Lesson Plan #25

Note: We recommend that you print this page for offline reference.

Student Broadcasters

GRADE LEVEL
Grades 7 to 12

CURRICULUM
Language Arts, Journalism, Media Studies, Social Studies, Current Events

OVERVIEW OF LESSON PLAN
This lesson will give the students a chance to express their creativity through giving an actual news broadcast. After researching their news material and practicing their broadcast the students will video tape their final product. In doing this lesson, the students will become actively involved with events surrounding their lives, stay informed about current events happening around them and be able to report them in a creative way.

MATERIALS AND PREPARATION

• SNN Writing Guide (for reference)
• Copies of current local and national newspapers and current magazines
• Computers with access to the Internet for newspapers/magazines online
• Record current local TV news broadcast
• Video recorder

 

OBJECTIVES

1. Students will create a new broadcast which includes a variety of different segments. The amount of work and writing done will depend on the age group of the students.
2. To write a report that clear and understandable.
3. To use correct grammar and correct spelling.
4. To speak clearly and in a manner that is understandable.
5. To incorporate the 5 W's of News: who, what, when, where and why. See SNN Writing Guide.

 

TIMELINE
One week (Friday to the following Friday)

 

ACTIVITIES/PROCEDURES

1. Introduce what you plan on doing the Friday before you are going to start the lesson. Tell students to look and listen for - on the internet, in the paper, on T.V. or on the radio.

2. View a portion of a news broadcast and have a discussion about the order of segments and how the reporters conduct themselves. (Is it always serious or is it all right to add some humour?)


3. Teacher to divide the class into groups of three or four. This will be their news team. If you decide on groups of four, have four different news segment names on pieces of paper for the students to draw out. This will be the part they will do their segment on. Same news segments would be: news, sports, community event, entertainment, city hall.

4. Assign the students to collect worthy information for their newscast for the next three days. Remind them to write important items down and write a few sentences about each event to help to remember what the story was about.
Use SNN's Writing Guide to review how to write an article. Remember articles should include the 5W's of News: Who, What, When, Where, Why. Articles should also follow the inverted pyramid style: important information first, least important last.

5. On Thursday, each of the groups will practice their broadcast in front of the class. No camera that day. Use SNN's Newsroom to work with students on using video.

6. Friday, you will record the students' broadcast. If you can, record each news teams broadcast on a separate tape. This will allow them to take the tape home and show it to their parents more quickly than the whole class sharing the tape.

7. Encourage students to add late breaking news which could have occurred on Thursday or Friday morning into their news report.

8. The class's news broadcast will be viewed by the class or by the entire school if possible.  They can also submit it to online youth publications.

EVALUATION/ASSESSMENT:
Students will be on how well they covered the events they reported on; how they conducted themselves in front of the camera, and most important, how much creativity they put into the broadcast to entertain the viewers.

 

 

Back to lesson plans