Newspaper Editing

Though we've found faster, more efficient ways of consuming

information, teens may not know that people used to read the newspaper
several times a day in order to stay up-to-date on the news. Reading,
watching, or listening to the news is how our society learns about what is
going on now, and how we eventually remember, learn, and teach our
history. Show your teen the connection between making history and
writing it by editing a newspaper from the past! This activity is written for
groups, so your child can be part of an editorial staff rather than do all
the work himself!

What You Need:

Internet and/or library access
A couple curious friends four or more
Paper and glue or a page layout program like InDesign or Quark
Word-processing program

What You Do:

1. Have the staff decide on a time and place. This can be from any time in history, and even from
another country if they wish.
2. Have the group divide into teams: one team can work on the arts and entertainment section,
another science and technology, world news, business, etc.
3. Have them choose section editors if they wish, or they can peer edit when the time comes.
4 . Next, have each team member research the time period. Many major newspapers have online
archives some date back a hundred years or more. If the group has chosen a very early date,
a trip to the local library may be in order. Libraries often have digital copies of pre-newspaper
documents or hard copies of old papers. Plus, they'll have plenty of resource books on the time
period itself.
5. Encourage each writer to take notes on what was happening in the world at the time, paying
special attention to things that relate to their team's focus. Make sure they know to take notes,
not to copy stories down word for word that's plagiarism!
6. Now it's time to write! Have each member of the staff write a short news story. These can be on
real events that they learned about in their research, or hypothetical events based on what they
learned about the culture of the time. For instance, if your newspaper is from the the 1920s, a
world news writer could write an accurate account of Charles Lindbergh's flight across the
Atlantic. If they're reporting from the Renaissance, an entertainment writer could write about a
sold-out art show from an emerging talent named Da Vinci that was held at a hip downtown
gallery, and all the major players on the Florence art scene attended (hey, it's hypothetical!)
Make sure they use key details learned in their research, especially if they're going a funny or
satirical route.
7. Have each staffer create a headline for their story and find an image to accompany it. They can
either track down a relevant photo on the Internet, or provide an illustration.
8. Next, edit! Have your staff trade articles with another member of their team, or turn them in to an
editor. Encourage them to focus on factual and grammatical corrections, and discuss changes in
content with the writer.
9. Arrange the stories on a page in a layout program like InDesign or Quark, or do it the old-

fashioned way by pasting them onto the page by hand.

10. Print out several copies or make photocopies and distribute! Read all about it!
This activity isn't just an exercise in history, it also teaches kids about real issues that come up in
newspaper and magaz ine publishing: how differences of opinions, cultures and ideas among a staff
can influence the overall tone of a publication, and influence the information that we eventually
understand as history.