Late Breaking News.....This Just in....
Topic: Student-led Newscasts
Description: This adaptable project may be used for upper elementary grades through high school. While students are using reading, writing, and speaking skills, they're researching and sharing current areas of study from a variety of subjects. Students use their creativity to share information in a newscasting setting. In the video-conference, students learn about other students' parts of the country while sharing the highlights from their own area.
Subject Area: This project can be adapted in many ways. It can be cross curricular, or done as a Multi-point project with different content areas covering a specific portion of the Newscast
Grade Level: 6-8 (This project can be adapted to both lower grades levels and higher grade levels
Time Frame: You will need one class period to VC for introductions, and one 45 to 60 min (depending o class length) VC to "Newscast", Q&A, and debrief. Between the two VC's, is the time when your students will research, plan, and prepare their presentations
Preparation: Have students watch a news cast. Be sure they are familiar with what it means to switch from reporter to reporter. Have students research information about local news, current events, weather links, sports, global news and any other information, even school events that are occurring. Students will present this information in their Newscast. Have students write/create the work they will show. Students will use visual aids and dress up. Then have them practice with the mic if necessary.
Adaptations: Teachers may want to create a framework of the types of information necessary or the types of questions that the television show host would use.
All students would use the same news article and we would highlight, together the who, what, where and when. Next students would work in groups of two using their own news article to pick out the who, what, where and when. Students would then write their own news articles by interviewing someone on staff or in the community about local events, using the who, what, when where format.)
Agenda: First VC- Welcome and Introductions- In the first session allow the students to get to know the other class. Share information about your location, school etc. Show pictures of local area, maps, and interesting landmarks. During this time you can also agree on the order of the news casts, and decide if each class will give an entire newscast, or if they will make one newscast and share the subsections, as well as set the amount of time allotted for creation between VCs.
Second VC- Newscast, Q&A, and Debrief- Broadcast the student created newscasts. Allow time for Questions, approx. 10 min, and debriefing approx. 5 min. (again this can be adjusted, or even turned into two VCs if each class would like to do an entire newscast.
Post Activities:
Participating schools will create travel brochures/posters based on the other school's presentation
Students create post cards for their city to share with other participating schools
Students create video tour commercials for participating schools' cities
Students create commercial jingles
Assessment & Evaluation:
Students learning will be assessed through participation grades as well as individually created teacher rubrics for projects.
Teaching Standards:
Texas:
TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills)--
11 is for junior English...the sub-numbers apply to the skills and go with other grade levels (11.1 will be eleventh grade....the .# is the skill)
11.1 WRITING/PURPOSES. The student writes in a variety of forms including business, personal, literary, and persuasive texts for various audiences and purposes.
11.3 WRITING/GRAMMAR/USAGE/CONVENTIONS/SPELLING. The student relies increasingly on the conventions and mechanics of written English, including the rules of usage and grammar, to write clearly and effectively.
11.5 WRITING/ANALYSIS. The student communicates with writers inside and outside the classroom, including writers who represent diverse cultures and fields.
11.9 READING/CULTURE. The student reads widely to increase knowledge of his/her own culture, the culture of others, and the common elements across cultures.
11.14 READING/INQUIRY/RESEARCH. The student uses reading and research skills to develop self-selected topic.
11.15 LISTENING/SPEAKING/CRITICAL LISTENING. The student listens attentively for a variety of purposes.
11.16 LISTENING/SPEAKING/PURPOSES. The student speaks clearly and effectively for a variety of purposes.
11.17 LISTENING/SPEAKING/PRESENTATIONS. The student prepares, organizes, and presents oral messages.
11.21 VIEWING/REPRESENTING/PRODUCTION. The student produces visual representations that communicate with others.
Michigan:
Michigan GLECS:
Meaning and Communication
1. All students will read and comprehend general and technical material.
2. All students will demonstrate the ability to write clear and grammatically correct sentences, paragraphs, and compositions.
3. All students will focus on meaning and communication as they listen, speak, view, read, and write in personal, social, occupational, and civic contexts.
Language 4. All students will use the English language effectively
Literature 5. All students will read and analyze a wide variety of classic and contemporary literature and other texts to seek information, ideas, enjoyment, and understanding of their individuality, our common heritage and common humanity, and the rich diversity of our society.
Voice 6. All students will learn to communicate information accurately and effectively and demonstrate their expressive abilities by creating oral, written, and visual texts that enlighten and engage an audience.
Depth of Understanding 9. All students will demonstrate understanding of the complexity of enduring
issues and recurring problems by making connections and generating themes within and across
texts.
Ideas in Action 10. All students will apply knowledge, ideas, and issues drawn from texts to their lives and the lives of others.
Inquiry and Research 11. All students will define and investigate important issues and problems using
a variety of resources, including technology, to explore and create texts.
Tips: This project is adjustable to all subjects. Some ideas would be as follows: Local News- English/LA classes- incorporate Current Events, writing skills, research, listening/speaking skills, presentation skills... Weather- Science classes- incorporate climate, measurements with temperatures, forecasts, wind currents, photosynthesis with sunny days etc... Sports- Math classes- take local or school sports scores, look at statistics, find patterns, make predictions, probability... World or Global News- Social Studies classes- regions, maps, history in the making, historical sights etc...
Additional Resources:
www.weather.com - applies to all 50 States *great interactive map*
www.noaa.gov -applies to all 50 states
www.kxxv.com - Central Texas local weather station
www.wsjm.com- local radio station
www.baseballhalloffame.org/education/experience/thematic_units/math.html -sports connections to math
www.desertusa.com/cham/cham.html - Chamizal National Memorial Museum in El Paso, Texas
www.tourtexas.com/elpaso/index.html- landscape and other information on El Paso, Texas
www.swmichigan.org sharing southwest Michigan
www.wndu.com- South Bend News and Weather
www.blissmwr.com - Ft. Bliss website in El Paso, Texas
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/lEl_paso%2C_Texas information about El Paso, Texas
www.elpasocvb.com/video.sstg - video on El Paso, Texas
Inspiration for this project:
Project Authors:
Michigan - BCISD:
Peggy Clore - Coloma Middle School, Coloma Community Schools, Coloma, MI pclore@remc11.k12.mi.us
Sarah Porath - Marellus Middle school, Marcellus MI sporath@marcellucs.org
Texas-EPISD:
Donna Churchill - Captain John L. Chapin High School dlchurch@episd.org
Georgette Smith - Roberts Elementary ghsmith@episd.org
Jacque Davidson - Technology Director - Region 19 jdavidson@esc19.net
Texas - Region 12:
Celeste Boyd - Killeen ISD; Killeen, TX celeste.boyd@killeenisd.org
Michele Sparkman - Clifton Middle School, Clifton, Texas sparkmam@clifton.k12.tx.us
Brandi Urban - Groesbeck Middle School, Groesbeck, Texas b.urban@groesbeck.k12.tx.us