Nonfiction Unit--Newspapers and Magazines
Grade 6
Time Frame: Approximately 7 weeks
Unit Description:
This unit focuses on reading, responding to and writing nonfiction literature, particularly newspaper articles. Numerous news articles will be analyzed for important elements and writing techniques. Various comprehension strategies help to identify the effects of the structural features and literary devices used in this type of writing. Interviewing, researching, and writing news articles provide opportunities for student revision, proofreading, and evaluation. Vocabulary and grammar instruction occurs within the context of the news stories and features.
Essential Questions:
1. Can students identify and use structural features of nonfiction, periodicals, news articles, and business and persuasive letters?
2. Can students develop topics that lead to inquiry, investigation, and written products?
3. Can students support statements with specific examples, such as those from interview data?
4. Can students plan, draft, evaluate, revise, and edit news and feature articles and business and persuasive letters?
5. Can students use and create flow charts and other graphic organizers for understanding?
6. Can students assume a variety of roles in a group process and explain the process of writing a newspaper?

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Competencies and Objectives
1. The student will use word recognition and vocabulary (word meaning) skills to communicate. a. The student will apply knowledge of roots and affixes (e.g., non-, trans-, over-, anti-, inter-, super-, semi-, com-, ex-, il-, mid-, under-, sub-, tion, -or, -ion, -ity, -ment, -ic, -ian, -ist, -ous, -eous, -ious, -ance,
-ence, -ive, -en) to determine the meaning of multi-syllabic words.
(DOK 2) b. The student will develop and apply expansive knowledge of words and word meaning to communicate. (DOK 1) d. The student will use context clues to determine the meanings of unfamiliar
or multiple meaning words. (DOK 2) f. The student will apply knowledge of reference materials (e.g., dictionary, glossary, teacher or peer [as a resource], thesaurus, electronic dictionary) to evaluate word choice in a variety of texts (e.g., revise
writing, peer editing) and to determine meaning. [Note: These reference materials are not available during the administration of state tests.] (DOK 2) g. The student will analyze and evaluate vocabulary usage based on
appropriateness for context and purpose (e.g., formal and informal language). (DOK 3)
2. The student will apply strategies and skills to comprehend, respond to, interpret, or evaluate a variety of texts of increasing length, difficulty, and complexity. a. The student will apply knowledge of text features, parts of a book, text structures, and genres to understand, gain information from, interpret,
respond to, or analyze text. (DOK 2)
1) Text features - titles, headings, captions, illustrations, graphs, charts, diagrams, bold-faced print, italics, headings, subheadings, numberings, captions, illustrations, graphs, diagrams, maps, icons, pull down menus, key word searches, etc.
3) Text structures - sequential order, description, simple cause and effect,

procedure, compare/contrast, order of importance, problem/solution, etc.
4) Genres
– Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, biographies, autobiographies, and plays b. The student will analyze text to understand, infer, draw conclusions, or synthesize information. (DOK 2)
1) Identify and infer the main idea or topic in literary text, literary nonfiction, and informational text of increasing length and difficulty citing text-based evidence.
2) Apply knowledge of transitions and cue words to identify and sequence events in narrative text including text containing flashbacks and events in non-sequential order.
3) Infer cause and effect based on sequence of events and to predict outcomes.
4) Synthesize information stated in the text with prior knowledge and experience to draw valid conclusions with supporting evidence including text-based evidence.
5) Predict a logical outcome based upon information stated in a text and confirm or revise based upon subsequent text. d. The student will respond to, interpret, or compare and contrast increasingly complex literary text, literary nonfiction, and informational text citing text-based evidence. (DOK 3)
4) Author ’s purpose (e.g., inform, entertain, persuade)
3. The student will express, communicate, evaluate, or exchange ideas effectively. a. The student will use and reflect on an appropriate composing process (e.g., planning, drafting, revising, editing, publishing) to express, communicate, evaluate, or exchange ideas with a focus on texts of increasing complexity and length. [Note: Editing will be tested as a part of competency four.]
(DOK 3)
1) Planning
• Plan for composing using a variety of strategies (e.g.,

brainstorming, drawing, graphic organizers, peer discussion, reading, viewing).
2) Drafting
• Draft with increasing fluency.
3) Revising
• Revise selected drafts by adding, elaborating, deleting, and rearranging text based on feedback on teacher/peer feedback, writer ’s checklist, or rubric.
4) Editing
• Edit/proofread drafts to ensure standard usage, mechanics, spelling, and varied sentence structure.
5) Publishing/Sharing
Share writing with others formally and informally using a variety of media. d. The student will compose informational text clearly expressing a main idea with supporting details, including but not limited to the following: texts containing chronological order; procedural; cause and effect; comparison and contrast; order of importance; problem/solution. (DOK 3)
2) Letters e. The student will compose persuasive text clearly expressing a main idea with supporting details, utilizing effective word choice and organization for a specific purpose and audience. (DOK 3)
1) Letters f. The student will compose text of a variety of modes based on inquiry and research. (DOK 4)
1) Generate questions.

2) Locate sources (e.g., books, interviews, Internet, reference materials, on-line data bases) and gather relevant information from multiple sources.
3) Identify and paraphrase important information from sources.
4) Compare and contrast important findings and select sources to support central ideas, concepts, and themes.
5) Present the results using a variety of communication techniques .
6) Reflect on and evaluate the process.
4. The student will apply Standard English to communicate. a. The student will apply Standard English grammar to compose or edit.
(DOK 1) b. The student will apply Standard English mechanics to compose or edit.
(DOK 1) c. The student will apply knowledge of sentence structure in composing or editing to achieve a purpose. (DOK 2)

Activity 1: Nonfiction as a Genre (2.a.4., 2.b.3., 2.d.4.)
Students will begin their study of the nonfiction genre by reviewing the definition of nonfiction: prose designed primarily to explain, argue, or describe rather than entertain and whose emphasis is factual. Following oral directions from the teacher, students will explain the connections between ideas and information in various types of nonfiction and give examples and descriptions of the kinds of nonfiction writing they can recall. They will classify each type by its distinctive elements. Responses will be recorded on the board, overhead, or chart, and displayed throughout the unit. Students will discuss how nonfiction is both like and different from other genres of text and review the various types of nonfiction, focusing especially on newspapers. Students will discuss how to read nonfiction differently from fiction. The teacher will then introduce the most common text structures that characterize nonfiction (description or listing, sequence or time order, comparison and contrast, cause and effect, problem and solution, etc.), the most common signal words for each type, and question students can ask themselves to aid in understanding. Students will visually represent the structures and their signal words in a graphic organizer.
Activity 2: Vocabulary (1.a., 1.b., 1.c., 1.d.)
Students will create a personal vocabulary list for the nonfiction and newspaper-related vocabulary terms they encounter throughout this unit, especially those related to current events. Students will use structural analysis to generate a list of roots and show other words that are derived from them.
Students will identify the meanings of common abbreviations, symbols, acronyms, and multiple-meaning words as they occur throughout the unit. The teacher will review the four most common types of clues (e.g., definition, restatement, example, contrast) for figuring out the meaning of an unknown word in context; students will apply the use of this comprehension strategy throughout the unit as appropriate. Other words in the sentence and the picture can provide clues to the meaning. The teacher will review the concept of multiple meaning words. When these are encountered throughout the unit, students will create word webs and riddles that illustrate the multiple meanings of the word, including illustrations of examples for each meaning. Students will use graphic organizers to help acquire this vocabulary knowledge.
Activity 3: Parts of a Newspaper (2.a.1., 2.a.4., 2.b.)
Following oral directions from the teacher, student groups will survey the front page of a print newspaper, noting its format and layout; reasoning inductively by moving from the specific to the general, they will discuss how it is different from other texts they read (e.g., black and white ink, graphics, headline, byline, sidebar, column format, etc.) Students will then begin a list of the different parts they notice on the front page. Groups will report informally to the whole class

descriptive details about the types of items they found.
Using the newspaper index, students will examine the rest of the paper through a scavenger hunt. The teacher will give each student or group specific items to look for such as: an ad for tires, the cost of a two-bedroom apartment, comic strip, editorial cartoon, speeches, etc. Student groups will take notes on the various sections and features of a newspaper, classify each by its distinctive elements, and formulate a description of each section
’s or feature’s content and text structure by visually representing the data in a graphic organizer. The teacher will give additional information about each section as needed. After discussing how to use the Classifieds Section, a short assessment may be given using the Classified Section worksheet.
Each cooperative group will then make a poster that defines, describes, and gives exaple for each of the various parts and sections of a newspaper (front page [headline, dateline, masthead, news articles, feature articles]; editorial page; international news; metro/local news; arts and entertainment; business/classifieds; sports; traffic; weather; health/science; obituaries; etc.)
Teacher
’s note: A comparison/contrast of print versions of newspaper to online versions is also worthwhile. Online versions of newspapers from around the world are available at http://www.onlinenewspapers.com
and from the Internet
Public Library at http://www.ipl.org/div/news/ .
Activity 4: Skimming and Scanning (2.a., 2.b.)
Students will practice their skimming and scanning skills by reading a selected article in a newspaper or news magazine, paraphrasing it, and determining the author ’s purpose for writing it. The teacher will then facilitate a discussion of the text structure found in such articles, stressing the nature of news writing as factual, the purpose of a lead ; the traditional news story structure of facts in descending order of importance ; the need for necessary background information, and explaining that journalists are concerned with the 5 W ’s (who, what, when, where, and why). Students will identify the 5 W
’s for the nursery rhyme
Jack and Jill . Reasoning deductively, beginning with the general and ending with the specific, each student group will then choose another famous rhyme or fairy tale, identify the five W background questions for their chosen piece, read aloud just the answer to their questions, and have the class try to guess what fairy tale or rhyme it is. To integrate information found in various forms of media and to classify a news story on how the reporter uses the 5 W ’s to cover the lead news story, and identifying the Who, What, When, Where, Why for the story.
Activity 5: Structure of a News Article (2.a.1., 2.a.3.)
The teacher will use a sample newspaper story to model and illustrate an example of the Inverted Pyramid news story format. Students will then each

choose an article, list the main facts in the order the reporter presents them, and then visually represent the information in a graphic organizer that follows the
Inverted Pyramid news story format of “main idea followed by supporting details in order of descending importance.
” Then they will rewrite the list in chronological order, compare the two lists, and discuss the differences in their groups. Students will consider the use of an angle (the approach or perspective taken in presenting a story) in news writing. For example, in the story of
Cinderella there are many possible angles for presenting the story: Prince meets love of life; stepsister treated brutally; SPCA looks into maltreatment of mice, etc. Students will find examples of different types of angles in their newspapers and summarize what the angle is. Each group will then choose a topic for a possible news story, such as a coastal chemical spill, the release of a new video game, or a hurricane. Groups will brainstorm possible angles that could be taken in presenting one of the stories and then report their angles back to the class.
Activity 6: Newspaper/News Magazine Scrap Book (1.b., 1.g., 2.a., 2.b.,
3.a., 3.d., 3.e., 3.f.)
The teacher will introduce to students the basic rules of summarizing and paraphrasing. Using the posters created in Activity 3, student groups will explore real-life connections by each creating a scrapbook that includes at least two articles of interest from each section of a newspaper or magazine. Students will then each summarize the two news stories in their scrapbooks, applying the
Inverted Pyramid news story structure (main idea followed by supporting details in descending order of importance) they have just learned. These should be shared within each group, and revised as needed, for content or format.
Students will then complete a journal entry, first summarizing and paraphrasing what has been learned so far and then recording a response to the lesson. Each paragraph should have a topic sentence, relevant elaboration, and a concluding sentence. These response journal entries should then be given to a peer, who reads the summary and response and adds his or her own response, raising questions as appropriate. The original student will write another response to what the peer said.
Activity 7: Creating Headlines (1.b., 1.g., 2.a., 2.b., 2.d., 3.a., 3.f., 4)
To further evaluate the text structure of news stories, students will review the definitions of headline (the title of a story written in large, bold type above the story, generally having a subject and a verb), topic (the general thing or subject that all the sentences in the story talk about), and main idea (the most important idea about a topic). Students will then read the following story and identify its topic and main idea: Not all monkeys like bananas. Chuckles, the oldest monkey in the City Zoo, refuses to eat bananas. Zookeeper Harry Katz says that animals

are just like people. “Not all people like hot dogs,” says Harry Katz. “It’s just the same with monkeys and bananas!
” (topic: monkeys; main idea: Not all monkeys like bananas.) Using the main idea, “Not all monkeys like bananas,” students are to create headlines for the story. The teacher will record their responses, pointing out that headlines are not complete sentences, only phrases that do not have an end mark. Students will read news from which headlines have been removed; they will write headlines for several articles, choosing words appropriate for their audience and for clarity.
Students will share their headlines, pointing out how each headline relates to the article
’s main idea. The teacher will facilitate a discussion about which headlines are most attention grabbing. To integrate ideas, students will collect headlines from various media, (newspapers or grade-appropriate magazines), share them with the class, and determine the characteristics that headlines have in common.
They will then create a section in their scrapbooks on headlines and place the headlines and the description of the characteristics there. With a partner, students will find headlines in today ’s news section, read the corresponding articles, and discuss how each of the issues might develop in the next month.
Students will then create headlines that could appear in the paper a month later.
Students will confer with their author groups to revise headlines to include strong verbs and submit their best headlines for a class contest or bulletin board display.
Activity 8: Internet Newspapers/Primary & Secondary Sources/ Creating
News Stories Through Simulations (1.b., 1.d., 1.f., 1.g., 2.a., 2.b., 2.d., 3.a.,
3.d., 3.e., 3.f., 4)
Students will discuss the differences between primary and secondary sources and will identify possible primary and secondary sources used in reporting a news story to determine the story ’s credibility of information. One Web site that can be used as a resource is http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/news/index.htm
. Students will connect ideas by using the Internet and bookmarking web sites to locate and print a story that is covered in most of the local, state, national, and global papers; recording the names of the newspapers; comparing the similarities and differences in the stories; clarifying the possible primary and secondary sources of information; and speculating, as a class, about why the same story is covered differently in different newspapers.
The teacher will create a simulated story in the classroom with students participating in the simulation. The students will take the role of reporters, work together in small problem-solving groups to generate a list of questions to be asked of persons interviewed, review the work of the groups, and make recommendations and suggestions to sharpen and clarify questions.
Then the reporter teams will interview the simulation participants, taking notes of

the participants
’ responses. The class will share the notes of the reporters and select the most useful for writing a news story that summarizes the events of the simulation and reports them in Inverted Pyramid news story structure.
Reporters will then use their notes to draft a news story and a headline that follows established sequence and criteria. Finally, the students will share their stories with the class, which will evaluate the presentation and sequence of information in the reports.
Activity 9: Creating Leads for News Stories (1.b., 1.d., 1.f., 1.g., 2.a., 2.b.,
2.d., 3.a., 3.d., 3.e., 3.f., 4)
The teacher will read aloud to students Joan Lowery Nixon ’s If You Were a
Writer (Aladdin, 1995), Aunt Isabel Tells a Good One (Puffin Books, 1984) by
Kate Duke, or Nothing Ever Happens on 90 th Street by Roni Schotter (Orchard
Books, 1999). Students will discuss the idea of a writer ’s using words to create stories that make pictures and excite listeners to want to hear more. Focusing on the characteristics of a lead (the most important part of a news story, the first paragraph or sentence that usually starts with the story ’s most important words
[e.g., A giant snowstorm caused school closing today instead of It was reported that schools were closed today because of a giant snowstorm ]), students should skim a print or online newspaper or magazine for one or two attention grabbing leads and then share these within their groups, discussing what made each of the leads so interesting, such as the action or descriptive words, anecdotes, unusual facts, etc.
Students will create a short news article (main idea/lead paragraph only) for the topic “ Our School Lunch is . . .
” or “ Middle School is . . .
” or any other topic likely to provoke sensory detail or strong feeling from students. Students will choose a real school event such as a basketball game, team competition, assembly, or field trip and write a lead paragraph for a news story about the event, being sure to include the 5 W ’s and all necessary background information about the event and to sequence it in Inverted Pyramid order. The teacher will model proper interview etiquette and types of questions one might ask in an interview.
Students will take the role of reporters, work together in small groups to generate a list of questions to be asked of persons interviewed, review the work of the groups, and use peer feedback to sharpen and clarify questions.
Then student reporter teams will interview the school event participants, taking notes on the participants ’ responses. Students will share notes, select the most useful, and create a news story with a headline that follows established criteria.
Finally, the students will share their stories with the class, who will evaluate the presentation of information in the reports.
Activity 10: Newspaper Roles/Types of Stories for the Newspaper (1.b.,

1.d., 1.f., 1.g., 2.a., 2.b., 2.d., 3.a., 3.d., 3.e., 3.f., 4)
Students will assume a variety of roles while participating in the group process throughout this activity; they will reflect upon its effectiveness at its end. They will practice active listening while using the group process. Following teacher directions, students will determine who is involved in the production of a newspaper by locating this information in newspapers, doing research in the library or on the Internet, or interviewing someone who works for a newspaper.
Students will visually represent this in a poster or PowerPoint slide presentation of roles in newspaper or magazine production, listing both titles and duties.
Students will then connect this knowledge to their world by forming an editorial staff for each section they choose to include in a class newspaper (The editor will keep a list of assignments.), deciding which roles would be necessary, which roles each would like to take (reporter, editor in chief, copy editor, mechanical team, advertising team, etc.), and what available technology should be selected to produce their newspaper (typewriters, computers, desktop publishing software, online publishing etc.). Students must fill out a job application after selecting their roles and submit them to the teacher. The teacher will discuss how to fill out an application, and use those to determine placements accordingly.
Assessment may be given, using Job Ad worksheet.
Students will review the poster of the various sections and types of articles found in a newspaper or magazine (See Activity 5.) and decide as a class which ones they would like to put in their classroom newspaper. Students will explore and survey newspapers from around the world, paying particular attention to design and layout and discussing the organizational patterns they observe. Students will survey newspapers published on the web by other classes to get ideas for their own layout. The class will also decide how many copies to print.
Teacher Note: Online publishing is available through The ReadWriteThink
Interactive Printing Press available at: http://interactives.mped.org/view_interactive.aspx?id=110&title= .
Activity 11: Reporting on a News Story at Home, in the Community, or at
School/ Interviewing (1.b., 1.d., 1.f., 1.g., 2.a., 2.b., 2.d., 3.a., 3.d., 3.e., 3.f.,
4)
Students will assume a variety of roles while participating in the group process throughout this activity; they will reflect upon its effectiveness at its end. They will practice active listening while using the group process. Students will prewrite by brainstorming topics for a human-interest column that can be called Up Close and Personal . Students will identify people they can interview, as well as potential interview topics and surveys that reflect the events and activities in the school and community. Each article should end with a simple conclusion about the topic. Students will form small reporting groups and develop questions that

can be asked in interviews; they will schedule, conduct, and take notes during their interview. Students will also develop a process for peer editing, revising, and producing their stories for the classroom newspaper.
Activity 12: Publishing a Classroom Newspaper (1.b., 1.d., 1.f., 1.g., 2.a.,
2.b., 2.d., 3.a., 3.d., 3.e., 3.f., 4)
Following teacher directions, students will record and post a graphic representation of their plan for producing a newspaper on a flow chart, create and post a schedule stating en each task is to be completed and who is responsible for each task, record the actual events on the flow chart as they are completed, and compare the scheduled plan with the actual dates of completion.
The teacher will act as facilitator.
Students will conduct interviews, select relevant information from them, and draft their news articles (applying 5 W ’s & Inverted Pyramid organization, elaboration, and structure to each). They will revise the articles based on peer feedback.
They will proofread with particular attention to standard English punctuation and spelling, using spelling resources as necessary. They will also specifically proofread for commas and coordinating conjunctions to separate independent clauses in compound sentences. They will complete the publication of the classroom newspaper with available technology.
Teacher Note: Online publishing is available through The ReadWriteThink
Interactive Printing Press available at: http://interactives.mped.org/view_interactive.aspx?id=110&title= .
Activity 13: Criteria for Evaluating the Classroom Newspaper (1.b., 1.d.,
1.f., 1.g., 2.a., 2.b., 2.d., 3.a., 3.d., 3.e., 3.f., 4)
Students will participate in the group process throughout this activity; they will reflect upon its effectiveness at its end. They will practice active listening while using group process. Student groups will follow a teacher-directed sequence of steps to develop criteria for evaluating the distinctive elements of their classroom newspaper, based on their technical experience gained in reading other real-life newspapers, and developing their own news stories. The criteria will be posted so all can refer to the criteria as the newspaper is being published. The teacher will guide this discussion and help students focus on specific criteria for evaluating purpose, content, support, accuracy, layout, & graphics of each section and article. This list of criteria will then become the final rubric for assessing the classroom newspaper.
Activity 14: Write a Business Letter to a Newspaper (1.b., 1.d., 1.f., 1.g.,
2.a., 2.b., 2.d., 3.a., 3.d.2., 3.e.1., 3.f., 4)

The teacher will review proper business letter content, format, and tone, modeling each both orally and visually and will facilitate writing workshop for this activity. Students will prewrite by brainstorming details for a business letter asking the newspaper for subscription information for their home for a specified period. Students will draft their letters, double-spacing to allow room for revisions and corrections. Students will work in author groups to evaluate and revise for specific word choice and tone appropriate for the intended audience. Students will proofread for proper business letter format and standard English usage and punctuation, especially the use of colons after the salutation and capitalization of proper names. Students will publish their letters, using available technology.
Assessment will be with a business letter rubric.
Teacher Note: Further information regarding the formatting and proper tone of business letters is available at: http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson281.shtml
Activity 15: Letter to the Editor (1.b., 1.d., 1.f., 1.g., 2.a., 2.b., 2.d., 3.a.,
3.d.2., 3.e.1., 3.f., 4)
The teacher will review proper content, format, and tone for writing a persuasive letter to the editor, modeling each both orally and visually, and will facilitate writing workshop for this activity. Students will prewrite by choosing a topic and brainstorming details for a persuasive letter to the editor of his/her local newspaper in which he/she addresses a current issue in the community. Student groups will analyze news stories to gather the information needed to support their opinions and use inductive and deductive reasoning to support their position.
Students will draft their letters, double-spacing to allow room for revisions and corrections. Students will work in author groups to evaluate and revise for clear voice, logical reasoning with support to state a viewpoint, logical structure and organization, and style, tone, level of formality, and vocabulary appropriate for the intended audience and topic. Students will proofread for proper business letter format, sentence structure, usage, mechanics, and spelling. Students will publish their letters, using available technology. The teacher will then evaluate each student ’s performance using a rubric for a letter to the editor.