually boxed in with weathernews, index to pages or an announcement of special fea-tures

Edition – one of several issues of a newspaper for a single day

Editorial – an article stating the opinion of a newspaper editorial board, usually written in essay style

Editorial cartoon – cartoon that expresses the cartoonist’sopinion; usually appears on the editorial page

Feature – a story in which more detail is given than in a regular “hard” or “soft” news story

Filler – copy with little news value; used to fill space

Headline – display type placed over a story, summarizing the story for the reader

Index – table of contents of the newspaper, usually placed on page one; also at the beginning of the classified section

6. NEWSPAPER TERMINOLOGY

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A cutline is...

Journalism – process of collecting, writing, editing and publishing news

Jump – the continuation of an article from one page toanother

Lead – the first few sentences or opening paragraphs of anews story, containing the answers to Who, What, Where,When, Why and How

Mass media – any of various methods of transmitting news to a large number of people (e.g. radio, television,newspaper, Internet)

Masthead – the information printed in every issue of thenewspaper stating the title, ownership, management, rates, etc.

Nameplate (flag) – a stylized signature of a newspaper that appears at the top of page one

Newsprint – a grade of paper made of wood pulp, used forprinting newspapers

News Services – news-gathering agencies such as CanwestNews Service, Agence France-Presse, Reuters, etc; theygather and distribute news to subscribing newspapers

Obit – an obituary; a story of a person’s death

Review – an account of an artistic event such as a concert ora play that offers critical evaluation; opinion of the writer

Syndicate – an organization that distributes columns or feature material to many different newspapers

Tabloid – a newspaper with five-column pages; smaller than the traditional broadsheet newspaper

Typo – short for typographical error

6. NEWSPAPER TERMINOLOGY (cont’d)

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A. The name, date and price of the newspaper

B. The name of a TV program on at 8:00 p.m. today

C. An item you would like to buy

D. Montreal’s weather forecast for tomorrow

E. A prediction in your horoscope

F. A news article about Montreal

G. A topic of today’s “Annie’s Mailbox” column

H. The creator of your favourite comic strip

I. The name of someone who wrote a letter to the editor

J. The headline of an international news story

K. The first word listed in the Wonderword puzzle

L. Something you could do in your spare time

1. SCAVENGER HUNT

NEWSPAPER ACTIVITIES

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Look through your newspaper and find the following.Write down what you found and where you found it.

This is a race. When you have found

everything, stand up and shout HURRAY!

A. On which page of today’s newspaper do you find the index?

B. Using the index, find the page number of something of interest to:

• You• Your mother or father• A person looking for a job• A moviegoer• A stock broker

C. From the front page of the newspaper, select a news story and indicate the following:

• Headline• Byline• Dateline

D. From the sports section, select a photograph and give its cutline.

E. Where is the masthead located in your newspaper?

• Who is the publisher?• Who is the editor?• When was the newspaper founded?• What is the address?

F. What is an obituary?On which page would you find one?

G. Find a display ad and indicate the following:

• Page number• Seller• Product or service being sold• Price

H. On what page would you find TV listings?If you watched TV tonight, what program would you watch?

• At what time?• On what channel?

I. On which page of today’s newspaperwould you find an editorial?

J. What is the subject of one of today’s editorials?

K. How many letters to the editor are there today?

L. Using today’s weather map and chart,determine the highest and lowestCanadian temperatures.

Highest temperature ______

City __________________________

Lowest temperature ______

City __________________________

2. NEWSPAPER QUIZ

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3. DAILY NEWSPAPER ACTIVITIES

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• Have students work on a classroom dictionary of vocabulary stemming from news stories.

• Assign a silent newspaper-reading period. Have students write aletter to the editor in response to an article they read.

• Have students find a news story and rewrite it so that a youngerstudent, brother or sister can understand it.

• Hold discussions and debates on issues represented in the newspaper after students have used the problem-solving model.(See page 31.)

• Read a news story about a social issue to the class and have students brainstorm solutions to the problem. Make long lists without censoring. Do this on the board to develop a chain reaction to previously stated ideas. Students can end this activityby writing an opinion piece, a follow-up news story or a featurestory about their solution.

• Read a news or feature story to the class and ask students to “freewrite” using the article as a springboard. This strategy is similar tobrainstorming, but ideas are put into sentences instead of lists. Seta time limit. Students may be allowed to stray off topic or be askedto stay on topic (focused free writing).

• Have students write a news story about something that happenedat school today (in the classroom, during recess, etc.). Working inpairs or small groups, students can do a “peer review” of eachother’s stories.

• Have students write a summary of their day using headlines only.

• Have students find a news story that interests them. Ask them towrite a follow-up story as they imagine it will happen.

The following are newspaper-based activities you can incorporateinto your daily routine:

4. LONG-TERM NEWSPAPER PROJECTS

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• Have each student produce his or her own newspaper (or havestudents work in pairs or small groups). The newspaper shouldinclude at least three news stories, one feature, one editorial, onedisplay ad, a classified ad section, one sports story and an advicecolumn. Encourage students to come up with creative names fortheir newspapers. Set a deadline for when the newspaper mustbe “published.”

• Have students follow a news story over a period of time, savingthe original story and all follow-up articles. Students should thenwrite a summary of the events leading up to the conclusion.

• Have students keep track of the types of garbage their family disposes of over a period of several weeks. Categories mightinclude newspapers and other paper products, plastic, glass, food scraps, etc. Students can record the amount thrown out, by weight or volume, in each category. As the “statistics” arebeing gathered, have the students scan the newspaper for environmental “tips” on dealing with household waste. At theend of the period, have the students write a newspaper-stylehuman-interest story on the subject.

• Ask students to save newspaper articles, editorials, etc. that discuss problems facing their community (or province or country). Then ask the students to list the problems and rankthem in order of importance. Have them identify any problems they feel are unique to their community and propose solutions.

These newspaper-based activities can be completed over a period of several classes or more.

CHOOSE

A PROJECT!

A Gazette-in-Education current events teaching package · key considerations. The answers to these and related questions help editors judge the “newsworthiness” of a news story

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