newspaper assignment for high school

Creating a Classroom Newspaper

• Resources & Preparation
• Instructional Plan
• Related Resources

Students will enjoy this creative, exciting, and stimulating lesson in writing as they create authentic newspaper stories. As they are transformed into reporters and editors, they will become effective users of ICT in order to publish their own classroom newspaper. Various aspects of newspapers are covered, including parts of a newspaper, writing an article, online newspapers, newspaper reading habits, and layout and design techniques.

Featured Resources

• Printing Press : In this online interactive tool, your students can choose the "newspaper" option to help them complete their newspaper section.
• Newspaper Story Format : Your students will find completing their newspaper article a snap by first filling out this useful handout that helps them identify each key element of an authentic newspaper article.

From Theory to Practice

• Encouraging children to read and write in ways that allow them to make sense of real language in real contexts is more likely to help them develop the skills necessary to become fluent readers and writers. Creation of a class newspaper provides such a real context, and thus makes an excellent choice as the basis for a project designed with this goal in mind.
• Use of the computer motivates students to learn and students' attitudes toward the newspaper genre are affected by active participation in the production of an authentic and original newspaper of their own.
• Abilities in formal writing are best developed with a "process approach" that goes through five distinct phases: prewriting, composing or drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Using this approach helps students more fully understand the process of producing formal written documents, such as magazines and newspapers.

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

• 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.
• 8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
• 11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.

Materials and Technology

• Computer lab with Internet access
• Multimedia software
• Access to a library of images/graphics
• Scanner (optional)
• Digital camera (optional)
• Deadline! From News to Newspaper by Gail Gibbons (HarperCollins, 1987)
• The Furry News: How to Make a Newspaper by Loreen Leedy (Holiday House, 1993)
• Freddy and the Bean Home News by Walter R. Brooks (Puffin, 2002)
• Inverted Pyramid Format
• Newspaper Story Format
• Story Feedback Form
• Newspaper Writing Assessment
• Reporting Tips
• Reporter's Guide

Preparation

*Prerequisite skills: Familiarization with an appropriate multimedia software program

Student Objectives

Students will

• Identify the parts of a newspaper
• Identify the format of a news article
• Write a newspaper story
• Edit newspaper articles
• Use ICT equipment and software
• Layout and publish a classroom newspaper

Hold up a sample front page from a selected newspaper. Ask students what they notice about the format that is different from other texts they read (e.g., black and white ink, graphics, headline, column format). Divide the students into groups of three to four members. Explain to the students that they will explore a newspaper, paying attention to the layout and format. Instruct students to study the front page first and discuss what different parts they notice. Ask each group to report back to the whole class what members noticed was contained on the front page. Make a list of parts on the board. (e.g., title, headlines, pictures or graphics, captions, date, subtitles, table of contents/index, etc.). Students should notice similarities between different newspapers. Discuss with the class how newspapers use a standard format. In their groups, have students continue to explore copies of newspapers. What kinds of things do they notice? Students should begin to identify sections and features that are specific to newspapers. Have the groups again report to the whole class what types of items they noticed in their paper. Continue keeping the list of items on the board. (Additional items may include: editorials, cartoons, horoscope, local news, weddings, classifieds, advertising, etc.) Explain to the class that people read newspapers differently than other types of texts. Discuss how people read newspapers. Reading a newspaper matches people's interests in certain things. They scan headlines, subtitles, and images to see if the story interests them or not. Read some sample headlines from newspapers. Ask, "How many of you would be interested in reading this story?" For homework, have students ask their family members what newspapers they read regularly and what sections they read most often. Give an example of your own newspaper reading habits. (For example, "First I check the weather to help me decide what to wear to school. Then I go to the local news to see what is happening in my town. Finally, I scan the headlines to see what is happening in the world. If I have time, I start the crossword puzzle.")

Ask the students to report about their family's newspaper reading habits. Make a list of newspapers that are read and determine which are the most common. List the words who, what, where, when, and why on the board, overhead, or chart paper. Answer each of the five W questions using the popular rhyme "Jack & Jill." Example:

• Who? Jack and Jill
• What? Fell down and broke crown
• Where? On the hill
• When? Sometime in the past
• Why? Trying to fetch water

Read "Bad Fall Injures Children" article from page 4 of the Grandview Newspaper lesson plan . Students clarify their previous responses to the five W s according to the article. Explain how these five questions help to summarize a news story. Put students in groups of three to four members. Ask the students to choose another famous rhyme or fairy tale and answer the five W questions. Have each group read just the answers to their questions, and then have the class try to guess what fairy tale or rhyme it is. Explain that these five W s help with the organization of a news story and that they make up the most important details of the story. Demonstrate to the class the organization of a good news story using the Inverted Pyramid Format overhead. Use a sample newspaper story to illustrate an example of this format For homework, ask students to select a newspaper article that they are interested in reading and bring it to school the next day.

Give students time to read the newspaper article they brought from home. Hand out the Newspaper Story Format sheet. Students should then complete the sheet using details from their particular article and share the summary of their newspaper article. Ask the students to rewrite the newspaper article in their own words as if they were a reporter for their local newspaper. What changes would they make and why? Have the students share their stories with a classmate using the following questions to guide their discussion:

• Were changes made to the lead? Why?
• Were changes made to the five W s? Why?
• Were changes made to the details? Why?

As a class, discuss fact versus opinion. Explain that news articles do not include the reporter's opinion. Have students go back and see if the changes that were made to their articles were strictly factual. Refer to original articles as needed for examples of fact-based stories.

Read-aloud to the class from one or more of the suggested titles:

• Deadline! From News to Newspaper by Gail Gibbons
• The Furry News: How to Make a Newspaper by Loreen Leedy
• Freddy and the Bean Home News by Walter R. Brooks

Have students brainstorm the types of articles they would like to write and list them on the board. Look at the list and ask students if the articles could be grouped into categories or "newspaper sections." Use the Reporting Tips overhead to present how to make newspaper articles more interesting. Go over each point and clarify any questions that students may raise. Group students based on interests to form an "editorial staff" for each newspaper section. Have the groups meet to decide who will write which stories. Students can use the Reporter's Guide handout as a guideline. When they have finished, students can begin collecting facts for their stories.

Session 5 and 6

Take students to the computer lab and have them write their first draft. They should not worry about font, size, or columns at this point. Be sure that they save their work and print a hard copy of their article for editing. Students' stories should then be self-edited and edited by two other members of their editorial staff (using the Story Feedback Form ). Students should make necessary revisions to their stories based on the comments from the Story Feedback Form.

In the computer lab, have students access the Internet Public Library website and explore newspapers from around the world. They should pay particular attention to the design and layout elements. For example, some articles may include graphics (e.g., photos, charts, graphs). Discuss what patterns of layout design the students noticed. As a whole class, discuss newspaper layout, addressing the following points:

• Headline News: Top priority articles are near the front (1-2 pages). These are typically of high interest to your entire audience of readers (e.g., town news such as a new park or community center). Long front-page articles can be continued on an inside page to provide room for other headline news.
• Feature Articles: Stories about topics or events that are of interest to a certain group of readers (e.g., sports, animal stories, academic topics, interviews with school staff, book reviews). These are typically grouped into sections.
• Pictures or graphics: The image should always appear with the story. A caption can be included. The size usually depends on how much space is available in the layout.

Give students the opportunity to explore these layout items in newspapers in the classroom and online. Students should look at the Junior Seahawk Newsletter to get ideas for their own layout.

Session 8 and 9

In the computer lab, students should complete final story revisions. They may then begin the newspaper layout using appropriate software. The ReadWriteThink Printing Press includes an option for creating a newspaper. Each editorial staff works together to complete their newspaper section. Note: 8 ½ X 11 size pages are optimal. They can be printed and copied back to back on 11 X 17 paper that can be folded like a real newspaper. The completed paper must have an even number of pages for this format. Pictures can be drawn or pasted into the layout. Depending on the available resources, pictures can also be scanned or downloaded from a digital camera. Tell students to play around with fonts and columns. They should experiment and be creative! Once pages are completed, they should be printed. The editorial staff should do a final reading for errors. Pages are then submitted to the teacher for publishing.

Distribute the class newspaper to the students and allow them time to read it. When they have finished, hand out the Newspaper Writing Assessment sheet and ask them to fill it out.

Student Assessment / Reflections

Assess students' comments from the Newspaper Writing Assessment sheet.

• Calendar Activities
• Student Interactives
• Lesson Plans

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

Students analyze rhetorical strategies in online editorials, building knowledge of strategies and awareness of local and national issues. This lesson teaches students connections between subject, writer, and audience and how rhetorical strategies are used in everyday writing.

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Teach Current Events With These Free Worksheets From The Week Junior

Article summary worksheets and news accuracy tips for grades 3-8! 🗞️

The Week Junior magazine is a kid-friendly, unbiased current events news source. It’s a safe and trusted partner to help you explain to kids what’s happening in the world while providing fun reading content including puzzles, recipes, crafts, and more. 

The benefits of using current events in the classroom are practically endless. News stories help students better understand their communities, new perspectives, and real-world events. Introducing current events in the classroom can promote critical thinking, empathy, reading skills, global awareness, and so much more. Whether you’re assigning weekly current events summaries or conducting a single lesson, our free current events worksheets for grades 3-8 are the perfect companion.

Inside, you’ll find two options for current event summaries. In addition, our savvy news reader tips and activity will guide students through determining if an article is trustworthy. In a world of so many media outlets, news literacy is a crucial skill!

Get my current events worksheets!

Current Events Summary Worksheets

WeAreTeachers

• When giving current events assignments, give students the option to use one of two article summary worksheets to get started.
• Choose from a graphic organizer–style worksheet or a traditional fill-in worksheet to evaluate an article.

News Accuracy Worksheets

• Begin a lesson on news literacy. Use the list tips to educate students on determining a news article’s accuracy and credibility.
• Then, have students complete the corresponding worksheet to practice what they learned and evaluate a news article on their own.

The Week Junior , an Unbiased Classroom Current Events Resource

The Week Junior magazine is an awesome way to expose 3rd through 8th grade readers to current events through a kid-friendly, unbiased magazine. There’s something for every student, with sections on sports, culture, movies, crafts, recipes, and so much more! Get a free issue of The Week Junior , and watch kids dive into this interactive reading resource.

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Easy Peasy All-in-One High School

An extension of the easy peasy all-in-one homeschool, newspaper project, short story newspaper project.

For this project, you will put together a newspaper that covers the stories you read in this unit.

Articles for your Newspaper

You will write six articles for your paper.  There should be two for each story we read in this unit.  You can choose from the article types below, however, you can only write one of each type of article:

• News Feature Story/Cover Story (could have up to two of these)
• Opinion article
• Dear Abby letter
• Sales/Help Wanted
• Entertainment
• Outdoor Living
• Comic Strip

You can choose any six of these article types, but the article must deal with and contain details from the short stories:

• “Two Kinds”
• “Lamb to the Slaughter”
• “A Hunger Artist”

Be sure to include facts from your story, while using creativity.  For instance, you might take the conflict/tension between the mother and daughter in “Two Kinds” to write an article about where Jing mei might have traveled after the falling out with her mother.  Or you might write an obituary for Mr. Maloney, in “Lamb to the Slaughter”, using details from the story to describe him, and adding a few of your own.  You might use story details to write a horoscope for any of the characters in these selections.  You could also create a help wanted ad geared to one of the characters.  For instance, the help wanted ad might be for a hunger artist that the main character of that story could fill.  Whichever pieces you choose to write, you must have at least two multi-paragraph articles.  You must choose at least two lengthy stories to write (2<3 paragraphs).  The others can fill in as you choose.

Don’t forget to create a title for your newspaper, along with page numbers, section headings etc.

Pictures for your Newspaper

You will also need to include at least two images in your newspaper.  These should be pictures that represent aspects of the story you are writing about for the paper.  The pictures can be from other sources, but remember that you must cite where you found the picture. Pixabay is a good site for stock/free domain images.

Adapted from a Georgial Virtual Learning assignment

• My Storyboards

Newspaper Project

In this activity, activity overview, template and class instructions, more storyboard that activities.

• This Activity is Part of Many Teacher Guides

Perfect for fictional summaries or school newspapers, a newspaper project lets students get creative while recounting events. They're easily adapted to fit any subject, from Science to Social Studies to ELA!

Using one of the newspaper templates, students will create the front page of a newspaper . This example uses events from the popular novel, To Kill a Mockingbird but this project could be used for any book or topic! Like this example, students could recount a particular event in a book for ELA, but they could also create a newspaper project about a current or historical event for Social Studies or a new discovery or innovation for Science class. Students could even create a front page news story from their own imagination!

For additional templates to include in this assignment, check out our Newspaper Poster and Newspaper Worksheet templates!

(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)

Objective: Create the front page of a newspaper to recount an event.

Student Instructions:

• Click "Start Assignment".
• Create a title for your newspaper and a catchy headline for the main story.
• Use appropriate scenes, characters and items to create "photographs" for your article.
• Include captions for "photographs".
• Write the accompanying text for the main story, and any other articles on the front page.
• Save and exit when you're done.

Requirements:

• Minimum 2 pictures with captions
• Minimum 3 paragraphs to describe the event

Lesson Plan Reference

Grade Level 9-12

Difficulty Level 3 (Developing to Mastery)

Type of Assignment Individual or Partner

Type of Activity: Newspapers

• [ELA-Literacy/W/9-10/2] Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content
• [ELA-Literacy/W/9-10/6] Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically
• [ELA-Literacy/W/9-10/7] Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation
• [ELA-Literacy/W/11-12/1] Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence

(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric .)

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Healthy Teaching Life

How to start a high school newspaper

Top 5 things to do in the beginning to get the school paper started right..

So you’ve agreed to take on a yearbook, school newspaper, or journalism class, but have no experience teaching school publications. Don’t worry. When I first started teaching, I was the school yearbook adviser simply because I was the only person willing to take the job. I switched to teaching newspaper and the introduction to journalism class, and figured things out on my own. Never fear – you are not alone. Here are the top 5 things to do when starting out in a school newspaper teaching position to get started the right way.

1. Assess the current students

Typically, journalism students in high school take the class for several years. You will likely come in to the class with a group of students who know the basics of the publication process. These students can help you get started.

Hands-on assessment

To find out what they know, start the year with an in-class interview activity. Students pair up with someone they don’t know and “find the story to tell” about their partner. The new journalist’s natural inclination is to go broad with this assignment. Their reports will be too broad or surface-level to be interesting. Encourage students to dig deeper until they have an interesting story to tell about their partners.

Check out my template for interview note taking on Teachers Pay Teachers . I have students use this note taking template for the entire school year so their notes are easy to grade and they get in the habit of keeping records of their interviews.

Survey the students

Depending on the size of your class, you could have individual conversations with each student or give students an interest survey. Include questions about the student’s level of confidence talking with people they don’t know. Being able to go up to new people and ask them questions is the hardest part of journalism to teach to people who are naturally introverted. You will want to identify the outgoing students in the beginning so you can give additional support to students who need it.

Another important survey question is student interests. Try to assign students to sections of the newspaper that they will enjoy to get the best writing from each person. Journalism class is usually an elective, so you want to keep it interesting and exciting for them.

2. Team building

Fosters a safe learning environment.

High school students can be insecure around people they know. The teacher’s job is to foster a safe and comfortable learning environment so the new reporters are willing to take risks with their work. Students on newspaper staff need to trust and respect each other. To do this, you should schedule team building activities every class period for the first few weeks and then at least once a week for the rest of the year.

Outside of school activities

I’ve heard of newspaper advisers organizing events for students to get to know one another outside of school. This never fit with my personal schedule, but you may want to try it. Some ideas are bowling, laser tag, or even an escape the room event. Ask your students for ideas if you want to try this approach.

In-class fun activities

There are hundreds of team building activities for high school students that are fun and that lighten the mood in the classroom. Choose an activity that gets kids talking and interacting with one another. The more they get to know each other, the better the school newspaper will be. My favorite in-class activities are a paper airplane contest, the human knot, and minute to win it type activities.

Student mentorship program

In addition to the fun one-time activities, I also set up a mentorship program within the classroom. I have my student editors and leadership team act as mentors for the new students in the class. By setting up a formal system for mentors checking in with their teams, students begin to trust one another and begin working harder for their team than they would for themselves.

Journalism class is different from any other subject in several ways. First, the students are in class with others from every grade level. This may be the only class they have with freshmen through seniors. Second, their class work is very public. Their writing and photography will be published in print or online (or both) and the student mentors have done it in previous years. They will guide the new students to help them avoid mistakes. They will also encourage them to take risks, which will ultimately make the publication better.

3. Student-driven content

Remember that the school newspaper isn’t about you. This is a student publication written by and for the students at your school. They should be the ones deciding what they will write.

Sometime in the first few weeks of school, I have students sit in a big circle and talk about what they want to include in the school paper. Some years we agree to keep the same sections from the previous year; other times we choose new content.  The content should be student-driven, but they will need your guidance to avoid publishing a gossip-filled paper. They also tend to want to include celebrity news and information. I have to remind students that they will need to do all the reporting and interviewing themselves (not steal from other reporters), so a celebrity information section is not feasible for most student publications.

Some sample content sections my students included in the past are as follows: sports (school teams), academics, club news, student features (choose someone at school who is doing something remarkable), style, and entertainment (students highlight local hangouts or things to do on weekends).

4. Review the basics

If you have a relatively new team of students, you will need to review the basics of interviewing manners, photography, and writing for publication. These lessons do not have to take weeks, nor do they have to include every student in the class. Go back to your initial assessment and see which students need help in each of the important areas.

Click here to read a post about some of my favorite journalism resources and textbooks .

Interviewing manners

Practice interviewing skills in class before letting students out on their own. They should introduce themselves, explain what the story is about, and tell why they selected the person for the interview. It is also important to tell the person that the work will be published in the school paper (in print or online).

My new journalism students learn to show their notes to the person at the end of the interview and obtain a signature to indicate that the information and quotes are correct. This paper will be filed in the classroom in case the person denies they said something after we publish the paper. Professional reporters don’t let people review their notes, but this is an important beginner step for high school level journalists.

Photography

There are many books and resources out there about good photography for publication. In the beginning of the school year, however, you don’t have time to teach it all. Start with the rule that all photos need to show some sort of action. For some reason, journalism students tend to stick a person against a wall and take a boring mugshot. They know this type of photo isn’t interesting or good for publication, but it’s the easiest to get. Tell them to get action photos. Send them back when they try to submit mugshots. People want to see pictures of people doing things (not just standing there). If you can get them to follow this one rule, your publication will be instantly better.

5. Fundraising

No matter how wonderful your students’ work is, you will need money to publish a school paper. There are many ways to go about doing this, and you want to choose the options that keep your students safe and require the least amount of effort on your part.

Sponsorship events

My favorite fundraiser is to ask a local restaurant to sponsor your paper for a night. We did this at Chipotle and Chick-fil-A last year with great success. They have an online sign up and your only job is to get people to the restaurant on the night of the fundraiser. They send you a check at the end of the event based on the sales during the time period.

Advertising

The main money maker for most school publications is ad sales. The key to success with this fundraiser is to ask for ad support early in the school year. If another group gets to the business first, the response will be, “we already supported your school this year.” I have students go in person to three locally owned businesses each. They have an ad sales flyer with pricing information to bring with them. They need to speak with a manager and ask the person to purchase an ad to “support the school newspaper.” If you have a newspaper t-shirt, tell students to wear it when asking for ads. If not, tell them to dress in business casual attire and give them examples of what to wear.

Most businesses realize that their ad money is more of a charitable donation to the school than a realistic advertising strategy. The added benefit for the businesses is that the ads will be seen by the entire student population.

Tell your students to target only local businesses. Managers at nationwide chain stores don’t have the authority from their corporate offices to publish ads on their own. Students will have more success with businesses geared toward the school community such as driving schools, tutoring businesses, restaurants, and places looking to hire teenagers (lifeguards, etc.). I’ve even had the local community college and military recruiters place ads in the school paper. Make sure all ads are age appropriate for the under-18 student population.

Set a deadline and get going

Give students a realistic deadline to meet for publication and break that down into smaller steps for them. Don’t be discouraged if you miss your first deadline; just keep writing and designing the paper until it’s done.

Good luck and have a great year as the publications adviser!

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Teaching Journalism: 5 Journalism Lessons and Activities

You and your students will absolutely love these journalism lessons! The beginning of a new school year can be hectic for journalism teachers who are tasked with simultaneously teaching new journalism students who don’t have any journalism experience while also planning and publishing content for the school newspaper.

If your class is anything like mine, it is a mix of returning and new students. This year, I only have three returning students, so it is almost like I am starting entirely from scratch.

Here are 5 journalism lessons to teach at the beginning of the year

1. staff interview activity.

One of the very first assignments I have my students do is partner up with a fellow staff member that they don’t know and interview them. This activity works on two things: first, it helps the class get to know one another. Secondly, it helps students proactive their interviewing skills in a low-stakes environment.

For this activity, I have students come up with 10 interview questions, interview one another and do a quick write-up so that students can have practice recording their interviews.

Before this activity, I go over interviewing skills with my students. We discuss the dos and don’ts of interviewing, we brainstorm good interviewing questions, and we talk about the need to go beyond simple answer questions.

2. Staff Bio

Another great activity for the beginning of the year is to have students write their staff bio. This provides students with an opportunity to write in the third person while also providing the most important information.

For my staff bios, I give students 80-100 words. I have them write their bios in the third person and in the present tense.

3. Collaborative News Story

For our first news story of the school year, I like to write one collaboratively as a staff. We go over the basics of journalism writing and then write together in one Google Doc. I do this as a learning activity so that new staff can see how we write journalistically. First, I have students work together in small groups to write the lead. Then, as a class, we craft one together. From there, we move on to building the story.

As we write the story, as a staff, we can then see what kind of information we need. I assign small groups of students to interview people and find quotes. Those groups then add that information to the story.

Once it is written, we edit and review the story together before it is published. This activity is particularly helpful because students get to see how we format quotes in our stories, how we refer to students and teachers in our stories, and how we go about the news-gathering process.

Once our collaborative story is done, new staff then have the green light to begin writing their own stories.

4. The News Determinants

You can also read more in-depth about the news determinants with this blog post about teaching the five news determinants .

5. AP Style Writing

As students are writing their first stories, I like to teach students about AP Style . I use this instructional presentation, and students assemble their AP Style mini flip books that they use as a reference all year long.

The news determinants and AP Style lessons are included in my journalism curriculum with many other resources that will make teaching and advising the middle school or high school newspaper much easier.

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Lesson plan & templates: Why a school newspaper is the perfect class project

Create your own personalized newspaper with the help of our newspaper templates and web tool. Creating a classroom newspaper is a fun and engaging class project for your students. And writing great news articles is just the first step. Using our newspaper templates and web tool, students can pour their articles into a printed newspaper with a professional look & feel! Create an account for free and get started straight away!

Produce your own class newspaper

Class newspaper can be a great didactic teaching method that actively involves students in the teaching process. It’s motivating. It’s engaging. It puts things into context.

And newspapers are an especially useful tool for language students. For foreign language students, a newspaper can be a great way to discover new words, new phrases, new ideas and new ideas. Whereas for first language students, it can be a fun and playful way to develop new comprehension, reading and writing skills.

But class newspapers can also be a handy resource for other teachers, including history, graphic design, computer science, photography and more. It allows your students to process the subject matter in an active and more meaningful way. All while developing important new academic, social and digital skills.

Here’s how to use newspapers in a class project for your lesson:

Lesson plan:

Preliminary discussions: The role of newspapers in our lives

Collect several copies of newspapers to pass around in class. Explain to the students that they will explore a newspaper, paying attention to the content, layout and format. Have students share their observations while delving deeper into the format of a newspaper:

• Level 1: Do you read newspapers? Why do you read them? How often are newspapers published? Which newspapers do you read and why? What news do they report on? Do you believe everything you read in the newspaper? Do you think newspapers will die out with news on the internet? What is the role of journalist? How do newspapers make money?
• Level 2: What are the different types of sections of a newspaper (news, weather, opinion piece, letters to the editor, classifieds, editorial, reviews, sport)? How can each section be defined? How do they differ in style and composition? Where are they typically found in a newspaper? How are sources referenced? Are these credible?
• Level 3: What are the identifiable features of a news article (title, headlines, pictures or graphics, captions, date, subtitles, table of contents/index, etc.)? How does a news article differ from an essay? Can students identify the 5 W’s (Who, What, Where, When, Why) in each article? How is information presented (objective, to-the-point, active voice, short sentences)?

Get started: Write your own newspaper articles

Now it’s your turn!  Divide the class into small groups and ask them to take on different roles to produce their own school newspaper. Together, the students will form the ‘editorial staff’ consisting of journalists, editors, photographers and designers.

Have students brainstorm on the type of newspaper they want to make. Will it be a newspaper about a certain the curriculum? About current affairs? About school? About friends and families? The basic principles of a newspaper are all the same, so allow students to be as creative as they want.

Once you’ve decided, have the groups decide who will write which stories. Make sure your classroom newspaper will contain as many of the traditional sections as possible.

Next, have students gather the necessary information for their newspaper articles. This lay include conducting interviews, consulting the internet, collecting visual material…

After allowing them enough time to delve into their topics, have students will select the most important information and place this into a first draft of their article. They should not worry about font, size, or columns at this point. These drafts can then be edited by two other members of the editorial staff.

Finishing touches: Design your paper online

When you’ve completed the final story revisions, it’s time to start the newspaper layout. Using the web tool and templates from Happiedays, the editorial staff can work together to complete create an authentic classroom newspaper online. Sign up for free and watch a short demo on how this online editing tool works.

Next, have students insert their articles in text blocks and play around with a traditional newspaper layout (fonts, columns, headlines, pictures, captions, quotes…). Happiedays even has several templates to choose from to help your students jump-start the creative process. You can also opt for a blank template if you want to start from scratch. Encourage your students to experiment and be creative.

Once the pages are completed, you can go ahead and order a hard copy of your classroom paper. The newspapers are printed in tabloid format and real newsprint to give your newspaper that authentic look and feel. You can order your newspaper starting from just a single copy. Imagine the look of pride on your students’ faces when they get to flick through their very own newspaper!

Distribute the class newspaper to the students and allow them time to read it. When they have finished, take time to discuss the process and acknowledge everything they’ve learned.

Learning objectives:

Writing skills:

• Identify and define the parts of a newspaper
• Identify the format of a news article
• Write a newspaper story
• Edit newspaper articles
• Layout and publish a classroom newspaper

Digital skills:

• Discover and employ a new online web tool
• Analyze the credibility of online sources and references
• Analyze and evaluate online/published information/news
• Look up information and visual material

Social skills:

• Take an interest in current affairs
• Develop media literacy
• Develop critical thinking skills
• Work together: discuss, confer, consult, lead, delegate

Case study: Thornhill Primary School

Thornhill Primary School in London has put its pupils to work! After a long and challenging pandemic year, these classmates got to roll up their sleeves a finale time this school year for the very first edition of the ‘Thornhill Voice’.

Every child in the school contributed to the newspaper with articles, poetry, puzzles, drawings, quizzes or letters.

Everything was brought together in an impressive and professional school newspaper.

These mini-journalists were amazed at the final product and are already dreaming about a second edition!

"It looks like a real newspaper! It's proper!" squealed Lillian in Year 2. "Look! There's my writing! I'm in it!" exclaimed Jacob in Year 4. "Are we going to have a new issue coming out next year?" asked Alex in Year 6.

Popular Articles

Want to make your own class newspaper get started with our templates:.

• Dutch - Belgium
• French - Belgium
• French - France
• Dutch - The Netherlands
• English - Great Britain
• English - Europe
• English - United States

Use This News Article Rubric for Grading Middle or High School Students

• Trent Lorcher
• Categories : High school english lesson plans grades 9 12
• Tags : High school lesson plans & tips

Show students how to write a news article. When they forget, remind them how to write an article again with the following well-organized rubric. Students may also find this article helpful in coming up with ideas and perfecting the news-writing style.

“A” Article

Components :

The article contains six components of a news story (who, what, when, where, why, and how).

Organization :

The article is written with the most important information first.

The story contains an interesting lead which hooks the reader.

All sentences are clear, concise, and well written. Many details are included. Many active words are used.

Paragraphs :

The article contains short paragraphs that flow together. The last paragraph ends with a quote or catchy phrase.

“B” Article

Components:

The article contains five components of a news story (who, what, when, where, why, and how).

Organization:

The article is written with the most important information contained within the article.

The story contains an interesting lead which hooks the reader but dies not capture the true meaning of the article.

Most sentences are clear, concise, and well written. Many details are included. Many active words are used.

Paragraphs:

The article mostly contains short paragraphs that flow together. The last paragraph ends with a quote or catchy phrase but does not capture the true meaning of the article.

“C” Article

The article contains three or four components of a news story (who, what, when, where, why, and how).

The information makes sense but the organization is somewhat confusing.

The lead does not hook the reader nor does it convey the true meaning of the article.

Many of the sentences are too long, run-ons, or fragments. Very few details are included. Very few active words are used.

The article contains paragraphs which are mostly too long and do not lead to the next paragraph. The last paragraph ends with a quote or catchy phrase that does not capture the true meaning of the article.

“D” Article

The article contains one or two components of a news story (who, what, when, where, why, and how).

The article is written in no logical order.

There is no lead to the story.

Most of the sentences are too long, run-ons, or fragments. Very few details are included. Very few active words are used.

The article contains no paragraphs or paragraphs which are mostly too long and do not lead to the next paragraph. The last paragraph does not end with a quote or catchy phrase that does not capture the true meaning of the article.

This post is part of the series: Rubrics

End arguments, raise standards, and improve instruction with rubrics.

• Using Rubrics for Student Notebook Checks
• Owning Your Very Own Persuasive Essay Rubric
• Making Grading Easier with this General Essay Rubric
• News Article Rubric for Middle or High School Students

• Our Mission

How to Set Up an Online School Newspaper

When this fifth-grade teacher shifted his school newspaper online, he found that students were motivated to produce high-quality work for an authentic audience—and felt more connected as a community.

Like teachers around the country, I enjoy setting up those special events and activities that make kids want to come to school, and I’ve found that it’s hard to run clubs, conduct sports tournaments, and host talent shows out of my den–turned–virtual classroom. It hasn’t been easy telling the students over Zoom that many of these won’t happen. But how could I tell my amazing fifth-grade journalists that the Dolphin Splash Newspaper Club had to take a break too?

Fortunately, I discovered that I could keep my school newspaper running safely and easily, and the results have been awesome.

An Adaptable Medium—With Many Benefits

Our virtual newspaper became an accessible online location for students to publish their writing—and read work by their peers. It gave them a chance to have their voices heard on topics they really wanted to discuss in a way that felt very much like our physical school newspaper. It also allowed students with various passions and learning styles a chance to shine.

For example, one student wanted to continue her commitment to others, so she began an advice column . Liliana needed an outlet to share her feelings about quarantine , so she wrote op-eds about wearing masks and staying safe. Mauricio, from my colleague’s class, updated a popular column called “ Random Facts .”

The virtual newspaper helped me teach my students literacy in a more practical way, too. I was able to change settings to approve comments, teach the concept of audience, and even create a how-to guide for readers and writers. And because the students were engaging authentically with their friends, they were motivated to learn editing skills.

Important Dos and Don’ts for a Virtual Newspaper

Nothing on a computer these days feels entirely without risk, especially for teachers and students. However, I learned a few things that helped me feel comfortable with the process.

• Meet weekly with your student writers and editors. Our club usually meets for 30 minutes to discuss ideas. I have found that the more agency kids feel over their choice of content, the more it was read. Most contributions to the newspaper begin as class writing projects, so there is minimal extra editing on my part. You can also extend invitations to students and teachers outside your grade. This helps make the newspaper feel like a part of the school community.
• Check the site’s controls to make sure your filters are working in regard to unwelcome comments, etc. This may seem off-putting at first, but remember to get a little help from your friends. I have a group of four trustworthy student editors with eyesight better than an eagle’s. Once our tailored digital literacy guide made the expectations clear, I noticed that student comments were very encouraging.
• Make certain that you have administrator approval and that your school has a universal permission form for internet usage and content. If not, make certain that all submissions have been vetted by the student’s teacher for permission.
• Allow comments without approval or keep the platform public. Remember that if you publish the newspaper on a website, it will be accessible as a URL, and that may feel a bit scary at first. Keep in mind, though, that you control the site and who can comment.
• Use students’ last names or profile pictures in case the site is found through a secondary link by someone you are not familiar with.

For me, the biggest safety issue was resolved by allowing students to discuss and access the paper through links I made available only to their teachers.

How to Get Your Newspaper Up and Running

I’m sure there are a lot of ways you could tailor a virtual newspaper to your virtual class. Many colleagues I know use platforms like Padlet . I wanted something a bit more suited to our ongoing themes, so I started with a blog-based platform. I recommend WordPress and Wix for their ease and safety controls.

All in all, I found these platforms about as easy to use as Google Classroom. If you aren’t sure how to get started, there are many tutorial videos on YouTube (such as this one for WordPress ). You may be surprised by how much fun it can be—and how quickly you’ll learn.

Once you pick the platform you wish to use:

1. Choose a template or design, and set your controls.

2. Work with students to design it. (Trust me, this is the fun part) Most templates will allow you to create pages for different types of posts or categories of articles.

3. Post work and share links with other classes.

4. Send invitations to the weekly meeting, and solicit work from writers and teachers in different classrooms. You’ll be able to give multiple editor permissions if other educators want to help.

The ultimate guide for your school newspaper

Schools newspapers are a great way to inform and entertain highschool and college communities, but they are often not taken seriously. Perhaps the reason for that is the fact that some school newspapers are indeed amateurish. But they shouldn’t be. With the right team and with the right tools, it’s possible to produce a highly professional school paper.

It can be a daunting task, at first. There are so many things that you need to do, from team management and training to article writing , photojournalism, design, production and online student publishing. You might need a little help. We are here to provide that. This article is named “the ultimate guide for your school newspaper” because we have covered all the aspects of producing a student newspaper and managing the editorial team.

We simply want you to be a little less stressed, while producing a quality student paper.

This article is for everybody who is involved in the newspaper production, regardless of the role. You’ll find some valuable tips for running and contributing to your school newspaper.

Here’s a quick overview:

Staff management for school newspapers

Types of articles, news writing, newspaper design, school newspaper templates.

• Online student publishing and production  

Organizing a newspaper dream team (even if you’re not an expert)

Let’s talk about the structure of the student newspaper team. What roles must be present in your team? How should you structure it? How many people should be part of the team?

There are many different ways to organize the staff, but you’ll likely end up with a team that is more or less similar to traditional newspaper team structure, with the addition of the faculty advisor.

Let’s take a look at the typical roles in a newspaper team:

• Faculty advisor – gives the final approval to the school paper, is responsible for reading all articles and notifying the staff if a piece is not yet ready for press or if it doesn’t meet the newspaper’s standards
• Reporters (news, sports, photo, opinion, tech) – responsible for staying up to date with the latest and upcoming events happening in school. They should also stay informed on politics, sports, technology or culture according to the department they are in
• Editor / Department editors – editors plan and cover articles, proofread and edit reporter submissions. Department editors are responsible for all the articles that belong in their section and they work closely with the editors and reporters that are in their sections. They should be more experienced than editors, so the department editor role shouldn’t be assigned to a junior student
• Designers + Art director – The design/ art team is in charge of the visual aspect of the newspaper, including layouts, illustrations and everything that is related with the visual aspects. The art director oversees the entire design process, so he works closely with the designers
• Photo reporters + photo editor – in smaller teams the role of the photo editor is not necessarily required, because his responsibilities can be covered by the art director
• Production manager – responsible of setting the production schedule and making sure the all departments are meeting deadlines for copy, design, editing, proofreading and so on. He communicates directly with the printing house and with the technical department
• Technical staff – the technical department publishes the newspaper on the website. The online version of your newspaper can be an identical copy of the printed one, or you can decide to publish the articles on your website in a different format
• Business / Advertising – if you run ads in your school paper, you will need someone to mediate your relationship with advertisers and establish new business connections to grow the advertiser network

If there’s currently no structure in place or you have a very small team, you can start small. Baby steps.

You don’t necessarily need an entire department to cover a role. Sometimes a single student is enough, especially if your school newspaper isn’t long (eg. hire just one designer instead of an entire team + art director). You can also have students take on multiple roles (eg: a student can be both editor and production manager). In some cases the faculty advisor becomes so involved in the production that he acts as a production manager.

Make sure each one of these roles is covered, and start from there. As your team grows you will need more structure and clearly defined roles.

Write clear job descriptions for each role

This way each student will understand his place and purpose in the team, will know exactly who he has to report to, what is expected, duties and responsibilities.

Even though job descriptions are not a standard practice in school newsrooms, writing them will be very rewarding. Yes, it will take some time, but it will not be wasted time, for sure. These job descriptions will help students perform better, and it will make the manager’s role so much easier.

Hiring for school newspapers

Some colleges offer paid positions for the newspaper staff, but most high schools and colleges do not. However, there should still be a “hiring” or selection process in place.

Many students are interested in becoming involved in the production of the school newspaper, for various reasons: it’s fun, it’s a great learning experience, it looks good on college or job applications. That’s what it’s like to work on a college newspaper!

These are all valid reasons to join the school newspaper crew, but not everybody gets to be a part of it, if there are too many people interested in a position.

The best way to figure out if a student is a great candidate for a job is by interviewing him. These interviews usually take place in the first months of the first semester. After you finish all the interviews select the best candidates and let them know they’ve been selected.

When you’re a part of a student newspaper team, you know that you’ll be there for limited amount of time. The team will change every single year: the most experienced student journalists will graduate and leave the school, and a new of inexperienced juniors will need onboarding. This is why training and onboarding is a never ending process in the school newsroom. It’s a fact of life, and it’s definitely a challenge, but it can be dealt with.

Encourage the more experienced team members to train and coach the new hires. But oftentime, that won’t be enough, because not everyone is willing to take on this responsibility. Sometimes, they might need a little push. You might need to assign a trainer for each new person that joins the team.

You can also invest time in creating a coaching manual for trainers and guideline manuals for trainees. It will simplify the onboarding process and reduce the hours spent coaching new colleagues.

Ground rules

College newspapers function under the protection of the First Amendment, so students can truly express themselves and their opinions, even when their views are contradictory to those of the school. Yet, that doesn’t mean that the school has no control whatsoever over what gets to be published. The faculty advisor has the legal right to impose certain rules and standards, if the purpose is educating students.

If the faculty advisor isn’t happy with the quality of an article he may suggest edits or reject it altogether. This doesn’t mean that he’s censoring free speech.

There should also be some ground rules regarding copyrights, plagiarism, subjectivism and other sensitive issues such as violence and profanity.

School newspapers and regular newspapers are structured in a similar manner, even though the topics are tailored to the audience. If you need some ideas for articles, take a look at the article types below. It will help you get organized and produce a well rounded newspaper.

School news

News articles should cover various events, policies and other school news that are interesting for students. These news don’t have to be limited to your high school or college. You can write about national and even worldwide news, but only if they provide useful information.

For example, a worldwide student art competition could be the subject of a newspaper article. National laws and legislation regarding schools and education should also be covered in news articles, because they concern all students and will impact their lives. School news should be presented in an objective manner, presenting facts, not rumors or assumptions. They should be based on research and present different points of views.

Feature story

(over 1000 words) Each newspaper edition is likely to have a feature story. It’s the longest article in the paper, and the most in-depth. Feature stories revolve around facts, but they take a story to the next level by presenting context, quotes, reasons why it happened, ramifications of the story and implications. The article shouldn’t involve personal bias. It should be based on an elaborate investigation made by the journalist, interviewing multiple accounts. However, the feature isn’t limited to facts, it gives the journalist a little room for interpretation and embedding his opinion in the piece, in a subtle way.

The topic varies. It could be some big news, an in-depth analysis of a social school phenomenon, a new policy or something else.

(under 500 words)

Unlike the previous 2 types of articles, the editorial is an opinion piece. Still, the writer shouldn’t express his own views, but the opinion of the entire editorial staff.

For that reason, the editorial is usually not signed. It’s a piece of commentary that appears to be written by an entire team. That’s why the writer/ editor shouldn’t talk about himself using the singular form of the first person: I, me, myself.

The editorial should be entertaining or argumentative. In order to achieve that you can start by making a claim that could be controversial, then proceed by explaining your reasons and clarifying your claim. This flow will keep readers engaged. Some of them will agree with your point of view. Others won’t, but that’s alright. The purpose is to challenge readers.

Topics: school rules, policies, teaching methods, advice, announcements, school news

Just like editorials, columns are opinion-based articles. The content and topics are very much like an editorial. But the main difference between an editorial piece and a column is the signature. The editorial goes unsigned because it represents the collective views of editorial staff, but the columnist will publish his piece under his name. That’s why columnists can write about their opinions using the singular form of the first person. Sometimes an editor will publish a series of articles on the same topic/ similar topics, through several issues.

All of the big newspapers publish reviews because they help the general public make decisions. There’s no reason why school newspaper shouldn’t publish review articles on various topics: school textbooks, movies, books, or even classes.

Start by writing a short description of the thing that you are reviewing. Then add details about your personal experience. Include details about pros, cons, value for the money, performance mentions of other reviews, comparison to similar products. Try to be as objective and unbiased as possible.

Don’t forget to write a conclusion in which you summarize the review and give a verdict: whether you would recommend the product or not.

Promotional pieces

Companies pay money to have advertorials inserted in newspapers. The school context is different, but you will still need to include some promotional articles every once in a while. It may be for the school’s art or sports club, for a conference organized by the school or for a different event.

Your article should offer useful details about the event/ club that is promoted and it should also present the benefits it offers for students in order to encourage them to participate / join a program / buy a ticket.

Educational articles

This category includes tutorials and how-to articles with useful tips. Topics vary, but they should be school related, at least slightly. Here are a few examples: how to deal with stress, mnemonic learning techniques, tips for integrated digital learning, utilizing school resources, etc. These types of articles will help students deal with certain issues that almost everybody encounters.

If you have a talented illustrator in your crew, you should make the most of his skills. Assign a space in your newspaper’s layout specifically for the cartoon. The topic should be something school related, something that students can relate to. The cartoon will put a smile on the reader’s face.

Producing a professional school newspaper requires many skills and great teamwork. But building a team of talented journalists takes time and training. If you’re working with inexperienced student reporters and editors, you should start by teaching them the most basic news writings principles. Every journalist should know these.

The inverted pyramid style

The inverted pyramid refers to a very specific structure of a news article, which places the most important information at the beginning of the story. The information that is less vital to the reader’s understanding comes later in the story. This is how you should present school news.

The first paragraph which contains the most important details is “the lead”. The lead contains a very short and concise summary of the story. They should make sure that the first paragraph provides answers to the “5 Ws”:

Continue with a few paragraphs that contain other important details of the story.

Writers should also integrate relevant quotes from their interviews with witnesses, sources or other people involved in the event. The next paragraphs should include other general or background information.

Students decide what articles interest them from the school newspaper by simply scanning the newspaper and reading headlines. Every great writer understands the importance of a good, attention-grabbing headline, and young journalists should know it too.

A well written headline is acts as a hook that makes readers want to read the entire piece. There are different types of headlines: humourous, mysterious, informative. The headline’s style should match the article. There are many other things to consider, but you can start by reading these tips for writing great headlines .

There’s a lot of work that goes into an article. Sometimes the journalist has to gather all the information himself. In other cases, it involves interviewing witnesses or experts. There’s also that scenario in which the student will do research and find useful information in books, websites or other publications.

Regardless of how you collect data, you should always cite your source. It will add credibility to your story. It goes without saying that all journalists, including students, should check the reliability of their sources. Don’t just pick up information from dubious online sites.

In some cases your sources will ask you to protect their identity. It will probably not happen very often in the school context, but if they do, you must respect their wish.

Editing and proofreading

Make sure that the most experienced editors are reviewing and editing every article before publication. Obviously, the writer should be the first person to edit and check for spelling & grammar mistakes. But that’s not enough, not if you have high standards for your school’s paper (which… you should).

Submit each piece for peer review. The reviewer should analyze grammar, spelling, tone and voice, as well as other standards imposed by the production manager. Encourage students to provide useful, objective feedback. Don’t get offended if they make a lot of comments and suggestions. Writing for a school newspaper is a learning experience. You can’t get better if you don’t learn from your mistakes.

Obviously, the reviews should always be made by an experienced editor.

We recommend the art director and production manager to make a style manual because it will help students get familiar with the design guidelines and learn to respect them. The manual might change over time. You don’t have to provide extremely detailed guidelines to make it useful for newspaper design.

The newspaper style guide should cover the general layout, number of pages, font types and sizes, guidelines for photos and cropping. These rules will guarantee some visual consistency for your future newspaper editions. Ask all designers to get familiar with the rules, before they start working on their first assignment. It will help save a lot of time and headaches for the art director/ production manager.

The newsroom is a very busy and exciting place. Everybody works on something, and the production manager has to coordinate everything, making sure the design and the copy complement each other. Communication between designers, art director, editors and production manager is key. It’s challenging, but rewarding at the same time. Designers will work with dummy texts at the beginning, until editors finish their part. It also means that they will have to make edits to the design and make small adjustments so that everything looks great.

If you are a designer working for a school paper, learn about grids, composition and editorial design principles. Your design should look great and provide a great reading experience.

Perfect for online publishing and ready for print

We made a few school newspaper templates that are free to edit online and to publish them digitally. These templates are the perfect solution for very small or inexperienced teams, because they will save you a LOT of time.

Take a look the images below to see some of our school paper templates.

You won’t even need a designer or art director if you know how to edit and adapt these newspaper templates to your needs.

Start editing your favorite newspaper template very easily. Just click on images and register for an account. Then you can customize these layouts in the editor with a simple click on these images.

You can add more pages, duplicate pages, delete pages and do extensive customization.

There’s also another option for advanced designers. They can create their own layouts from scratch in our online editor, starting with blank pages.

Or, you can even upload a ready-made PDF to Flipsnack and we will turn it into a beautiful page-flip document that’s highly shareable.

When you’re done editing, proofreading and you get the final approval from the production manager, you can go ahead and download a PDF copy of the newspaper design on your computer. It requires a premium subscription, but it’s worthed. The downloaded PDF is printable, so you can take it to print right away.

Online student publishing and production

Nowadays many newspapers are digital-only, for various reasons. It completely removes printing costs and it’s eco-friendly. No more paper, no more trees being cut! We think this is a great solution for schools, especially because the young generations of students are digital natives.

If you decide to try online student publishing, you have 2 options: publish the newspaper as a website/ blog or publish it digitally as an online newspaper with turning pages. The second option is probably easier to produce, because it doesn’t require constant updating. The stylish look is an added bonus. And let’s not forget about the fact that you can start from a school newspaper template.

The digital version of your student newspaper is free with Flipsnack. We will host it online on our most secure servers, so you don’t have to worry about hosting (or anything else, for that matter). All you will have to do is share the link with students, or integrate the newspaper in your school’s website (very easily) with the help of the embed code. Anyone can do it, it doesn’t require tech skills.

— Hope you found this useful. What are your biggest challenges in writing for / designing or producing your school’s newspaper?

17 Comments

Thanks for this. As a newly appointed editor in chief (my 1st time), I have to re-access my knowledge about student paper and the ways so I’m glad I found this site!

[…] for the school newspaper is a blessing in disguise. As a kid, you may be scared at the beginning, but after you have written […]

As a newly appointed EIC, I think that being part of the editorial board is an indicator that we are indeed the cream of the crop, a thing that we must really be grateful for. But before proceeding to the complexes, it is vital to know first the basics, thanks to this! :-)

So glad that you found this useful!

This was very helpful!

I really appreciate your tip to have someone be in charge of the layout when you publish your newspaper so it looks natural. My wife and I have been thinking of getting our daughter into the school newspaper so she can make friends. I will be sure to tell her to ask about a layout specialist.

Hello. I find this article useful to my study. I would like to ask for the complete name of the author and the date of its publication so I can have the citation.

Hi Zacharia, here are the requested details: Author name: Janina Moza Date of publication: Feb 8, 2018

What I am looking for for my middle school journalism class is the ability for the students to have access to designing and writing directly on the program and then I complete the final editing before publication. Is this possible with Flipsnack? Can the students have their own individual access to the paper? The last online newspaper we did only allowed for me to do everything.

Hi Shannon! We highly recommend getting a classroom plan for your class: Classroom plan It includes up to 30 connected student accounts, fully controlled by the teacher, so you would be able to do the final editing on their designs. With this plan students can work on projects at the same time in Flipsnack (but the program might not save all their edits properly if they all work on the same project). If you’re looking for a free option, you can use Flipsnack to create projects that are up to 30 pages long, but it will only allow one user account. So you would have to use the same account as the student to log in and make the final edits.

This article is very useful? Thank you so much?

Hello.. thank you so much for sharing you expertise on these matter. I’m so thankful i found this site. I’ve been looking for this kind, a comprehensive guide for a school paper publication. It was so helpful especially for us neophytes.

Thank you very much for your kind words! We also have another article on the same subject. Check it here . Happy reading! :)

Hi. Your blog is easy to comprehend yet substancial. I can’t specifically find a direct answer to this. Can a published newspaper have multilingual articles in one issue? Like the news sections have an article written in full english while other news are in a foreign language. It’s a high school paper by the way. Thanks

Hello, Nory! Yes, you have the total freedom to insert multilingual articles in one issue if you want. Create your high school paper however you want! Have a nice day! :)

Hello, thank you so much for this article. I am about to start a college newspaper and I find the information here helpful

This is good information. It helps to build my confidence in my knowledge about the process of producing a newsletter. Thank you,

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Journalism Basics for High School Morning News

The morning news is an inextricable part of our lives. For some of us, it is how we start the day. For the rest, it is what we gather around to absorb matters of national importance, during times of crises and celebration. It isn’t much different in the case of school morning announcements : they have an informational, educational and entertainment purpose. That’s precisely why high school journalists feel empowered to take their news writing and reporting responsibilities seriously.

This article offers a broad overview of high school journalism necessary for creating and presenting news and interviews that resonate with audiences.

Journalism basics: types of reporting

Different types of content require different styles of writing and research. Let’s have a closer look on each style’s specific characteristics.

News items are messages about recent events . For news items to be designated as ‘top headlines’ or occurrences/issues to be deemed ‘newsworthy’, they must hold a lot of value and importance at the international, national or local level. In the context of academic institutions, a news item can be a key announcement affecting everyone at school or the community/school district. It is up to the reporters and their mentors to discern what constitutes the most important news for the day or week.

A report can take many forms. It can be a piece on a topic of interest to the school or community. Or it could be a continuing message on a particular news being covered over the past week or two. Here it is important to distinguish between the scope of a middle school/high school report created for the purposes of reporting, and ‘news reporting’ in the world of journalism, which is all about disseminating current happenings and breaking news as soon as is humanly and technologically possible! Understandably, this is a tall order in high school journalism, a reason why a report can take various forms.

How to write a complete news story or report

Reporting is a lot like story-telling, but without embellishments. It is accurate, based on factual data, completely transparent, and aims to pursue the truth. There is no reason why these journalism ethics cannot be followed rigorously at the high school level. And that starts by writing a complete, data-driven news report that will be broadcast to the entire school.

A basic tenet of journalism is reporting the five Ws and one H of a news story .

• Who was involved? Eg: your school’s basketball team competed with an inner-city school team
• What happened. Eg: your school team beat the guests 68-63
• Where did it take place? Eg: the name of your school stadium
• When did it happen?
• Why did it take place? Eg: it was the annual intra city high school basketball tournament
• How did it happen? Eg: opened to great fanfare, estimated crowd, mascot, lifting the cup, and so on.

Writing a news report is about connecting the dots and presenting multiple sides of an event or issue. News reporting must encourage audiences to form opinions, take action or gain a broader understanding of their community or world.

An interview is a conversation between a journalist and an individual who has newsworthy facts and opinions to share. It is one of the most common tools of journalism, and journalists will tell you – also one of the most challenging and intimidating tasks.

Interview tips for budding high school journalists

• The person you are interviewing (interviewee) will know why he/she is here, but not know what exactly you want from him/her. It makes sense to communicate your intentions in advance. This will help them prepare for the interview, and make them feel comfortable and safe.
• Use a neutral line of questioning. The interview must not be skewed or emotional, rather, a fact-filled, reasoned discussion.
• Only ask one question at a time so the interviewee does not get confused or flustered. Pause after asking the question, wait for the answer, and inquire further or move on to the next question. Keep the pacing natural and the flow smooth.
• Continuing from the above point, you can move from one question/statement to another more effectively if you set a chronology that breaks down the interviewee’s story into smaller, logical steps for the audience’s benefit.
• Never talk over the interviewee. Also don’t talk more than the interviewee!
• Listen carefully. You may find opportunities for more questions from the answers given by the interviewee. You can also point out factual errors (if any) made by the interviewee during the conversation.
• Keep it conversational and friendly. The interview shouldn’t sound like an investigation or a boring Q&A session. Establish rapport and use a joke (non-offensive) or witty comment as an ice-breaker to make the interviewee feel at ease. Prior to the interview, spend a few minutes introducing yourself to the interviewee and re-stating the purpose of the interview.
• It is fine to clarify something you didn’t understand and which you’re pretty sure the audience wouldn’t have caught either. A simple ‘Can you please repeat that?’ or ‘Please can you explain that again?’ will do.

(Read more about how to conduct an interview properly.)

Qualities of a good reporter

In broadcast journalism, there is a responsible tradition of following ethical behavior. Journalists have the professional responsibility towards the public to be objective in their reporting and present ‘the best obtainable version of the truth’. As far as high school journalism is concerned, students must concern themselves in cross-checking facts and quotes. It is also important not to let personal bias creep in; rather, present multiple viewpoints and perspectives.

Those who wish to pursue a career in journalism must be naturally curious about what’s happening around them and develop a ‘nose for news’. Writing a report involves research – which in turn requires time, effort and patience. It helps to stay focused in the pursuit of information and organize it into a complete, coherent story. Serious and committed high school journalists willingly spend time on this endeavor; they look forward to it instead of treating it like a ‘boring assignment’.

Finally, a good reporter is a good team player. He/She enjoys collaborating with others on drafting stories and sharing screen space for live morning announcements .

Photo Credits Featured Image: ©fotolia 2016/Ivan Kruk

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How to Read and Speak Like a TV News Anchor

Best Practices for your Morning Announcements  

Audio and Sound for Morning Announcements

Technical Requirements for School Morning Announcements

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Presenting announcements isn’t just about reading stuff from a sheet of paper. There’s a lot more that goes into making a video announcement sound professional. As a teacher in charge of school morning announcements, you’ve probably faced the challenge of getting your anchor to sound like professionals, to be rhetoric.

As someone in-charge of morning announcements, you obviously know how important it is to get the process right in order to produce good results. Creating school morning announcements isn’t an easy task. However, with the right amount of preparation, even the toughest challenges can be overcome.

That’s why we have something called “best practices”. Best practices are established procedures used across various industries to achieve the best results. These best practices are tried and tested rules/methods that have been observed to have the most positive effect.

When it comes to morning video announcements, there are several factors that need to be taken into consideration. After all, we are aiming to produce

So, your school’s planning to produce its first morning video announcement? Well, that’s great. There are several benefits to having morning announcements; from keeping students informed about the latest happenings in their school (and in the world) to helping them learn about how broadcast journalism works. Now, there are generally two key areas that require attention when producing a morning announcement. The first is, obviously, content. However, we’re not here for that. What we are here for is the second most important aspect of high school morning announcement production – the technical requirements. You can have all the content you want, but, your production is doomed to fail if you don’t get your technical basics right. In fact, a lot of your content planning is determined by the technical tools that you possess. So, if you’re a little confused about this area, don’t worry, we’ve created a brief guide to help you out. Read on to learn.

What are the Journalism Basics for Morning Announcements?

Use this checklist as a handout for your students.

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Opinion | Journalism schools must move beyond reporting to prepare graduates for modern media roles

As journalism rapidly evolves, J-schools must think critically about curriculums and equip graduates with skills for emerging roles across media.

The field of journalism is evolving. Journalism schools are a crucial part of that process, as they teach students the necessary skills to get starting jobs that hopefully turn into blossoming careers.

This task, aimed at equipping students for not just a job but a career, has grown increasingly complex.

Teaching a young journalist demands more than training them in traditional storytelling skills, and now must include, at minimum, a cursory understanding of the larger digital ecosystem, product management, audience engagement, user experiences, revenue streams, and more. If journalism schools want to succeed in their mission, they must teach students to succeed across the whole industry, not just as reporters.

Historically, the relationship between journalism education and the professional world was straightforward: Journalism schools are a part of a longstanding apprenticeship model, in which the industry outsourced the “greenest” of years to a trade school. Schools prepared students, who were then readily absorbed by the industry.

Most journalism schools focused on teaching the trade, not the academic study of journalism as an intellectual pursuit. Yes, Ph.D. programs exist, but that’s not the bread and butter of journalism education. Students sign up for these programs out of career ambitions.

Reporting and writing remain table stakes, but students now need to be equipped with skills that go beyond storytelling and lead to entirely different career paths, still within the confines of media and journalism. A great case in point is how the industry and schools adapted to social media. The growth of social media spawned entirely new entry-level job titles like “social media producer.” Whereas traditional entry-level reporting jobs led to a career path that would have ended in an editor-in-chief title, these new jobs moved onto careers that culminated in a title such as head of audience.

Perhaps because it could be understood under the “storytelling” rubric, many journalism schools were quick to adapt and adopt new courses, methodologies of teaching and a broadening of the trade they taught to prepare students for these new social media jobs. While some institutions have adeptly navigated this shift — going even further by incorporating data journalism, social media strategy, and even the basics of coding into their curriculums — others lag behind.

The next disparity that will emerge, however, will be between journalism schools that expand their charge beyond teaching “storytelling” to include teaching all the career paths upstream of product, revenue, audience, and more. A journalism school that does not prepare its students to at least understand these elements of our industry is limiting its students’ potential for success.

Too often, I come across journalism schools that only consider “storytelling” under the charge of things they are teaching students. This disparity will create gaps in the ecosystem, leaving some new graduates ill-prepared for the realities of the journalism landscape.

And yes, there are schools and programs making great progress in this vein, especially around product management . There are other schools, however, that are producing graduates only capable of stepping into the editorial space, and are ill-equipped to even recognize the important, well paid, impactful roles in media that keep the ecosystem driving forward.

The emergence of new career paths within journalism — such as audience strategy, product management, and the intertwining of editorial and revenue considerations — highlights the need for a more radical approach to journalism education. These roles are as pivotal as traditional reporting, shaping the way content is created, distributed, and monetized.

For journalism schools to truly serve their purpose, they must evolve just as the industry does.

Do Jesse Watters’ claims about the federal budget, LGBTQ+ and DEI funding add up?

The Fox News host’s five-part claim about programs funded by the latest federal budget ranges from missing context to inaccurate

Opinion | Wall Street Journal marks one year of reporter’s detainment in Russian jail

Evan Gershkovich was arrested a year ago today in Russia while on a reporting assignment for the Journal

A Baltimore bridge collapsed in the middle of the night and two metro newsrooms leapt into action

Coverage from The Baltimore Sun and The Baltimore Banner had much in common but with some marked differences — especially in visuals.

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Gender-based assignment at texas high school, “genderbread person,” sparks controversy, “it made me feel uncomfortable and distasteful,” the student said. “we had to fill out our information on a paper-based off of what we identify as and what we’re sexually and romantically attracted to.”.

Deven Clarke , Reporter

Ahmed Humble , Digital Content Producer

SANTA FE, Texas – Parents in Texas are irate after a high school junior taking a college-level psychology class was given a gender-based assignment. The issue has also had some state officials raising eyebrows, with one Texas senator questioning its legality.

• Should college essays touch on race? Some feel the affirmative action ruling leaves them no choice

Shay Cundiff, a 17-year-old junior at Santa Fe High School, located just southeast of Houston, said her teacher gave students the assignment in their dual credit college-level psychology course that is in conjunction with College of the Mainland. The assignment is called The Genderbread Person, which features a drawing of what appears to be a gingerbread man, but those raising concerns say there is nothing “cookie-cutter” about it.

“It made me feel uncomfortable and distasteful,” Shay Cundiff, a 17-year-old Santa Fe High School Junior said. “We had to fill out our information on a paper-based off of what we identify as and what we’re sexually and romantically attracted to.”

Cundiff says students were also required to write an essay about how they feel about the lesson.

“I didn’t agree with the point of view that are in the paper,” she said.

Before the assignment that was due Sunday, Cundiff says the teacher hadn’t really discussed gender identity, just sex organs. The curriculum caught her and her parents off guard.

“We wouldn’t have really known,” Shad Cundiff, Shay’s father said. “I mean, she was just going through doing the assignment like her teacher instructed her to do, and unless my wife hadn’t seen what she was writing and started talking to her about it, we wouldn’t have really known.”

• Are you a victim of microaggression at work? How to spot it and what to do about it

Not only are Cundiff’s parents upset, but so is TX State Senator Mayes Middleton for District 11. He mentioned that in Texas, gender modification of minors is against the law under Texas Senate Bill 14 , and believes this curriculum promotes it.

“That is not right,” Middleton said. “I’m looking at it with our State Board of Education members and to me it sure looks like they’re advocating for something that’s illegal.”

• Texas conservatives test how far they can extend abortion and gender-transition restrictions beyond state lines

Senator Middleton says he was told by a State Board of Education member the curriculum was developed by Planned Parenthood.

As for, Cundiff, she says she plans to stay in the course because the only way to avoid it is if she were to drop it, which means she wouldn’t get the credits she’s been earning.

On Monday, a Santa Fe ISD official said they do not agree with the assignment, and it is not a part of their curriculum. The spokesperson added College of the Mainland would be the one to reach out to for more comment, as it was their course.

A College of the Mainland official acknowledged a complaint had been filed, and said they are trying to determine specifically what happened.

Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved.

About the Authors

Deven clarke, ahmed humble.

Historian, educator, writer, expert on "The Simpsons," amateur photographer, essayist, film & tv reviewer and race/religious identity scholar. Joined KPRC 2 in Spring 2024 but has been featured in various online newspapers and in the Journal of South Texas' Fall 2019 issue.

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High School Sports | Baltimore Sun high school Athletes of the Week…

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High school sports | key bridge collapse live updates: baltimore county council honors responders, others impacted by bridge collapse, subscriber only, high school sports | baltimore sun high school athletes of the week (march 25-31): south river’s trevor phipps and st. paul’s susan radebaugh.

Each week, The Baltimore Sun will recognize one high school player from a boys sport and one from a girls sport for their athletic achievements.

Boys sport Athlete of the Week: Trevor Phipps, South River, lacrosse

The junior midfielder has been dominant in the Seahawks’ 5-0 start, including a combined nine goals and two assists in two nonconference wins last week. In a 14-7 win over Langley on Tuesday, Phipps enjoyed a six-goal, one-assist performance. He followed with three goals and one assist as the Seahawks beat West Potomac, 13-5, on Wednesday. Phipps now has 22 goals and 11 assists on the season.

Girls sport Athlete of the Week: Susan Radebaugh, St. Paul’s, lacrosse

With a largely inexperienced offense entering the season, No. 2 St. Paul’s has leaned on its defense to lead the way. Enter Radebaugh. The standout senior goalie, a University of Florida commit, has been sensational in the Gators’ 6-1 start, including IAAM A Conference wins against Glenelg Country and Roland Park last week. She made nine saves as the Gators beat Glenelg Country, 14-4, on March 25 and came back Wednesday with eight saves in a 10-1 win over Roland Park. The Gators improved to 4-0 in league play and have limited opponents to 14 goals.

To nominate candidates, please email Glenn Graham at [email protected] by 11 a.m. Sunday with details about the student-athlete’s performance from the past week.

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High School Sports | All-Metro boys basketball 2023-24: Mount Saint Joseph’s Jordan Brathwaite named Player of the Year

CCT High School Sports | Carroll County high school sports week in review: A look at the top players and performances (March 21-30)

CCT High School Sports | No. 5 Manchester Valley girls lacrosse tops No. 11 Liberty, 10-9, on late goal from freshman Taylor Fique

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High school teacher and students sue over Arkansas’ ban on critical race theory

FILE - Members of the 101st Airborne Division take up positions outside Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., Sept. 26, 1957. The troops were on duty to enforce integration at the school. On Monday, March 25, 2024, a teacher and two students from the school sued Arkansas over the state’s ban on critical race theory and “indoctrination” in public schools, asking a federal judge to strike down the restrictions as unconstitutional. (AP Photo/File)

FILE - Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signs an education overhaul bill into law, March 8, 2023, at the state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark. On Monday, March 25, 2024, a high school teacher and two students sued Arkansas over the state’s ban on critical race theory and “indoctrination” in public schools, asking a federal judge to strike down the restrictions as unconstitutional. (AP Photo/Andrew DeMillo, File)

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A high school teacher and two students sued Arkansas on Monday over the state’s ban on critical race theory and “indoctrination” in public schools, asking a federal judge to strike down the restrictions as unconstitutional.

The lawsuit by the teacher and students from Little Rock Central High School, site of the historic 1957 racial desegregation crisis, stems from the state’s decision last year that an Advanced Placement course on African American Studies would not count toward state credit.

The lawsuit argues the restrictions, which were among a number of education changes that Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed into law last year, violate free speech protections under the First Amendment and the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

“It absolutely chills free speech” and “discriminates on the basis of race,” the lawsuit said.

“Indeed, defendants’ brazen attack on full classroom participation for all students in 2024 is reminiscent of the state’s brazen attack on full classroom participation for all students in 1957,” the lawsuit said.

Arkansas and other Republican-led states in recent years have placed restrictions on how race is taught in the classroom, including prohibitions on critical race theory, an academic framework dating to the 1970s that centers on the idea that racism is embedded in the nation’s institutions. The theory is not a fixture of K-12 education, and Arkansas’ ban does not define what would be considered critical race theory. The lawsuit argues that the definition the law uses for prohibited indoctrination is overly broad and vague.

Tennessee educators filed a similar lawsuit last year challenging that state’s sweeping bans on teaching certain concepts of race, gender and bias in classroom.

Arkansas’ restrictions mirror an executive order Sanders signed on her first day in office last year. The Republican governor defended the law and criticized the lawsuit.

“In the state of Arkansas, we will not indoctrinate our kids and teach them to hate America or each other,” Sanders said in a statement. “It’s sad the radical left continues to lie and play political games with our kids’ futures.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blocked high schools in his state from teaching the AP African American Studies course. The College Board released the latest updated framework for the course in December, months after initial revisions prompted criticism the nonprofit was bowing to conservative backlash to the class.

Arkansas education officials last year said the AP African American studies class couldn’t be part of the state’s advanced placement course offerings because it’s still a pilot program and hasn’t been vetted by the state yet to determine whether it complied with the law.

Central High and the five other schools offering the class said they would continue doing so as a local elective. The class still counts toward a student’s GPA.

The lawsuit is the second challenge against Sanders’ LEARNS Act, which also created a new school voucher program. The Arkansas Supreme Court in October rejected a challenge to the law that questioned the Legislature’s procedural vote that allowed it to take effect immediately.

“The LEARNS Act has brought much-needed reforms to Arkansas. I have successfully defended (the law) from challenges before, and I am prepared to vigorously defend it again,” Republican Attorney General Tim Griffin said.

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Teacher Secretly Sold His Students’ Art on Mugs and Shirts, Lawsuit Says

Parents of a dozen students at a school near Montreal accused an art teacher in a lawsuit of reproducing portraits from a class assignment and putting them on items that he offered for sale online.

By Sopan Deb

In January, students at a junior high school outside Montreal received an assignment to draw a classmate or a self-portrait in the style of Jean-Michel Basquiat.

“The challenge is to make an original artwork in Basquiat’s style; not to copy one of his images,” the teacher, Mario Perron, wrote to his students on the junior campus at Westwood High School in St.-Lazare, Quebec. “I am very familiar with Basquiat’s work and will return copied work, because it is considered plagiarism.”

The assignment was titled “Creepy Portrait.”

Basquiat was a worthy subject: He was the influential Brooklyn-born artist of Haitian and Puerto Rican descent who was known for a brief career in which he innovated with graffiti and other types of improvisational pieces. He died at 27 in 1988 .

But parents of some students who completed the assignment were shocked to find that Mr. Perron had copied the portraits and was offering mugs, cushions, bags, apparel and other items for sale online bearing reproductions of the artwork, according to a class-action lawsuit filed last week in Quebec Superior Court.

Joel DeBellefeuille, who learned what was happening from his 13-year-old son, Jax, accused Mr. Perron in an interview of perpetrating a “premeditated” scheme. A portrait of Jax by one of his classmates was among the student artwork being offered for sale, he said.

“ I freaked out,” Mr. DeBellefeuille said. “I was full of emotions. Still now, it’s really unbelievable.”

Mr. Perron, who did not respond to a request for comment, is not listed as a current employee on the school’s website . Darren Becker, a spokesman for the Lester B. Pearson School Board, which is a named defendant in the suit, said the school board “does not comment on internal investigations.”

It was not immediately clear if Mr. Perron had sold any of the items he listed, or how much money, if any, he had made.

Mr. DeBellefeuille first discovered that the art had been repurposed on Feb. 8, when his son, who had done a Google search, showed him that Mr. Perron had created a profile on Fine Art America , an online art marketplace. The profile had thousands of items for sale displaying the work originally submitted by the students, priced between $9.50 and $113 in U.S. currency, all apparently unauthorized.

Each item was labeled with the student’s first name followed by “Creepy Portrait.” The drawings themselves mimic the frenetic style of Basquiat — multicolored portraits that nod to the unconventional and imaginative, including many oddly shaped heads and contorted bodies. Mr. Perron was listed as the artist for all of the works, according to screenshots provided by Mr. DeBellefeuille.

In total, according to a demand letter sent to the school district on Feb. 13, there were 2,976 items for sale using works from the 96 students who were given the assignment. The student artwork was reproduced in 31 categories, including throw pillows, tank tops, tote bags and beach towels, according to the letter.

The works appear to have been removed from the Fine Art America website.

“It is evident that the trust of the public, the students, the parents, and specifically our clients, in the school board and its representatives, has been severely shaken,” the letter said.

Mr. DeBellefeuille’s brother Martin, a lawyer, initially sent the letter on behalf of Mr. DeBellefeuille and Edith Liard, the parent of another child in the art class. The parents of 10 other children have since attached themselves to the suit, Mr. DeBellefeuille said, including two who added their names after it was filed on Friday.

The plaintiffs are seeking 2.16 million Canadian dollars, or about $1.59 million, a figure that includes 5,000 Canadian dollars for each work reproduced in the 31 categories as well as punitive damages and legal fees. They are also demanding that Mr. Perron withdraw the works from all platforms, for him to be suspended and for a written apology.

Under the Canadian Copyright Act, a copyright owner may be entitled to between 500 and 20,000 Canadian dollars for each work that is unlawfully used. Under Canadian law, one does not need to file for a copyright to be considered a copyright owner .

The suit cites the Civil Code of Quebec as the reason the school board is named as a defendant. It says that “the principal is bound to make reparation for injury caused by the fault of his subordinates in the performance of their duties.”

Mr. DeBellefeuille said he expected that the school district would settle rather than go to court.

“For me, it takes a special kind of person to go that deep to do what he did to minor children,” Mr. DeBellefeuille said of Mr. Perron. “This is what enrages me.”

Sopan Deb is a Times reporter covering breaking news and culture. More about Sopan Deb