Interactive Non-Fiction and Media Teacher’s Guide
Unit 1 Newspapers and magazines
1
Newspapers and magazines
Getting started
Student Book page 5
Name:
Date:
Newspapers are ideal for …
Reading about a story you are
really interested in at your own
pace.
Student
worksheet 1.1
Newspapers are not so good
for …
Finding out more about a story
that has just happened.
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Interactive Non-Fiction and Media Teacher’s Guide
Unit 1 Newspapers and magazines
1
Newspapers and magazines
Activity 1: Exploring newspaper headlines
Student Book page 6
Name:
Date:
Newspaper headlines are designed to
.
A good newspaper headline is probably no more than
words long. It might be as short as
. Headlines are short and snappy
because the sub-editors leave out words that are
.
Student
worksheet 1.2
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Interactive Non-Fiction and Media Teacher’s Guide
Unit 1 Newspapers and magazines
1
Newspapers and magazines
Activity 2: Unpicking newspaper headlines
Student Book page 7
Name:
Date:
Good newspaper headlines …
Rating
1–4
Ingredient
Example
A–J
Written in the present tense.
Refers to a person involved in the story
(= human interest).
Uses emotive words like ‘crisis’, ‘victim’,
‘clash’, ‘fatal’, ‘fury’.
Leaves out any unnecessary words like
‘the’ and ‘a’.
Aims to make the story sound dramatic.
Uses alliteration (repeating letters at the
start of words – e.g. ‘football fury’).
Use puns and word-play (e.g. bad film
review titled ‘Star Bores’).
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
Boy waits 29 hours for surgery
Tributes to much-loved teacher
Ready, steady, glow!
Funding crisis hits charity project
End of era for village garage
Number of obese children is rising
Woolworths sparks school uniform price war
Two arrested over death of boy, 16
Police hunt husband after stabbings
17m telly fans tune in to final
Student
worksheet 1.3
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Glossary
Word-play: when
words are used to
create humour
Pun: word with two
meanings at the
same time, used to
create humour,
e.g. have a nice
trip
Interactive Non-Fiction and Media Teacher’s Guide
Unit 1 Newspapers and magazines
Newspapers and magazines
1
Activity 1: Looking at a poorly written news story
Student Book page 8
Name:
Date:
School meals are going to be shaken up a lot
By Mike Foley, Education reporter
There are new some new guidelines that were published yesterday
and they are going to expect schools to change the kind of food and
drink that they serve to pupils including banning certain types of food
and drink such as sweet drinks and salty crisps.
‘This is a good idea,’ said Iain Veitch who is Headteacher at
Wolverton Comprehensive School on the outskirts of Durham, just
across the railway line.
Iain also said: ‘I’m concerned at all the rubbish I see pupils eating
and I think it’s time we took a strong stand and gave a firm lead to
pupils by banning food that will do them harm.’
The idea behind the guidelines is that there is a really big problem
in Britain with children eating too much junk food and not doing
enough exercise.
Meals that are high in salt and sugar won’t be served any more.
‘That’s a good idea,’ said pupil Sam Deeming who is in Year 9 and
likes to eat crisps at break time.
The government announced its new proposals yesterday.
Student
worksheet 1.4
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Interactive Non-Fiction and Media Teacher’s Guide
Unit 1 Newspapers and magazines
1
Newspapers and magazines
Activity 2: Advice for writing and improving articles
Student Book page 9
Name:
Date:
Chips face chop in school meal shake-up
Strict new government guidelines are about to change the
nature of school dinners for ever.
Chips, pizza and stodgy puddings will become a thing of the
past as strict new measures come into force.
The regulations aim to reverse the obesity trend of the past
generation and educate pupils of all ages to think more carefully
about what they eat. The ban covers vending machine sales of
fizzy drinks, chips and confectionary.
Durham headteacher Iain Veitch, 44, commented: ‘I’m
concerned at all the rubbish I see pupils eating and I think it’s
time we took a strong stand by banning food that will do them
harm.’
Student
worksheet 1.5
© Harcourt Education Limited 2007
Interactive Non-Fiction and Media Teacher’s Guide
Unit 1 Newspapers and magazines
1
Newspapers and magazines
Assess your progress
Student Book page 9
Name:
Date:
Model text
Short snappy headline
Teenage knitting club
1st paragraph sums up
story
Local school, Grandpont High, is offering
students the opportunity to attend an
after school knitting club.
Explains why this is
happening
The club produces blankets and items of
clothing that are sold to raise money for
local charities.
The school already provides a wide
range of after school clubs, covering the
usual sports, drama, dance and music,
but the new knitting option is proving
very popular. Since it started in
September, fifteen boys and girls have
been regularly attending and have
already raised nearly £50.
Adds detail and
background
Quotation with label
Final paragraph encourages
support
Student
worksheet 1.6
Technology teacher and knitting expert,
Gail Peason, 32, says: ‘Knitting is
something most of us have forgotten
about. It’s great to see the kids so
enthusiastic about it – and doing
something for local charities.’
Any donations of wool or offers of
expertise can be sent to the school or
left at the school’s reception desk.
© Harcourt Education Limited 2007
Interactive Non-Fiction and Media Teacher’s Guide
Unit 1 Newspapers and magazines
1
Newspapers and magazines
Assess your progress
Student Book page 9
Name:
Criteria
Date:
Assessing a newspaper article
Achieved 
Headline is short and punchy.
All paragraphs are short.
Sentences are not too long.
Sentence variety: simple,
compound, complex.
First sentence/paragraph sums up
the story.
Middle paragraphs add detail.
Later paragraphs add quotations
and comments.
Labels used to give information
about people.
Student
worksheet 1.7
© Harcourt Education Limited 2007
To work on 
Interactive Non-Fiction and Media Teacher’s Guide
Unit 1 Newspapers and magazines
1
Newspapers and magazines
Assess your progress
Student Book page 11
Name:
Date:
Explanation as to why you have kept it
in or left it out of your article.
Headline
Topic sentence
Five examples of bad
weather
Comments, explanations
and predictions from two
experts
Dramatic language
Student
worksheet 1.8
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Interactive Non-Fiction and Media Teacher’s Guide
Unit 1 Newspapers and magazines
1
Newspapers and magazines
Activity 1: Reading the same story in different newspapers
Student Book page
Name:
Date:
Text A:
the Mirror
How many words are there in
the headline?
How many words are there in
the first paragraph?
How many words are there in
the second paragraph?
What words in the article do
you not know or are not familiar
with? List them.
Which newspaper has more of
these unfamiliar words?
Mirror
Student
worksheet 1.9
Guardian
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Text B:
the Guardian
Interactive Non-Fiction and Media Teacher’s Guide
Unit 1 Newspapers and magazines
1
Newspapers and magazines
Assess your progress
Student Book page 15
Name:
Date:
Similar or Explanation
different?
The news
stories they
choose
The kind of
information
they include
The language
they use
Their
headlines
The audience
they are
writing for
The intended
purpose of
their writing
Student
worksheet 1.10
© Harcourt Education Limited 2007
What this tells us
about their
audience
Interactive Non-Fiction and Media Teacher’s Guide
Unit 1 Newspapers and magazines
1
Newspapers and magazines
Activity 1: Exploring feature articles
Student Book page 16
Name:
Cutting
Date:
News or
feature?
Text-type
Purpose
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
Student
worksheet 1.11
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Clues
Interactive Non-Fiction and Media Teacher’s Guide
Unit 1 Newspapers and magazines
1
Newspapers and magazines
Assess your progress
Student Book page 19
Name:
Date:
Some annotations you might want to use
Content
 Uses facts to get the reader’s interest.
 Uses humour to entertain and grab the reader’s interest.
 Uses dialogue to grab the reader’s attention.
Language
 Uses descriptive language to create an image in the reader’s
mind.
 Uses rhetorical questions to get the reader involved.
 Uses dramatic language to grab the reader’s attention.
Sentences
 Opening sentence intrigues the reader.
 Short sentences used to create a dramatic tone.
 Longer sentences are used to give lots of information.
Style
 Writing in the first person helps create a personal tone and
makes the reader feel like they are getting to know the writer.
 Writing in the third person creates a factual, authoritative tone.
 Directly addresses the reader, using ‘you’, to grab their
attention.
Student
worksheet 1.12
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Interactive Non-Fiction and Media Teacher’s Guide
Unit 1 Newspapers and magazines
1
Newspapers and magazines
Assess your progress
Student Book page 21
Name:
Date:
These are the key things to remember when writing a feature article.
Which do you think are the five most important? Number them 1–5
(with 1 being most important).
Planning and preparation
Be clear on the purpose of the writing: to inform, to persuade, to
entertain, something else? Or a combination of purposes?
Write various drafts of your opening, experimenting to find the best
approach.
Writing
Know which audience you are writing for and write directly to them.
Choose the language and tone you use carefully, making sure it is
appropriate to your audience.
Use facts to inform your reader.
Give advice to help your reader.
Use subheadings to organise your writing and help the reader.
Don’t use too much technical language; if you do, explain it.
Use an attention-grabbing opening sentence.
Tell a story that will catch the reader’s interest.
Help your reader to visualise people and places using description.
Use dialogue to help your reader hear people’s voices.
Student
worksheet 1.13
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Interactive Non-Fiction and Media Teacher’s Guide
Unit 1 Newspapers and magazines
1
Newspapers and magazines
Activity 3: Writing for a specialist audience
Student Book page 25
Name:
Date:
Planning your content
Information to include
What to describe
Organising your paragraphs
1 Introduction: what
are you writing
about?
2 Development:
what information
does your reader
want or need to
know?
3 Detail: use
description to give
the reader a
flavour of your
subject
4 Conclusion: what
is your opinion on
this subject?
Student
worksheet 1.14
© Harcourt Education Limited 2007
Interactive Non-Fiction and Media Teacher’s Guide
Unit 1 Newspapers and magazines
1
Newspapers and magazines
Assess your progress
Student Book page 25
Name:
Date:
Use this sheet to assess your own/your partner’s specialist article.
 In the assessment column, indicate whether the writer has done brilliantly
() quite well () or needs to work on this ().
 In the evidence column, explain where and how you/your partner has
achieved this.
 In the suggestion column, suggest how this area could be improved.
The article
Assessment
Evidence
Has a clear
structure,
written in
paragraphs.
Uses formal
or informal
language
appropriately.
Gives
interesting
information.
Uses effective
description.
Gives a clear
opinion on the
subject.
Uses
technical
language.
Student
worksheet 1.15
© Harcourt Education Limited 2007
Suggestion
Interactive Non-Fiction and Media Teacher’s Guide
Unit 1 Newspapers and magazines
1
Newspapers and magazines
Activity 3: Writing a review
Student Book page 27
Name:
Date:
Planning your review
Things to include
My planning
Something to entertain my reader, e.g.:
 some description
 a funny or interesting story
 interesting or unusual language.
Background information, e.g.:
 who
 what
 when
 where.
Describe my subject
 Use the five senses where relevant.
 Use descriptive language to create an
image in the reader’s mind.
The positive points of my subject
 If your overall opinion is positive, you will
need lots of these.
 If your overall opinion is negative, one or
two will be enough.
The negative points of my subject
 If your overall opinion is negative, you will
need lots of these.
 If your overall opinion is positive, one or
two will be enough.
My overall opinion
 Not just what you think but why.
A range of words, positive and negative
 Don’t just use ‘good’ and ‘bad’; think
‘thrilling’ and ‘appalling’ …
Student
worksheet 1.16
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Interactive Non-Fiction and Media Teacher’s Guide
Unit 1 Newspapers and magazines
1
Newspapers and magazines
Activity 2: Write a review
Student Book page 29
Name:
Date:
Things to include
Paragraph 1
Introduce the product
 What is it?
 What does the reader need to
know?
My planning
Paragraph 2
The positive points of the product
 What’s good?
 What’s good about it?
Paragraph 3
The negative points of the product
 What’s not so good?
 What’s not so good about it?
Paragraph 4
My overall opinion
 Not just what you think but why.
A range of words, positive and
negative
 Don’t just use ‘good’ and ‘bad’;
think ‘thrilling’ and ‘appalling’ …
Student
worksheet 1.17
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Interactive Non-Fiction and Media Teacher’s Guide
Unit 1 Newspapers and magazines
1
Newspapers and magazines
Activity 2: Write a review
Student Book page 29
Name:
Date:
The F7 Fin is perhaps the
greatest phone of all time.
It’s got superb looks, a
huge range of features and
an affordable price and is
built to last. With a 2
megapixel camera, decent
size screen and high
quality MP3 player, this is
the phone that’s got the lot.
If you thought the F6 was
stunning, the F7 is even
better. The design is much
smarter, the specification is
higher and it comes in a
much wider range of
colours.
Go out and get one today!
Student
worksheet 1.18
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Interactive Non-Fiction and Media Teacher’s Guide
Unit 1 Newspapers and magazines
1
Newspapers and magazines
Activity 1: Exploring sports journalism
Student Book page 30
Name:
Date:
Agree /
Because …
Disagree
A TV coverage is too
fast. Newspapers
allow you to take it at
your own pace.
B Live coverage doesn’t
give the full analysis
that writers can.
C Words can often paint
a picture of the match
that is better than the
live footage.
D Newspaper reports
are aimed at people
who can’t afford digital
TV.
E Written reports give
background and
opinions as well as
giving us scores.
F Sometimes it’s good
to read about an event
as well as watching it
live.
Student
worksheet 1.19
© Harcourt Education Limited 2007
Interactive Non-Fiction and Media Teacher’s Guide
Unit 1 Newspapers and magazines
1
Newspapers and magazines
Activity 1: Exploring sports journalism
Student Book page 31
Name:
Date:
1 Uses dramatic
language to
grab our
interest.
2 Makes the
player sound
like a hero.
3 Gives the
writer’s own
opinion.
4 Uses some
technical
language.
5 Uses jokes or
puns.
6 Tells us when
the match or
contest took
place (e.g.
‘yesterday’).
7 Tells us what
the sport was.
8 Gives us some
history on how
the team or
player have
done.
9 Tells us where
the event took
place.
If you could find texts
which showed …
6, 7, 8, 9
… then you can …
1, 2, 4, 5
… identify and comment on the
language the writer uses.
… identify the writer’s opinion.
3
Student
worksheet 1.20
… find facts and information.
© Harcourt Education Limited 2007
Interactive Non-Fiction and Media Teacher’s Guide
Unit 1 Newspapers and magazines
1
Newspapers and magazines
Activity 2: Reading sports journalism
Student Book page 32–33
Name:
Date:
Agree
/Disagree
Quotation
A Steffi Graf seems
very determined.
B She seems very
talented.
C She seems very
cold.
D She seems very
emotional.
E She is very upset
to lose her match.
F She makes
mistakes but
quickly learns
from them.
Student
worksheet 1.21
© Harcourt Education Limited 2007
Interactive Non-Fiction and Media Teacher’s Guide
Unit 1 Newspapers and magazines
1
Newspapers and magazines
Activity 3: Writing sports journalism
Student Book page 33
Name:
Date:
Purpose
Features of effective
sports journalism
Possible openings
Describe
A description of the
game or match.
A tiny black ball
battered by two
sweaty people around
a concrete box …
Striding like a
gladiator onto the
pitch, this was the
moment the crowd
knew that the greatest
player alive had
arrived …
After a run of
seventeen defeats
over the last six
months …
Of all the terrible
matches ever
witnessed, this was
surely the worst …
It’s said that this
game was first
invented when …
Some description of a
player or players,
creating a picture for
the reader.
Inform
Some background
information on the
team/game/players.
Your opinion of the
match or sport,
carefully explained.
Entertain
Student
worksheet 1.22
Entertaining the reader
by building tension, or
telling an entertaining
story, or …
Add some dialogue to
create human interest.
© Harcourt Education Limited 2007
‘I have never had so
much fun as the times
when I’m playing …’
says …
Interactive Non-Fiction and Media Teacher’s Guide
Unit 1 Newspapers and magazines
Newspapers and magazines
1
Activity 3: Writing sports journalism
Student Book page 33
Name:
Date:
Structuring your sports writing
Cut out the cards and arrange those you want to use in the best
order.
Match report
Introduce a sport
The final result
How to play
How the match started
A famous or interesting
player
Key points during the
match
The history of the sport
Comments from the
players
Your opinion of the
sport
Consequences of the
match result
Persuade people to try
this sport
Your opinion of the
match
What people have said
about this sport
Student
worksheet 1.23
© Harcourt Education Limited 2007
Interactive Non-Fiction and Media Teacher’s Guide
Unit 1 Newspapers and magazines
1
Newspapers and magazines
Assessment task
Student Book page 34
Name:
Date:
Success criteria
Content
 Contains relevant details of what has happened.
 Focuses on the people in the story to create
human interest.
 Refers to reviews (positive and negative).
 Has quotations from the public, and the
manufacturer.
Headline
 Written in present tense.
 Creates human interest by referring to someone
in the story.
 Uses emotive words or dramatic language.
 Leaves out less important words (‘the’, ‘a’, etc.).
 May use alliteration.
Structure
 All paragraphs are short.
 First sentence/paragraph sums up the story:
who, where, when.
 Middle paragraphs add detail.
 Later paragraphs add quotations and comments.
Sentences
 Sentences are not too long.
 Variety of sentences: simple, compound,
complex.
Language
 Vocabulary is appropriately formal.
 Vocabulary chosen for general (non-specialist)
audience.
Quotations 

Proof
reading
Student
worksheet 1.24
Should be short and relevant.
Labels give information about the speaker.
Thoroughly checked for good sense, spelling and
punctuation.
© Harcourt Education Limited 2007
Interactive Non-Fiction and Media Teacher’s Guide
Unit 1 Newspapers and magazines
1
Newspapers and magazines
Assessment task
Student Book page 34
Name:
Date:
Planning sheet
Name of
product
Fault it has
developed
Summary of
the story
Quotation
from injured
person
Quotation
from their
family
Quotation
from the
manufacturer
Sentence
from positive
review
Sentence
from negative
review
Structure of
my news
story:
1
2
3
4
5
6
Headline
Student
worksheet 1.25
© Harcourt Education Limited 2007