The Newspaper Front Page

Lesson Plan

Level: Grades 7 - 10

Author: This unit was adapted from lessons created by Rosalind Ross, David Halliday and John Crocker of the Durham Board of Education in The AML Anthology (1990), produced by the Association for Media Literacy.

Overview

This lesson is part of a unit that explores news journalism across the media. In this lesson, students explore the content and elements of the front pages of newspapers. They begin with a superficial look at typical content found on the front page, and learn the vocabulary associated with newspapers. Once this is done, students conduct more extensive analysis, comparing how front pages from different newspapers report the same day's news, and then analyze and deconstruct the stories and content from a particular front page. Students complete this section with a newspaper project where they design a front page for a special interest publication.

Learning Outcomes

Students will:

• an understanding of the terminology associated with newspapers
• an awareness of the importance of the front page of the newspaper
• an awareness of the types of stories and elements that typically appear on the front page of a newspaper
• an understanding of the importance of layout and content in attracting and engaging readers
• an understanding of the role played by audience in determining story selection and placement

This lesson and all associated documents (handouts, overheads, backgrounders) are available in an easy-print, pdf kit version.

Lesson Kit:

Lesson_Newspaper_Front_Page.pdf