Journalism: Analyzing
Newspaper Leads and Articles
by Connie Casserly
Grades 6-12
_Page_2.png "Journalism 1 Syllabus p.2")
This is a packet of templates for
students to analyze various types of leads and articles studied in Journalism 1
(J1), the introductory course that supports the publication of a school
newspaper. I also use them with the Journalism 2-4 classes to review and
reinforce the standards for leads and types of journalistic writing.
It contains the syllabus I created
for Journalism 1, following the Program of Studies (POS) for my district. If
you would like this in a Word format, so you can adapt it to fit your school’s
POS, please Email me at: conniecasserly@gmail.com.
The printable handouts include
- an Analyzing Leads Sheet, and
- a separate analytical worksheet for:
News, Sports, Features, Editorials, and Reviews.
_Page_3.png "Analyzing Leads")
After we discuss each type of news,
students are to cut out a story from a variety of sources: the school’s
newspaper, other schools’ newspapers, the local paper, a large newspaper like
The Washington Post, The New York Times, etc., or from the teacher’s chosen
source(s) for that genre. Next students must complete the corresponding
Activity Sheet handout. They are to fill in the information on the Lead Sheet
handout for each article, too.
The requirement for each lesson is: 5
stories cut from an accepted source-each with a completed Activity Sheet and a
completed Lead Sheet handout- for each type of journalistic story. This makes
the total: 25 activity sheets and 25 Lead Sheets. Although I collect and check the work after
we study each type of writing, I also require students to put each packet in a
bound folder-separated by writing type. They keep this for future reference
after I check to insure that they have included each packet.
After they complete the handouts,
each student writes a piece on any topic they choose for that genre. The only story requirements are that the
piece must meet the Six Principles of Every Journalism Story (see below), and
must be on a topic that would be of interest for the school newspaper.
Note: J1 students love to have their
pieces printed in the school paper. This is quite a motivational factor for
them to show their understanding of both the type of journalistic writing as
well as their own writing prowess.
News Packet Example: students are to
complete 5 Effective News Stories sheets and 5 Lead Analysis sheets, plus one
original News article. They must attach each story they cut out to the
corresponding Lead and Effective News Stories sheet. On top of those handouts, they are to staple
their original story. They follow the same instructions for each genre we
study. Their grade depends on the specific facts and details that they include
on each handout.
These various activities are crucial
to Journalism 1 as they prepare the students for Journalism 2, 3, 4, the class
that actually creates and publishes our school newspaper.
The following principles-necessary to
guarantee the newsworthiness of any article-make a terrific poster to pin up in
the classroom. We refer to these points when discussing both print and
broadcast stories.
Six Principles of Every Journalism Story:
LOCATION
TIMELINESS
CONFLICT
NOTABLE PERSON/PLACE
EXTRAORDINARY HAPPENING
AROUSES
EMOTION
Happy Teaching,
_Page_4.png "Analyzing News")
_Page_7.png "Analyzing Sports")
_Page_5.png "Analyzing Features")
_Page_6.png "Analyzing Editorials")
_Page_8.png "Analyzing Reviews")
