create a newspaper article assignment

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.

• Print this resource

Explore Resources by Grade

• Kindergarten K

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

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

1.     Newspaper Writing: Narrative Learning Center

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

2.     Newspaper Article: Leveled Graphic Organizers

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

3.     Newspaper Jargon: Grade 4 Vocabulary

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

4.     The Daily News: Language Arts Bulletin Board

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

5.     Plenty of Plastic: Grade 5 Opinion Writing Lesson

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

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

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How to Write a News Story

Newspaper article outline, how to write a news story in 15 steps.

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• Journalism Websites

The Purdue Owl : Journalism and Journalistic Writing: Introduction

From Scholastic: Writing a newspaper article

Article outline

I. Lead sentence

Grab and hook your reader right away.

II. Introduction

Which facts and figures will ground your story? You have to tell your readers where and when this story is happening.

III. Opening quotation 

What will give the reader a sense of the people involved and what they are thinking?

IV. Main body

What is at the heart of your story?

V. Closing quotation

Find something that sums the article up in a few words.

VI. Conclusion  (optional—the closing quote may do the job)

The following is an excerpt from The Elements of News Writing by James W. Kershner (Pearson, 2009).  This book is available for checkout at Buley Library (Call number PN 4775 .K37 2009, on the 3rd floor)

1.       Select a newsworthy story. Your goal is to give a timely account of a recent, interesting, and significant event or development.

2.       Think about your goals and objectives in writing the story. What will the readers want and need to know about the subject? How can you best tell the story?

3.       Find out who can provide the most accurate information about the subject and how to contact that person. Find out what other sources you can use to obtain relevant information.

4.       Do your homework. Do research so that you have a basic understanding of the situation before interviewing anyone about it. Check clips of stories already written on the subject.

5.       Prepare a list of questions to ask about the story.

6.       Arrange to get the needed information. This may mean scheduling an interview or locating the appropriate people to interview.

7.       Interview the source and take notes. Ask your prepared questions, plus other questions that come up in the course of the conversation. Ask the source to suggest other sources. Ask if you may call the source back for further questions later.

8.       Interview second and third sources, ask follow-up questions, and do further research until you have a understanding of the story.

9.       Ask yourself, “What’s the story?” and “What’s the point?” Be sure you have a clear focus in your mind before you start writing. Rough out a lead in your head.

10.   Make a written outline or plan of your story.

11.   Write your first draft following your plan, but changing it as necessary.

12.   Read through your first draft looking for content problems, holes, or weak spots, and revise it as necessary. Delete extra words, sentences, and paragraphs. Make every word count.

13.   Read your second draft aloud, listening for problems in logic or syntax.

14.   Copyedit your story, checking carefully for spelling, punctuation, grammar, and style problems.

15.   Deliver your finished story to the editor before deadline.

Kershner, J.W. (2009). The Elements of News Writing. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

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• Last Updated: Feb 28, 2024 3:16 PM
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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:.

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How to Write a News Article

Last Updated: April 28, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Gerald Posner . Gerald Posner is an Author & Journalist based in Miami, Florida. With over 35 years of experience, he specializes in investigative journalism, nonfiction books, and editorials. He holds a law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and a BA in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley. He’s the author of thirteen books, including several New York Times bestsellers, the winner of the Florida Book Award for General Nonfiction, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. He was also shortlisted for the Best Business Book of 2020 by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. There are 11 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 2,400,396 times.

Writing a news article is different from writing other articles or informative pieces because news articles present information in a specific way. It's important to be able to convey all the relevant information in a limited word count and give the facts to your target audience concisely. Knowing how to write a news article can help a career in journalism , develop your writing skills and help you convey information clearly and concisely.

Things You Should Know

• Outline your article with all the facts and interview quotes you’ve gathered. Decide what your point of view on the topic is before you start writing.
• Your first sentence is the most important one—craft an attention-getter that clearly states the most important information.
• Proofread for accurate information, consistent style and tone, and proper formatting.

Sample Articles

Planning Your Article

• If you’ve ever written a research paper you understand the work that goes into learning about your topic. The first phase of writing a news article or editorial is pretty similar.
• Who - who was involved?
• What - what happened?
• Where - where did it happen?
• Why - why did it happen?
• When - when did it happen?
• How - how did it happen?

• 1) those that need to be included in the article.
• 2) those that are interesting but not vital.
• 3) those that are related but not important to the purpose of the article.
• This fact list will help prevent you from leaving out any relevant information about the topic or story, and will also help you write a clean, succinct article.
• Be as specific as possible when writing down all of these facts. You can always trim down unnecessary information later, but it’s easier to cut down than it is to have to beef up an article.
• It’s okay at this point to have holes in your information – if you don’t have a pertinent fact, write down the question and highlight it so you won’t forget to find it out
• Now that you have your facts, if your editor has not already assigned the type of article, decide what kind of article you’re writing. Ask yourself whether this is an opinion article, an unbiased and straightforward relaying of information, or something in between. [2] X Research source

• If you’ve ever heard the term “burying the lead”, that is in reference to the structure of your article. [4] X Research source The “lead” is the first sentence of the article – the one you “lead” with. Not "burying the lead" simply means that you should not make your readers read several paragraphs before they get to the point of your article.
• Whatever forum you’re writing for, be it print or for the web, a lot of readers don’t make it to the end of the article. When writing a news article, you should focus on giving your readers what they want as soon as possible.
• Write above the fold. The fold comes from newspapers where there’s a crease because the page gets folded in half. If you look at a newspaper all the top stories are placed above the fold. The same goes for writing online. The virtual fold is the bottom of your screen before you have to scroll down. Put the best information at the top to engage your readers and encourage them to keep reading.

• Ask yourself the “5 W's” again, but this time in relation to your audience.
• Questions like what is the average age you are writing for, where is this audience, local or national, why is this audience reading your article, and what does your audience want out of your article will inform you on how to write.
• Once you know who you are writing for you can format an outline that will get the best information to the right audience as quickly as possible.

• Even if you are covering a popular story or topic that others are writing about, look for an angle that will make this one yours.
• Do you have a personal experience that relates to your topic? Maybe you know someone who is an expert that you can interview .

• People usually like to talk about personal experiences, especially if it will be featured somewhere, like your news article. Reach out through a phone call, email, or even social media and ask someone if you can interview them.
• When you do interview people you need to follow a few rules: identify yourself as a reporter. Keep an open mind . Stay objective. While you are encouraged to ask questions and listen to anecdotes, you are not there to judge.
• Record and write down important information from the interview, and be transparent with what you are doing and why you are doing this interview.

Writing Your News Article

• Your lead should be one sentence and should simply, but completely, state the topic of the article.
• Remember when you had to write essays for school? Your lead is like your thesis statement.
• Let your readers know what your news article is about, why it’s important, and what the rest of the article will contain.

• These details are important, because they are the focal point of the article that fully informs the reader.
• If you are writing an opinion piece , this is where you will state what your opinion is as well.

• This additional information helps round out the article and can help you transition to new points as you move along.
• If you have an opinion, this is where you will identify the opposing views and the people who hold them.
• A good news article will outline facts and information. A great news article will allow readers to engage on an emotional level.
• To engage your readers, you should provide enough information that anyone reading your news article can make an informed opinion, even if it contrasts with yours.
• This also applies to a news article where you the author don’t state your opinion but present it as an unbiased piece of information. Your readers should still be able to learn enough about your topic to form an opinion.

• Make sure your news article is complete and finished by giving it a good concluding sentence. This is often a restatement of the leading statement (thesis) or a statement indicating potential future developments relating to the article topic.
• Read other news articles for ideas on how to best accomplish this. Or, watch news stations or shows. See how a news anchor will wrap up a story and sign off, then try to emulate that.

Proofing Your Article

• Be sure to double check all the facts in your news article before you submit it, including names, dates, and contact information or addresses. Writing accurately is one of the best ways to establish yourself as a competent news article writer.

• If your news article is meant to convey direct facts, not the opinions of its writer, ensure you’ve kept your writing unbiased and objective. Avoid any language that is overly positive or negative or statements that could be construed as support or criticism.
• If your article is meant to be more in the style of interpretive journalism then check to make sure that you have given deep enough explanations of the larger story and offered multiple viewpoints throughout.

• When quoting someone, write down exactly what was said inside quotations and immediately cite the reference with the person’s proper title. Formal titles should be capitalized and appear before a person’s name. Ex: “Mayor John Smith”.
• Always write out numbers one through nine, but use numerals for numbers 10 and up.
• When writing a news article, be sure to only include one space after a period, not two. [12] X Research source

• You shouldn’t submit any news article for publication without first letting someone take a look at it. An extra pair of eyes can double check your facts and the information to ensure that what you have written is accurate.
• If you are writing a news article for school or your own personal website, then have a friend take a look at it and give you notes. Sometimes you may get notes that you want to defend or don’t agree with it. But these should be listened to. Remember, with so many news articles getting published every minute you need to ensure that your widest possible audience can easily digest the information you have provided.

Expert Q&A

• Start with research and ask the “5. Asking these questions will help you create an outline and a narrative to your article. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• Interview people, and remember to be polite and honest about what you are writing. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• Put the most important information at the beginning of your article. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0

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Expert Interview

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• ↑ https://libguides.mit.edu/select-topic
• ↑ https://writingcenter.gmu.edu/writing-resources/different-genres/news-writing-fundamentals
• ↑ https://libguides.southernct.edu/journalism/howtowrite
• ↑ https://spcollege.libguides.com/c.php?g=254319&p=1695313
• ↑ https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/cm360
• ↑ https://mediahelpingmedia.org/basics/how-to-find-and-develop-important-news-angles/
• ↑ https://www.northwestern.edu/brand/editorial-guidelines/newswriting-guidelines/
• ↑ https://tacomacc.libguides.com/c.php?g=599051&p=4147190
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/journalism_and_journalistic_writing/ap_style.html
• ↑ https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/punctuation/space-after-period
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/editing-and-proofreading/

About This Article

To write a news article, open with a strong leading sentence that states what the article is about and why it’s important. Try to answer the questions who, what, where, when, and why as early in the article as possible. Once you’ve given the reader the most important facts, you can include any additional information to help round out the article, such as opposing views or contact information. Finish with a strong concluding sentence, such as an invitation to learn more or a statement indicating future developments. For tips on researching your article, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Shakespearean Newspaper Announcement: Hamlet

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

• This Activity is Part of Many Teacher Guides

Much like a Greek chorus announcing the events of a play, students will create a newspaper article that announces and details an event or events from Hamlet . While students will want to focus on one main event, such as the death of the king, they may also include side stories that they can extrapolate from sub-plots or their imagination. What might someone living at the time hear about the events at the castle?

Students should be sure to include illustrations of scenes or portraits to accompany their headlines much like a real newspaper. While students are welcome to write their pieces with Shakespearean flair, they can use modern English as well.

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 set during or just after the events of Hamlet .

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.
• You may need to delete the placeholder lines and add new Textables.

Lesson Plan Reference

Grade Level 9-12

Difficulty Level 4 (Difficult / Complex)

Type of Assignment Individual

Type of Activity: Newspapers

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

How To Deliver News From a Neutral Perspective

Introduce types of journalism, use comprehensive information, use unbiased and objective language, give the facts first, establish a clear line between facts and analysis, frequently asked questions about shakespearean newspaper announcement: hamlet, why should students work on the project of creating a newspaper announcement for hamlet, what information can the announcement contain, what news article concepts could you use for the announcement, tragedy of hamlet, prince of denmark, the.

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How to Write a News Article That's Effective

It's similar to writing academic papers, but with vital differences

• Writing Research Papers
• Writing Essays
• English Grammar
• M.Ed., Education Administration, University of Georgia
• B.A., History, Armstrong State University

Techniques for writing a news article differ from those needed for academic papers. Whether you're interested in writing for a school newspaper, fulfilling a requirement for a class, or seeking a writing job in journalism, you'll need to know the difference. To write like a real reporter, consider this guide for how to write a news article.

Choose Your Topic

First, you must decide what to write about. Sometimes an editor or instructor will give you assignments, but you’ll often have to find your own topics to cover.

If you get to choose your topic, you might be able to pick a subject related to your personal experience or family history, which would give you a strong framework and a dose of perspective. However, this route means you must work to avoid bias—you may have strong opinions that could affect your conclusions. You also could pick a topic that revolves around a personal interest, such as your favorite sport.

Research for Your News Article

Even if you end up with a topic close to your heart, you should begin with research, using books and articles that will give you a full understanding of the subject. Go to the library and find background information about people, organizations, and events you intend to cover.

Next, interview a few people to collect more information and quotes that give perspective on the topic. Don't be intimidated by the idea of interviewing important or newsworthy people—an interview can be as formal or informal as you want to make it, so relax and have fun with it. Find people with backgrounds in the topic and strong opinions, and carefully write down or record their responses for accuracy. Let the interviewees know that you will be quoting them.

Parts of a News Article

Before you write your first draft, you should be aware of the parts that make up a news story:

Headline or title

The headline  of your article should be catchy and to the point. You should punctuate your title using Associated Press style guidelines unless your publication specifies something else. Other members of the publication staff frequently write the headlines, but this will help focus your thoughts and maybe save those other staffers some time.

• "Lost dog finds his way home"
• "Debate tonight in Jasper Hall"
• "Panel chooses 3 essay winners"

The byline is the name of the writer—your name, in this case.

Lead (sometimes written "lede")

The lead is the first sentence or paragraph, written to provide a preview of the entire article. It summarizes the story and includes many of the basic facts. The lead will help readers decide if they want to read the rest of the news article or if they are satisfied knowing these details.

Once you’ve set the stage with a good lead, follow up with a well-written story that contains facts from your research and quotes from people you’ve interviewed. The article should not contain your opinions. Detail any events in chronological order. Use the active voice —not passive voice —when possible, and write in clear, short, direct sentences.

In a news article, you should use the inverted pyramid format—putting the most critical information in the early paragraphs and following with supporting information. This ensures that the reader sees the important details first. Hopefully they'll be intrigued enough to continue to the end.

The sources

Include your sources in the body with the information and quotes they provide. This is different from academic papers, where you would add these at the end of the piece.

Your conclusion can be your last bit of information, a summary, or a carefully chosen quote to leave the reader with a strong sense of your story.

• How to Write a Research Paper That Earns an A
• Newspaper Sections and Terms
• Avoid the Common Mistakes That Beginning Reporters Make
• Understanding Organization in Composition and Speech
• What Is Expository Writing?
• Tips on How to Write an Argumentative Essay
• Tips for Writing an Art History Paper
• The Five Steps of Writing an Essay
• MBA Essay Tips
• How to Write a Persuasive Essay
• 5 Steps to Writing a Position Paper
• These Are Frequently Used Journalism Terms You Need to Know
• Write an Attention-Grabbing Opening Sentence for an Essay
• Finding Trustworthy Sources
• 5 Tips on How to Write a Speech Essay
• Tips to Write a Great Letter to the Editor

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

Newspaper Article

Newspaper Article Conventions :

Newspaper articles are focused on sharing the essential points of a given topic with a wide readership.  Newspaper articles typically follow a standard format: they address the 5Ws (who, what, where, when, and why).  The article will then go into greater detail and provide the key ideas and information that the general readership should know.  There is often a focus on speaking to witnesses or getting an interview with people who are closely related to the subject of the article; as such, you will often find a lot of quotations being used to qualify and quantify claims and data being presented.  

La Rose, L. (2017, June 7). From Gander to Broadway: The journey of ‘Come From Away’. The Canadian Press. Retrieved from https://globalnews.ca/news/3509415/from-gander-to-broadway-the-journey-of-come-from-away/

Article: From Gander to Broadway: The journey of ‘Come From Away’

By Lauren La Rose

As a theatre producer in Toronto [ where ], Michael Rubinoff [ who ] was always on the lookout for stories that would translate into musicals [ why ]. He found unexpected inspiration in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks [ when & what ].

The remote East Coast town of Gander, N.L., saw its population double in size as it provided refuge to 6,579 passengers and crew members from 38 planes after U.S. airspace was closed. Reports about the hospitality shown by the people in Gander and surrounding communities immediately struck a chord.

“As I learned more about the stories out there, (in) Newfoundland the way they tell stories are through music. Music is so much a part of their DNA and who they are. I really believed there was a compelling story and a compelling reason to musical-ize it.”

Rubinoff’s idea would eventually lead to the unlikely success story “Come From Away,” the feel-good musical that’s up for seven Tony Awards on Sunday, including best musical.

But finding the writers to tell the story was a challenge.

“I went to a number of people who didn’t share my enthusiasm, I think because of the subject matter and the backdrop of that day, people didn’t see how this was possible. I’m so grateful my paths crossed with David Hein and Irene Sankoff.”

Rubinoff was sold on the husband-and-wife duo after seeing their acclaimed show “My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding,” based on real-life events in Hein’s life.

Rubinoff sent a Facebook message to the couple and met them for dinner a few weeks later, where he told them about wanting to find someone to write the musical about the events in Gander. They were on-board.

Rubinoff was in the midst of taking up his role as associate dean of visual and performing arts at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ont., which would ultimately serve as a key stop in the musical’s storybook journey from Newfoundland and Labrador to Broadway.

One of Rubinoff’s strategic objectives at the school was to launch the Canadian Music Theatre Project (CMTP) and he committed to Sankoff and Hein that the Gander musical would be among the first shows Sheridan would produce.

Rubinoff also wrote a letter in support of a Canada Council grant to get the couple to Gander for the 10th anniversary of 9/11, where they got to experience the warm welcome Newfoundlanders had extended to the stranded passengers and crew in 2001.

“We would check in every couple of days and they would say, ‘Oh, we just moved out the hotel -someone gave us their house and said take care of the cats,”‘ he recalled. “They were being the recipients of this outpouring of kindness and they came back with stacks and stacks and stacks of interviews and materials and stories, and set about this challenge of how to tell 9,000 stories of the locals and 7,000 stories of the people that showed up on 38 planes.”

The working title of the show was originally “Gander,” but after Sankoff and Hein returned from their time there they felt the moniker wasn’t the right fit.

“They didn’t want to call it ‘Gander’ because there were a number of communities involved. Lewisporte, Appleton, Norris Arm, Gambo, Glenwood, they all played a very significant role,” Rubinoff said.

In the spring of 2012, Rubinoff paired the duo with a cast of Sheridan students and brought in a director and musical director. The goal was to produce 45 minutes of the show in five weeks.

“I usually like to come in at the rehearsal at the end of the first week … and I’ll never forget hearing the opening number ‘Welcome to the Rock’ and that refrain: ‘I’m an islander, I’m an islander,’ and (thinking) ‘Wow! This is grabbing my heart in the same way the story did initially.”‘

Rubinoff decided to house the initial performances of the show in the rehearsal hall to lower expectations for the fledgling musical.

“I think on the first night, I put out 35 chairs. On the second night, 45. And then 60. And on the next night, 75 – and we could not fit any more people in this room,” he recalled.

Although it’s now a 100-minute show with no intermission, Zeyl recalled the emotional wallop delivered at the end of Act 1 during the musical’s early days.

“We had no idea what we were getting into; we just knew the title of the show, basically, and we all left just crying at the end of just the first act,” Zeyl recalled. “I remember speaking to the writers and just gushing about it and (saying) ‘Just please, please, please continue what you’re doing…. We knew it was going somewhere. I don’t think anyone (could) say, ‘This will have seven Tony nominations.’ Obviously, it was beautiful work.”

Rubinoff encouraged Sankoff and Hein to keep working on “Come From Away,” which was programmed as a developmental production at Sheridan in early 2013.

The show was then submitted for consideration to the Festival of New Musicals, organized by the New York-based National Alliance for Musical Theatre. It was the same festival where Canadian musical “The Drowsy Chaperone” also found its commercial producers. “The Drowsy Chaperone” went on to pick up 13 Tony nominations, including a nod for best musical, and won five awards including best book of a musical and best original score.

“Come From Away” was among eight shows that made the cut. In October 2013, a 45-minute showcase was staged for an invite-only crowd of producers, regional theatres and academic institutions that create new musicals.

“People just reacted so emotionally,” said Rubinoff. “I think there were people who felt ‘I don’t know what this is, I don’t know if I want to see this, I don’t know if I’m ready to see this’ – and there was again just an outpouring of gratitude.”

Sankoff and Hein opted to partner with Tony-winning Junkyard Dog Productions as lead producers on “Come From Away.” Their behind-the-scenes team – including Tony-nominated director Christopher Ashley – began to take shape.

The musical would eventually be staged in La Jolla, Calif., Seattle, Washington, D.C. and Toronto before its current award-winning run on Broadway. But Rubinoff still sees a slice of Sheridan on whichever stage “Come From Away” is playing.

“When I do see the show, I do think of our students, I do think of those moments, the creation, the genesis. It’s really beautiful to see that.”

© 2017 The Canadian Press

Newspaper Article Copyright © 2023 by Sheridan College. All Rights Reserved.

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