How to Start A Classroom Newspaper
http://www.educationbuzz.net/articles/4073/1/How-to-Start-A-Classroom-Newspaper/Page1.html
Ryan Round
In addition to an interest in Education, Ryan also runs a site for internet marketers providing new private label rights products, master resell rights products, articles, training and much more. By Ryan Round
Published on 01/26/2010
In today's multi-media world writing continues to be an important element of education. If anything writing is more important to communication than it was in times past. One way teachers can help their students work on their writing skills is to start a classroom newspaper.
In today's multi-media world writing continues to be an important element of education. If anything writing is more important to communication than it was in times past. One way teachers can help their students work on their writing skills is to start a classroom newspaper.
The focus of the newspaper can serve various purposes. Some teachers actually publish a regular newspaper that reports on events and/or lessons for the class. Other teachers use a more creative approach to the classroom newspaper and students can make up news stories. There are various forms of writing students can experiment within this format include straightforward informative articles, opinion pieces, letters, advertising, cartoons, and so on.
While some teachers may wish to set up a situation where they serve as the editor-in-chief, it is much less time consuming and much more meaningful to the students if it is student run. Certainly teachers should set standards and ground rules then consult and monitor the work but the more students can do for themselves the better.
One model that works well is for the teacher to initiate the work with some writing prompts and mini lessons to help students learn more about this writing format. These can very naturally lead to a check list or rubric that the student-run newsroom can then use to guide their work. Students first use the check list on their own work and then must seek further checks from other reporters in the newsroom. Only after passing their work through these checks do students submit their work to the student-editors who will give either direction and suggestions for further work and revision or approve for publication.
Students as young as third grade can be made responsible for a great deal of the publication work including typing their articles. Further production may need to be done by an adult depending on the computer availability and the skill set within the classroom. Students can also be made responsible for making various editorial decisions such as the theme of the publication or issue and placement or order of articles. The more students are given control then the more they will feel a sense of ownership for their newspaper and the more seriously they will take the project. In addition, this type of "editorial" process helps writers understand not only the writing process but how important audience awareness is to the success of a particular writing project.
Starting your own classroom newspaper can be a worthwhile project for any teacher and will help students learn and grow not only as writers but also in the various content areas you choose to have your classroom newspaper cover.
The focus of the newspaper can serve various purposes. Some teachers actually publish a regular newspaper that reports on events and/or lessons for the class. Other teachers use a more creative approach to the classroom newspaper and students can make up news stories. There are various forms of writing students can experiment within this format include straightforward informative articles, opinion pieces, letters, advertising, cartoons, and so on.
While some teachers may wish to set up a situation where they serve as the editor-in-chief, it is much less time consuming and much more meaningful to the students if it is student run. Certainly teachers should set standards and ground rules then consult and monitor the work but the more students can do for themselves the better.
One model that works well is for the teacher to initiate the work with some writing prompts and mini lessons to help students learn more about this writing format. These can very naturally lead to a check list or rubric that the student-run newsroom can then use to guide their work. Students first use the check list on their own work and then must seek further checks from other reporters in the newsroom. Only after passing their work through these checks do students submit their work to the student-editors who will give either direction and suggestions for further work and revision or approve for publication.
Students as young as third grade can be made responsible for a great deal of the publication work including typing their articles. Further production may need to be done by an adult depending on the computer availability and the skill set within the classroom. Students can also be made responsible for making various editorial decisions such as the theme of the publication or issue and placement or order of articles. The more students are given control then the more they will feel a sense of ownership for their newspaper and the more seriously they will take the project. In addition, this type of "editorial" process helps writers understand not only the writing process but how important audience awareness is to the success of a particular writing project.
Starting your own classroom newspaper can be a worthwhile project for any teacher and will help students learn and grow not only as writers but also in the various content areas you choose to have your classroom newspaper cover.