What is news? What makes the news?

Developed by:
Sandy Scragg
www.sandyscragg.com
Murry Bergtraum HS
New York, NY

Instructional Objectives: 1) Students will understand what makes the news, 2) Why some events are considered newsworthy and some are not, 3) What news judgement is, and 4) Some basic principles of writing a news article
 

Time Required: one 45-minute class lesson
 

Materials/Resources Required: newsworthy website (http://teachersnetwork.org/teachnet-lab/mbhs/scragg/newsworthy.html)
 

Vocabulary, concepts, focus questions, key points: newsworthy, 5 W's and an "H"
 

Procedures:

1) Write down "news" on the board. Ask students to brainstorm. What is the news? Introduce the "5 W's and and H" (who, what, where, when, why, and how)

2) Ask  students to respond to these two quotes: "The news may be true, but it is not the truth." and "All the news that's fit to print." -- New York Times

3) Ask: What's "fit to print?" Who decides? Ask them "What makes news?"

4) Go to the website (see link above). Review the reasons that a story is considered newsworthy.

5) Ask students to visit the links on the page. Look at some news sites and record their major stories.

HOMEWORK: watch the local news. What are the 5 top stories? Why were they the 5 top stories? Cite reasons.