Day: April 3, 2023

News Report Project April 2023

What is this project?

As part of our studies on media, we have been analyzing what the parts of a news story are, as well as identifying the steps a reporter takes to create an interesting news story for the public.

Everyone will be creating their own news reports for our own paper Suncrest News!

We have been talking about this assignment for a bit in class, but here are some concrete details if you didn’t catch them during our discussions.

What are the steps?

  1. Your audience is “students at Suncrest.” Choose a topic. We already brainstormed topics and assigned one to each person.
  2. Brainstorm ideas. Who will you interview (you need to interview two people)? What observations can you make? What research will you need to do? What pictures will you need to take? What data or math numbers can you gather for this article? How might you use present the information (graph/chart) alongside the article? Detailed information, a picture, and numbers are required for the article.
  3. Begin the research and gathering process. Record your findings in your journal under two journal pages called “News Report Notes.” Take pictures using an iPad, or with a device at home if needed. Make sure you have access to your photos at school by saving them in your email or on One Drive.
  4. Do interviews. Before doing the interview, make ten questions. Show them to Ms. D. You may need to do interviews at recess or lunch, especially if it means getting perspective from other Suncrest students.
  5. Begin writing. Use the handout “Writing a News Report,” as well as any news reports you have seen online and in print, as a guide to writing all of the parts of a news report. Make an outline for your article first (a list of what you will talk about) and then begin drafting it in your journal or on the computer. Remember, it needs to have all the parts of a news report, and a minimum of five paragraphs of information. We did a practice and an edit of that practice report already in class.
  6. Begin drafting it in your journal or on the computer.
  7.  After you make a rough draft, make a final copy. Make sure to edit it by reading it aloud. Have a peer also edit it carefully for you. Fix any errors.
  8.  You can use the tools available on Microsoft Word, to begin the layout of your article. Make sure you think about spacing, the format of the headline versus the body of the article, pictures you want to include, and any charts or graphs that may be helpful.
  9.   Share your article. Share your report with me so we can share it with the community.

What are Ms. D’s expectations?

  • I can choose a topic for my news story that is of interest for my intended audience.
  • I can use critical-thinking skills to gather factual information for my news article.
  • I can conduct interviews with students or staff to gather information for my report.
  • I can create my story using all of the key elements of a news report.
  • I can express my ideas clearly in writing, editing carefully for conventions, and using complex sentences, conjunctions, and transition words.
  • I can use tools such as interesting vocabulary, an appealing layout, numbers/charts/graphs, props, or an expressive voice to better communicate my ideas and catch the audience’s attention.
  • I can share ideas about my local community in a news story format.

When is it due?  April 11th end of day.

 

Social Thinking and Me, Chapter 6: Hidden Rules and Expected Behaviour

Hello Everyone,

Today we finished going through Chapter 6, Thinking About the Hidden Rules and Expected Behaviour.

We started by brainstorming the unspoken rules that help everyone have a good experience and to feel safe in four different situations: a movie theatre, group work, in the library, and when we have a substitute teacher. As a group, the last one is particularly important.

The EXPECTED behaviour when a substitute or TTOC (Teacher Teaching on Call) is in the classroom, as brainstormed today by Div. 5, includes:

  • Be welcoming,
  • Follow the same rules as always,
  • Follow the routine in the same way we would if Ms. D were here,
  • Be helpful to the visiting teacher and others during the day,
  • Staying on task and getting projects done,
  • Staying with the group plan, and
  • Communicate by raising our hands if we need to make a suggestion.

The UNEXPECTED behaviour when a substitute is here includes:

  • Trying to trick the guest teacher or take advantage of the fact they are new and less familiar with the rules,
  • Making fun of or laughing at the guest teacher,
  • Not following the normal classroom or school rules, even if someone doesn’t tell you to follow them,
  • Arguing with the guest teacher about what should be done, as sometimes things have to change temporarily when we have a guest,
  • Interrupting all day during discussions without raising a hand, and
  • Choosing to read, talk, or do other activities that are not part of the group plan.

At home, please try going over the EXPECTED and UNEXPECTED behaviour or HIDDEN RULES in a variety of situations, such as when you visit a park, during dinners at home, when you get ready for bed, or during a soccer game.

A recap of what we discussed in class, for you to review at home:

  • It is important for me to figure out the hidden rules of any situation. The hidden rules help me to know what is expected behaviour.
  • When I know what the hidden rules are, then I can behave in a way that is expected by everyone in the group. When I behave in the expected way, people will feel more safe, happy, and relaxed.
  • When I use unexpected behaviour, I am not following the rules for a certain situation. Some of these hidden rules are things people are expected to understand. When I use unexpected behaviour, people may have negative feelings about me or the situation, such as feeling annoyed, confused, nervous, or worried.
  • I can figure out what the expected behaviour in a situation is by thinking with my eyes, looking around to see what others are doing, or by asking for help to know what the hidden rules are.

Thank you for using this vocabulary of expected and unexpected behaviour at home. I keep reinforcing the ideas from the book in our daily conversations. It will help if these ideas are also reinforced as you have conversations at home, too.

Have a great week!