Kaffir Boy Summer Reading Project - NEWSPAPER
Objective: You will create a newspaper for Alexandra, the setting of Kaffir Boy. The
newspaper will discuss the characters, events, and themes of the book.
Overview:
 You will be responsible for one page of the newspaper. Each page will be a
topic, such as news, sports, opinion, politics, etc.
 You will write articles for your section and create your page using an online
printing press.
Directions:
1. Your section of the newspaper is _________________
Sections can be: news, sports, opinion, letters to the editor, etc.
2. Decide what you will write about. You may write one long article, or several
shorter articles (there are four different newspaper layouts). Do research, if
necessary, about your topics.
3. Write your articles! Type them in Microsoft Word and save them on the share
drive.
4. Find or draw a picture you want to include in the newspaper. Save it to the share
drive.
5. Create your page by going to http://interactives.mped.org/ppress110.aspx
o Click on Newspaper
o Alexandra Press is the name of the newspaper
o Choose a layout, depending on how many stories you have
o The website will give you directions on how to create your newspaper
page. When finished, you hit “Finish” and print your page.
o You will have to glue your picture onto the page.
Congratulations! You’re finished!
IDEAS! Here are some ideas for different sections of the newspaper.
News
News stories tell the readers about important events happening in their town. News
stories stick to the facts – they typically start with the most important information,
providing readers with the “who, what, where, when, why” of an event.
The news section could also contain an interview with an important person.
Some ideas for news stories:
 story of Mark Mathanbane’s success
 apartheid
 Nelson Mandela
 The Student Riots
 The Christian church
 Voodoo
 Pass Laws
Sports
Sports are very important in the book. Sports stories are similar to news stories, but
sports writers are allowed to give lots of description and use sports jargon in their
writing.
Some ideas:
 Mark Mathanbane’s tennis successes and failures
 Muhammad Ali
 Stan Smith
 Arthur Ashe
 Bob Foster
Opinion and Letters to the Editor
The opinion section of the newspaper is often called the “backbone” of a newspaper. It
is where writers can give their opinions on events, and readers can write in to express
their opinions.
Some possible topics: What do you think about apartheid? What do the readers think?
What do readers think about the sporting events or political events of the book?
For a picture, you might include a political cartoon.
Other ideas? Talk to Ms. Holbrook!
Criteria:
___ Newspaper discusses characters, themes, or events relevant to the book.
___ Newspaper is accurate.
___ Newspaper is interesting to read.
___ Newspaper is written professionally, with few errors in spelling or grammar.
___ Newspaper includes a picture.
___ Newspaper is developed – there is one long article or several shorter articles that
take up an entire page.