NIE Lessons in Every Edition of The Marion Star

Headlines

--Have students rewrite headlines into complete sentences using correct punctuation.

News Stories

--Have students identify the 5 Ws and H (who, what, when, where, why and how).

--Summarize entire article into one paragraph.

Photos

--Great for discussing/differentiating fact and opinion. Have students name five facts about a photo, then five opinions. Have students agree/disagree with each statement.

--Students often have difficulty choosing a topic to write about. Use photos as story starters.

Obituaries

--Have students identify positive character traits of individuals.

--Calculate average age of deaths over a period of time. Compare males and females. Make charts showing results.

Weather Page

--Use for geography: Identify states, Great Lakes, oceans, compass points.

--Use for math by calculating average temperatures for a period of time; calculate differences in highs and lows; convert temperatures to Celsius.

--Use the information to predict the weather for the next day.

Sports

--Geography: Locate the summary of the games played in a national sports league (whatever sport is in season). Locate these hometowns on a national map. How far did Team A travel to play Team B? What direction did they travel? Who traveled the farthest to play its game? How many time zones did it pass through?

Comics

--Correct punctuation for 1, 2, xxx comic strips.

--Use as story starters, essays.

--Which character is most like you, your mom, your grandpa, etc?

--Use a single standing comic, such as Family Circus or Dennis the Menace. Name the 5 Ws and H.

--Rewrite bubbles into complete sentences.

Classified Ads

--After studying these, write a classified ad describing a country you have been studying in social studies.

--Write a “job wanted” ad describing a character in a book your class has been reading.

--Write a classified ad for the ideal teacher, friend, job, etc.

--Identify jobs in the classifieds that require a high school diploma, a college degree or higher. What kinds of jobs are predominant in your geographic area? Chart over a period of time.

Dear Abby

--Use to generate discussion on “sensitive” subjects, i.e. abuse, dating, family issues. Have students write anonymous “Dear Abby” letters; exchange with students who write answers.

Opinion Page

--Study letters to the editor. Compare facts and opinions.

--Have students select a topic of concern to them and write letters to the editor on the subject.

--Review editorial cartoons. What message is the cartoonist trying to convey? Do you agree/disagree with this message? Write a brief essay explaining why.

Other Ideas

--Unfamiliar words: Identify words whose meanings are unknown. Keep these in a notebook. Have students try to determine the meaning of the words by how they are used. Compare with the dictionary meaning. At the end of one month, have students review “new” words. Write an essay or short story using as many new words as possible.

--Using a ruler and math calculations, compare space devoted to news stories, photos, ads, etc. Compare various pages, days of the week.

--Have students create/perform TV ads made from ads that appear in the newspaper.

--Have students create a newscast based on a comic strip.

--Have students do the weather based on the weather page.