Hot+off+the+Press

**Hot Off The Press **
by:Amy Mayo

What is it?
The students in your classroom will have a chance to create a newspaper and the stories that go along with it. The teacher starts out by bringing in newspapers and having the students look over them to see what the articles look like. In addition they are looking for interesting articles to write about for their own newspaper. The students can work independently or in cooperative groups (great for English language modeling!) Then have the students take a black and white picture of what they wrote about. They will love the opportunity to be their own photojournalist. Use all the stories and make your own class newspaper.

Why use it?
Hot Off The Press is a great SDAIE strategy because you are allowing the students to choose what they want to read and write about. As a teacher you are also introducing visuals and realia, with the newspapers the students can take time to look over them and actually see how newspapers are set up and discover all the information. In addition students will be working independently or in cooperative groups, which are great for English Language Learners.

How to use Hot Off the Press with your own class

 * 1) The teacher will begin by bringing in various newspapers for the students to read and examine.
 * 2) The students will each choose one interesting article they would like to write about in the classroom newspaper they are going to create.
 * 3) The students will then take the newspaper story and summarize it and include their own feelings and opinions about the topic.
 * 4) A black and white picture will be taken of the student who wrote the article and of the topic they wrote about.
 * 5) After the students finish their summary article they can then write an article on anything they would like, but it must fall under one of the newspaper categories, i.e. Arts/Entertainment, Business, Food, Health, Science, Sports, Technology, Weather, and Travel/Leisure.
 * 6) Once all of the articles have been collected the teacher will then put them all together to create a classroom newspaper.
 * 7) The teacher will pass out the newspapers and have each student read one of the articles they wrote.

Other Uses...
Another idea is getting reprints of newspapers from the past or even go online. The students can write about a historical event as if they were living in that time period. For example, if your students are learning about the American Revolution, have them choose a battle or an American hero to write about.

Teacher Resources
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 * Historial American Newspapers- http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/
 * Newspaper Archive- http://www.newspaperarchive.com/
 * Create Your Own Newspaper Site- http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/readwritethink-printing-press-30036.html