Tips for Success

The following tips will help you incorporate newspapers into your classroom and ensure a fun, educational experience.

1. Getting Started
It's best to start each newspaper lesson with some free reading time. Allow students to explore the newspaper independently for about 10 minutes. Then spend a few minutes discussing the stories that your students read. This is a terrific way to assess the students' interest in various sections of the newspaper.

2. Know the News
Consider introducing students to newspaper terms such as "headline," "byline," "masthead," "editorial," "column," etc. You can also review the sections of your newspaper and discuss the type of information that can be found in each one.

3. Keep A Journal
The newspaper provokes thought and sometimes controversy. Students will benefit from keeping a journal of thoughts as they interact with the newspaper. They can write in the journal at the end of any newspaper lesson or as homework. The journal can be kept private or turned in for your review. The idea is to have students react in writing to what they read.

4. Know, Want to Know, Learned
When you can, begin a newspaper lesson on a specific story by asking students what they know about the subject of the selected news story. Then, ask them what they want to know about that topic. Finally, after the lesson is complete, ask them what they learned from reading the story. In this way, you can facilitate the students' ability to draw from their prior knowledge when approaching the reading material.

5. Clean Hands
If the ink from the newspaper rubs off, it may help to keep a canister of pre-moistened towelettes in your classroom. Baby wipes are perfect for this purpose. Or, if wipes are not available, assign one student to get a small container of water and paper towels. Place the towels in the water and by the time the lesson is completed, the towels should have absorbed the water and be just damp enough for cleanup.

6. Clipping File
As you use the newspaper, suggest to students that they keep a personal clipping file of interesting stories. Then, when they are stuck for something to write about, either in a journal or for a writing assignment, they can just check their file and choose an idea. This file also provides a great record of the news from that year.

7. Short Attention Spans
Students with difficulty focusing, or those with short attention spans, can benefit from using only one section of the newspaper at a time. You may even want to limit their attention to just one page. For students who have difficulty physically managing the pages, staple the upper left corner of each section.

8. Time Allotment
Most of these activities are designed for a single 45-minute class period. However, the time needed will depend greatly on the newspaper you are using and the ability level of your students. When gauging time, try the activity yourself to see how difficult it is to do with your newspaper. That way you can allow more or less time as needed. It may save time in some cases to select news stories or articles to use ahead of time.

10. Newspapers Should Go Home
If possible, allow students to take the newspapers home and assign homework that involves discussing the material with parents. Even if no newspaper homework is assigned, it's a good idea to encourage students to
share the newspapers with their families.

11. Freedom of Choice
Students may be even more receptive to the assignments if you allow them to make some choices about which activities they complete. You may want to offer some opportunities for extra-credit work using the newspaper. It may help to give students a choice of two or three newspaper assignments, with the final choice being theirs.

12. Small Group Learning
Some activities may work best in small groups. Encourage students to work together for optimal results. This is a great way for students of different ability levels to use the same material and to help each other succeed. Newspaper content is often controversial and complex, lending itself beautifully to group discussion.

13. Read More About It
Encourage students to do additional research in the library, in other sources, and even on the Internet. Caution them about the reliability of Internet sources. It may be best to compare those sources to the print
material.

14. Read Aloud
Read aloud to students. Children of any age can benefit from a good news article read aloud with emphasis. Share with your students what you find interesting. Chances are that if you find something fascinating, they will too. Encourage them to share with you what they like. Allow students to read aloud to the class when possible.

15. Try Something Different
One of the activities that students enjoy is called "Front Page Rap." Students are divided into groups of three or four. They are then told to use the information on the front page to compose a rap song. They had to come up with at least two verses. Some did more, some less. Some added accompanying sounds for musical instruments. All ages of students enjoy this.