News Show Production
Grade 3
Description of Task
In this task, students will explore the content, format, and production aspects of a news show. Students will learn about different types of informational writing and practice thinking critically when analyzing news stories. Students will compare objective news stories with persuasive, opinion/editorial writing and will analyze how design elements such as graphics and sound add to or detract from a message. Student learning will culminate in the production of a short news show where students take on the roles necessary to produce the show (e.g., anchor, producer, reporter, camera-person).
Goals
Students will meet these goals in their explorations:
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Become familiar with various genres of informational writing
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Gain awareness of the five “Ws” in news writing
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Understand the differences between news content and editorial/opinion pieces
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Brainstorm, conduct interviews, and ask questions to clarify ideas and gather information
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Have opportunities to pursue interests and ideas for written articles
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Develop the essential skills of communicating, creative problem solving, and logical thinking
PHASE 1: LEARNING EXPERIENCES
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Introduce students to the genre of news writing and to the five “Ws” (who, what, when, where, why) by asking each of them to share a news clipping taken either from the local paper or an Internet news source. Ask each student to note the topic of her article and make inferences about the author’s purpose for writing the text. You may wish to use the Newspaper Story Format worksheet from www.readwritethink.org.
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Analyze the details of the stories presented. Use a graphic organizer to identify the sources cited by the story. With most news stories, a minimum of three sources from a variety of viewpoints should appear. How did the author find the information (e.g., by conducting interviews or background reading)? What might readers infer about the sources as far as their various points of view on the topic? What patterns do students notice about the various points of view—are they all in agreement? How do the sources represent diversity (in addition to diverse points of view)?
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Compare the news stories with persuasive, opinion pieces in the editorial section. How are these pieces of writing similar to and different from the news story? What might students conclude as the author’s purpose for the opinion piece? How does the author support his/her point of view?
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Guide students in understanding how the news and opinion stories differ across media types. Listen to radio segments and podcasts. Watch and compare several different television news programs. Create a graphic organizer or chart to record similarities and differences across media. Lead students in a discussion to identify the differences that make each media type unique (i.e., radio’s emphasis on sound and flow from topic to topic, television’s motion graphics). How might students describe the influence of various design techniques (e.g., shape, color, sound) on the message?
http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Reference-Shelf/Libraries/RSS-Library/What-Is-RSS.shtml http://legacy.kctcs.edu/newspublications/stylebook/mediatypes.htm
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In small groups, ask students to select one of the stories from the previous activity and use the SCAMPER technique to brainstorm how a change in design elements alters the message. After observing how the changes impact the messages, what are students’ opinions about the responsibilities of news people when presenting information using multimedia?
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In small groups brainstorm ideas for a news show. How will you balance hard news content with editorials and entertainment pieces? What job descriptions or roles will you need to fill in order to produce the show? Outline a rough sequence for the structure of your show (e.g., opening music, local news, weather, sports, and opinion).
• What topics will you cover and what is the geographic area that will confine your reporting (e.g., school news, neighborhood news, city news)?
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What will be the focus of your opinion piece?
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Will you present weather information and if so, how will you gather that and convey
those data?
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What will the graphics for your news show look like? Will you show have a name, a
song, and a slogan (e.g., “KEYE-TV—Your Eye on Austin”)?
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How will you produce your show? Who will need to run the lights, sound, and video (if
doing a video newscast) or the recorders if doing an audio podcast or radio show?
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Will your news program have a website in addition to the show and if so, how will the
website support the show
PHASE 2: INDEPENDENT RESEARCH
A. Research process
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Selecting a topic. Form small groups based on interests and identify how many news segments, what topics, and what geographic areas your group will cover in the news show. Also identify whether or not your group will offer an opinion piece, weather, or sports news. Each member of the news team is responsible for an aspect of the news show.
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Asking guiding questions. Each group creates a timeline showing the sequence of news stories. Next to each topic idea on the timeline, brainstorm a list of possible sources for information on that subject. Assign each segment to one person in the group.
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Creating a research proposal. Use the Newspaper Story Format worksheet to help gather and organize information for your news story. Remember the 5Ws of journalistic writing: Who, What, When, Where, and Why. You may also want to investigate the “How” of your topic. On the back of the worksheet, make three columns. In each column identify one person, or source, you can interview until you have all three columns completed. Ask yourself, “How do each of these individuals represent diverse points of view on this topic? How might each person share different information?”
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Conducting the research. Collaborate with the teacher, media specialist and librarian to find books and websites for background information related to the student’s story ideas. Help students conduct short interviews to gather the information from primary sources.
5. Sharing findings. Each student takes a different role in the production of the news show (e.g., anchor, videographer, sound, producer, sportscaster, meteorologist).
B. The product
Each group develops the written content and produces a news show. The show may use an audio (radio or podcast) or video format. Each show should have a name, graphics, one or more news stories, and optional human-interest pieces such as opinion/editorial, sports or weather features.
C. Communication
Each group presents the news show to an audience using appropriate vocabulary. News show team members should collaborate creatively to ensure the show’s success. Each individual should have a role in the production. Also, each student should be able to articulate the sequence of pieces and describe the group’s decision-making process leading them to the chosen arrangement.
D. A completed project consists of:
1. Process/graphic organizer worksheets such as the Newspaper Story Format worksheet 2. Group brainstorming timeline describing the content of the show
3. Written news, opinion, sports, and weather articles
4. Video or audio of the news show
Resources
Internet Resources
http://www.medialit.org/cml-medialit-kit
http://namle.net/
http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/index.html http://www.ithaca.edu/looksharp/?action=medialithandouts http://www.texasfolklife.org/storiesfromdeepintheheart.html http://www.prx.org/group/storiesfromdeep http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/calendar-activities/debuted-first-television-news- 20652.html http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/creating-classroom-newspaper- 249.html
http://governor.state.tx.us/film http://governor.state.tx.us/film/resources/production_assistant http://www.studentnewsdaily.com/site-overview/ http://www.ipl.org/div/news/ http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/Printing_Press/ http://www.newseum.org/exhibits-and-theaters/index.html http://jeadigitalmedia.org/
Created for you by Ms. Dotson
Email: dotsons@lanevilleisd.org
Website: https://smore.com/45hp
Location: 7415 FM 1798 Laneville, Texas. 75667
Phone: 903-863-5353