Goals:

The students will create a newspaper that displays the knowledge they have learned in the previous three weeks.

The students will improve their writing skills by writing in different styles.

Materials:

newspapers

paper

computers- if possible

pens

Time:

This lesson will take 9 hours

Procedure:

1.  Introduce the lesson that will be covered for the next three days - the students will be making their own newspapers with a partner. The newspaper they will be creating will be one that covers the Titanic and its sinking.

2.  Lead a class discussion about newspapers and the way they present topics. Ask questions such as: Are newspapers truly unbiased? What do political candidates say about the press? Can what the press reports be harmful to families of people who have died in a tragedy?

3.  The class will brainstorm different controversial subjects that are being currently discussed in newspapers. The class will take a trip to the library, and in pairs look up different articles on the same subject.

4.  The students will informally present the information they found and talk about the different ways topics were presented.

5.  The entire time, encourage the students to be connecting the information they have discovered to the Titanic, and how different topics concerning it might have been covered in the newspapers.

6.  The class will brainstorm the different sections in a newspaper. After forming a list that can be written on the blackboard, the class should be encouraged to discern the essential elements from those that are simply there for the reader's enjoyment.

7.  Split the class into pairs, and have them choose the different sections in the paper that they are going to cover. Encourage the students to draw on their strengths. For example, if the partners are good artists, have them draw political cartoons, or comics.

8.  Allow the students to discuss with each other their creative ideas, and encourage collaboration the entire time they are writing and creating their newspaper.

9.  Give the students as much time as needed to write their articles, while monitoring their progress through visual contact.

Assessment:

The students will be assessed by their completed project, and will complete the peer evaluation rubric for their partner. The project will be assessed through the following rubric:
 
Creativity
 
4 = finished newspaper is highly creative in a large majority of the articles
3 = finished newspaper is creative in a majority of the articles
2 = finished newspaper is creative in a minority of the articles
1 = finished newspaper is not creative
 
Presentation
 
4 = newspaper is eye-catching, and aesthetically pleasing in every aspect
3 = newspaper is eye-catching and aesthetically pleasing in most aspects
2 = newspaper has one or two eye-catching aspects
1 = newspaper is not aesthetically pleasing

Curricular Strands and Major Concepts:

Language Arts - recognizing different opinions on a subject; presenting this subject to the entire class

Social Studies - researching and connecting the Titanic

Possible Extensions:

Have the students create a whole week of newspapers and exchange articles with each other.

The Titanic - developed by Kelly Coleman, Nikki Cosgrove, Megan Mills, & Dorothy Weber

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This page was submitted by St. Norbert College Ocean Voyagers Program.