|
The Front Page
Level(s): Grade 9 to 12 Overview | This lesson and all associated documents (handouts, overheads, backgrounders) is available in an easy-print, pdf kit version. To open the lesson kit for printing, click here. To print only this page, use the "printable version" link at the top of the page.
| This is the second of five lessons designed to teach students to think critically about the way aboriginal peoples and visible minorities are portrayed in the press.
"The Front Page" begins by helping students to identify and understand the different aspects of the newspaper. Using these skills, students will then collect and identify front-page news stories and categorize them according to subject matter. Special emphasis will be placed on their representation of visible minorities.
Outcomes
Students will: -
understand the purpose and structure of daily newspapers -
understand terminology associated with newspapers -
become aware of the importance of the front page of the newspaper -
become aware of the types of stories and elements that typically appear on the front page of a newspaper -
understand the role played by editors in determining story selection and placement -
recognize bias and slant in written work -
recognize the differences between fact and opinion -
become aware of the ways in which ethnocultural minorities are represented in newspapers Preparation and Materials Photocopy the following handouts: Procedure
Introduction:
Newspapers are more complicated than they first appear. News stories, wire copy (stories not written by newspaper staff), advertorials and editorials often look remarkably similar, and even appear on the same page of the paper. Yet they all serve a different purpose.
The newspaper's front page is its showpiece, containing what editors feel is the most important news of the day. For this reason, it's a good place to start a class investigation.
Distribute the following handouts: Discuss the handouts with students: -
How does an editorial differ from a news story? -
What guidelines do reporters use in deciding what is news? -
What is the difference between 'hard' and 'soft' news? Activity -
Break the class into small groups of three to four students. Each group should select a recorder and a spokesperson to report on their findings at the end of the exercise. -
-
For one week, each group will save all the news stories from the front page of the local newspaper. Using the worksheet provided, students will categorize them by subject matter (for example: crime, federal politics, local politics, sports). -
Each group must keep track of the following: -
The number of front page stories about ethnocultural minority groups. -
How people from ethnocultural minority groups are portrayed. -
Whether or not they are depicted favorably, and the reasons why this might be so. -
Students will each choose one story they think is the most important story of the week and explain why it was chosen. -
Have each group present their findings to the class. Evaluation
|
|
|
About the Author
This five lesson unit was adapted from News is Not Just Black and White, a workbook of classroom activities dealing with representations of race and ethnicity in the newspaper.
The workbook was created by the Canadian Newspaper Association (CNA) as part of their Newspapers in Education program.
|
|
|
|
|
|
