lesspln/ssFP/SocialStudies/ssDRw.htm

Overview

A student and a partner will select one current news story to research and examine how two examples of the same story can be presented differently. The students will explain their findings to the class demonstrating how personal feelings can affect news reporting.

Concepts

• Students use computer research skills to find a source of information concerning a current event which they will select.
• Students will develop vocabulary skills by researching the meaning of descriptive words and how they can reflect the beliefs of the author or the publication.
• Students will develop both writing and presentation skills through informing the class of their findings.
  

Indicators

• Research a current news item and locate sources of information on that item.
• Identify 5 terms which may demonstrate bias or feelings.
• Be able to write a headline for their article and present their own version of the event in as unbiased manner as possible.

Precomputer

• Provide students with an example of a news item from two different sources that clearly demonstrates an opposite slant on the same item.
• Conduct a demonstration of a web search on a given topic from the news.
• Provide students with suggestions of web sites of publications which might provide necessary information.
• Demonstrate how to construct document using ClarisWorks.

On the computer

• Students will select a web site to use to examine a publication which contains up-to-date information about their selected story and print a hard copy of the document.
• Students will compose a brief summary of their article in a ClarisWorks document.
• At the end of the summary the students will select 5 adjectives from the article and define them using the dictionaries.
• The students will then compose a paragraph indicating what they feel the author is trying to say about the subject and a new headline or title for the article.

Postcomputer
At a later date the students as a pair will present their findings to their classmates.

Related resources

• Dictionary