Class: Language Arts II

Instructor: Janelle Pope (Jackson High School)

Subject Area: Communication Arts

Content Standard Alignment: (Missouri Show-Me Standards) C.A. 1, C.A. 2, C.A. 4

Process Standard Alignment: (Missouri Show-Me Standards) 1.4, 1.5, 2.1, 2.4, 2.5, 2.7, 4.5, 4.6

Learner Activity: After reading the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, students will complete a newspaper/newsletter on one event from the novel. The students may work on this in a small group or partner setting. They will use the technology in the graphic communications field to complete this and to make a copy for every student in the class.

To Kill a Mockingbird Newspaper Project

For this project, you and a partner will create the front page of a newspaper. Your objective for this project is to place yourself within the setting of the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, and pretend that you are, like Mr. Underwood, the editor and owner of the town’s newspaper.

You will be given a cover story, around which your newspaper will center. This will be one of the following:  Mad dog shooting  Burning of Maudie Atkinsons’ home  Trial of Tom Robinson  Conviction of Tom Robinson  Death of Tom Robinson  Attack of the children by Bob Ewell

You will need to have: 1. Title Line: Includes a title based on the novel, an appropriate and correct date (must match with the cover story that your are given) and a volume number (this will be fictional). 2. News Cover Story: Must reveal the “who, what, when, where, and why” of the story that you have been assigned. It should be accurate, based on the novel, and complete. It must also be a minimum on 200 words. 3. Picture: You must have a picture to go along with your cover story. You must also include a caption under the picture. 4. Editorial Column: This is simply the opinion of you, the editor, on a situation occurring at the time. Your opinion should be centered around the news story your are covering or another very closely related event, person, occurrence, etc.—it must be timely. It must also be a minimum of 150 words. 5. Weather: You will give the five-day forecast. This should include weather-like pictures and the temperature for the day. This too should be based on the cover story and be the appropriate weather for the time. 6. Advertisements: You must have at least two advertisements on your newspapers. Think of the time period and the area when creating your ads; they should be appropriate. 7. Authenticity, Creativity, Neatness, and Design: Your goal is to make your newspaper look as authentic as possible. It must be typed and your news stories should be in columns. You will use the technology used in the field of graphic communications to complete this and print copies for all students in the class. 8. Effort: This is worth a large amount of points, so take your time and do a nice job. Put some effort forth. You also must make copies for all the students in the class using the printing press.

Method of Assessment:

To Kill a Mockingbird Newspaper Project Scoring Guide

______/5 points Title Line: Includes a title based on the novel, an appropriate and correct date (must match with the cover story that your are given) and a volume number (this will be fictional).

______/20 points News Cover Story: Must reveal the “who, what, when, where, and novel, and why” of the story that you have been assigned. It should be accurate, based on the complete. It must also be a minimum on 200 words.

______/10 points Picture: You must have a picture to go along with your cover story. You must also include a caption under the picture.

______/15 points Editorial Column: This is simply the opinion of you, the editor, on a situation occurring at the time. Your opinion should be centered around the news story your are covering or another very closely related event, person, occurrence, etc.—it must be timely. It must also be a minimum of 150 words.

______/10 points Weather: You will give the five-day forecast. This should include weather-like pictures and the temperature for the day. This too should be based on the cover story and be the appropriate weather for the time.

______/10 points Advertisements: You must have at least two advertisements on your newspapers. Think of the time period and the area when creating your ads; they should be appropriate.

______/10 points Authenticity, Creativity, Neatness, and Design: Your goal is to make your newspaper look as authentic as possible. It must be typed and your news stories should be in columns.

______/5 points Effort: This is worth a large amount of points, so take your time and do a nice job. Put some effort forth.

______/15 points Utilized Graphic Communications: Put time to work with technology available and made copies for all the students.

______/100: TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE

Reflection/Lesson Evaluation: Students really enjoy this project and often try to “out- do” one another. It is fun for them and they really get something out of it as well. It is best to show examples and give class time.