Newspaper in the classroom HOW TO USE NEWSPAPER AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL

Why newspaper? Newspapers:  connect the classroom with the real world  build reading habits  provide scope for extended activities and discussion  can be adapted to all curricular areas and levels  make learning fun

Comprehension Mixing headlines and articles - Cut and separate the headlines from the articles. Ask students to read the articles and select the headlines that go with them. Precis writing- Ask students to read the article and condense it to 1/3 of its length in his/her own words

Incidental grammar  Students could:  - Underline parts of speech  - Change tenses  - Make plurals  - Identify suffix and prefix  - Change from direct to indirect  speech and vice versa

Sequencing

Styles of writing Precis writing – The students read the story and condense it to 1/3 of its length in their own words. Descriptive writing- Observe pictures of people and describe their physical appearance and disposition

Developing imagination Caption – The students observe a picture and think of a suitable caption for the paragraph Headlines – Provide the articles or news items without the headlines. Ask students to create the headlines Report to short story – Imagine and create a short story from a report

Classifying Ask students to sort and classify news items under the following heads:  News  Features  Editorials  Sports  Entertainment  Advertising  Humour

Perspective building Use news clippings from different newspapers to gain different perspectives on the same piece of news.

Historical perspective Select a news item on a controversial event and ask students to:  - Relate to events that might have been the cause and discuss the effect that the incident might have on the future   - What could be the different ways in which to view it?  - How would one recognize bias and prejudice?

Geographical knowledge Divide the students into groups. Each group works on an international story or news. Ask the following questions: - In which city or town did the story take place? -In which country is it ? -What is the capital of the country? -In which continent do you find this country? -What countries or seas borders it? -What is the language spoken there? -Which physical characteristics might have contributed to the story?

Mathematical skill What percentage of the newspaper is devoted to advertisement? What would be the cost of running a 20 word advertisement for a week?

You can think of many more ways in which you can use a newspaper in the classroom! Thank you!