Article Writing Assignment
Students are embarking on a Language Arts project that will see them become junior journalists. We are creating a practice article using an interesting activity or event that has happened, is happening or will soon happen in their personal and/or school lives.
Class visits from Mount Royal University journalism students and a reporter for Metro News provided students with a wealth of information about journalism and what it takes to create an interesting and engaging news article.
Step One - Ideas
In my experience, this can be the most difficult step for a young writer. "What do I write about?". For this assignment, students have been challenged to come up with an idea that is suitable for this type of reporting. They will need to have personal knowledge and involvement in the event or activity they chose along with access to a person they can interview regarding the event. In order to help students organize their thinking around this important first step, the following graphic organizer was created:
Once students complete the "Article Writing Organizer", they seek the "green light" from Mr. Fawcett. Ideas that adhere to the criteria are green lighted and reporters are free to begin their articles. Ideas that are too broad, or don't have a direct and personal connection to the author are modified, and in some cases, changed completely. Please discuss with your child's article idea to see what they have chosen as their topic for this practice article.
Step Two - Article Format
An important stage of the article writing process is ensuring that the article adheres to the format and has all of the required elements as discussed as a class. Here's a handy list of the ingredients:
HEADLINE
SUBHEADLINE
Author’s name and date
Lead paragraph
Supporting Paragraphs (usually 2)
Concluding Paragraph
HEADLINE
SUBHEADLINE
Author’s name and date
Lead paragraph
- Lead Sentence followed by 2 or 3 more sentences that include information from the 5 Ws:
- Who
- What
- When
- Where
- Why (The Purpose of the Activity or Event)
- (See your Article Organizer)
- Use adjectives (i.e. “hopped on the bus”, “arrived at the beautiful Ribbon Creek Hostel”, etc.)
Supporting Paragraphs (usually 2)
- Describe at least 3 activities/events – Look at the HOW column from your visual organizer.
- Feel free to add new information!
- Use adjectives
- Use "'short and sweet" quotes from people connected to the story
Concluding Paragraph
- What was the final outcome?
- What will those connected to the story/event remember?
- Overall thoughts or reflections on the event?
- Where can someone find more information on something they thought was interesting in the article?
Step Three: Get Drafting
For some young writers, the plunge into actual writing can be daunting so the advice I gave was to read the exemplar a couple of times and then start typing out their article. Some students are a bit hung up on conducting their interviews, but they really only need a handful of quotes. We have set the assignment up so all that is actually required is a quote from one other person connected to the event or activity being reported on. The important part of this is getting them to write about their activity or event as a reporter would. Sometimes the first step is the hardest. If you child complains that they aren't sure if it is "good enough", please ensure them that their best is always good enough. After all, this is all just practice. We want the process to be fun.
Students were exposed to a high quality exemplar of a student-written article. It was read during class and students had the opportunity to discuss the various components they felt made the article effective and engaging. From that, a criteria was established that will serve as our "recipe for success". Here is a text copy of the exemplar:
Kids the Winners at Wonderful Winter Camp
Students from Connect Charter School visit Kananaskis Country by: Chris Dittman for the Lakeview Times Are you a hiker or cross-country skier longing for the outdoors? Then Ribbon Creek in beautiful Kananaskis country is the place for you. This past January, 2016, students participated in an outdoor education trip of a lifetime! The grade 6 students from Connect Charter School went cross-country skiing, made special snow fortresses called “quinzhees” and frolicked in the snow. Students stayed at the cozy Ribbon Creek Hostelling International facility in the heart of the mountains in southwest Alberta. The grade 6 teachers had this trip planned to cover some of the curriculum and to just have fun. Connect Charter School is located in the southwest of Calgary. This school is known greatly because of its advanced outdoor education program and the Apple laptops or i-Pads the school gives to its students. With around 600 students from all over the city in grades 4 – 9, Connect is just the right size to get a great education. One of the popular events that occurred during winter camp was quinzhee building. A quinzhee is a snow shelter made by gathering a large pile of snow and then hollowing it out. Though the class enjoyed working together in teams to create their giant mounds of snow and then carve their tunnel from the inside out, it was the eventual destruction of the quinzhees that really got the class going. “It was pure chaos,” reflected 6.2 teacher Mr. Fawcett, shaking his head. “Everyone took such glee in crushing their beautiful snow shelters at the end,” he exclaimed. However, in the name of safety, it was required for students to not leave the quinzhees standing following their activity. Inside the hostel, students enjoyed playing cards and board games and just generally enjoying each other’s company in the warmth of the hostel after a long day outside. Thanks to a dedicated team of parent volunteers, students dove into 3 hot, delicious meals each day, along with nutritious and filling snacks. The lucky Gr.6’s went home filled with great memories of their experiences, like cross-country skiing, star gazing, snow camouflage games and going inside to have hot chocolate. But these Gr.6’s were also filled with sadness knowing that they would never again have such a trip. For more information or to register your child to attend Connect, go to http://www.connectcharter.ca. |
Step Four: Fine Tuning the Lede
It will be interesting to see what each student came up with for their lede sentence (Yes, that is how it is spelled). To ensure students are aware of the importance of this sentence, and to help them maximize reader interest in their article, the following points will be reviewed and discussed:
A strong LEDE SENTENCE can start with any of the following:
A QUESTION
A QUOTE
GRAND STATEMENT/INTERESTING FACTS
A strong LEDE SENTENCE can start with any of the following:
A QUESTION
- Ever wonder what it’s like to be inside a snow cave?
- Ever wonder what it’s like to sleep with a bunch of noisy grade 6 students?
- What do you get when you mix 25 grade 6 students with cross-country skiing, quinzhee building and the animal game?
A QUOTE
- “It was awesome!” exclaimed Connect grade 6 student Meira Sembrat.
- “It was worth the price,” stated _________
- “Winter Camp created lots of good memories,” reflected ______________
- “Yo, yo, yo!” shouted the camp guides. “Yo, what’s up,” excitedly replied the grade 6 Connect winter campers. This is what life at Connect Grade 6 Winter Camp is like.
- “What is that annoying tapping on the wall?!?!” This is one of the many experiences grade 6 winter campers experience this past January at the Ribbon Creek Hostel.
GRAND STATEMENT/INTERESTING FACTS
- Take lots of sloppy joes, quinzhee building, 5 hours of sleep a night and a student who ate 25 oranges in one sitting and you’ve got Connect grade 6 Winter Camp.
- Take a hostel in Kananaskis Country, star-gazing at night, a bunch of grade 6 students falling on their skis and a nice warm fire after a freezing day and you’ve got Grade 6 Winter Camp.
- Take one skier with no boots walking down the hill, snowball fights started by “responsible” adults, kids covered in snow and lots of loud thumps at night and you’ve got Grade 6 Winter Camp.
Step Five: Revisions and Editing
Prior to publishing, students will be given time to review their draft and revise and edit it. Revision is taking what they have and making it sound more sophisticated. Editing is ensuring that the spelling, grammar and sentence structure is solid. Students will be able to have a peer edit their work prior to submitting their "print copy". I will be reviewing some important lessons to help guide this process. I have already conducted a mini-lesson on sentence structure. My hope is that students will apply the lessons learned during this mini-lesson to their own writing.
Step Six: Submitting
Each reporter will be responsible for submitting their article by the deadline. The deadline will be Tuesday, November 28th. Article will be published on this website.