Lesson Cycle

(Adventures in Learning At Alvarado Intermediate School)

Lesson Title/Topic: Broadcast Journalism 101
Target Concept: Introduce students to the career field of broadcast journalism.
Standards/Rationale: Cross-Disciplinary I (B) (2, 3), Cross-Disciplinary II (B) (1,2,3), CrossDisciplinary II (C) (1-8), Cross-Disciplinary II (E) (1-5)
Lesson Objectives:

Assessment:

The students will create a broadcast news

story that follows the 5Ws and 1H with
85% accuracy.

Write a broadcast news story.

Materials:
Copies of the inverted triangle
Triangular sheets of white paper
Black markers
Highlighters
Copies of newspaper stories
Notebook paper
Lesson Cycle: (Direct instruction)
The teacher will:
Focus/Mental Set: Tell students to turn to
the person sitting next to them and ask
them What is an interesting fact about
yourself?

The student will:

Ask the person sitting next to them what
they did over the weekend.

After 1 minutes, say Times up!

Call on a student. Ask them what was the
purpose of the activity. Allow the student
time to answer.
Once the student answers, explain that the
purpose of the activity was to find out a
piece of new information about their
partner.
Ask a student if they can think of a career
that requires interviewing and investigating

If called on, explain why the activity was

important.

If called on, name a career that fits the

description.

(call on a student until someone says news

reporter, journalist, or broadcast journalist)
After the student responds correctly say,
Exactly! Today we are going to be talking
about the exciting career field of broadcast
journalism.
Teacher Input: To be a broadcast
journalist you will have to attend a 4-year
college or university and receive a
Bachelors Degree, preferably in
Journalism or Communication. A 4-year
degree will just barely get you in the door
though. These days, it is becoming more
common for broadcast journalists to attend
graduate school and receive a Masters
Degree.

Listen and observe the teacher while she

teaches the lesson.

Currently, in Texas the average salary for a

broadcast journalist is $35,000. However,
this number can vary greatly depending on
how much experience you have, your
talent, education, and location. Some
journalists make over $100,000 a year!
There are many responsibilities that come
with being a broadcast journalist besides
reporting news on live TV. Some of these
responsibilities include:
Researching background
information
Arranging and conducting
interviews
Attending important functions
within your community
And developing and writing news
stories
Guided Practice: Out of all these
responsibilities, developing and writing
news stories is the most important
responsibility.
Hand out copies of the inverted triangle.
Explain that when writing stories,
journalists use this triangle as an outline to
organize their story. The most important

Listen to instructions and take notes, if

necessary.

information is placed at the top of the

triangle; which represents the beginning of
the story. The less important information is
placed in the smaller areas of the triangle;
which represent the middle and end of the
story.
The most important parts of a story are
known as the 5Ws and 1H (who, what,
where, when, why, and how). These must
be included in EVERY story.
Tell students that they are going to work in
groups to create their own breaking news
story using the inverted triangle and 5Ws
and 1H. Then one person from each group
will report their groups story to the class.
The story can be whatever they like, as
long as it follows the rules of the inverted
triangle and makes sense. Tell them to be
creative and have fun making their news
story!
Break students into 2 groups (5 in each
group).
Give them a large triangle cutout and
markers.
Tell students they have 5 minutes to create
their story and fill it in on the inverted
triangle.
Walk around and monitor students. Tell
each group to keep in mind that writing
broadcast news is different than writing
other news, such as newspaper or magazine
articles. When writing broadcast news,
remember to
Keep it short and simple (15-30
seconds per story)
Only include the most important
points (no fluff or detail)
Names are mentioned at the
beginning of the story

Work in assigned group to create a

short news story.
Fill in the who, what, where, when, why,
and how on the triangular cut-out.
As a group, assign 1 student the job of
reporting the story to the class.

Once both groups have finished their story,

quickly go over how to report the story.
Have a strong, clear voice, eye contact with
the camera, expressive facial expressions
and gestures, and strong knowledge of the
story.
Give 1 student from each group a
microphone.

Report the story.

The student will report their breaking news

in front of the class.
Independent Practice: After it has
determined that the students understand the
basics of how to write a broadcast news
story, the teacher will introduce an
assessment for learning task for students to
work on independently.
Explain to students that in order to really
make it in the field of broadcast
journalism, you must be a good writer! So
we are going to keep practicing writing
news stories.

If called on, pass out hand-outs.

Call on a student to hand out copies of 2

newspaper articles to the class.
Reiterate to the students that when writing
a story for broadcast, you must break it
down into clear ideas, include the 5Ws and
1H, and write in simple sentences.
Explain that this next assignment has 2
parts.

Independently, read the 2 newspaper stories

and highlight the 5Ws and 1H in each
First, using a highlighter, highlight the 5Ws article.
and 1H in the newspaper stories.
Rewrite the first story in broadcast style.
Then ask the students to rewrite the 2
Then rewrite the second story in broadcast
newspaper articles in broadcast style in 5 style.
short sentences.
While the students work, the teacher

supervises and assists students who need

help or have questions.
Closure: 15 minutes before class ends,
students should be finished rewriting the
newspaper stories. Call on 3 students to
share their stories with the class.

Raise their hand to be called on.

Report their rewritten story, if called on.

Then quickly review some of the main

points discussed in class. Call on students
to answer:
Who can list the 5Ws and 1H?
List some responsibilities of
broadcast journalists.
What type of education is
necessary to become a broadcast
journalist?
What are some differences
between hard news stories and
broadcast news stories?

Raise hand to answer review questions.

Options:
Enrichment: Option 1: Give the student a
copy a newspaper article and a broadcast
journalism article on the same subject. Ask
the student to compare and contrast the 2
stories in detail. The comparisons must be
listed on a sheet of paper and turned in.
Option 2: Instead of participating in the
lesson on Broadcast Journalism, the student
can video his/her own 5-minute news
broadcast. The student must choose the
news topics, decide who the target
audience is, develop visuals, and write
copies of the broadcast stories.

Reteach: Make sure the student knows

what a broadcast journalist is. Call it by
alternative names: news anchor, reporter,
news lady/man, etc. to see if the student
can make the connection. Show a video
clip from a local news channel.
Provide the student with additional handouts that explain the inverted triangle, the
5Ws and 1H, and how to write a broadcast
news story.
Define who, what, where, when, why, and
how, in case the student doesnt understand
the meanings, and therefore, doesnt
understand how to apply them to the
lesson.
Show an example of a newspaper article
and a broadcast article to show the
differences between the two (if the child is
a visual learner).

Modifications/Correctives:
During instruction, call on the student to
assist you in some way (hand out papers,
write on the board, etc.) [for ADHD or
significant restlessness].
Rather than reading and rewriting 2
newspaper stories, students with ESL,
ADHD, etc. only read and rewrite 1.
Choose stories that are short, easy to read,
simple language/vocabulary, and
interesting to really capture the students
attention [ESL & ADHD].
Technology Integration: A computer to access the Internet to watch a CNN video clip and an
overhead projector.
References: