Make Headlines with the quality of your writing

What most students know: Journalistic Writing is different from “English Class Writing” The paragraphing for journalism is “weird” Journalism uses quotes from people Journalism, like English, has a focus in the writing

What most students don’t know: How to find an angle for a journalism piece (where’s the prompt?) How and where to gather information for a story How to organize the story (wait, I have to figure out the best order?) How to write the story

So, how do we teach them? Unfortunately, many students are not consistent consumers of news Or, if they are, they are getting their news from non- traditional sources We need to make them critical consumers of news If the want to learn how to write, they need to learn how to read

How do we make them critical ? Based off of AVID’s Critical Reading Strategies Students need to learn how to read The process is simple, but it means that we need to give them the opportunities to help them become better readers

What the strategy looks like: They need to be marking the texts you read and keeping their marked texts in a binder or folder or bin where they can go to for help Make the margins of the text a little wider so there is plenty of room to write Before they do this, you should “chunk” the text by grouping paragraphs that go together (e.g. paragraphs introduce the topic, paragraph provide background information)

What the students do: In the left margin, they need to paraphrase what is being said In the right margin, they need to identify what the author is doing In the text, they need to circle every time a source is used They need to underline key lines (lines that show the reader what the focus/angle of the story is)

What the writer does: Sets up the story (the lead) Provides background information Adds detail Provides clarification Makes connections Transitions the reader Quotes a source Paraphrases a source Wraps up the story (concludes)

Let’s look at an example I use this story when students have to write a story about a difficult situation where they need to bring in a lot of description to tell the story The story, “The Girl in the Window,” is about a young girl out of Florida Warning...the story is tough to read

Remember You want to mark the text as you go: I’ll give you the chunks to work with In the left margin, paraphrase In the right margin, identify what the author is doing Circle sources, underline lines that point to the angle

Here are the chunks: (in paragraphs)

What did you notice? What does the author do most often? What ways does the author transition from different sections? How is the story organized? How many different sources were used?

What can you infer? What did the writer have to do to get this story? Who/what is the story about? Why is the writer telling this story? How many people do you think the writer had to talk to in order to get this story?

Significance: All of the questions you just answered are the same questions you and the writers on your staff should be answering BEFORE you sit down to write By studying what the pros do, students can better learn the style they need to follow AND make it their own at the same time

What now? Don’t just read stories Read stories every day Interact with them to gain perspective Organize the stories by type of journalistic writing (feature, sports, news, review, editorial, commentary, etc.) Star the stories you like and start to emulate those writers

Anything else? If you are an editor or adviser, give your writers this assignment...over and over Pick a sample of good writing that relates to what your writers are going to have to cover Converse with students about the readings before they begin work on a writing assignment

Questions? Again, this was developed using the methods of AVID Critical Reading If you would like more ideas on how to incorporate this strategy, or if you would like this presentation, please me at