Feature Articles
What is a Feature Article?
 An article, in general, is a written piece that is
usually non-fiction and is a stand-alone part of
a book, newspaper, or magazine.
 A FEATURE ARTICLE is a creative/specific
article that deals with real events, issues, and
trends.
 Focus on people not facts/story not facts
 Catchy Title
 Specific and interesting
Purpose of a Feature Article
 How many of you keep up with the news?
Why/Why not?
 Why is it important/or not important that we
know what’s going on in the world around us?
 Aside from regular, factual news stories a feature
article highlights specific things.
 What kinds of specific, feature articles have
you seen lately?
 What did you learn?
Example
7 Types of Feature Articles
1. Human-Interest
2. Personality
3. How - To
4. The Best
5. Past Event
6. Informational
In groups, you will take one of
these 7 types and present its
aspects (bullet points) to the class
in a song.
Objectives:
•List 3 examples of a news topic
you could focus on.
•Write your song
(3-4 lines over the description of the type)
7. The News Feature
Homework
Find a feature article in a newspaper
or magazine and bring it to class
with you.
Tip: ask family or friends for their
old newspapers or magazines
(bring them in for class use if you’d like! )
Folder Mystery Activity
 In your groups you will be given a folder with 7 numbered examples of
feature articles. Each article represents one of the 7 types of feature
articles.
 You must work with your team to determine the type of feature that each
article represent as well as give a defense (3 reasons) for your decision.
 Put the number, the type, and the three reasons of defense for each article
on your own paper (one paper per group)
 Example:
 Article # 1: “How To” feature article because



1. It teaches the reader how to do something specific and interesting.
2. It makes a difficult process seem easier and explains why it is important to
learn how to do this.
3.It breaks the process down into steps and lists all of the materials needed.
Your paper will look like this:
Names:
# _____ represents the ___________ type of feature article because:
1.
2.
3.
#____ represents the ______________ type of feature article because:
1.
2.
3.
And so on…
Feature Article Example Activity
 In your groups find an example of each of the 7 types
of feature articles.
 Number each example.
 Fill out the worksheet by placing the example # of the
type and defend why that example represents that type.
 STAPLE ALL TOGETHER AND PLACE IN YOUR
FOLDER!
Feature Article Example Activity
 You will present your articles to the class by briefly
describing them and explaining why you feel they
represent a certain type (each member must present at
least one).
 After presenting place your articles on the
corresponding posters around the room.
 Get out your feature article handout
1. Human-Interest
2. Personality
3. How - To
4. The Best
5. Past Event
6.
Informational
7. The News Feature
Participle Quiz
 Write 5 sentences using the following subjects that have
participial phrases. Underline the participial phrase and draw an
arrow to the noun or pronoun it describes.
1. Mickey Mouse
2. Paris
3. The happy penguin
4. The group of students
5. The American flag
Vocabulary in Feature Articles
 What are some strategies you use to determine the
meaning of an unfamiliar word in a piece of
writing?
 Review:
 What is context?
 How can we use context clues?
Context Clues in Feature Articles
 There are two articles in the back of the
classroom. You can decide which article you
choose first.
 Read the article.
 Take the article and fill out the vocabulary chart
that is on the next slide. (Same chart for both
articles).
 Must have all 11 pre-selected vocabulary words
in your chart, you add more as you choose.
Vocabulary Chart
New Vocabulary
1. Vitriol
2. Polarizing
3. Manic
4. Detractors
5. Epitomized
6. Deft
7. Devout
8. Feats
9. Endeavors
10. Cavalry
11. Competent
What I think it means.
What I KNOW it means.
 What I think it means…: this is based on the context of
the article. By looking at the words around the new
vocabulary word and the meaning of the sentence,
what do you think it means?
 What I KNOW it means: look in the dictionary and
find out FOR SURE what the word means.
 Underneath your chart, write each word in a new
sentence that you create now that you know the
meaning.
Context Clues in Feature Articles
After filling out your chart and writing your
sentences. Take your first post-it note and fill it
out for one of the articles.
Repeat with 2nd article 
Post It Note
(1 for each article)
1.Title of Article
2. Type of feature article
3. Reason 1 why it is that
type
4. Reason 2 why it is that
type.
Happy Valentine’s Day
 http://vimeo.com/33698394
 What are the themes from the documentary?
 Based on those themes, what types of feature articles could you
create?
 Respond to the documentary by writing a 2-columned, 5paragraph feature article. Based on what we’ve already covered
and the example you have beside you do the best you can.
 Use 5 of our new vocabulary from yesterday.
Text Features
 Headings
 Italics
 Fonts
 Bold Font
 Subheadings
 Underlining
 Bullets
 All Capital Letters
 Offsets
 Pictures
 Text Boxes
 Color Ink
Text Features for Feature Articles
As we discuss the 12 types of text
features that a writer can use in
feature articles, take detailed notes
using your note taking guide:
What is the text feature?
How does it enhance an article.
Draw It!
 As we cover these text features, you will
create an example as we go.
 Draw a fake feature article, taking up a
whole piece of paper and add each type
of text feature in some way as we go
along.
 Headings: Title of entire feature article
 Subheading: Titles for each section within the feature article.
 Fonts: You can use various fonts to add style or set a certain
mood/tone in your feature article.
 Bullets: organizing information by separating related
information.
 Pictures/Drawings: Can add emotion, feeling and a personal
connection for the reader. Visual representation for visual
learners.
 Text Boxes: allow you to add words anywhere on page
 Color Ink: Adds dimensions to your feature article.
Make it visually appealing.
 Italics, Underlining, & Bold Font: adds to visual effect
and can make certain words or portions stand out.
 All Caps: adds emotion to your writing. Can make you
seem very passionate, excited, or angry. Will make a
word or portion really STAND OUT!!!
Text Features for Feature Articles
 You will receive an example feature article
entitled “Dealing with Bullies”
 Read the entire article
 Find two text features used in this article
1. On your own paper Identify the two text
features you found
2. Explain the purpose of each text feature
you have found and how it enhances the
article (2 separate paragraphs).
Text Features for Feature Articles
 Using your Macbook, you must choose from
the provided websites and find 5 examples of
text features within feature articles.
 Write/Document:
1.
2.
3.
4.
The website title
Article title
Text feature
How it is used to help the article.
(each a different type of text feature)
Websites
 www.npr.org
 www.nytimes.com
 www.time.com
 http://www.tennessean.com/
 http://online.wsj.com/home-page
Fact vs. Opinion
Fact vs. Opinion Quiz
Write F or O beside each
statement for Fact or Opinion
For all opinions, circle the word or
words that signal the opinion.
Fact vs. Opinion
 a factual statement can be verified or proven to be true.
 An opinion statement is a personal judgment or an
expression of someone’s beliefs or feelings.
 Can be disagreed with.
 The word “should” can be a clue to identifying a
statement of opinion.
 An opinion is how you THINK, FEEL, or, BELIEVE
(motions).
Discussion
 The moon is made of blue cheese.
 The lights are above the desks.
 My favorite color is blue.
 There should be a door on every house.
 We need oxygen to survive.
Fact/Opinion Activity
 In pairs, search through the provided
newspapers and magazines to find:
 5 examples of facts
 5 examples of opinions
 Cut out and paste examples onto
your paper.
 JOURNAL: What do all three of these pictures have in
common?
Vocab column
LEAD
- the beginning of your feature article.
- leads the reader into a feature article.
- attention-getting
What are some attention-getting
techniques?
Descriptions, interesting facts,
stories, questions, or summaries
 There are 3 different types of leads.
 Summary
 Creative
 Punch
 We are going to look at an example of each
and I would like each of you to come up
with your own definition of each type of
lead.
Summary Lead
“The purchase of new school buses will strain
next year’s budget,” school board president
Kathy Barr announced at the March 18th board
meeting.
Based on the above example write your own
definition of a summary lead.
Creative Lead
Not even subzero temperatures could stop progress. With
a thud, bulldozers churned the icy earth, beginning
work on the new performance center.
Based on the above example write your own
definition of a creative lead.
Punch Lead
 Eastmont cooks serve nearly 500 pounds of pasta each
week for lunch.
Based on the above example write your own definition
of a punch lead.
Lead Activity 1
 Using a laptop, you will go to this online news site and find an
example of each type of lead in three separate articles.
 On your own paper you will answer the following for each of the
three articles you find:
1. Title of Article
2. Type of lead
3. Defend why this article portrays that type of lead.
 Number 1:
 www.teentribune.com
 Number 2:
 www.tennessean.com
 Number 3:
 www.npr.org
Writing a lead
 Create 3 leads (one of each type) for your
favorite fairy tales.
 Ex. The Three Little Pigs, Snow White and
the Seven Dwarfs, Goldilocks and the Three
Bears…
 Just in case you’re having a difficult time coming up
with examples of fairy tales. Here are a few helpful
links:
 www.ivyjoy.com/fables
 www.cs.cmu.edu/~spok/grimmtmp/
 Make sure to label what type of lead each is.
Rapunzel
 A human’s hair can easily support the weight of a
man according to Nathan Harshman, Assistant
Professor of Physics at American University in
Washington, DC. This fact confirms the hair-raising
story of a young girl trapped in a tower in a land far,
far away.
Type of lead: Creative
Feature Article Project
http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/
 On large pieces of posterboard, you are going to, in groups, write
a feature article that has a great lead and is focusing on an
interesting topic.
 Just like in many real feature articles, you are going to have the
story wrapping around a picture.
 ONLY this isn’t a normal picture, it will be a live action picture,
Harry Potter style, with props and action.
Title
Story
Live action
picture
Feature Article Project
 You will decide together what your topic, heading, and
subheadings will be. Each subheading will be an individual
feature article.
 Each group member must be assigned one of the subheadings to
compose. Make sure you have dialogue with one another over
what to cover so that the whole story flows well.
 Actors then need to be assigned for your real life picture as well as
the motions and speaking parts they will be performing.
 (project worth 50 pts)