Montérégie Production. Taming the Fear ; Writing a Feature Article. EESL Sec 4 and 5.
Sous-comité de la Montérégie - Anglais, langue seconde
2013-2014
Repertoire of Interactive White Board activities
for ESL Elementary and Secondary Levels
From Reading to Writing Using ICTs
Taming the FEAR :
Writing a feature article
(EESL – Sec 5)
)
Teacher’s Guide
Karen Lyons –teacher (CSMV), François Hudon – CP (CSMV)
Eric Pagé - teacher (CSSH), Tanja Vaillancourt - CP (CSSH)
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Montérégie Production. Taming the Fear ; Writing a Feature Article. EESL Sec 4 and 5.
FEature ARticle (FEAR)
Table of Contents
1. The parts of a Fear
1.1 Students analyse a feature article
1.2 Students complete a matching exercise (words –definitions)
1.3 Students look at the sample article and identify the parts
2. A Catchy Headline
2.1 Students learn about tips to write catchy headlines
2.2 Students find their own catchy titles
3. Secondary Headline
3.1 Students read a definition of a secondary headline and the angle
3.2 Students read given topics and angles and decide on the best secondary headline.
3.3 Students write a secondary headline starting with a given angle
3.4 Students go back to the titles they wrote in 2.2 and must write secondary headlines
4. The Lead
4.1 Students read a definition of an introduction and the four techniques used
4.2 Students do a matching exercise (techniques - examples)
4.3 Students write examples for each technique
4.4 Students go back to the sample article and identify the techniques that were used
4.5 Students write their own leads by using one of the techniques
5. Body with its subheadings
5.1 Students must find the elements in the body in the sample article
5.2 Students write a paragraph using a given topic
5.3 Students practice writing captions to pictures
6. Conclusion
6.1 Students read a definition of a conclusion
6.2 Students read different conclusions and highlight the elements
6.3 Students write a conclusion
7. Write your first feature article
7.1 Students write their first FEAR
Handout 1 :Reading Booklet -Owning a Car
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Montérégie Production. Taming the Fear ; Writing a Feature Article. EESL Sec 4 and 5.
Two resources are made available to you :
1) Videos help you with explaining the content of this guide.
1- https://www.youtube".com/watch?v=wZNwj8fry9M&feature=youtu.be
2- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L2kBKMohYY
3- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXuzPlViU28&feature=youtu.be
4- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glEU34D576Q
5 and 6 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZJpURuAzb8nsNo27ZWcIWg
2) A Notebook file where all the exercises can be done.
TEACHING CAPSULE #1
The Parts of a FEAR
Objective: Be able to identify the different parts of the feature article
● Tell students that the focus of the lesson will be about writing a feature article
which is the text type that they will have to write at the end of the year.
1.1 Students read a definition of a feature article and analyze a poster
● Start the lesson by reading a definition of a feature article.
● Ask students what they already know about feature articles. What do you find in a
feature article?
● Show an example of a feature article (see Student Booklet –page 4) and point to
each part of the article by saying them out loud. (The point is not to read the article
but identify the parts.)
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Montérégie Production. Taming the Fear ; Writing a Feature Article. EESL Sec 4 and 5.
● Write these words on the board : Headline, Secondary Headline, Lead, Sidebars,
Statistics, Close, Pull-quote, Illustration, Caption, Conclusion…
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Montérégie Production. Taming the Fear ; Writing a Feature Article. EESL Sec 4 and 5.
1.2 Students complete a matching exercise (words – definitions)
Students complete a complete a matching exercise where they must link the vocabulary
word with its definition.
Correction Key
Different parts of a
feature article
Quotes
Side-bar
Photograph and
caption
Definition
Sometimes articles will include what a person
(like an eye-witness or an expert) has said.
These will be in quotation marks.
A story that accompanies the main story.
Sometimes articles have a photograph,and
a sentence explaining the photograph.
Headline
It tries to attract the interest of the reader by
telling them what the story is about, in a short
and interesting way.
Secondary Headline
It specifies the topic and the angle of the
article. It informs the reader, with the headline.
Introduction
Lead
Statistics
Conclusion
Data that contributes to the story.
The last paragraph of the text reminds the
reading of the controlling idea , suggest a
solution and leaves a lasting impression.
1.3 Students go to the sample article and identify the parts. (See Student Booklet Watch out! Water Shortage Ahead!)



Students must identify the element on the sample article on page 5.
They key is given on page 6.
Students read the entire feature article to give them a sense of what feature
articles contain.
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Montérégie Production. Taming the Fear ; Writing a Feature Article. EESL Sec 4 and 5.
Teaching Capsule #2
A Catchy Headline
Objective: Be able to write a catchy title that grabs the reader’s attention.
2.1 Students learn to write catchy headlines
● Tell students that we will learn to write a title. Teacher shows examples of titles
asks why these following examples are interesting.
LOVE –
· 50% of Couples Divorce
· I Will Love You Forever. Really?
CARS –
· Mine is BIGGER! And Faster!
· A Fortune on Wheels
SPORTS –
· 10 Weeks to a Great Body
· Hockey Players : 5 Million a Year
Doctors : 250,000 a Year
PARENTS –
· Why Parenting Is the Toughest Job
on Earth
· 5 Reasons Why Stay-at-Home Moms
Should Get Paid
● Tell students that headlines must catch the reader’s attention and hint at the
angle.
● Give these tricks :
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
Summarize your story
Write in the active Voice
Use Simple Present
Keep it short
Use Numbers
Use Interesting Adjectives
Use Question Words
Make a promise
● Remove unnecessary words
● Another trick to write catchy headlines is to to link it to general knowledge
that THEY know about the subject (idiomatic expressions, songs, movies).
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Montérégie Production. Taming the Fear ; Writing a Feature Article. EESL Sec 4 and 5.
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Montérégie Production. Taming the Fear ; Writing a Feature Article. EESL Sec 4 and 5.
2.2 Students find their own catchy titles
● Give other topics to students and they must come up with catchy titles using the
tips.
Suggestions of topics : money, part-time jobs, cell phones, video games, parties. The
controlling is : You never have enough. (These are in the Student Booklet.)
● Give students a few minutes to find titles and share them with a partner.
● Students share best titles with teacher and he/she writes them on the board.
● Keep these titles for future use.
Teaching Notes - Optional
Please note that the goal of this capsule is to focus on how to grab the reader’s attention
since we have not touched at the angle and the lead of the article.
● Explain capitalization rules for titles
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Montérégie Production. Taming the Fear ; Writing a Feature Article. EESL Sec 4 and 5.
Teaching Capsule #3
Secondary Headline
Objective: Be able to write great secondary headlines that includes the angles of the
article
● Tell students that they will practice writing secondary headlines.
3.1 Students read a definition of a secondary headline and learn about the angle.
● Give this definition :
The secondary headline implicitly includes the angle of the article. It is the focus, the
perspective.

Look at the examples of secondary headlines that reflect the chosen angle:
Headline : We Don’t Want Homework!
Secondary Headline : (see below)
Angle: The burden of homework on students.
Examples :
- Students in the area of Montreal are protesting against homework.
- No time for homework with part-time jobs, say teenagers.
- Why being in school full time is more than enough.
3.2 Students read given topics and an angles and must choose the best secondary
headlines.
● Students read topics and decide which secondary headline is the best depending
on the angle that is given.
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Montérégie Production. Taming the Fear ; Writing a Feature Article. EESL Sec 4 and 5.
1. Topic: Driving Habits
Headline : Teenagers are the worst drivers!
Angle : Teenagers’ driving habits
(Controlling idea: Teenagers are dangerous drivers because they are more reckless.)
Blue – right answer
Which secondary headline would be the best ?
A- Teenagers tend to be more involved in fatal accidents than other group ages.
B- In the last few years, teenage beer consumption has increased.
2. Topic: Olympics
Headline : Doped Athletes
Angle : Drug use by Olympic athletes
Controlling idea: The use of drugs is on the rise.
Which secondary headline would be the best ?
A- Only a small percentage of Olympic athletes used drugs to increase their performance.
B- Can you win the gold medal without drugs?
3. Topic: Part-time jobs
Headline : Money Over Studies
Angle : Students sacrifice education to earn money
Controlling idea: Students are making a bad choice if they work too much.
Which secondary headline would be the best ?
A- Less money but better grades
B- More money but no diploma
4. Topic: Voting
Headline: Your Vote Counts!
Angle : The impacts of not voting
Controlling idea: Everyone should vote.
Which secondary headline would be the best ?
A- There is a price to pay if we don’t vote.
B- The cost of elections is on the rise.
5. Topic: Electric cars
Headline : Electric Power?
Angle : The impacts of electric cars on the environment
Controlling idea: Electric cars are the future
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Montérégie Production. Taming the Fear ; Writing a Feature Article. EESL Sec 4 and 5.
Which secondary headline would be the best ?
A - Can electric cars save the planet?
B – Electric cars now have batteries that last up to a decade.
3.3 Students write secondary headlines starting with a given angle.

Give students suggestions of topics and angles :
Topic
Angle
Mobile Phones at School
The benefits of mobile devices for
educational purposes
Credit Cards
Spending habits of people who have credit
cards
Valentines Day
An important day for businesses and
restaurants
● Ask students to share their answers with a partner. Then, ask for their answers and
write some on the board. Discuss the answers.
3.4 Students go back to the titles they wrote in 2.2 and must write secondary
headlines.
Ask students to write their answers and share again.
Show students this guideline. Did students write enough words?
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Montérégie Production. Taming the Fear ; Writing a Feature Article. EESL Sec 4 and 5.
Teacher note : If you believe that your students still need practice with secondary
headlines do this exercise.
Headline + Sec Headline
25 words
Lead
10- 50 words
Paragraph 1
80-100 words
Paragraph 2
80-100 words
Paragraph 3
80-100 words
Conclusion
40- 50 words
Extra components
Total
Variable amount of words
390-450 words
These numbers are meant as guidelines to help students structure their text. They
should be seen as flexible. Come back to this chart after each teaching capsule.
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Montérégie Production. Taming the Fear ; Writing a Feature Article. EESL Sec 4 and 5.
Teaching Capsule #4
Writing the Lead
Objective: Be able to write a lead
4.1 Students read a definition of a lead and look at the four techniques used.
Definition : The lead presents the angle and controlling idea of the article.
● Tell students that a great way to write a lead is using one of these four techniques :
o Vivid description
o Powerful anecdote
o Surprising statement
o Pertinent quote
● Show students this example :
Lead 1: Vivid description :
We don’t want homework!
(headline)
‘’No time for homework with parttime jobs,’’ say teenagers. (secondary
headline)
Alone at night, working until 2AM to
finish a French text comprehension,
William is exhausted.
Lead 2: Powerful anecdote/surprising
statement :
Teenagers who have a part-time job
work on average 32 hours per week!
Lead 3: Pertinent quote :
“I can’t do it ! Something is going to
have to change ! I just don’t have the
time to do so much homework.” ¨[...]
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Montérégie Production. Taming the Fear ; Writing a Feature Article. EESL Sec 4 and 5.
4.2 Students do a matching exercise (techniques – examples)
● Ask students to read these leads and ask them to identify which technique is used.
Vivid description
«My life will never be the same.»
Powerful anecdote
Surprising facts
I fell in love for the first time when I was 5.
He was tall, strong, imposing. People who
saw him were afraid.
Pertinent quote
More than half of people in North America
are obese.
4.3 Students write examples for each technique (in teams).


Divide the group into teams and assign one technique per team in order to find the
best lead (do not say it out loud since students will have to guess at the end which
technique was used).
Ask students to read the following headlines and secondary headlines and to write
a lead. Remind students to be coherent with the underlying angle.
Teacher note : Be aware that this exercise is meant to practice these techniques
although there is no real context. They invent statements just for the purpose of learning
about the techniques.
Team 1 : Pertinent quote
Headline : Most couples divorce.
Secondary headline : Living together, day after day, year after year: a challenge for
all couples
Team 2 : Surprising facts
Headline : A fortune on wheels
Secondary headline : The average cost of a car is equivalent to the salary of an
entire year.
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Montérégie Production. Taming the Fear ; Writing a Feature Article. EESL Sec 4 and 5.
Team 3 : Powerful anecdote
Headline: Hockey players : 5 Million per year. Doctors : 250,000 per year
Secondary headline : Should hockey players get paid so much money?
Team 4: Vivid description
Headline : The toughest job on Earth : being a parent
Secondary headline : Studies show parents are more stressed than people who
don’t have children.
4.4 Students go back to the sample article to find the technique that was used.
Correction : Surprising statement
4.5 Student write a lead
Students go back to 3.4, choose a topic and write a lead using on of the techniques.
Ask them to share with a partner.
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Montérégie Production. Taming the Fear ; Writing a Feature Article. EESL Sec 4 and 5.
Teaching Capsule #5
Writing the Body with the Subheadings
Objective: Be able to write the body and add extra components
Read this definition to them :
The body is where you present your reader the information you selected form the research
material. It is in line with the angle and supports the controlling idea. It is divided into paragraphs
that sometimes have subheadings. A paragraph represents one idea.
o Tell students that this is where the writer presents the main information to support
his controlling idea.
o To make it simple, tell students that they can write three paragraphs. They could
also add three subheadings to each paragraph.
o It is important to avoid shifting your text to an opinion piece. The goal is not to
convince the reader of our point of view, but to use the research material to build a
case that supports the controlling idea.
o The content (the information that the author provides) is also evaluated under C2reinvestment of understanding. It has to come from the texts read.
o To inform the reader, the author may use extra components such as a pull-quote, a
sidebar, statistics, subheadings, pictures, captions, etc.
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Montérégie Production. Taming the Fear ; Writing a Feature Article. EESL Sec 4 and 5.
5.1 Students must find the elements in the body in the sample article
● Ask students what they remember from teaching capsule #1. What words do they
remember.
● Direct students to the sample FEAR and identify the following elements in the
body:
Subheading, statistics, caption, etc.
 Make students notice the subheadings. Read one of the Subheadings of the Fear
Sample to give students an example.
Exporting Water
For now, Canada does export water, but only bottled water, as it is not allowed to sell water in
bulk, i.e. send it abroad in tanks or through pipelines. However, given the pressure and the
increasing shortage of water, current laws may be revised.
The water issue nevertheless runs much deeper. A fundamental, two-fold question is being
raised: can a country even own water, or is water a basic human right that transcends borders? If
water is a basic right, like the air we breathe, no country can withhold it or sell it for profit.
Tell students that the content of the subheading and the paragraph must match.
5.2 Students write a paragraph using a given topic.
● Ask students to write a paragraph.
● Make sure that students show you their headline and secondary headline before
they start writing.
Teacher Note :
For the purpose of the exercise, students will invent the facts but make sure to tell them at
the end of the year, they will have to take the information in the texts they have read.
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Montérégie Production. Taming the Fear ; Writing a Feature Article. EESL Sec 4 and 5.
● Their paragraph must include:
A quote, a fact, an anecdote
● Ask students to show each other their text and get feedback from their partner. An
alternative would be to have a few students write their text on the board and then
have the class provide feedback.
● Ask students to count how many words they have.
5.3 Students practice writing captions to pictures.
Show students different images and students must write captions that fit the pictures. The
caption must describe the picture. Have students compare their answers in teams of two
to see which caption is better.
Alternative: Give students magazines and have them cut out pictures and find captions for
these pictures.
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Montérégie Production. Taming the Fear ; Writing a Feature Article. EESL Sec 4 and 5.
Teaching Capsule #6
Writing the Conclusion
Objective: Be able to write a complete conclusion
6.1 Students read a definition of a conclusion.
This is the last teaching capsule. Teacher reminds students that writing the conclusion is
as important as writing the introduction. It must :
●
●
●
Remind the reader of the article’s controlling idea in different words.
Suggest a solution or a course of action.
Leave a lasting impression with a catchy phrase or an anecdote.
Read the conclusion from the sample FEAR to students and ask them why it is good.
Have them identify the three previous elements.
People need to learn to control the use of freshwater. Governments should sensitise
people through ads and work toward implementing control measures such as water
meters. Water, water everywhere? If nothing is done, perhaps not for long!
6.2 Students read different conclusions and highlight the elements.
Ask students to identify each of the three elements of the conclusion.This exercise is
quite easy but the aim is to show students that the sentences can be very simple.
1.The every day grind harms many couples. Investing in your relationship, being
creative and accepting your spouse’s imperfections will keep the flame alive.
Studies show that married couples live longer and healthier than single people.
2.Cars will put a huge whole in your budget. What about public transportation, car
pooling, cycling, walking? Wouldn’t you prefer to take an entire year with the
money saved?
3.Is it unfair that hockey players are millionaires by the age of 20? What if a
percentage of their salary could be used for noble causes or used to save lives?
Hockey players : 5 million. Kids with health problems : 5 million !
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Montérégie Production. Taming the Fear ; Writing a Feature Article. EESL Sec 4 and 5.
4.If you’re a mom or a dad you’re probably stressed ! Parents have to learn to let
go of the idea of being perfect. You’re a parent for life but you don’t have to be
stressed all the time.
6.3 Students write a conclusion

Ask students to write a conclusion that fits with 5.2. They must include the 3
elements.
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Montérégie Production. Taming the Fear ; Writing a Feature Article. EESL Sec 4 and 5.
Teaching Capsule #7
Writing a First Feature
Article
(later on during the year)
Objective: Be able to write a complete feature article
7.1 Students write their first FEAR.
Students go back to their Student Booklet to reread the notes to refresh their memory with
everything they learned. You can ask them questions to help them. The teacher will
pinpoint all the components again, insisting on what students have to remember : angle,
controlling idea, addition of quotes, pictures, anecdotes, conclusion that strikes the
reader.
● They will need their graphic organizer and feature article checklist.
● Ask students to write their own feature article and to change.
We recommend that students write this first version in teams of two so students can help
each other.
Ask students to show you their headline and secondary headline before continuing to
write. You want to make sure that the angle is clear.
Make sure to circulate in class to help students in this process in order to clarify the
different parts.
For the evaluation grid, please refer to the Document d’information sur l’épreuve unique.
Teacher note : If you still have questions about the feature article, please refer to the
MELS document.
Have fun with your students !
Teachers : Karen Lyons (CSMV), Eric Pagé (CSSH)
Pedagogical Consultants : François Hudon (CSMV) and Tanja Vaillancourt (CSSH)
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