Customize Newspaper Project Worksheet Templates
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What is a Newspaper Project?
A newspaper project template allows students in any subject to retell events from a story, history, or even science! They provide a fun structure for demonstrating comprehension and understanding, as well as help students reflect on events. These types of lessons can involve getting students to create their own newspaper or news article that explores a particular topic or subject. The activity can be done individually or within a group and can be adapted to different levels and subjects. This type of activity typically involves researching, writing, and editing news articles, as well as designing and formatting the newspaper layout. The main goal of a newspaper project for students is to improve students' writing and critical thinking skills, as well as their understanding of a particular topic or issue.
Why Are They Important and How Are They Best Used?
Newspaper school projects are the perfect way for students to flex their creativity and their own voice when summarizing or recounting events. This type of activity encourages research in a different outlet than writing a regular paper or another typical activity like a book report. Research studies have also found that newspaper projects can improve student learning outcomes. For example, a study by Azar and Oskouei (2015) found that a newspaper project-based approach to teaching English as a foreign language improves students' writing skills and their ability to retain vocabulary. Another study by Hall and Strangman (2002) found that newspaper projects helped students with disabilities develop literacy skills and critical thinking skills. Students making a newspaper for school projects can be designed and coordinated as fun as you want it to be, from having students create news features to having them do travel segments.
Suggested Newspaper Template Layout
It is relevant to note the different sections needed when creating editable newspaper templates.
- Title section of the newspaper
- Headline section with main picture
- Article 1 with story-relevant pictures
- Article 2 with story-relevant picture (optional)
- Remaining articles where relevant
- Fun Facts Section
- Games and puzzles section
- Classified ads section
- Credits section
Suggested Activity Progression
I. Introduction
Introduce the newspaper project for students and explain the objective of the activity.
II. Pre-Writing Activities
Brainstorming Session: Have students brainstorm topics they are interested in and would like to write about. This can range from the details of the individual articles themselves, or if they would like to create a specialized type of paper. For instance, do they want to create a fashion spread, a sports publication or something like a kids magazine?
Research: Provide students with different resource types to conduct research on their chosen topics. This is the perfect type of activity to incorporate the use of digital tools.
III. Writing Activities
Writing Workshop: Have students write their articles using the blank newspaper templates provided.
Peer Review: Encourage students to review and edit each other's work, focusing on grammar, spelling, and structure.
Suggested Newspaper Project Examples By Subject
These suggested activities can help students apply their knowledge and skills in different subject areas while also building their research, writing, and critical thinking abilities.
English Language Arts
- Students can create a mock newspaper article worksheet about a popular personality everyone wants to know more about. Writing a profile feature gives students an opportunity to develop their communication skills, description skills and creativity in expression.
- Students can create a newspaper article template about a character from a novel or play they have read, summarizing the character's story and traits.
- Students can create an article covering a recent event that happened, or one that is upcoming, its historical significance and other relevant details.
Social Studies
- Students can create a mock newspaper feature/article about a significant event in world history, such as the signing of the Magna Carta or the fall of the Berlin Wall.
- Students can create a newspaper about the daily life and culture of a particular region or country, researching topics such as food, art, music, and customs.
Science
- Students can create newspaper articles about recent scientific or technological discoveries or breakthroughs.
- Students can create a newspaper about the environment, including articles on climate change, pollution, and endangered species.
Mathematics
- Students can create a newspaper article explaining a particular math-related concept, or using basic economics like grocery shopping and the price of goods to explain to readers how they are affected.
- Students can create a newspaper article template about the history of mathematics, highlighting important mathematicians and their contributions.
Art
- Students can create a newspaper article assignment about a particular art movement or artist, exploring topics such as the style, themes, and techniques of the movement or artist.
- When students are assigned to create a newspaper for school projects, they can create articles about art events or exhibitions happening in their local area, including reviews of the shows and interviews with artists.
Instructions for Students on How To Make A Newspaper For A School Project
What to Include in a newspaper article template:
- Headline: The main purpose of the headline is to grab the reader's attention. It should be short and not include too many details, but just enough to encourage the reader to read the entire article.
- Byline: This is the section that gives credit to the author of the article.
- Location: Typical journalistic articles include the location close to the byline section and the location included is usually the press office from which the article is produced.
- Lead Paragraph: This is the initial paragraph that usually includes what journalists would call a ‘lede’ which is the ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘when’, ‘why’, ‘where’, and ‘how’ of the main story.
- Supporting Paragraph: These paragraphs elaborate on the rest of the details surrounding the story.
Additional Newspaper Insights
Creating a newspaper in class can get students excited but you can also incorporate lessons on the relevance and use of real newspapers so that students are not only developing their creative writing and design skills but are also able to analyze the content they consume from typical newspapers. Understanding how things work will help them to come up with their own newspaper idea for school projects.
Here are some additional tips to include for students:
- Newspapers are obligated to ensure that the content they produce is of a particular quality. Not only that but they are also required to ensure the information they produce is the most accurate in terms of the recollection of events or in terms of available historical and verifiable data.
- Based on the nature of reporting, fact-checking is important.
- The design of a newspaper is based on their usual style-guide. Each publication usually has its own style guide which provides a reference for details such as colors, fonts, print size, and layout and formatting. It also includes stylistic details such as grammar preferences and standards and approved referencing formats that can be used.
- When working on your own newspaper project template ideas, it's important to consider the competition. Using typical newspapers as a reference, in any locality, if there are more than one publications then all journalists might end up reporting on the same subject. With this in mind, it's important to ensure that all perspectives and opportunities for creativity and differentiation are taken. Otherwise, there would be no incentive for your publication being preferred.
- For classroom activities, the latitude for creativity is a lot more extensive. For instance, the opportunity not only exists to create a typical news-reporting print publication but also more niche and hobby related content. Students can be given the opportunity to explore their passions. For instance, those interested in fashion can create their own publication in the style of a real-life publication like Vogue, or those interested in sports can create something in the spirit of a publication like Sports Illustrated and the opportunities for such activities are endless in this setting.
- Additionally students can be given even more creative opportunities, since it is within the context of a classroom, meaning they can include even more specific sections related to their hobbies like the funnies, games and puzzles.
Other Suggestions For Students
- Interviews with visitors to the school
- Residential trips
- School productions
- Unusual pets or hobbies
- Interviews with parents who have interesting jobs
- The school community’s world connections
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How to Make a Newspaper Worksheet
Choose One of the Premade Newspaper Templates
We have lots of different style templates to choose from. Take a look at our newspaper example for inspiration!
Click on "Copy Template"
Once you do this, you will be directed to the storyboard creator.
Give Your Worksheet a Name!
Be sure to call it something related to the topic so that you can easily find it in the future.
Edit Your Worksheet
This is where you will include directions, specific questions and images, and make any aesthetic changes that you would like. The options are endless!
Click "Save and Exit"
When you are finished with your newspaper worksheet, click this button in the lower right hand corner to exit your storyboard.
Next Steps
From here you can print, download as a PDF, attach it to an assignment and use it digitally, and more!
Happy Creating!
Frequently Asked Questions About Newspaper Projects
What skills can students develop through newspaper school projects?
Newspaper article worksheets for students can help them develop skills in reading, writing, critical thinking, and research.
How can newspaper project examples be used to teach current events?
Newspaper school projects can be used to teach current events by having students research and write about news stories that are relevant to the class or subject area.
How can teachers differentiate newspaper projects for different grade levels and abilities?
Teachers can differentiate a newspaper making activity by providing different levels of scaffolding, such as graphic organizers or sentence frames, and by adjusting the complexity of the research and writing tasks.
Can newspaper projects be used in subjects other than English/Language Arts?
Yes, newspaper projects can be used in subjects such as Social Studies, Science, and even Math. For example, students can research and write articles about historical events or scientific discoveries.
What are some ways to incorporate technology into newspaper projects?
Students can use online resources to research news articles and multimedia elements such as images and videos can be included in the final product.
How can newspaper projects be assessed?
Newspaper projects can be assessed through different grading rubrics that evaluate the accuracy of the content, the quality of the writing, and the overall organization and presentation of the final product.
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