classroom newspaper activities - townnews · following found on: classified ads, ... select three...

Classroom NewspaperActivities

NNewspapersewspapersin Education

2

PrintedAugust 2011

Newspapers in Education Training Manual

Welcome to the Casa Grande Dispatch’s Newspapers in Education training manual. This

manual offers educators the support material they need to maximize their use of newspapers in the

classroom. Inside, educators will find tips and ideas for students of all ages. Today’s newspapers

are about much more than reading, writing and arithmetic. From science courses to social studies

or from the language arts to the development of critical thinking, newspapers offer students and

classrooms an array of possibilities.

Casa Grande Valley Newspapers Inc. is proud to present this manual in the spirit of aiding all

educators and students in their quest for excellence. Our thanks to NIE Professional Lisa Wentzel

for compiling this information. If you need more information about our Newspapers in Education

program, please call our circulation department at 520-423-8642.

Be not intimidated, therefore, by any terrors, from publishing with the utmost freedom whatever can be warranted by the laws of your country; nor suffer yourselves to be wheedled out of our liberty by any pretenses of politeness, delicacy or decency. These, as they are often used, are but three different names for hypocrisy, chicanery and cowardice.

John Adams

Let the country know the facts and the country will be safe.

Abraham Lincoln

When the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe.

Thomas Jefferson


“ They said it… ”In my opinion, the newspapers are equal to the courts – and, sometimes ahead of the courts in our system – in protecting the people’s fundamental rights.

Senator Robert F. Kennedy

The theory of a free press is that the truth will emerge from free reporting and free discussion, not that it will be presented perfectly and

instantly in any one account. Walter Lippman

The press must be free; it has always been so and much evil has been corrected by it. If

Government finds itself annoyed by it, let it examine its own conduct and it will find the

cause.

Thomas Erskine, Scottish Jurist

3

100 Ways To Use The Newspaper In Your Classroom

Newspaper Knowledge 1. According to the index, what pages are the

following found on: classified ads, sports, editorials, local news, weather, the crossword puzzle?

2. Find the following information: the telephone number you would call and the starting monthly cost for a home delivered subscription to your newspaper; the name of the editor and publisher of your newspaper; a comic strip showing a working woman; the score from a local sporting event; the name of the wire service used by your newspaper.

3. Clip and label an example of each of the following: index, byline, cutline, dateline and headline.

4. Find a newspaper article that is about each of the following: a meeting of a government agency, a press conference, a disaster or unexpected happening, the schools.

5. Find five stories from different cities in Arizona. Then find five stories from different states and five stories from different countries. Locate each of these cities, states and countries on a map.

6. Project yourself into societies in which there are no newspapers. Make a list of all the functions provided by the newspaper, including such things as providing news, serving as an advertising medium, social announcements, upcoming events, critical reviews, etc. How would each of these functions be met in a newspaper-less society?

7. Scan your newspaper and name some of the beats covered by reporters. If you were a reporter, what beat would you like to cover and why?

8. Make a chart showing examples of the vocabulary variations that appear in different sections of the newspaper. For instance, the jargon used by the food editor and sports editor would probably be quite different.

9. In your newspaper, find examples of editorials that are written to: inform the reader, interpret the news for the reader, entertain the reader, and influence the reader.

10. Use the classified section to buy materials or hire services to help you cross the following barriers: a snake pit, a barbed wire fence, a 10 foot wall, a 20 foot deep moat with snapping crocodiles, an angry giant. Compare your selected products and services with your classmates.

Language Arts 1. Use the front page of your newspaper to draw a

circle around every blend (two letters that blend into one sound). Make a list of all the blends you find.

2. List all the different punctuation marks used in a news article. Read the articles aloud and notice the influence of your voice in determining the place of punctuation.

3. Is a photo really worth 1000 words? Cut a photo out of the newspaper. Write a new caption and article about the action going on in the photo.

4. Find newspaper examples of paragraphs written in present, past and future tenses.

5. Circle all the singular nouns and pronouns in a news article in red and all plural nouns and pronouns in blue.

6. Identify as many sets of antonyms, homonyms and synonyms as you can by scanning the headlines in your newspaper.

7. Collect pictures from the newspaper that shows different facial expressions. Label each picture with descriptive words.

8. Select three headlines from your newspaper and rewrite them as complete sentences.

9. Find examples of ten plural words in your newspaper. Write the root word next to each of the plural words you find.

10. Look at a photo in the sports section. Without reading the story, write down what is happening in the photo, what happened during the game, and who won the game. Read the story. Were your predictions correct?


(NIE activities compiled from various sources obtained through NAA Foundation)

4



Math 1. Race through the newspaper! You have five

minutes. See how many numbers from 1-25 you can find. Circle each number as you find it.

2. Circle the largest and smallest numbers on a page. Subtract the two numbers you have found. Add the two numbers.

3. Use recipes from your newspaper to practice using fractions. Double the recipe; halve the recipe and triple the recipe.

4. Cut words from the newspaper that relate to quantity. For example: all, none, many, few, fewer, more, less, most, etc.

5. Write a word problem that uses an advertisement as its basis. Let a friend try to solve the equation.

6. Look at the movie ad. Assuming a 15-minute break between shows, determine the duration of three movies.

7. Choose any three digit and any two digit numbers from your newspaper. Do the following:

° Find the product of the two numbers ° Find the sum of the two numbers ° Find the difference between the two numbers ° Find the quotient of the two numbers to the

nearest hundredth ° Now, find the sum of all the answers above 8. Read a page in your newspaper and underline

words and phrases that refer to time such as: annual, bicentennial, 90-day warranty, next week, etc.

9. Choose a movie that you would enjoy most. Also look through the ads to find a place you would most like to eat. Determine the total cost of your outing for one person, for two and for your family.

10. Add up the total points scored by AFC teams in the NFL on any given Sunday or determine the total elapsed time between the first and last place Nascar driver.

Science 1. Begin a vocabulary list of science words found in

your newspaper. Record the spelling, meaning

and the use of each word. Some examples might be: exploration, narcotics, energy, pollution, preventative, analysis, comet, weather, antibiotic, invention, alcoholism, theory, artificial, transplant, medicine, etc.

2. Using your newspaper, collect advertisements for products that were not available 20 years ago. Can you identify the scientific advances that have made this product possible?

3. Find newspaper articles, advertisements, etc., about equipment that will help conserve energy such as windows or home insulation. What claims are made about saving?

4. Find a picture of an animal that you would like to be! Identify the animal by its genus and species then write an article pretending you are that animal.

5. Make a “first” notebook. Use newspaper articles about science “firsts” or discoveries.

6. Make a scrapbook of pictures and news stories about conservation. Look for articles about hunting and fishing seasons, tree planting, energy crisis, etc.

7. Make a poster from pictures, advertisements and articles showing how machines help people do different things.

8. Find articles in your newspaper about areas that have experienced severe weather. Discuss how stories such as these can help us prepare for weather emergencies.

9. Using the movie listings, count the number of movies advertised in one theater according to ratings G, PG, PG-13, R. Make a pie graph that represents the number of movies in each ratings group expressed as a percentage.

Social Studies 1. Place news items or pictures about each state on

a large outline map of the United States. See how many states you can find in the news in two weeks.

2. Chart community crimes for one week using reports and articles in your newspaper. Chart the type of crime, age of the criminal, location, etc.

5



3. Travel by means of the newspaper. Clip pictures of a country. Find articles and check the weather page for weather conditions in your chosen country. Then write a story about the things you might do and see if you visited that country.

4. Write an editorial on a topic of controversy for the period of history you are studying. Study some of the editorials in today’s newspaper before doing this activity.

5. Research good and bad relationships between the United States and other countries. Try to categorize the reason these relationships may exist.

6. Using your newspaper, give some names and titles of international and political leaders. Describe their roles, as you understand them from articles you have read.

7. Read an article or editorial in your newspaper. Draw a political cartoon that represents the article.

8. Find and read newspaper articles concerning pollution, overpopulation or major social problems. Make a list of the various items or the social problem you have selected. List some reasons that these articles are carried in the newspaper. Prepare a poster or write an essay telling how you would deal with solving this social problem.

9. Use news stories to teach new words related to geography, such as delta, monsoon, panhandle, harbor and terrain. Discuss the way the words are used in newspaper stories.

10. Find examples of the Bill of Rights in action as expressed in articles in your newspaper. What articles would not be in the newspaper if we didn’t have freedom of speech or the right to a fair trial?

11. Check today’s weather map. Find the longitude and latitude of the regional city with the highest temperature and the national city with the lowest temperature. Make a graph that illustrates how many cities have a clear, cloudy or rainy forecast.

Critical Thinking 1. Choose one story from the front page of today’s

newspaper. Find the answers to these questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? Note the organization of details in this story. Which is the most important? Where is it found in the story? Does the headline highlight the most important fact? If not, where did the information for the headline appear in the story?

2. Choose an editorial from the editorial page in your newspaper and underline each fact and circle each opinion. Discuss the logic of the ideas and the organization and development of the arguments.

3. Look at a feature article closely to see what words and sentences help to make you have certain feelings about the article. Make a list of these words and sentences.

4. Imagine that you are in charge of preparing a time capsule that will be opened in 200 years. Cut items that you think would tell the most about our lives today from the newspaper.

5. Compile a list of words that you are not familiar with in your newspaper reading. Make a crossword puzzle using these words with their definitions.

“ They said it… ”It is a newspaper’s duty to print the news, and

raise hell.

Wilbur Storey, The Chicago Times, 1861

A good newspaper, I suppose, is a nation

talking to itself. Arthur Miller, Playwright

6



Life Skills 1. Draw a rough floor plan of a home. Collect

newspaper pictures of furniture and appliances to fill the home and make it comfortable. Determine the approximate cost of furnishing a home by using classified ads.

2. Make a chart that is divided into four parts: spring, summer, fall, winter. Cut out pictures of clothing you would wear during each season. Paste the pictures under each word.

3. Prepare menus using food advertisements in the newspaper. Example: Christmas dinner, Italian dinner, etc. Make sure that you include something from all four food groups.

4. Collect articles of accidents that have happened in the home. Tell how the accidents could have been prevented.

5. Select a job in the classified section of your newspaper. Write a letter to the Human Resources director of your chosen job stating what qualities make you perfect for that job.

6. Check the salary levels for unskilled workers in the help wanted section of the classified ads. Compare the salaries to those for skilled laborers or professional positions. What are the differences and why?

7. Find a recipe in the food section of your newspaper. Examine the recipe ingredients to see if it includes enough of the nutrients necessary for a balanced diet. What other foods or recipes could you add to make a balanced meal?

8. Go on a scavenger hunt in your newspaper. Find and circle the following items: the price of a used Ford truck, the name of the President of the United States, a TV show that starts at 8 p.m., the high temperature of a city in Arizona, a sports score, an index.

9. Look at the grocery ads in your newspaper and find an example of multiple products sold for one price (example: 3 ears of corn for $2.00). What is the cost of each item? Is a larger quantity of an item always the better value?

10. Find an example of a comic strip in your newspaper that shows two people having a conflict. Rewrite the comic strip depicting a better way for the characters to handle the disputed situation.

Character Education 1. Make a Hall of Fame, Hall of Shame poster or

bulletin board. Clip articles and cartoons of people who are exhibiting good character traits. Place these under the Hall of Fame heading. Place examples of people not using good character traits under the Hall of Shame heading.

2. Go through your newspaper and make a “survival vocabulary list” of words that a person would need to know to be a good responsible citizen in today’s world. Be sure to list the legal terms you find that we assume all people understand.

3. Read an article in your newspaper about an individual who was rewarded for honesty . What was the honest act? What were the consequences of the act? Would you have made the same decision?

4. Make a family crest that shows examples of what is good about yourself and your family. Look through today’s paper and cut out words or pictures that remind you of what you like about your family. Paste them on a sheet of paper.

5. Look through your newspaper for an article that shows individuals, groups or nations involved in a conflict. Write down the different sides, and what seems to be the reason or reasons for the conflict. Think of as many different ways as you can that they might resolve this conflict. Write a letter to the editor that explains how the groups or nations can resolve their conflict. Would these groups need courage, kindness, forgiveness, and patience? What other character traits would they need to exhibit to solve their conflict?

7



Elementary

1. Find as many synonyms for “win” and “lose” as you can.

2. Circle five verbs located in the Sports section of your newspaper. Take turns acting these words out to see if your classmates can guess the words you chose.

3. Using the television show listings, graph the number of comedies, news shows, dramas and documentaries airing between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.

4. Using the classified ads, find prices of cars that are equal to, greater than, or less than $9999.00

5. Locate the statistics from games in the Sports section. Graph the total number of yards rushed, home runs hit, passes thrown, etc., in a single game.

6. Read articles in your newspaper about court cases. Compare the structure of our court system with the judicial system created by the Ancient Romans.

7. Skim the articles and photographs on the front page of your newspaper. Rank each news item in order of importance. Why did the news stories get the news placement that they did?

8. Scan your newspaper for articles about someone that has broken a law. How would you feel if you were the lawbreaker, the victim, the lawyer or the judge? How would you rewrite the article from the point of view of one of those people?

9. Select six headlines from the pages of your newspaper. Cut apart the words from those headlines. Using your words, create new sentences. Identify the noun, verb and adjective in each. How many complete sentences can you create?

10. Look through the pages of your newspaper to locate something you can see, something you can smell, something you can taste, something you can hear, and something you can touch.

Middle School 1. Using a ruler, figure out the percentage of space

on a given page for ads, pictures, stories and headlines.

2. On the front page of your newspaper, circle all the numbers you can find and give the range. Determine also the mean, median and mode.

3. Over a period of several weeks, clip articles that deal with problems and/or issues facing your local city government. Discuss the reason for these problems, and how the government hopes to solve them.

4. Find a news article written in past tense. Clip it out of the paper and rewrite it in present tense.

5. Research the area of drugs, tobacco or alcohol, and write an article that informs the local readers of the dangers of one of the substances.

6. Look in the classified ads to find job listings for the medical/health professions. What is the median pay range? Job requirements? Educational requirements? Benefits? Opportunities for advancement?

7. Look for slogans used by businesses in their advertisements. What is the reason for these slogans? Are they believable to you? To whom do they appeal, and what propaganda devise is used? Make up five businesses and write slogans for them.

8. What are the qualifications a person should have to hold public office? Make a list, and then see how the current office holders of candidates stack up. Use articles from your newspaper and other sources to find out about previous jobs, experiences, and other factors that make each candidate or office holder prepared to serve as an elected official.

9. Select three apartments listed in the classified ads For Rent section. For each of the following, compute the total rent for a year. Determine the average monthly rent based on the apartments you have chosen. Which of the three apartments appears to be the best choice for the money and why?

10. Scan through your newspaper and list ten occupations which are discussed. Don’t use your classified advertisements for this activity!

8



High School 1. Look for a grocery ad with a soft drink

advertisement. Figure out how many fluid ounces are in the eight bottle carton or six pack, and break it down into pints, quarts, gallons and liters.

2. Every week, check through the job listings and put a red X through those jobs that could not be filled by a high school dropout. Put a black X through those that could not be filled by a person with a technical school or college training. Discuss your findings.

3. Choose an editorial and read it carefully. Decide which statements or parts of the statements are facts, which are opinion, and whether or not the tone of the editorial is conservative or liberal. Watch for upcoming issues to see if there is any reaction to the editorial on the letters to the editor page.

4. To improve map skills and stimulate interest in current events, follow the route of a government official as he travels around the country or around the world. Show the route he or she takes on a map with a marker or pushpins.

5. Calculate the square footage of the floor in your

classroom or library. Using a carpet or tile ad from your newspaper, compute the cost of carpet or tile for the room. If the carpet was offered at a 20% discount, what would the cost of the carpeting be?

6. After skimming your newspaper each day, select the important news story of the day and post it on a bulletin board. At the end of the week, have the class vote on the most important story of the week.

7. Look in your newspaper for articles about countries at war. Use newspaper archives and reference books to look for the same topic 3 or 5 years ago. What has changed, been resolved or worsened over the past 3 to 5 years?

8. Have a discussion of employment trends and demands in your community, based on the Help Wanted section of the classified ads and any related articles.

9. Study the periodic chart of the elements, and then take a red magic marker and mark the appropriate chemical symbols found in scientific articles in your newspaper.

10. Select a sports story that is of interest to you, and rewrite passive voice sentences into active voice.

STV woman charged as accessory to husband’s death in Okla. — p. 6

By DANIEL DULLUMStaff Writer

Over the last month, Kelsey Lutjen was on the road pursuing her rodeo dreams and adding to an already crowded trophy case. This time, that road led to a series of three national high school rodeos.

“We went to Shawnee, Okla-homa, first, then Gillette, Wyo-ming, and Cody, Wyoming,” Lutjen said while taking a quick break from her training and school routine. “It went well. The rodeo at Shawnee didn’t go so well (she won a national goat tying championship there in 2008), but I won the best all-around, goat tying and break-away at Gillette.”

That sort of report seems rou-tine for the 17-year-old senior at the Florence Virtual Academy – the Florence Unified School District’s online school.

Riding since age 4, Lutjen won her first all-around Ari-zona state rodeo championship at age 8, the first of nine over-all. She won the Arizona girls all-around title for 2011, and placed seventh in all-around cowgirl at this year’s National High School Rodeo Finals at Gillette.

Lutjen excels in cutting, goat tying, pole bending and barrel racing, and said of all the events she participates in, she likes barrel racing the best. “I’ve always liked it, I have a nice horse who can go fast. I try to train and finish my own horses. It’s cool to be able to train my own horses and then win rid-ing them.”

And when she’s not busy on the high school rodeo circuit, Kelsey also excels as one of the 50 students enrolled at the Florence Virtual Academy, according to P i i l Ch i Li b

driven person.”Kelsey works at home with the horses

and attends the Florence Virtual Acad-emy, which is perfect fit for her rodeo training and work schedule.

“I like it because I can ride during the day and work with the horses because I’m so busy with that, and not be in school all day,” she said. “I like to get up early, ride

Lutjen, and the Virtual Academy, received national recognition when a feature about her appeared in the July 19 issue of ESPN Rise, a publication dedi-cated to high school athletics.

“I thought it was pretty darn cool,” she said.

Lutjen is also involved with ‘nPlay, a nonprofit athlete’s founda-tion for the prevention of childhood obesity. She is one of the youngest athletes involved with the program that includes softball star Jenny Finch, Phoenix Suns forward Grant Hill, Olympic swimming champion Sum-mer Sanders and profes-sional golfing legend Gary Player.

“It’s exciting to be involved with that also,” Lutjen said. “Mr. Lineberry got me involved with that, and I try to be as involved with it as I can. It’s kind of hard sometimes. I do what I can on Facebook, and differ-ent outlets like that. I think it’s a great program and I’m happy to be a part of it.”

Lineberry added, “That’s another admirable quality of hers, and she’s the only rodeo kid that’s involved. She’s obviously an active kid and believes in being active.

“What ‘nPlay wants to do is show that you don’t have to be a football or soccer player or be in any other organized sport to be physi-cally active. The goal is to get kids active and get mov-ing.”

Lutjen plans to go for another national title, work toward getting a scholarship and is thinking about pursu-ing a career in nursing.

“But I haven’t decided for sure yet. I have a lot to time to think about it,” Lutjen said – at least when she isn’t so busy with competition, travel, and attend-ing high school online.

Lineberry said that the Virtual Acade-my has “seven or eight” students, includ-ing Lutjen, who are involved with rodeo.

“ kid lik l b bl di

Kelsey Lutjen of Florence is pictured in June with her latest state champion saddle. The Florence Virtual Acad-emy helps her fit school into her active schedule.

Florence Virtual Academy is one of busy young rodeo star’s ingredients for success

Photo courtesy of Jim Heet

Hospital plansDec. openingBy MARK COWLINGEditor

Florence Hospital at Anthem is now 60 percent complete and is aiming for a December opening, the CEO told the Town Council Monday.

The hospital is being built by Gilbert Hospital officials whose goal is to “replicate the Gilbert Hospital model in Flor-ence,” CEO David Wanger told the council. However, at 96,000 square feet, the Florence hospital will be twice the size of Gilbert Hospital.

Wanger, who is CEO at Gilbert Hospital, will also be the CEO in Florence “for at least the first six months or a year.” There will be some services common to the two hospitals, such as billing and Human Resources, but the Flor-ence hospital “will be a local project, it won’t be controlled by Gilbert,” Wanger said. He said the hospital plans to impanel a com-munity advisory board.

The hospital will initially employ about 225 people, Wanger said.

He also introduced internal medicine physician Anne Borik, D.O. to the council. As a hos-pitalist specializing in the care of inpatients at the hospital, she has “set up an amazing wellness program” in Gilbert, Wanger said. Borik told the council she will be “excited to build a culture of wellness here” as well.

Mayor Vicki Kilvinger, noting the Florence Community Health-care hospital on Adamsville Road has been open for a year now, said “We’ve been doubly blessed.

“I see a good future for the medical community of this town. ... You will make this town proud as a foremost medical area.”

Noting the hospital’s separate

In “call to the council,” Mayor Vicki Kilvinger said town offi-cials’ attendance at an Aug. 2 dinner hosted by Curis Resourc-es should not be inferred as an endorsement of the Florence Cop-per Project. Hearings on Curis’ request for a Major General Plan Amendment from the town are still weeks away.

Tuesday’s invitation-only din-ner was for the Florence Cop-per Project’s business supporters. Kilvinger said Gov. Jan Brewer was invited to the dinner, and “I won’t show disrespect to the highest elected official of our state.”

The mayor said she planned to attend with Town Manager Himanshu Patel. She said the Town Council has been invited as well. But their decision to attend or not should not signal their support for either side, Kilvinger said.

Justin Merritt, speaking for the opposition group Protect Our Water Our Future, commented Tuesday, “In fairness, we hope we are afforded the opportunity to sit down with the governor to share the story of the Arizona-based private property owners who make up the Merrill Ranch master planned community and other projects in the vicinity, as well as the study by economist Elliott Pollack that displays that our project brings more econom-ic benefit and job creation to Florence than the foreign mining company’s proposal.”

In “call to the public,” Merritt Strunk of Florence encouraged the council to welcome new busi-ness to the community includ-ing the Florence Copper Proj-ect. He said much of the money circulating in the community is from wages paid with tax dollars.

FLORENCE, ARIZONA 85132 VOL. 120 NUMBER 31 THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, 2011

Fun With ComicsDirections: Use the comics from the Casa Grande Dispatch to complete each of the activities.

1. Select one comic character. Pretend you have $500 to spend on that character. From the newspaper advertisements or the classified ads, select items the character would want or need. Do not spend more than your $500, and buy at least 8 items. (Glue the character’s picture and your list of items to construction paper.)

2. Cut out the comic strips. Arrange them in alphabetical order by title. Glue them to construction paper in order.

3. At the top of a page, label five columns: sight, sound, taste, smell and touch. Cut out words or pictures from the comics that relate to these five senses and paste them under the proper heading.

4. Become a pen pal and write a letter to a comic character. Try to discuss what happened in today’s comic strip. Exchange letters with a classmate and have them answer the letter as if they were that character.

5. Cut out three comic strips and glue them to a sheet of construction paper. Under each comic strip write five examples of nouns, verbs and adjectives that you see written or displayed.

6. Cut out two comic strip characters and glue them to a sheet of paper. List ways in which the characters are alike and different.

9


Newspaper Termsadvertising: (1) calling public attention to a product or business (2) the messages in the newspaper which call public attention to a product or business. The two kinds of advertising are display ads and classified ads.

angle: a special emphasis or perspective on a story which offers a unique look at a common subject or problem.

art: any photo, map graph or illustration.

banner: a headline completely running across the top of a newspaper page.

beat: the area assigned to a reporter for regular coverage: e.g., education, crime.

below the fold: lower half of the newspaper; stories placed here are usually considered less important than stories placed “above the fold.”

body copy: the main part of a story.

box: border around a story or photo.

budget: the lineup of news stories scheduled for the next day’s newspaper.

bug: a small dot added to a page which indicates a change made from a previous printing of that page.

bureau: a news gathering center that allows reporters to work closer to the community news that they report.

byline: the name of the reporter who wrote the story.

caption: a title or explanatory phrase accompanying a picture. The larger type over a cutline.

chaser: a plate that has been changed after the press run has started. The change will be a correction or story update.

circulation: the number of newspapers distributed on a daily basis.

column: the standard widths into which a full page is divided vertically.

crosshairs: cross-like marks in the margins of the paper which show the registration of colors.

cutline: a short description printed under or beside a photo or art; also called a caption.

dateline: words at the beginning of a story that give the story’s place of origin.

deadline: a time at which all copy for an edition must be submitted.

deck: smaller headline written below the main headline; it provides more details of the story.

dummy page: the design, outline or blueprint of a newspaper page. It is comprised of (1) the news hole, and (2) the additional spaces where advertising is placed.

ears: space at the top of the front page, on each side of the newspaper’s name.

editions: the different versions of each day’s newspaper, updated as news happens or stories change.

editor: a person in charge of planning and producing a particular part of the newspaper.

editorial: an article in a newspaper expressing the opinion of its publisher or editorial staff.

feature: a story in which the interest lies in some factor other than just news.

flag: the name of the newspaper found on the front page.

folio line: the line in which the volume, date, city and state of the newspaper is located.

gutter: the margin between facing pages where the fold lies.

hairline: a very thin line used to separate page design components – story from sidebar, headline from deck, etc.

headline: the title of a news story written by a copy editor.

index: the table of contents of a newspaper.

jump line: a line telling which page a story continues.

lead: the first few sentences or paragraphs of a story that usually tells who, what, when, where, or why.

letter press printing: the process which involves a printing plate and the paper coming directly in contact.

light-sensitive: the tendency to change or be altered when exposed to light.

mug shot: a photograph of a person’s face.

negative: The opposite image of a positive image on a photographic material. The light or clear areas on the negative will be the dark or printed areas on the paper.

news article: a factual account of a newsworthy event.

news budget: a list of possible news stories with a brief description of each. A news budget is compiled each day and reviewed by editors.

news hole: the space allocated for news on a page.

off-set printing: the process which includes printing a backwards or mirror image onto a blank rubber roller and then transferring that image onto paper so that it is a normal image.

pagination: the process of electronically designing a newspaper page on the computer.

plate: a rectangular piece of aluminum covered with a light sensitive, color-coated material. A positive image of a page is made on the surface. The place is then put onto the press.

press: (1) machinery used to print the paper, (2) the entire body of professionals who report the news.

primary colors: three colors: magenta (red shade), yellow and cyan (blue shade) that can be used to produce any color.

rack boxes: metal stands inside and outside of stores and on sidewalks that hold newspapers.

recycle: to recover and reuse material.

register/registration: the correct alignment or positioning of different colors on top of each other.

sidebar: a story that accompanies a longer, more dominant story; it provides additional information or covers a related topic.

skyline: the space above the flag on page one; it usually contains headlines giving the reader information about other stories inside the newspaper.

ultra-violet light: a band of high-frequency radiation just above the visible light spectrum. This small segment of light spectrum exposes film in the printing process.

wire service: services that gather news stories and send them to newspapers electronically, i.e. Associated Press or Universal Press Syndicate.

10


WHEN does/did the action in the article take place? ___________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

WHERE does/did it take place? ___________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

WHO is the article about and/or who is doing the action in the article? _____________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

WHAT is the article describing or explaining? ________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

WHY is the action happening? Why did it happen? What is/was its purpose? ________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

HOW does/did it happen? ________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Looking for LeadsFind the When? Where? Who? What? Why? and How? by completing this fact

sheet, using one of today’s articles from the CASA GRANDE DISPATCH.

Headline:

Subject:

Section/Page Number:

11


What does it take to be a good citizen? Brainstorm a list of characteristics an honorable citizen possesses and write them in the boxes below.

• Write a paragraph describing how you have practiced good citizenship.

• Write a paragraph explaining why it is important to be an involved, admirable citizen. How would our world be different if everyone was concerned about being a good citizen?

Practicing Good Citizenship

Look in today’s Casa Grande Dispatch for articles about people practicing good citizenship. Fill in the table below.

Headline of Article Person PracticingGood Citizenship

What did he/she do to showgood citizenship?

12


Current EventsFind and read an interesting article from the Casa Grande Dispatch. Complete this worksheet and be ready to share information about your articlewith the class.

1. Title of article: _______________________________________________________

2. Who wrote the article? _________________________________________________

3. Date of article: _______________________________________________________

4. What is the article about? Write a one or two paragraph summary on the back of this page.

5. How did you feel after you read this article? Why?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Examine and think about the problem presented in your article. Give a possible solution to the problem.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

7. The word significant means “likely to have influence or effect; important.” Why is the event or person described in your article significant? Explain your answer.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

13


Community Helpers

It is important for members of a community to work together. We should all be willing to help each other whenever we can. Many community helpers actually have jobs which involve helping people in the community and others lend a hand during certain times of need.

Directions: Make a scrapbook of Community Helpers who have been in the newspaper.

Begin by looking through the Casa Grande Dispatch every day for several weeks. Cut out articles about community members who are helping others in some way.

Staple several sheets of paper together and then create a cover for your scrapbook. Paste the items you clipped into the scrapbook. Write a few sentences on each page to tell why you chose that picture or article.

Below, keep a list of names of the Community Helpers you have included in your scrapbook. Compare the list with your classmates. Did several of you have the same people on your list? Is there anyone your classmates included that you did not? Discuss some of the acts of kindness that were reported in the articles you read.

Community Helpers

14


All About MeSearch through the Casa Grande Dispatch to find pictures and words that describe you. Cut those items out and glue them in the picture frame below.

Now, write a paragraph on the back of this page about you and why the items in the frame describe you. Be ready to share with your classmates.

15


In the NewsSearch through the Casa Grande Dispatch to find words or pictures in each of the categories below. In the first column, each item must start with the letter “N” and fit the category listed at the left. Fill each of the other boxes with items beginning with the letter listed at the top of the column and matching the category at the left. Write the word plus the section and page where the item was found. (Modification: Cut out the words or pictures from today’s newspaper and glue them in the correct box on the chart.)

Source: Newspapers Association of America Foundation, Workshop Workbook, 1999

Category N E W S

Place

Person’s Name

3-Syllable Word

Sports Team

Kind of Car

16


Let’s Go Shopping!It’s time to shop in the Casa Grande Dispatch! Find ten items in today’s advertisements to purchase. Write the name of the item and the price on the chart below. Then figure the total price of each of your items by multiplying the Price by the Quantity Purchased. Find out how much you spent on your shopping trip.

Challenge: You have exactly $500 to spend on your shopping spree. Complete the activity above, spending as close to $500 as possible without going over.

Item Price Quantity Total Price Purchased

3

6

2

1

4

1

5

3

8

2

5

Grand Total:

classroom newspaper activities - townnews · following found on: classified ads, ... select three...

Documents