graphic organizer for writing a newspaper article

If you have a class filled with newshounds eager to write their own front-page stories about classroom events or the latest happenings in the cafeteria, Scholastic Teachables has you covered with ready-to-go resources for your young journalists.

These 5 resources will help students in grades 3–5 learn about the newswriting process and how to add descriptive elements that will engage readers. Not only will they learn how to write a news article, students will also learn important content-area vocabulary that gives new meaning to words like  dummy ,  bleeds , and  widow . Before you know it, your classroom will be a busy newsroom filled with young reporters looking to break the next big story!

1.     Newspaper Writing: Narrative Learning Center

This  narrative learning center  specifically designed for newspaper writing helps students report facts and write a compelling news story that will engage their readers. The printable includes an introductory lesson, student directions, model writing samples, graphic organizers, differentiation tips, and an assessment rubric.

2.     Newspaper Article: Leveled Graphic Organizers

This lesson with  tiered graphic organizers  will help your cub reporters and front-page newshounds learn the basics of news writing. Students will write a news article that opens with a lead, includes who, what, when, where, and why, and presents details in the body of the story.

3.     Newspaper Jargon: Grade 4 Vocabulary

To be true news writers, students need to know the industry jargon. This  vocabulary packet  teaches students what words like  bleeds ,  dummy , and  stringer  commonly mean in newsrooms.

4.     The Daily News: Language Arts Bulletin Board

This  bulletin board  resource not only turns your classroom into a newsroom, it also helps students develop the speaking, listening, writing, and reading skills they need to run it effectively. 

5.     Plenty of Plastic: Grade 5 Opinion Writing Lesson

Every respected newspaper has a robust editorial section. This  writing lesson  helps create persuasive opinion writers by encouraging students to take a written stance for or against plastic bags.

Scholastic Teachables helps teachers like you build the next generation of journalists and newshounds. Even better, these teaching materials are ready to go, saving you time when you need it most during the school year. The printables are free to subscribers of Scholastic Teachables or are available for individual purchase.  Log in or subscribe today  for teaching tools to help your students write news articles that can make a difference in your classroom, school, and community!

Newspapers Part 4: Writing a Feature Article

This collection of free resources can be used to help your student writers as they begin writing feature articles for their own classroom newspaper., this is part 4 in our series on newspapers and focuses on how to teach students to write feature articles..

As part of our series on studying and writing newspapers in the classroom, we are focusing on helping writers learn how to write feature articles for newspapers.

We suggest taking the students through the entire writing process of writing a feature article by modeling how to use each graphic organizer in this set.  In that way students will see how all of the organizers flow together to write the article.

The graphic organizers for this writing newspapers post (with the exception of  one anchor chart) are linked at the bottom of the explanation of lessons.

Ready to focus on writing feature articles you will find our lesson ideas below:.

Lesson 1: Determine Your PAT (Purpose, Audience, Topic) –  Start by brainstorming some good feature article topics.    Use the graphic organizer we have provided to model how to focus on a purpose, audience and topic for a feature article.  Be prepared to use that topic in a guided writing exercise with your students.

Lesson 2: Writing Engaging Leads – Use our  Top Ten Ways to Write Engaging Leads Chart  (click the title to download)  to show students several ways to write creative leads for their feature articles.  One way to make sure students understand each technique is to take the topic that was chosen in the previous lesson and have students practice writing leads in each of the top ten ways.  (You may want to put them into groups for this and assign techniques.)

We have also provided a lined page for practicing leads.  Each has three lined boxes so students can draft a different techniques to determine the best. Some explanations and examples of the techniques on the anchor chart are shown below in case you want to use them as illustrations:

• Lead with a Question   – Helps to immediately get your reader thinking and wondering about the answer  (Have you ever thought about how doughnuts are made?)
• Lead with Dialog  – Introduces the reader to the subjects in the article (“From the time I was only a child, I have always been interested in horses and how to take care of them,” explained Dr. Smith.)
• Lead with a Famous Quote  – Makes the reader want to know how this quote relates to the topic of the article (“To be…or not to be.”  That is the question that twelve-year old Noah seemed to be asking of his friends.)
•   Lead with Onomatopoeia  – A sound effect can create immediate interest in the topic of the article (CRACK! The lightning cut through the old barn and the fire ignited.)
•   Lead with Action  – Gets the reader to start visualizing what has happened (The girls’ horse got spooked and was out of control – running wildly around the field.)
•   Lead with a Small Moment  – Gives the reader a snapshot of something that happened to the subject of the article (The football spiraled through the air towards the receiver and the fans held their breath to see if it would be caught and their dreams of a sectional victory would come true.)
•   Lead with the Ending  – Creates interest in how the story came to that point (It was the first and last time that 30-year old Doug Henry would get the chance to see a space shuttle take off.)
•   Lead with an Interesting Fact  – Teaches the reader something new and sparks interest in the topic (The Kentucky Derby had its first winner in 1875 when Aristides outran his other four-legged foes.)
•   Lead with Strong Feeling or Emotion  – Gets the reader to feel something that will make him/her want to read further (When 22-year old Marian’s dog Pumpkin died, she felt lost and wasn’t sure she would ever be able to find a pet so loyal.)
•   Start with a Flashback   – Helps the reader to relate to the subject or topic of the article (18-year old Aidan only overslept once in all his years of school, but turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to him.)

L esson 3: Organizing a Feature Article   – Use our graphic organizer to model how students should be thinking about the organization of a feature article.  It needs to make sense and flow well, in addition to including critical and pertinent information.   It is also important to note that an article might not require all parts of this organizer.  This is a two page organizer that has a box for the lead and then boxes for students to describe the who, what, when, where and why of their topic.  It also contains a box for other important information that may be important to add.

Lesson 4: Drafting a Feature Article –  Use this final graphic organizer as simply a place to write a first draft for a feature article.  It is labeled with the words lead , body and closing  as a reminder to include all parts.  Again, we recommend that you model how to use this graphic organizer by continuing the writing process with the article the class chose at the beginning of these lessons.

You can download all of the writing feature articles resources as described above by clicking on the link below:

Graphic organizers & other resources for writing a feature article.

In case you are interested, here are the links to the first three in our series on Newspapers as well as a link to our post focusing on vocabulary surrounding newspapers.

• Introduction to Newspapers
• Conducting Interviews
• Writing Captions
• Newspaper Vocabulary

Gladys Malakata

Wednesday 10th of February 2016

This has been very helpful

Irene Zajac

Tuesday 5th of May 2015

Love this series...just in time for my second graders to write an article about a natural disaster. Thank you!!!

I am loving your newspaper series! I do an end-of-year newspaper with my 3rds every year and your resources have been fantastic. Thanks!

News Articles For Kids – Lesson Ideas

It’s important to raise kids with a sense of global citizenship and community awareness, and what better way is there to do this then to introduce children to the world of news?  When teaching kids about news articles it’s helpful to dissect the genre itself: define it’s characteristics, read plenty of examples and look for stylistic elements.  Once that’s done, you may have just prepared your students to be critical readers of the news, and perhaps even effective news article writers!  Below is a list of steps I recommend if you plan on teaching writing news articles for kids.  Take a look:

Discuss Non-Fiction Features

It’s essential that students understand that news articles fall within “non-fiction” texts.  They should know that this means the news is meant to: inform, be factual and provide useful details.  This is also a great time to talk with kids about how there are different forms of news articles such as weather, sports, investigative and more.  This is best done by examining a newspaper together.

Study News Articles and Features

Put all your useful discussions about news articles to good use by examining many different articles as a class.  The more exposure students have to various articles, the better of an understanding they will have when constructing meaning based on them.  As important as it is to study news articles, it’s also important to give students varied practice and areas of focus in order to maximize their overall benefit. Here are some ideas:

If you’re looking for appropriate news articles for kids, take a look at these sites:  Time For Kids  &  Teaching Kids News .

Practice Writing with Graphic Organizers

Once students have really gotten a hang of reading news articles with understanding, it’s time to transition to writing a news article.  Review all of the lessons used to get to this point: non-fiction elements, news article text features and the structure of a news article.  Then, have students find an event they would like to write about.  To make it easier for students, give them a broad range of topics such as past or present events, private or public events (for example: a birthday party, or a community carnival they attended), or have writing prompts available for students who are having difficulty thinking of an idea (for example, give students the prompt of writing about a recent school assembly or field trip).

How awesome would it be to use your class’s news articles to create a class newspaper for all the kids in the class to see.  It would take some crafting, but it would it be worth it!

2 thoughts on “ News Articles For Kids – Lesson Ideas ”

• Pingback: Exciting News Writing Contest! - My Everyday Classroom
• Pingback: News Writing Contest - Results! - My Everyday Classroom

Comments are closed.

• Graphic Organizers

Argument: Grades 9-12

Graphic organizer: argument essay.

In this assignment, students plan and write an Argument Essay on a topic they feel strongly about. Students use an Argument Essay Planner; a graphic organizer that will help them plan their essays. Students use the Planner to create a strong introduction with an engaging hook and a clearly stated claim and come up with reasons and evidence to support their claim. Then students draft their Argument Essay, using the ideas from the Planner to develop an organized essay with a clearly stated claim.

Skills in this Assignment

• Persuade Readers
• Use Voice/Style/Tone
• Consider the Reader
• Hook the Reader
• Use Transitions
• Provide a Strong Conclusion
• Consider & Refute Counterclaims
• Plan an Argument
• Elaborate (Arg)
• Organize for Flow and Logic
• Support with Reasons & Evidence

Standards in this Assignment

Graphic organizer: op-ed.

Students plan and draft an Op-Ed about an issue they feel strongly about. They fill in an Op-Ed Graphic Organizer with their claim and questions to be asked and answered. Then students draft their Op-Eds, using information from the Graphic Organizer to state their claim and describe reasons and evidence that support it. When drafting their Op-Eds, students anticipate and refute a counterargument. Students conclude by briefly restating their claims and leaving readers with call-to-action.

• End with an Idea
• State a Claim, Opinion, or Point of View

Informational: Grades 9-12

Graphic organizer: informative essay.

In this assignment, students plan and write an Informative Essay on a topic of their choice. Students use an Informative Essay Graphic Organizer to plan their essays. Students use the Graphic Organizer to create a strong introduction with a clear thesis statement. They develop their main idea and support it with evidence from their reading and research. Then students draft their Informative Essay, using information from the Planner to develop an organized essay with a clear thesis statement and relevant main ideas and evidence.

• Provide Closure
• Choose Words Carefully
• Use Content Vocabulary
• Connect Ending
• Elaborate (Info)
• Provide a Focus Statement
• Plan a Topic

Graphic Organizer: Compare-and-Contrast Essay

Students use a Compare-and-Contrast Planner to plan a Compare-and-Contrast Argument comparing two items of their choice. Students fill in the planner with information comparing and contrasting the two items. Then students write their Arguments, following a Compare-and-Contrast format consisting of an introduction that includes their central idea, a body paragraph describing similarities, another body paragraph describing differences, and a conclusion that summarizes the comparison and leaves readers with a final thought.

• Use a Compare/Contrast Format
• Use Correct Grammar/Spelling/Punctuation
• Add Meaning (Info)

Graphic Organizer: How-To Essay

In this assignment, students plan and write a How-To Essay explaining how something works or describing how to do something. Students use the How-To Essay Graphic Organizer to plan their Essay. They begin by describing the topic and audience so they can consider the reader as they plan. Students then describe the steps in order, using appropriate details. Students then draft their How-To Essay, writing in a clear voice and keeping the steps in proper order. Students conclude by discussing the results of the process or by offering possible next steps for readers to follow.

• Vary Sentence Structure
• Introduce Topic & Subtopics

Graphic Organizer: Literary Analysis

In this assignment, students plan and write a Literary Analysis analyzing a reading selection and explaining how the reading is a good example of its particular literary genre. Students use the Literary Analysis Planner to plan their analysis. They complete the Graphic Organizer by filling in a thesis statement, elements of the genre, key points, and evidence from the text to support their point. Then students draft their Literary Analysis, using information from the Planner to develop an organized analysis with a clear thesis statement, key points, and relevant evidence from the text.

• Analyze Author's Craft (LR)
• Analyze Literary Elements (LR)
• Determine Theme
• Write an Informational Introduction
• Use a Literary/Text Analysis
• Analyze Author's Purpose
• Analyze Structure

Graphic Organizer: Newspaper Article

In this assignment, students plan and draft a newspaper article about a newsworthy event or a person of special interest. Students use the Newspaper Planner to record the 5Ws, list interview questions and answers, and write down quotes. After planning, students write a newspaper article beginning with an exciting lead and organizing information so the most important facts are up front.

• Ask & Answer Questions (IR)
• Use Reliable Sources
• Consider Language and Word Choice

Graphic Organizer: Newspaper Article - Event

Students use the Newspaper Article Graphic Organizer to plan and draft a Newspaper Article about a newsworthy topic in their school or community. Students fill in the Graphic Organizer with information about the 5Ws. They develop their information with quotes about the topic. Then students draft their article using the information from the Graphic Organizer to write their article. Students begin with an engaging lead and organize their information so the most important facts and details come first.

• Check Spelling & Punctuation
• Inform Readers

Graphic Organizer: Research Report

In this assignment, students research, plan, and draft a Research Report on a topic of interest to them. Students use a Research Report Planner to plan their reports. Students research the topic and develop research questions to narrow down their topic. They then fill in the Research Report Planner with a clear thesis statement, key ideas and evidence, as well as citations for a variety of relevant sources. After researching and planning their topic, students draft their Research Report, including evidence from a variety of relevant sources to support their thesis statement. Students correctly cite each source and conclude by summarizing their key ideas.

• Cite Evidence from Text (IR)
• Demonstrate Comprehension (IR)
• Organize Paragraphs
• Synthesize (IR)
• Demonstrate Understanding
• Use Correct Grammar
• Stay on Topic
• Use a Research Report Format
• Correctly Cite Sources

Narrative: Grades 9-12

Graphic organizer: fictional narrative.

In this assignment, students plan and write a Fictional Narrative. Students use a Fictional Narrative Organizer to help them diagram their story. Students map their characters, plot, and setting, describe the story’s climax, and tell how the climax is resolved. Then students draft their Fictional Narrative, using their Graphic Organizer to organize their plot elements and ideas.

• Provide Closure (Narr)
• Develop Beginning/Middle/End
• Introduce the Story
• Plan a Narrative

Graphic Organizer: Personal Narrative

In this assignment, students plan and write a Personal Narrative. The narrative should be about a single important experience. Students use a Personal Narrative Planner to help them plan their narratives. Students describe their experience in detail, including a description of their thoughts and feelings. After completing their Planner, students draft their Personal Narrative, using a first-person voice and bringing their experience to life with vivid details and sensory language.

• Ask and Answer Questions
• Use Narrative Techniques
• Begin a Narrative
• Elaborate (Narr)
• Add Meaning (Narr)
• Establish Point of View

Graphic Organizer: Short Story

In this assignment, students plan and write a Short Story. The Short Story can be fictional or based on something that really happened. Students use a Short Story Map, a graphic organizer that will help them diagram their stories. Students map their characters, plot, and setting; describe the story’s climax; and tell how the climax is resolved. Then students draft their Short Stories, using their Story Maps to organize their plot elements and ideas.

• Connect the Ending

Graphic Organizer: Memoir

In this assignment, students plan and draft a Memoir, a nonfiction personal account in which students describe a challenging personal event and how they overcame the challenge. Students use the Memoir Planner to plan their Memoir by establishing the situation with details about the characters, the setting, and the events that took place, Then students draft their Memoir, describing the experience, using sensory details and vivid language to describe the mood. In their conclusion, students reflect on the experience and leave readers with a final thought.

• Establish a Situation
• Entertain & Inform

Account Details

Using Graphic Organizers for Writing Essays, Summaries and Research

Ask any student – essay writing is one of the most despised tasks of their educational career. Perhaps there is so much displeasure associated with the task because it’s perceived as too linear – there isn’t enough visual and creative appeal. But if you use graphic organizer for writing essays then you can make writing enjoyable – or at least less terrible.

Not only enjoyable but graphic organizers (or diagrams) can make the writing process a snap. They’ll help you think outside the box, draw conclusions you wouldn’t normally observe, and make the entire process faster and more efficient.

Why Use Graphic Organizers for Writing

The phrase “graphic organizer” is just a fancy way of saying “diagram” or “visual aid.” Basically, they are a visual representation of the information you’ve acquired in the research process. There are quite a few reasons why you should use them when writing essays or summaries.

• Helps you visualize your research and how elements connect with each other
• Enhance your essays, summaries and research papers with visual elements
• Track correlations between your thoughts, observations, facts or general ideas

When it comes to essay writing, the most common graphic organizers are webs, mind maps, and concept maps .

Using Webs for Brainstorming

Webbing is a great way to see how various topics are interrelated. This graphic organizer is particularly useful during the brainstorming step of the writing process.

A web can sometimes get a bit messy. Usually, there are lots of arrows to connect overlapping ideas. However, even with lines crisscrossing every which way, it is still a great way to visualize your thoughts. If you’re using an online diagramming software like Creately you can overcome some of this because we automatically arrange the object for you.

Once you’ve created a map to document all your ideas and establish connections, you can easily transition to other forms of diagramming to better organize the information.

For example if you’re writing a research paper about the food web of the Australian bushes you can start creating a food web diagram similar to the one below. This way you can easily visualize the web while writing the paper. This is a simple example but graphic organizers become even more important when the subject gets complex.

Although simple this example shows the importance of using graphic organizers for writing summaries. A comprehensive diagram pretty much does the summation for you.

Using Mind Maps as Graphic Organizers

Mind maps are a great way to depict a hierarchy. What is hierarchical organization ? The concept is simple: a singular topic dominates with each subsequent idea decreasing in importance.

Usually, the mind map starts with the thesis (or main idea) at the center.  From there, you can branch out with your supporting evidence.

Use this process to replace your traditional note taking technique – note cards, outlines, whatever. You’ll quickly realize a mind map is a great way to formulate the structure of your essay. The thing to note here is that the nature of the mind maps force you think about sub topics and how to organize your ideas. And once the ideas are organized writing the essay become very easy.

Above is a mind map of a research proposal. Click on it to see the full image or you can see the fully editable template via this link . As you can see in this mind map the difference areas of the research proposal is highlighted. Similarly when your writing the research paper you can use a mind map to break it down to sub topics. We have more mind map templates for you to get started.

Concept Maps

A concept map will help you visualize the connection between ideas. You can easily see cause and effect – how one concept leads to another. Often times, concept mapping includes the use of short words or phrases to depict the budding relationship between these concepts.

If you look closely you can see that its very similar to a mind map. But a concept maps gives more of a free reign compares to the rigid topic structure of a mind map. I’d say it’s the perfect graphic organizer for writing research papers where you have the license to explore.

By creating a concept map , you can also see how a broad subject can be narrowed down into specific ideas.  This is a great way to counter writers block.  Often, we look at the big picture and fail to see the specifics that lead to it.  Identifying contributing factors and supporting evidence is difficult. But with a concept map, you can easily see how the smaller parts add up to the whole.

Why Bother With Graphic Organizers?

If you already detest the writing process, adding another step might seem insane. However, there really are several advantages of using them.  If you haven’t already accepted the benefits of each individual diagram style, here are some more perks of graphic organizers in general:

• Quality essays are based on detail. No one is going to accept your opinions and reasoning just because you say so. You’ll need proof. And organizing that proof will require attention to detail. Graphic organizers can help you see that detail and how it contributes to the overall concept.
• Graphic organizers are flexible. You don’t need one of those giant pink erasers. You don’t need to restructure your outline. All you have to do is draw a few arrows and bam – the relationship has totally changed.
• No matter what you are writing about, a graphic organizer can help. They can be used to structure an essay on the Great Wall, theoretical physics, or Spanish speaking countries.
• If you write an outline, can you easily see how point A influences point X? Probably not. But if little thought bubble A is sitting out there all by itself, you can visualize the way it ties into point R, T and X.
• Some of us find it difficult to put our opinions, thoughts, and ideas into writing. However, communicating our feelings with little doodles and sketches is far less threatening.
• As a writer, our brain often feels like a 2-year-old’s toy box – a big jumbled mess. Taking that mess and putting it onto paper with some semblance of organization is challenging. Rather than trying to take your thoughts from total chaos to a perfectly structured list, just try to get them out of your brain and onto paper in the form of a diagram.
• A graphic organizer helps you establish validity and relevance. You can easily nix the ideas that don’t support or enhance your thesis.

The next time you are faced with a writing project, take a few minutes to explore the efficiency of graphic organizers. You can find a wealth of templates here.

Have you ever used a graphic organizer to structure an essay? How did it go? Do you have a diagram suggestion for the writing process that wasn’t mentioned here? Let us know!

Join over thousands of organizations that use Creately to brainstorm, plan, analyze, and execute their projects successfully.

More Related Articles

These are awesome guest posts contributed by our users and technology enthusiasts. Do you have something interesting to share? Want to get exposed to a massive tech audience? Check out our Guest Posting Guidelines to how to proceed.

• Our Mission

Using Graphic Organizers Correctly

It’s much more important for a student to practice writing — the only way to build writing fluency — than to fill in a graphic organizer completely or perfectly.

What is a graphic organizer? A graphic organizer is a visual display or chart that shows the relationship between ideas, facts, and information. 

It can allow a third-grade student, for example, to chart out chronologically a summer vacation by writing specific information in each box in a connected series. Another graphic organizer might have three columns and require a seventh-grade student in a world history class to list the causes of WWII. Those causes are listed in the far left column, then, the middle column asks for effects, while the far right column requires the student to write in evidence or a source to accompany each cause and related effect.

A Pre-Writing Tool

Teachers carefully select a graphic organizer after deciding what type of writing they want their students to engage in -- narrative, argumentative, or informational. They then select specific skills for development in that type of writing. In a narrative writing assignment, does the teacher wish the child to develop sequential writing, or perhaps the focus will be on description and details? Determining this will help a teacher select the appropriate graphic organizer.

The ultimate purpose of utilizing a graphic organizer as a tool is to prepare students for writing. Simply put, a graphic organizer assists a student with thinking and is a pre-writing tool --  not the end product. Some young writers may need this thinking tool more than others. That said, a writer in your classroom might want to skip using a graphic organizer and be ready to dive into the writing. Let her.

Teachers need to remember they are not developing charters of information, but they are developing writers . The only way to build fluency in writing is to write.

Improve Writing by Writing

As I’ve seen in my many classroom observations, we teachers can get caught up with treating the graphic organizer as The Assignment , especially with struggling students. At some point, with learners who are struggling, we need to stop encouraging them to finish filling in those boxes or columns on the graphic organizer and move into what matters: the writing.

It’s much more important for a student to practice writing -- the only way to build writing fluency -- and stumble through stringing thoughts together this way than to fill in a graphic organizer completely or perfectly.

Lastly, grade only the writing and not the graphic organizer. This will help keep the focus where it really matters: on our students as writers.

What are your experiences with using graphic organizers in your classroom? What suggestions or tips can you offer, especially for novice teachers? Please share in the comments section below.

Imagine That! Playing with Genre through Newspapers and Short Stories

• Resources & Preparation
• Instructional Plan
• Related Resources

Middle school students typically understand narration because of their exposure to the structure in their day-to-day lives. Television and movies draw on visual narrative structures; video games rely on background narrative; stories about friends, relatives, or daily experiences are narrated to them; novels and short stories depend on narration. However, students are not as familiar with the expository structures that will dominate the rest of their educational career. This lesson uses narrative structures to introduce students to one form of expository writing—news briefs and articles. By condensing a short story into a newspaper article and expanding an article into a short story, students will explore the ways that exposition differs from narration.

Featured Resources

Story Map Interactive : Use this online tool to map out the elements of students' original writing. The tool can also be used to analyze the characters, plot, and setting of a piece of literature. ReadWriteThink Printing Press : Use this online tool to create a newspaper, brochure, booklet, or flyer. Students choose a layout, add content, and then print out their work. Interactive Venn Diagram : Students use this online tool to compare and contrast the features of two genres of writing. The tool can also be used to organize ideas for a compare and contrast essay or compare and contrast two pieces of literature.

From Theory to Practice

Students learn best when the curriculum is connected to previous knowledge and experiences. Brainstorming what is already known about a topic through a graphic organizer such as a KWL (Know-Want to Know-Learned) chart is therefore beneficial because students see that they already know something about the subject. The same applies to tying instruction to events within the community. This lesson allows students to demonstrate what they already know about news writing through a graphic organizer, using articles related to local current events as models of the genre. There is, research demonstrates, a direct link between reading and writing. As students actively read a variety of texts in different genres, their ability to write in these genres improves. This lesson not only asks students read and analyze a variety of news articles, but it also allows students to use a familiar genre (fiction) as a starting point to writing their own articles. Students gain exposure to reading and writing a new genre while connecting to a more familiar one. Further Reading

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
• 2. Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.
• 3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
• 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
• 5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
• 6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
• 11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.

Materials and Technology

• Newspaper articles. Ideally, choose articles from your local newspaper focusing on city-level articles. You can use the Associated Press Website if you prefer using online articles.
• “All Summer in a Day” by Ray Bradbury (Set on Venus where the sun comes out for two hours, once every seven years. Conflict between the student who recently came from earth and the others who have never experienced the sun).
• “War Games” by Nancy Werlin (Neighborhood kids in New York create an elaborate water gun war game over the summer. Themes of peer pressure and friendship. This is also an excellent story to use as a basis for persuasive writing by having students express their opinions about Jo and whether she is “the best friend” Elijah ever had.)
• “The Scribe” by Kristin Hunter (Boy attempts to help his neighbors who are being swindled because of their illiteracy.)
• “Thank You, Ma’am” by Langston Hughes (A young boy tries to snatch a lady’s purse, but he ends up falling on his face. The lady takes him home and teaches him through kindness.)
• “The Dinner Party” by Mona Gardner (A group of people eating dinner and reacting to a poisonous snake under the table.)
• Anthologies might provide additional options. The two I like best are Baseball in April and Other Stories by Gary Soto (Harcourt, 2000), a collection of stories about growing up; and Twelve Shots edited by Harry Mazer (Delacorte, 1997), a collection of stories about guns by contemporary young adult authors including Chris Lynch and Walter Dean Myers. The short story “War Games” comes from this anthology.
• Qualities of Newspaper Articles
• Short Story Prewriting
• Story Outline Rubric

Preparation

• A Picture’s Worth a Thousand Words: From Image to Detailed Narrative
• Fairy Tale Autobiographies
• Teaching Voice with Anthony Browne’s Voices in the Park
• Choose the stories you will use with your students. I recommend three to five different short stories so that students are not creating the same news article. Suggestions are listed above.
• Select a few newspaper articles that can be used as guides to provide scaffolding and structure for students. It is easy for students to get lost in their search for articles because of the variety of types of writing in newspapers (expository-informative, persuasive, etc.). Ideally, choose short articles (less than ten news paragraphs long) that convey facts with minimal authorial opinion. Since this lesson is an introduction to genres other than narrative, students should not use editorials or human-interest articles. Save those for another lesson, after students have been exposed to more straight-forward journalistic writing.
• Make copies of the handouts for each student.
• Test the Interactive Interactive Venn Diagram and, if desired, the ReadWriteThink Printing Press and Story Map interactive on your computers to familiarize yourself with the tools and ensure that you have the Flash plug-in installed. You can download the plug-in from the technical support page.

Student Objectives

Students will

• compare narrative writing (short stories) to expository writing (news articles)
• gain a basic understanding of expository writing.
• sketch story elements for a short story based on a news article.
• compose a news article based on a short story.

Session One: Gathering Knowledge about Newspaper Articles

• Ask students to list everything they know about newspaper writing as a starter activity. I have students keep a separate Daily Activity notebook. Other teachers use journals or have students complete similar activities on notebook paper.
• Using the board or a blank overhead transparency, write the qualities students offer when asked to share.
• Explain that because they are familiar with newspaper writing, they already have some knowledge of expository writing. Stress that while they will write narratives occasionally, the majority of their writing throughout middle and high school in all their classes will be expository. Tell students that the objective of this lesson is to determine some of the characteristics of the genre of expository writing by examining newspaper articles and to compare these characteristics to those in the genre of fiction (narrative writing).
• Review the elements of narrative writing learned in previous lessons, including plot, setting, and characterization.
• Arrange students into groups of no more than three. This allows students who are more comfortable working alone to do so.
• If you have computer access, direct students to Websites for local newspapers or the Associated Press , which will link to the local newspaper. If you choose, students may also use the online version of the Interactive Venn Diagram. If students will work on it at home you can substitute hand-drawn Venn Diagrams for the online tool.
• If you do not have computer access, pass out copies of the Venn Diagram for each student and copies of preselected articles.
• Pass out copies of the article questionnaire to all students.
• Students will have the rest of the period to read articles that will help them fill out the questionnaire. If students finish the questionnaire before the end of the period, allow them to begin their homework. Circulate among the groups to answer questions and monitor on-task behavior.

Homework: Students should come to class the next session prepared to share their genre comparisons with their peers. Have students complete a Venn diagram with their individual observations that can be used in the next lesson.

Session Two: From Newspaper to Short Story

• As an opening activity, students respond to the following question: summarize the difference between journalistic and fiction writing in no more than three sentences. This is a way for students to revisit the work completed the previous session and as homework. They may use their Venn diagrams to help them prepare a succinct comparison.
• Using the board, an overhead copy of a Venn Diagram, or a computer projection of the diagram, ask students to help you fill in the diagram. Even though students have already made individual comparisons, this activity is useful because it combines the perspectives of many students. Not all students will have the same observations, so this sharing allows you to let students teach each other by pointing out aspects missed by others.
• If no one has mentioned the journalist’s questions (5Ws and how) or pyramid structure, be sure to ask questions that help students notice these common characteristics of journalistic writing.
• You may also want to discuss the use of facts in expository writing, comparing the tone of an article to a short story. Whereas short stories are marked by characters’ and narrators’ opinions, experiences and beliefs, news articles try to maintain an even, unbiased tone.
• Explain that students are going to apply their comparisons by sketching out story elements for a short story based on a news article. The rest of the period will be used to model the activity. Modeling the activity benefits all students because it sets boundaries for those who tend to lose focus on the activity in an effort to impress the teacher. It also demonstrates to students who are afraid to ask questions exactly what is expected from them.
• Pass out copies of a short news article chosen from a recent newspaper, preferably a local newspaper. If you have Internet access for all students, you may direct students to an online story.
• Choose a student volunteer to read the article to the class. Depending on the length of the article, you may have multiple volunteers read aloud.
• After reading the article, arrange students into groups of three to five students and have them sketch out the story elements for a short story based on the article. Pass out the Short Story Prewriting handout to guide student work. Alternatively, students can use the Story Map interactive or Scholastic’s printable Story Map .
• Come together as a whole class and share the story sketches. This may be done orally, via computer projector (if available), on overhead transparencies, or using the board.
• Discuss the various options students have in basing a short story on a news article, and answer any questions students may have about this activity.
• Pass out copies of the news articles to be used for homework along with the Story Outline Rubric , which shows the criteria for the story map that will be due the next class. An example story from a Wisconsin paper can be used if desired. Instruct students to return to the Short Story Prewriting handout as they complete the task. Remind students that they do not have to write in complete sentences, but that their answers should contain many details.

Homework: Students should read their assigned article and complete a sketch of story elements similar to the one completed in class, using their notes and the rubric to help them compose. Note that a story outline is easier for students to complete in one evening than an entire story. If you choose to have students bring their stories to a final draft, the sketches they write serve as a prewriting activity. If you choose to use this activity as a shift of focus from narrative to expository writing, an outline allows students to use their understanding of narrative writing as a bridge to understanding exposition without immersing themselves further into the “old” narrative structure.

Session Three: From Short Story to Newspaper Article

• As an opening activity, have students respond to the following: On a scale of 1–10—1 being extremely easy and 10 being extremely difficult—rate the difficulty of the homework you’ve completed for this session. Explain your rating.
• Allow students time to share their responses to the opener and/or their story sketches.
• Use the prior discussion to lead into another question: Do you think it would be more or less difficult to create a news article from a short story? Such a discussion makes a good lead in to the day’s activities.
• Explain to students that today they will practice condensing a short story into a news article.
• Pass out copies of the short story you wish to use as a model. If it’s in a textbook, make sure all students have access to a textbook.
• Read the story. I prefer reading aloud to the students so that any students with reading difficulties aren’t pressured to read so quickly that comprehension is sacrificed. Students can also read the story silently. Students who are better readers may finish the story ahead of you; so let them know that they should begin writing ideas to use for the class article.
• After everyone has read the story, use suggestions from the class to create a short news article (about three to five paragraphs, so it resembles an AP brief). Return to the information gathered in the first session to review the characteristics of basic news articles.
• Be sure to return to the journalist’s questions and the pyramid structure to reinforce their role in this genre of writing.
• Pass out copies of the stories to be used for homework (if they are in the textbook, give page numbers). Ideally, provide three to five different stories and assign them randomly so that there is variety in the stories that students write in response.
• Explain the assignment and answer any questions. Remind students that the writing due the next session is a draft, not a final copy.

Homework: Students read their assigned short stories and create 3- to 5-paragraph news briefs based on the stories.

• Have students turn one or both of the above assignments into a final draft.
• Use the understanding of journalistic writing to create a newspaper for the next class novel read or as an independent reading project, publishing the pages with the ReadWriteThink Printing Press .
• Analyze the editorial sections of various newspapers to determine how editorials differ from regular reporting. Use a similar process as above as an introduction to persuasive writing.

Student Assessment / Reflections

• Assess participation through teacher observation during discussion, group work, and reading activities.
• Check students’ Venn Diagrams and Questionnaires as you would minor assignments, simply noting whether the work was completed, partially completed, or left undone. Focus your assessment on participation and the discussion.
• The rubric for the story sketches can also be used to provide feedback to individual students.
• Calendar Activities
• Student Interactives
• Lesson Plans
• Professional Library

The Story Map interactive is designed to assist students in prewriting and postreading activities by focusing on the key elements of character, setting, conflict, and resolution.

The interactive Printing Press is designed to assist students in creating newspapers, brochures, and flyers.

This interactive tool allows students to create Venn diagrams that contain two or three overlapping circles, enabling them to organize their information logically.

Add new comment

• Print this resource

Explore Resources by Grade

• Kindergarten K

• Share on Facebook
• Tweet This Resource
• Pin This Resource

It's Happening Where: Graphic Organizer #1 for Newspaper Articles

Planning a newspaper or journalism unit? Use these graphic organizer to help your young reporters organizer their articles. The first page instructs users to plan out the structure of their article, while the second page prompts them to brainstorm the who, what, where, when, and why of their writing. You could also use this activity in a social studies class, as the geographic location of the event is emphasized within the graphic organizer.

Start Your Free Trial

Save time and discover engaging curriculum for your classroom. Reviewed and rated by trusted, credentialed teachers.

• Collection Types
• Activities & Projects
• Assessments
• Graphics & Images
• Handouts & References
• Interactives
• Lab Resources
• Learning Games
• Lesson Plans
• Presentations
• Primary Sources
• Printables & Templates
• Professional Documents
• Study Guides
• Instructional Videos
• Performance Tasks
• Graphic Organizers
• Writing Prompts
• Constructed Response Items
• AP Test Preps
• Lesson Planet Articles
• Online Courses
• Interactive Whiteboards
• Home Letters
• Unknown Types
• Stock Footages
• All Resource Types

See similar resources:

Reading a persuasive essay graphic organizer, writing portfolio: an autobiography assignment, persuasive writing graphic organizer, creative writing workshop, 501 writing prompts, organizing by writing, zach’s lie: multi-genre writing assignment, get in the newspaper habit, writing prompts, student rubrics, and sample responses, writing and presenting a fable using research.

• CORE CURRICULUM
• LITERACY > CORE CURRICULUM > Into Literature, 6-12" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Into Literature, 6-12" aria-label="Into Literature, 6-12"> Into Literature, 6-12
• LITERACY > CORE CURRICULUM > Into Reading, K-6" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Into Reading, K-6" aria-label="Into Reading, K-6"> Into Reading, K-6
• INTERVENTION
• LITERACY > INTERVENTION > English 3D, 4-12" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="English 3D, 4-12" aria-label="English 3D, 4-12"> English 3D, 4-12
• LITERACY > INTERVENTION > Read 180, 3-12" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Read 180, 3-12" aria-label="Read 180, 3-12"> Read 180, 3-12
• LITERACY > READERS > Hero Academy Leveled Libraries, PreK-4" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Hero Academy Leveled Libraries, PreK-4" aria-label="Hero Academy Leveled Libraries, PreK-4"> Hero Academy Leveled Libraries, PreK-4
• LITERACY > READERS > HMH Reads Digital Library, K-5" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="HMH Reads Digital Library, K-5" aria-label="HMH Reads Digital Library, K-5"> HMH Reads Digital Library, K-5
• LITERACY > READERS > inFact Leveled Libraries, K-5" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="inFact Leveled Libraries, K-5" aria-label="inFact Leveled Libraries, K-5"> inFact Leveled Libraries, K-5
• LITERACY > READERS > Rigby PM, K-5" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Rigby PM, K-5" aria-label="Rigby PM, K-5"> Rigby PM, K-5
• LITERACY > READERS > Science & Engineering Leveled Readers, K-5" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Science & Engineering Leveled Readers, K-5" aria-label="Science & Engineering Leveled Readers, K-5"> Science & Engineering Leveled Readers, K-5
• SUPPLEMENTAL
• LITERACY > SUPPLEMENTAL > A Chance in the World SEL, 8-12" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="A Chance in the World SEL, 8-12" aria-label="A Chance in the World SEL, 8-12"> A Chance in the World SEL, 8-12
• LITERACY > SUPPLEMENTAL > Amira Learning, K-6" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Amira Learning, K-6" aria-label="Amira Learning, K-6"> Amira Learning, K-6
• LITERACY > SUPPLEMENTAL > Classcraft, K-8" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Classcraft, K-8" aria-label="Classcraft, K-8"> Classcraft, K-8
• LITERACY > SUPPLEMENTAL > JillE Literacy, K-3" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="JillE Literacy, K-3" aria-label="JillE Literacy, K-3"> JillE Literacy, K-3
• LITERACY > SUPPLEMENTAL > Waggle, K-8" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Waggle, K-8" aria-label="Waggle, K-8"> Waggle, K-8
• LITERACY > SUPPLEMENTAL > Writable, 3-12" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Writable, 3-12" aria-label="Writable, 3-12"> Writable, 3-12
• LITERACY > SUPPLEMENTAL > ASSESSMENT" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="ASSESSMENT" aria-label="ASSESSMENT"> ASSESSMENT
• MATH > CORE CURRICULUM > Arriba las Matematicas, K-8" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Arriba las Matematicas, K-8" aria-label="Arriba las Matematicas, K-8"> Arriba las Matematicas, K-8
• MATH > CORE CURRICULUM > Go Math!, K-6" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Go Math!, K-6" aria-label="Go Math!, K-6"> Go Math!, K-6
• MATH > CORE CURRICULUM > Into Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, 8-12" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Into Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, 8-12" aria-label="Into Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, 8-12"> Into Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, 8-12
• MATH > CORE CURRICULUM > Into Math, K-8" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Into Math, K-8" aria-label="Into Math, K-8"> Into Math, K-8
• MATH > CORE CURRICULUM > Math Expressions, PreK-6" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Math Expressions, PreK-6" aria-label="Math Expressions, PreK-6"> Math Expressions, PreK-6
• MATH > CORE CURRICULUM > Math in Focus, K-8" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Math in Focus, K-8" aria-label="Math in Focus, K-8"> Math in Focus, K-8
• MATH > SUPPLEMENTAL > Classcraft, K-8" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Classcraft, K-8" aria-label="Classcraft, K-8"> Classcraft, K-8
• MATH > SUPPLEMENTAL > Waggle, K-8" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Waggle, K-8" aria-label="Waggle, K-8"> Waggle, K-8
• MATH > INTERVENTION > Math 180, 5-12" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Math 180, 5-12" aria-label="Math 180, 5-12"> Math 180, 5-12
• SCIENCE > CORE CURRICULUM > Into Science, K-5" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Into Science, K-5" aria-label="Into Science, K-5"> Into Science, K-5
• SCIENCE > CORE CURRICULUM > Into Science, 6-8" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Into Science, 6-8" aria-label="Into Science, 6-8"> Into Science, 6-8
• SCIENCE > CORE CURRICULUM > Science Dimensions, K-12" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Science Dimensions, K-12" aria-label="Science Dimensions, K-12"> Science Dimensions, K-12
• SCIENCE > READERS > inFact Leveled Readers, K-5" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="inFact Leveled Readers, K-5" aria-label="inFact Leveled Readers, K-5"> inFact Leveled Readers, K-5
• SCIENCE > READERS > Science & Engineering Leveled Readers, K-5" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Science & Engineering Leveled Readers, K-5" aria-label="Science & Engineering Leveled Readers, K-5"> Science & Engineering Leveled Readers, K-5
• SCIENCE > READERS > ScienceSaurus, K-8" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="ScienceSaurus, K-8" aria-label="ScienceSaurus, K-8"> ScienceSaurus, K-8
• SOCIAL STUDIES > CORE CURRICULUM > HMH Social Studies, 6-12" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="HMH Social Studies, 6-12" aria-label="HMH Social Studies, 6-12"> HMH Social Studies, 6-12
• SOCIAL STUDIES > SUPPLEMENTAL > Writable" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Writable" aria-label="Writable"> Writable
• For Teachers
• PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT > For Teachers > Coachly" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Coachly" aria-label="Coachly"> Coachly
• PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT > For Teachers > Teacher's Corner" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Teacher's Corner" aria-label="Teacher's Corner"> Teacher's Corner
• PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT > For Teachers > Live Online Courses" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Live Online Courses" aria-label="Live Online Courses"> Live Online Courses
• For Leaders
• PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT > For Leaders > The Center for Model Schools (formerly ICLE)" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="The Center for Model Schools (formerly ICLE)" aria-label="The Center for Model Schools (formerly ICLE)"> The Center for Model Schools (formerly ICLE)
• MORE > undefined > Assessment" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Assessment" aria-label="Assessment"> Assessment
• MORE > undefined > Early Learning" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Early Learning" aria-label="Early Learning"> Early Learning
• MORE > undefined > English Language Development" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="English Language Development" aria-label="English Language Development"> English Language Development
• MORE > undefined > Homeschool" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Homeschool" aria-label="Homeschool"> Homeschool
• MORE > undefined > Intervention" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Intervention" aria-label="Intervention"> Intervention
• MORE > undefined > Literacy" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Literacy" aria-label="Literacy"> Literacy
• MORE > undefined > Mathematics" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Mathematics" aria-label="Mathematics"> Mathematics
• MORE > undefined > Professional Development" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Professional Development" aria-label="Professional Development"> Professional Development
• MORE > undefined > Science" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Science" aria-label="Science"> Science
• MORE > undefined > undefined" data-element-type="header nav submenu">
• MORE > undefined > Social and Emotional Learning" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Social and Emotional Learning" aria-label="Social and Emotional Learning"> Social and Emotional Learning
• MORE > undefined > Social Studies" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Social Studies" aria-label="Social Studies"> Social Studies
• MORE > undefined > Special Education" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Special Education" aria-label="Special Education"> Special Education
• MORE > undefined > Summer School" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Summer School" aria-label="Summer School"> Summer School
• BROWSE RESOURCES
• BROWSE RESOURCES > Classroom Activities" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Classroom Activities" aria-label="Classroom Activities"> Classroom Activities
• BROWSE RESOURCES > Customer Success Stories" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Customer Success Stories" aria-label="Customer Success Stories"> Customer Success Stories
• BROWSE RESOURCES > Digital Samples" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Digital Samples" aria-label="Digital Samples"> Digital Samples
• BROWSE RESOURCES > Events" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Events" aria-label="Events"> Events
• BROWSE RESOURCES > Grants & Funding" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Grants & Funding" aria-label="Grants & Funding"> Grants & Funding
• BROWSE RESOURCES > International" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="International" aria-label="International"> International
• BROWSE RESOURCES > Research Library" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Research Library" aria-label="Research Library"> Research Library
• BROWSE RESOURCES > Shaped - HMH Blog" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Shaped - HMH Blog" aria-label="Shaped - HMH Blog"> Shaped - HMH Blog
• BROWSE RESOURCES > Webinars" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Webinars" aria-label="Webinars"> Webinars
• CUSTOMER SUPPORT
• CUSTOMER SUPPORT > Contact Sales" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Contact Sales" aria-label="Contact Sales"> Contact Sales
• CUSTOMER SUPPORT > Customer Service & Technical Support Portal" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Customer Service & Technical Support Portal" aria-label="Customer Service & Technical Support Portal"> Customer Service & Technical Support Portal
• CUSTOMER SUPPORT > Platform Login" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Platform Login" aria-label="Platform Login"> Platform Login
• Learn about us
• Learn about us > About" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="About" aria-label="About"> About
• Learn about us > Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" aria-label="Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion"> Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
• Learn about us > Environmental, Social, and Governance" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Environmental, Social, and Governance" aria-label="Environmental, Social, and Governance"> Environmental, Social, and Governance
• Learn about us > News Announcements" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="News Announcements" aria-label="News Announcements"> News Announcements
• Learn about us > Our Legacy" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Our Legacy" aria-label="Our Legacy"> Our Legacy
• Learn about us > Social Responsibility" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Social Responsibility" aria-label="Social Responsibility"> Social Responsibility
• Learn about us > Supplier Diversity" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Supplier Diversity" aria-label="Supplier Diversity"> Supplier Diversity
• Join Us > Careers" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Careers" aria-label="Careers"> Careers
• Join Us > Educator Input Panel" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Educator Input Panel" aria-label="Educator Input Panel"> Educator Input Panel
• Join Us > Suppliers and Vendors" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Suppliers and Vendors" aria-label="Suppliers and Vendors"> Suppliers and Vendors
• Divisions > Center for Model Schools (formerly ICLE)" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Center for Model Schools (formerly ICLE)" aria-label="Center for Model Schools (formerly ICLE)"> Center for Model Schools (formerly ICLE)
• Divisions > Heinemann" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Heinemann" aria-label="Heinemann"> Heinemann
• Divisions > NWEA" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="NWEA" aria-label="NWEA"> NWEA
• Platform Login

SOCIAL STUDIES

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Activities & Lessons

Free Graphic Organizer Templates

Help your students classify ideas and communicate more effectively with these free graphic organizer templates, available for download. They can be used to structure writing projects and help in problem solving, decision making, studying, planning research, and brainstorming.

Printable Graphic Organizers

Select a blank graphic organizer from the following categories depending on your curriculum needs.

Sequence of Events

• Step-by-Step Chart
• Sequence Chart
• Time-Order Chart

Main Topic and Key Details

• Garden Gate
• Describing Wheel
• Cluster/Word Web 1
• Cluster/Word Web 2
• Cluster/Word Web 3
• Ticktacktoe
• Four-Column Chart
• Inverted Triangle
• Persuasion Map
• Ice Cream Cone

Compare/Contrast

• Venn Diagram

Story Planning

• Story Map 1
• Story Map 2
• Story Map 3
• Planning Chart

Other Graphic Organizers

• Sense Chart
• Problem/Solution Chart
• ISP Chart (Information, Sources, Page)
• Fact and Opinion
• Five W's Chart
• Goal-Reasons Web
• Observation Chart

Offer a balanced approach to literacy instruction and build a culture of growth with HMH Into Reading .

Fourth-grade teacher Toney Jackson differentiates instruction with rhymes and raps on Teachers in America.

• Activities & Lessons

Related Reading

2024 Happy Teacher Appreciation Week Ideas

Brenda Iasevoli Shaped Executive Editor

March 20, 2024

15 Fun Summer School Activities for Elementary and Middle School Students

March 18, 2024

13 Mother’s Day Celebration Ideas in School

Marcela Grillo Writer, Girls Write Now

March 12, 2024

Newspaper Article: Printable Student Newspaper Template/Graphic Organizer

Grade 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Graphic Organizers

About This Product

This newspaper template is perfect to help your students master the art of expository writing. Students can write a rough draft in their journals, practice proofreading, and create their good copy on the blackline master/graphic organizer. With a bit of decoration, a class set of these could make a beautiful and informative bulletin board or class book!

How to Use :

There are many ways to use this product! Students could write a real article about something happening around their school. They could interview a member of the school community or write about a special event. Conversely, students could write creative articles about imagined events: aliens landing on earth, the dinosaurs returning, or a friend of theirs winning the lottery. Or, have students write an article to summarize a part of the novel you are reading in class: "Brian Returns!" for Hatchet or "Jonas and Gabriel Disappear!" for The Giver.

Grades to Use With : Students from grades 1-5 could use this organizer. It can support these standards in grades 2 and 3:

Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.

With guidance and support from adults and peers, focus on a topic and strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing.

Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., read a number of books on a single topic to produce a report; record science observations).

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose.

Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

What's Included

3 Page PDF including a template/graphic organizer for a newspaper article.

Resource Tags

Check out these other great products

• Crafts Home
• Fall Crafts
• Winter Crafts
• Spring Crafts
• Summer Crafts
• Mother's Day Crafts
• Memorial Day Crafts
• Father's Day Crafts
• 4th of July Crafts
• Halloween Crafts
• Thanksgiving Crafts
• Christmas Crafts
• Hanukkah Crafts
• Groundhog Day Crafts
• Valentine's Day Crafts
• President's Day Crafts
• St. Patrick's Day Crafts
• Easter Crafts
• Alphabet Crafts
• Number Crafts
• Shape Crafts
• Back to School Crafts
• Book Crafts
• 100th Day Crafts
• Farm Animal Crafts
• Zoo Animal Crafts
• Fish Crafts
• Ocean Animal Crafts
• Pond Crafts
• Bird Crafts
• Dinosaur Crafts
• Reptile Crafts
• African Animal Crafts
• Nursery Rhyme Crafts
• Bible Crafts
• Fire Safety Crafts
• Space Crafts
• Robot Crafts
• Fantasy Crafts
• Dental Crafts
• Flower Crafts
• Music Crafts
• Dress Up Crafts
• Homemade Card Crafts
• Paper Plate Crafts
• Worksheets Home
• Math Worksheet Generators
• Handwriting Generator
• Graph Paper Generator
• Reading Worksheets
• Writing Worksheets
• Math Worksheets
• Alphabet Worksheets
• Numbers Worksheets
• Shapes Worksheets
• Colors Worksheets
• Basic Concepts Worksheets
• Fall Worksheets
• Spring Worksheets
• Summer Worksheets
• Winter Worksheets
• 4th of July Worksheets
• Christmas Worksheets
• Earth Day Worksheets
• Easter Worksheets
• Father's Day Worksheets
• Groundhog Day Worksheets
• Halloween Worksheets
• Labor Day Worksheets
• Memorial Day Worksheets
• Mother's Day Worksheets
• New Year Worksheets
• St. Patrick's Day Worksheets
• Thanksgiving Worksheets
• Valentine's Day Worksheets
• Animal Worksheets
• Body Worksheets
• Food Worksheets
• Geography Worksheets
• Health Worksheets
• Plants Worksheets
• Space Worksheets
• Weather Worksheets
• About Me Worksheets
• Back to School Worksheets
• Calendar Worksheets
• Communities Worksheets
• Community Helpers Worksheets
• Days of the Week Worksheets
• Family Worksheets
• Music Worksheets
• Months Worksheets
• Activities Home
• Coloring Pages
• Printable Mazes
• Hidden Pictures
• Color by Number
• Kids Sudoku
• Optical Illusions
• Word Search
• Teaching Resources Home
• Lined Paper Home
• Primary Lined Paper
• Standard Lined Paper
• Themed Lined Paper
• Graph Paper
• Graphic Organizers
• Certificates
• Sticker Charts
• News Graphic Organizer
• Teaching Resources

• 18,190 Visits
• Writing (755)
• Kindergarten (5,546)
• Preschool (4,534)
• Teaching Resource (171)

All Kids Network is dedicated to providing fun and educational activities for parents and teachers to do with their kids. We have hundreds of kids craft ideas, kids worksheets, printable activities for kids and more.

Seasonal Crafts

Holiday crafts.

• More Holidays

Seasonal Worksheets

• More Worksheets

Kids Activities

• Color By Number
• More Kids Activities

Worksheet Subjects

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy

© 2006-2024 All Kids Network, LLC All Rights Reserved. | Last Built Mon, 01 Apr 2024 13:56:21 GMT

Newspaper Article Template Graphic Organizer: Digital and Printable Templates

• Google Apps™

What educators are saying

Description.

These Newspaper Article Templates are SO easy to use! These newspaper template graphic organizers can be used in Google Slides or can be printed on paper for students to write on!

These no-prep worksheets can be used for ANY subject area, writing assignment, or information-gathering activity in your classroom.

This newspaper templates product is so versatile that you can use it all year long in multiple subject areas!

NOTE: Students can now use these templates in Google Slides! DOWNLOAD this file and refer to the final seven pages of the file for the digital distance learning option.

Newspaper templates can be used for any of the following: book reports, All About Me, science or social studies reports, expository writing, assessments of learning, or fun facts activities.

Some ideas include:

• book reports
• an All About Me Unit
• science or social studies reports
• expository writing
• assessments of learning
• reflection activities
• fun facts activities

There are 13 templates with the newspaper's name printed on the front (The Chatty Commentator, The Social Studies Star, Book Report Times, The Babbling Bulletin, etc.). These are followed by 13 templates with varying borders, layouts, and phrases on the front (students create their own newspaper name).

Each of the 26 templates is followed by the back side with a matching border.

Each template includes doodle clip art for illustrations, images, or photos. Of course, an obvious option is for students to illustrate their own pictures on the printed pages. Other options might include printing pictures from the internet, drawing diagrams, or creating information tables.

In the Google Slides options, students right-click on the empty square and replace it with an image.

These newspaper templates can be used for the2nd-12th grade, homeschooling, or camp/activities outside school.

NOTE: THIS FILE INCLUDES A DIGITAL DISTANCE LEARNING OPTION!

This product includes a digital option (as well as the no prep printable option). The instructions for utilizing the digital portion appear at the end of the packet.

Please reach out with any questions before purchasing this product!

Questions & Answers

Kirsten's kaboodle.

• We're hiring
• Help & FAQ
• Privacy policy
• Student privacy
• Terms of service
• Tell us what you think