1. Da Vinci Daily News Report
Directions: As world-renowned journalists for Da Vinci Daily News, your team has been assigned a new story: Was the United States justified in going to war with Mexico?
You’ll have to use your investigative journalism skills to uncover the truth and create a news report that will captivate the public for years to come.
Step 1: Find Your Evidence
Analyze the documents given to you by the Editor-in-Chief. Pull out relevant evidence that supports your story and summarize your findings in a shared WORD document on Office 365.
Step 2: Organize Your Story
Before writing, filming interviews and gathering relevant images, a good reporter always organizes their story. Open the flipchart on your COT called “Parts of a News Report” and drag and drop the parts of your news story to create an outline.
Then, open up a new PowerPoint file on Office 365 and work as a team to write a summary for each section of the outline on the first two slides.
Summary Information:
Claim, Evidence and Commentary:
In your summary, develop specific claims and support those claims with evidence from the documents you analyzed with your team and commentary to explain how the evidence supports the claim.
Interviews:
Identify who your team will interview and summarize the evidence you will use as the basis for your questioning.
Counterclaim:
Acknowledge the opposition. Provide a rebuttal.

2. Step 3: Create Your News Report
Divide the following tasks amongst group members:
Interviews
Production
Interview: Review the evidence your group analyzed to find two people to interview. Luckily for you, our news studio has access to the latest time traveling technology, enabling you to travel through time to interview anyone! Write a script for your interview. Use evidence from the documents to develop fact-based questions and answers.
Production: As the Head of Production, it’s your job to write the claims, evidence and explanations that will become the backbone of your news report. You may use pictures, text and voiceovers to tell your story. Use evidence from the document analysis to develop a fact-based argument supported by explanations in your own words. Place that information into your PowerPoint.
Step 4: Film Your Interviews
Use the script written by your team member(s) and film the interviews. Any team members can participate. You’ll need to use a phone to film the interviews. To embed the video in a PowerPoint, you’ll also need to bring a power cord to school or you can embed the video at home. Directions will be provided.
Please note: You may NOT post video clips or pictures from this project to social media. It is against school policy to do so.
Step 5: Add Voiceovers, Transitions, Effects, and Videos
It’s time to finalize your news story. Record voiceovers to the slides, add transitions to slides (can include pictures, text transitions or between slides) and any other effects.
Step 6: Broadcast Your Story
Your story will be broadcast on “LIVE TV” for all the world to see! Sit back, relax, and enjoy seeing the audience reaction to your hard-hitting story.

3. Da Vinci Daily News Report Daily Log
Directions: Keep track of the work each team member contributes to the group. You will turn in this Daily Log at the end of your project.
DATE
Daily Work Log

4. Claims, Evidence and Commentary
Da Vinci Daily News Report Rubric and Points
Your grade for this project will be based on a rubric and a point system. Please review the information carefully as you create your news report.
Names: ______________________________________________________________________________
_______ / 10 Document analysis form is complete
_______ / 10 “Organize Your Story” outline is complete
_______ / 20 News Report includes two interviews
_______ / 20 Detailed and historically accurate interview Qs and As
Topic 20 15 10 5
Commentary
All content supports the overall claim and the report has a strong point of view.
Almost all content supports the overall claim and the report has a fairly strong point of view.
At least half of the content supports the overall claim. Point of view is fairly weak.
Less than half of the content relates to the overall claim and the team’s point of view is unclear.
Awareness of Audience
Strong awareness of audience in the design. Students can clearly explain why they felt the content, audio and graphics chosen fit the target audience.
Some awareness of audience in the design. Students can partially explain why they felt the content, audio and graphics chosen fit the target audience.
Some awareness of audience in the design. Students find it difficult to explain how the content, audio and graphics chosen fit the target audience.
Limited awareness of the needs and interests of the target audience.
Claims, Evidence and Commentary
Each claim and interview in the news report is well-supported with evidence from the documents.
Most claims and interviews in the news report are well-supported with evidence from the documents.
Only half of the interviews and claims in the news report are well-supported with evidence from the documents.
Most of the interviews and claims in the news report are not well-supported with evidence from the documents.
Images/Video
Images/video/voiceovers/transitions create a distinct atmosphere or tone that matches different parts of the documentary.
Images/video/voiceovers/transitions create an atmosphere or tone that matches some parts of the documentary.
An attempt was made to use images/video/voiceovers/transitions to create an atmosphere/tone but it needed more work.
Little or no attempt to use images/video/voiceovers/transitions to create an appropriate atmosphere/tone.
Cooperation
Used time well during each class period (as shown by observation by teacher) with no adult reminders.
Used time well during most class periods (as shown by observation by teacher) with no adult reminders.
Used time well (as shown by observation by teacher), but required a couple adult reminders occasions to do so.
Used time poorly (as shown by observation) in spite of several adult reminders to do so.
Total Points Earned: ___________ / 160