Time: 45 minutes - 1 hour
Materials:
- preferably one copy per student (Corvallis and Albany and other towns have newspapers available free for classroom use. Give your local paper a call)
Prerequisite Skills:
Common Curriculum Goals/Benchmarks:
At Level 2 (5th grade), this lesson primarily targets two benchmarks in Reading. Students will "locate information and clarify meaning by using illustrations, tables of contents, glossaries, indexes, headings, graphs, charts, diagrams, and/or tables. They will also "identify sequence of events, main ideas, facts, supporting details, and opinions in literary, informative, and practical selections."
Lesson Objective:
Students will gain valuable first-hand experience with finding selected items in various parts of the newspaper - oftentimes using the newspapers index toward this end. They will understand that a newspaper provides many different types of information all within an easy flip of some pages.
Anticipatory Set:
I tell the students that they are going to get to look at the newspaper today. I hold up the newspaper and show them the front page. I give them a chance to react and I also make a few comments about the headlines and pictures. Now I tell them that they are going to participate in a scavenger hunt. I tell them that this is like a race - I want to see which table group can find all the things on the scavenger list first.
Stated Objective/Purpose:
In order to be able to enjoy and use the newspaper, you must know where to go to find what youre looking for. This scavenger hunt will show you how and give you practice in finding different parts of the newspaper.
Input:
I explain that each group (or student) will get a newspaper and will be cutting out things from the newspaper and then pasting them onto the construction paper. I show them these things and also the scavenger hunt list. Then I model (see below) how to use the newspaper index and how to identify different parts of the newspaper, including the main sections (Sections A, B, C for example).
Modeling: The following is an example of what you can do with your students before you set them free on the scavenger hunt.
In a campfire circle on the floor, students are able to easily see a newspaper as I hold it in front of them. To show them how my mind works while I use the newspaper I do some "thinking aloud." I say, "I really want to see a movie tonight. I wonder what is playing? I know the quickest way to find out. I'll look at the index. Oh, look, its right here on the front page. I see the comics are on page ___ - I'll remember that so I can read those later. But right now I want to find the Movies. Oh there it is, on page _____." I then turn to that page and look for the Movies advertisement. I show it to the students. I then find a movie and time I like and read those as well. I then go to the back page of Section A and show students the Weather page. I tell them this is always on the back page of Section A (at least it is in the Corvallis paper). "I wonder what the forecast is for this weekend. I want to go for a bike ride. I hope its not supposed to rain. Oh, look, the pictures for Saturday and Sunday both show lots of sun and no rain. Good." I show this to students. Next I go to Section B, which is Sports. (I show them that the newspaper is in three different sections (A, B, C) today. "I see the Blazers won again last night. Ill have to make sure and read that story later, too." Last, I go to Section C, which is full of classified ads. On Page C3 is also a full-page grocery ad. I show this to the students, and say, "Oh good, Richeys Market has a sale on oranges. Im going to stop and get some of those on my way home tonight." Then I find the comics. "Now what page did I say the comics were on? Oh, I can always go back to the index - thats simple enough - to find out. Oh yes, page ____." I turn to that page and read my two favorite comics to the students. I also show them the whole page.
Check for Understanding:
I ask for a show of hands for someone to tell me what the easiest way is to find out where the Movies, Comics and Classified Ads are in the paper. I ask another student to summarize what the class is to do now during the Scavenger Hunt. I emphasize, again, that students are to work in table groups. This is important because some students like to move around and work only with friends, and in those situations they tend to talk and play around more than work.
Guided Practice:
I suggest to students that they might want to split up the list of scavenger hunt items among the various table group members - so that each person has about three or four things to look for. I hand out the lists and construction paper - one per table group - and I ask a student or two to help me hand out newspapers ( if I have one for every student). Im assuming there will be many questions by the students as they go about their hunt. I try to be quick - yet complete - with each one so that I can answer as many questions as possible.
Adaptations for Students with Special Needs:
Two things I pay special attention to here: first the ESL students, and second those few table groups that have students with behavior problems who find it difficult to work in groups. For the first group, I ask that others in the table group who can read in English help those who cannot. For example, English-language students can read out loud some of the scavenger hunt items to ESL students. The nature of this lesson - with the many visuals - allows ESL students to easily get involved. For those who have difficulty working with others, I emphasize that sharing of responsibilities and resources (glue, scissors, pens for example) is the responsible and respectful thing to do and will help the group reach its goal quicker.
Closure:
I use one of the table groups finished products and go through the list with the whole class, explaining each item in detail and where it was found in the newspaper. I also recognize the group(s) that finish first cutting out and pasting the scavenger hunt items onto the construction paper. I lead the whole class in applause for these group members. More substantial rewards can be given out (and advertised at the beginning of the lesson) as well. Later in the day, I put up each groups construction paper filled with the scavenger items on a classroom or hallway wall.
Assessment:
When table groups tell me that they are done finding all the items on the scavenger list, I informally and quickly assess to determine if they have indeed found all the correct items. If not, I point to the item that needs more attention. I also informally assess student behavior working in cooperative groups.
Multiple Intelligences Addressed in the Lesson: Visual/Spatial, Bodily/Kinesthetic, Verbal/Linguistic, Logical/Mathematical, Interpersonal