Junior Lesson Plan #5
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Student Broadcasters
GRADE LEVEL
Grades 4 to 6
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.
OBJECTIVES
- Students will create a news broadcast which includes a variety of different segments. The amount of work and writing done will depend on the age group of the students.
- To write a report that clear and understandable.
- To use correct grammar and correct spelling.
- To speak clearly and in a manner that is understandable.
- To incorporate the five W's of news: who, what, when, where and why. See SNN Writing Guide.
MATERIALS AND PREPARATION
- SNN Writing Guide (for
reference)
- Tips on using video
- Copies of current local and national newspapers and magazines
- Access to the Internet for online newspapers and magazines
- Tape of a recent local TV news broadcast
- Video recorder
TIMELINE
One week (from one Friday to the next)
ACTIVITIES/PROCEDURES
1. Introduce what you plan on doing the Friday before you are going to start the lesson. Tell students what to look and listen for on the Internet, in the newspaper, on TV 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. Divide the class into groups of three or four. This will be their news teams. 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. Some news segments would be: news, sports, community events, 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 along with a few sentences about each event to help them remember what the story was about. Use SNN’s Writing Guide. Articles should include the five W’s of news: Who, What, When, Where, Why.
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. On Friday, you will record the students’ broadcasts. If possible, record each news team’s 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. WRAP UP/HOMEWORK: The news broadcast will be
viewed by the class or by the entire school, if possible.
EVALUATION/ASSESSMENT:
Students will be evaluated on how well they covered the events they reported on, how they conducted themselves in front of the camera, and most importantly, how much creativity they put into the broadcast to entertain the viewers.
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