Lesson Accelerator - Newsflash - MS Word

Newsflash
Newsflash is a newspaper where students write about a concept in newspaper format to present information. I would use this for both my ELA and Social Studies classes. First of all it encompasses different ways of writing. The student could write from different points of view including characters in stories or a person from a different time period. The teacher could also have them write editorials about events or personal reactions to events or stories. The students would also have to write a summary for the newspaper giving a short description of what happened. There were other options for background information or other research the student may have done on the topic, depending on how big the paper is. Another aspect about this project is that it requires you to cite the pictures the student gets off the internet. Students are not giving appropriate credit in school and this will make them more aware of this need. This project would cover many of the TEKS used in ELA.
I would not modify this particular version of Newsflash, but I might create my own using the different ways of writing mentioned above depending on whether I was doing a project for Social Studies or ELA. I would, before the lesson, have newspapers around the room so students could see what a real newspaper looks like. If I were going to use this for a WWII project I might see if there were actual newspapers I could buy on eBay for their viewing. I could also have students research a topic and actually find a newspaper article online or in the library about their chosen topic. I would have to take some time to show students how to create text boxes and set the paper up with more of a newspaper feel which could take some time. Other than changing the type of writing for different subjects, I would not change anything.
Any subject would be able to use Newsflash. It can be applied to Science, any ELA, and Social Studies, as well as Math. ESL students are required to write for all classes for the TELPAS test in February. This would get them thinking about ways to write about each subject which would help their writing scores in the long run. If I were to use this in a staff development, I would have the departments by grade level go to the lab and come up with their own newspaper to use as an example in class for their students.