Lesson Plan: For Teachers: Comparing News Formats

Lesson Plan

Before Exploring

Hold a discussion about news media formats. Ask students: Where do you get your news (radio, television, newspaper, Internet)? Why is it a good idea to get news from more than one form of media? What is the difference between print news and broadcast news?

Show students a news story from the newspaper. Together, identify the elements and structure of a news story (has a headline, answers who, what, where, when, why how, is written in short paragraphs, with the most important points covered first, followed by the important points, followed by the least important points). Ask students why they think print stories are structured this way (so that the audience can read it quickly and still gather the important information).

Outline the Opportunity

Direct students to the topic Barbara Frum: Pioneering Broadcaster on the CBC Digital Archives website. Have them choose and listen to or view a longer interview to gather the information they need to turn the interview into a print news story. As they view, students should note the points covered and any interesting quotations. To ensure accuracy, students should view the clip three times.

Next, students will review their notes to determine the most important idea or issue covered in the interview. They will then complete the download sheet Comparing News Formats and organize their notes from most important to least important points.

Finally, students will turn their notes into a print news story, written in short paragraphs that give the most important information upfront. They should be sure their quotations are accurate and that they have spelled all names correctly. Students can have a peer edit their draft before completing and submitting a good copy of their news story.

Revisit and Reflect

Extend the earlier class discussion about the differences between broadcast and print media. What differences have students noticed in moving from one media to another?

Together, students can reflect on how Barbara Frum's earlier writing career would have helped her in her career as a broadcaster.

Extension

Ask students to write a journal entry explaining whether they would prefer a career in broadcast or print media and why.

Material

One copy of a current newspaper

Download PDF