News Reports

Rules (5 minutes)

Rules 1) News Report must connect to the headline and the picture provided 2) Must be in past tense 3) First sentence is called the lead – must include details that answer all 5Ws (who, what, when, where, why?) For example: Yesterday, the Brampton A’s basketball team visited a local high school to deliver a motivational speech to inspire students. 4) Must be written in short paragraphs of 1-2 sentences each

Rules Continued… 5) Must have two (2) quotations: - identify the speaker - and the speaker’s relevance to the story For example: “It was a great experience,” said Jordan Williams, a student who participated in the event. 6) Must have a factual tone – no opinions or personal pronouns > DO NOT write this like a live CP24 newscast For example: “We had a chance to interview Mary, she had this to say:…” or “And now, back to you, Dave.”

Rules Continued… 7) Put the most important information first, less important details toward the end of the article 8) Do not repeat the same information more than once 9) Try to be as specific as possible – avoid vague details 10) Typically, one page of space is provided for the news report – that is the length of the writing expected (writing one or two paragraphs is not enough)

Student Samples (10 minutes)

Sample – Code 20 Students Participate in Important Election A group of concerned youth setup a voting booth to see whether students at --- school name--- vote Mitt Romney or the (to become) re-elected president Barrak Obama. This event occured during the exact time the real eletion was happening.

Problems with the Sample Too short Only one paragraph Lead sentence does not address 5Ws Lacks detail and development No quotations or sources Does not follow the proper structure of a news report Errors with spelling and grammar

Sample – Code 50 Students Participate in Important Election

Positive Aspects of the Sample Appropriate length Short paragraphs that are clearly identified with space between each paragraph Lead sentence addresses 5Ws Supporting details are specific and well organized Quotations with sources included Follows the proper structure of the news report – with the most important information listed first Proper spelling and grammar Factual tone

Practice (30 minutes)

Review and Feedback Review the student example provided and read the annotations (comments) on the bottom Exchange your paper with a partner and provide feedback on the following elements: Structure: Short paragraphs with spaces; Lead includes important details Ideas: Report is related to headline and picture and answers all 5Ws and H with specific details ie. Date, names of people, city… Language: 3rd person, factual tone, past tense