ND Curriculum Initiative

Subject & Standards

English Language Arts: 3. Students engage in the writing process.. 5. Students understand media.. 2. Developing Products Using Media/Technology: 3. Technological Systems: 4. Collaborative Skills: 5. Ethical, Legal, and Social Usage:

Needs Assessment/Rational

This unit fills a gap in the student’s learning in the Language Arts area. I have examples of a variety of student writings, and when I study them, I find that one very important area is missing. That is the area of journalism. In this age of pros and cons on a myriad of subjects, especially in the media, our young adults need to understand journalism and to be able to evaluate journalism effectively. To fully understand journalism, the students will use what they learn about the media and publish their own classroom newspaper.
The ND English / Language Arts Standards I will be using to implement this unit are as follows: Standard 5: Students understand media; and Standard 3: Students engage in the writing process.
The ND Library and Technology Standards I will be using to implement this unit are as follows: Standard 2: Developing products using media / technology; Standard 3: Technological systems; Standard 4:Collaborative skills / independent learning / personal enjoyment; and Standard 5: Ethical, legal, and social usage.

Understandings & Goals

Enduring Understanding: I want my students to be critical readers of the assorted varieties of media literature, and I want them to be responsible journalistic writers.
Goal(s): 1. Students will understand media literature.  2. Students will collaborate in the publication of a classroom newspaper.

Questions Answered

Essential questions: 1. How does media literature affect public opinion? 2. What is the difference between good journalism and “yellow” journalism?  3. What are the steps in writing good newsworthy articles?  4. What are the processes in publishing a newspaper?
Objectives: 1. Given an example of a specific newspaper article, the student will research that article type and report to the students at least 5 components essential to that article type.  2. Given examples of varying degrees of appropriate media literature, the students will analyze the bias and / or truthfulness of the literature and develop a chart showing these results using at least 3 guidelines.
3. Given an opportunity to collaborate, students will, as a group, select a publication editor, and page editors, and they will plan the news sections of their 6 to 8 page classroom newspaper.  4. The page editors, in collaboration with the publication editor, will assign specific news stories to the student reporters, and will also write articles themselves as determined by the newspaper section assigned to them. 5. The students will compose, peer edit, and revise the news articles that will include the components necessary for the appropriate article. 6. In a collaborative effort using computer publishing software, the newspaper will be designed by the students, edited and revised by the editors, printed and distributed to classmates, faculty, and family.

Assessment

What quiz and test items (e.g. simple content-focused questions that require a single, best answer) will provide evidence of understanding?
After the research and study of the media and a variety of journalistic article that the students have chosen, the students will compose short answer or multiple-choice questions relating to the understanding of the material covered. I will then choose questions for a quiz on the understanding of the media and journalism in general. For example, a question could be the following: “What are the six components for a good newspaper story?”
What academic prompts (e.g. open-ended questions or problems that require students to think critically and then to prepare a response / product / performance) will provide evidence of understanding?
As we proceed with the project, the students will be journalizing. They will be recording the following: 1. “What do I know and understand about the media and journalism?  2. What information all ready at hand do I still need clarified?  3. What aspects of the media and journalism that I have “heard about” and has not been covered yet, do I need information about to promote understanding?”  3. Approximately twice per week as a group, the students will evaluate and discuss the project, and will make notations in their journal.  4. The students will understand that I will collect these journals weekly for assessment.
What performance tasks and projects (e.g. complex challenges that are authentic, mirror the real world and require a performance or product) will you include that will provide evidence of student understanding?
1. The students will, as a group, designate a production editor, page editors, reporters and newspaper sections, and news stories for their classroom newspaper. 2. They will develop a rubric to assess, edit, and/or modify the classroom newspaper.  3. They will then use the office software in the computer lab to lay out and print the paper.
What other evidence (e.g. observations, work samples, dialogues, student self-assessment) of understanding will you collect?
Along with the finished product, the newspaper, the students and I will keep a journal of what went right, what needed to be changed / edited, and how each student felt about the project as a whole. Again, the students will discuss the observations to be included in the journal.

Instructional Strategies

The classroom newspaper unit is project-based with a classroom newspaper as the end product. It is also inquiry-based in that research is needed to understand the media before the students can begin their project. I will explain the unit’s learner goals and objectives to the class and, with guidance from me when needed; they will take over the project. The students will identify the areas of need from the beginning research to the end product, the newspaper. The students will search local and state newspapers for articles, analyze them, and as a group determine what is good journalism and what are the criteria for a news article. The group will determine what roles each one is to have. This will involve serious discussion, and the students will draw on the talents of each other. As the students present their articles for the paper, self and peer editing using student generated rubrics will be the criteria for these articles. The final step in the project will be the paper layout and printing. This project will allow the students to get a taste of the real world of work. They will have to work as a group and yet work as individuals keeping the end product in mind, which is a collaborative effort. At the end of this unit, the students will have a product of which they have ownership and proudly distribute to the students, faculty, and staff of our school along with sharing their classroom newspaper with their families.