Imagine That! Playing with Genre through Newspapers and Short Stories

1. Ask students to list everything they know about newspaper writing as a starter activity. I have students keep a separate Daily Activity notebook. Other teachers use journals or have students complete similar activities on notebook paper.
   
   
2. Using the board or a blank overhead transparency, write the qualities students offer when asked to share.
   
   
3. Explain that because they are familiar with newspaper writing, they already have some knowledge of expository writing. Stress that while they will write narratives occasionally, the majority of their writing throughout middle and high school in all their classes will be expository. Tell students that the objective of this lesson is to determine some of the characteristics of the genre of expository writing by examining newspaper articles and to compare these characteristics to those in the genre of fiction (narrative writing).
   
   
4. Review the elements of narrative writing learned in previous lessons, including plot, setting, and characterization.
   
   
5. Arrange students into groups of no more than three. This allows students who are more comfortable working alone to do so.
   
   
6. Share articles and the Venn diagram with students:
   
   
   • If you have computer access, direct students to Websites for local newspapers or the Associated Press, which will link to the local newspaper. If you choose, students may also use the online version of the Interactive Venn Diagram. If students will work on it at home you can substitute hand-drawn Venn Diagrams for the online tool.
     
     
   • If you do not have computer access, pass out copies of the Venn Diagram for each student and copies of preselected articles.
     
7. Pass out copies of the article questionnaire to all students.
   
   
8. Students will have the rest of the period to read articles that will help them fill out the questionnaire. If students finish the questionnaire before the end of the period, allow them to begin their homework. Circulate among the groups to answer questions and monitor on-task behavior.

Homework:
Students should come to class the next session prepared to share their genre comparisons with their peers. Have students complete a Venn diagram with their individual observations that can be used in the next lesson.

1. As an opening activity, students respond to the following question: summarize the difference between journalistic and fiction writing in no more than three sentences. This is a way for students to revisit the work completed the previous session and as homework. They may use their Venn diagrams to help them prepare a succinct comparison.
   
   
2. Using the board, an overhead copy of a Venn Diagram, or a computer projection of the diagram, ask students to help you fill in the diagram. Even though students have already made individual comparisons, this activity is useful because it combines the perspectives of many students. Not all students will have the same observations, so this sharing allows you to let students teach each other by pointing out aspects missed by others.
   
   
3. If no one has mentioned the journalist’s questions (5Ws and how) or pyramid structure, be sure to ask questions that help students notice these common characteristics of journalistic writing.
   
   
4. You may also want to discuss the use of facts in expository writing, comparing the tone of an article to a short story. Whereas short stories are marked by characters’ and narrators’ opinions, experiences and beliefs, news articles try to maintain an even, unbiased tone.
   
   
5. Explain that students are going to apply their comparisons by sketching out story elements for a short story based on a news article. The rest of the period will be used to model the activity. Modeling the activity benefits all students because it sets boundaries for those who tend to lose focus on the activity in an effort to impress the teacher. It also demonstrates to students who are afraid to ask questions exactly what is expected from them.
   
   
6. Pass out copies of a short news article chosen from a recent newspaper, preferably a local newspaper. If you have Internet access for all students, you may direct students to an online story.
   
   
7. Choose a student volunteer to read the article to the class. Depending on the length of the article, you may have multiple volunteers read aloud.
   
   
8. After reading the article, arrange students into groups of three to five students and have them sketch out the story elements for a short story based on the article. Pass out the Short Story Prewriting handout to guide student work. Alternatively, students can use the Story Map interactive or Scholastic’s printable Story Map.
   
   
9. Come together as a whole class and share the story sketches. This may be done orally, via computer projector (if available), on overhead transparencies, or using the board.
   
   
10. Discuss the various options students have in basing a short story on a news article, and answer any questions students may have about this activity.
    
    
11. Pass out copies of the news articles to be used for homework along with the Story Outline Rubric, which shows the criteria for the story map that will be due the next class. An example story from a Wisconsin paper can be used if desired. Instruct students to return to the Short Story Prewriting handout as they complete the task. Remind students that they do not have to write in complete sentences, but that their answers should contain many details.

Homework:
Students should read their assigned article and complete a sketch of story elements similar to the one completed in class, using their notes and the rubric to help them compose.

Note that a story outline is easier for students to complete in one evening than an entire story. If you choose to have students bring their stories to a final draft, the sketches they write serve as a prewriting activity. If you choose to use this activity as a shift of focus from narrative to expository writing, an outline allows students to use their understanding of narrative writing as a bridge to understanding exposition without immersing themselves further into the “old” narrative structure.

1. As an opening activity, have students respond to the following: On a scale of 1–10—1 being extremely easy and 10 being extremely difficult—rate the difficulty of the homework you’ve completed for this session. Explain your rating.
   
   
2. Allow students time to share their responses to the opener and/or their story sketches.
   
   
3. Use the prior discussion to lead into another question: Do you think it would be more or less difficult to create a news article from a short story? Such a discussion makes a good lead in to the day’s activities.
   
   
4. Explain to students that today they will practice condensing a short story into a news article.
   
   
5. Pass out copies of the short story you wish to use as a model. If it’s in a textbook, make sure all students have access to a textbook.
   
   
6. Read the story. I prefer reading aloud to the students so that any students with reading difficulties aren’t pressured to read so quickly that comprehension is sacrificed. Students can also read the story silently. Students who are better readers may finish the story ahead of you; so let them know that they should begin writing ideas to use for the class article.
   
   
7. After everyone has read the story, use suggestions from the class to create a short news article (about three to five paragraphs, so it resembles an AP brief). Return to the information gathered in the first session to review the characteristics of basic news articles.
   
   
8. Be sure to return to the journalist’s questions and the pyramid structure to reinforce their role in this genre of writing.
   
   
9. Pass out copies of the stories to be used for homework (if they are in the textbook, give page numbers). Ideally, provide three to five different stories and assign them randomly so that there is variety in the stories that students write in response.
   
   
10. Explain the assignment and answer any questions. Remind students that the writing due the next session is a draft, not a final copy.

Homework:
Students read their assigned short stories and create 3- to 5-paragraph news briefs based on the stories.