News Crew Tools

1. What could be more exciting than reporting news to the rest of the world? Invite students to think about how, when, and where news teams work. What equipment do they use to bring the world's new to us so quickly and accurately?
2. While students may not have access to all of the equipment named, encourage them to work in small groups and use their imaginations to design and build some equipment to assist them in reporting the news.
3. Students use Crayola® Scissors to help you cut a recycled box into a laptop computer. Draw the parts of the laptop (keys, touch pad) with Crayola Fine Line Markers.
4. Ask students to cover their work areas with recycled newspaper. Using Crayola Washable Paint, cover the box in a computer color. Air-dry painting overnight.
5. Paint the inside and outside of another recycled box for the video feed monitor. Air-dry the monitor.
6. Cut pieces of clear vinyl sheets for the glass monitor and control panels. Use Crayola Gel Markers to add details on the plastic. Attach the pieces to the box with Crayola School Glue. Air-dry the monitor.
7. On brightly colored paper, students draw their station’s name and/or call number with markers. Trace and cut out the shape on a recycled file folder. Glue the paper to the file folder. Attach it to a recycled plastic snack container to create a padded microphone. Air-dry the mike.
8. Students use their News Crew Tools to collect and write stories focused on real or fictional events. Present the news "live" to classmates. What kind of set could you build for your newsroom?

LA: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

LA: Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text.

LA: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

LA: Participate in shared research and writing projects.

LA: Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace.

SS: Identify and describe ways family, groups, and community influence the individual's daily life and personal choices.

SS: Give examples of the role of institutions in furthering both continuity and change.

VA: Use different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories.

VA: Use visual structures of art to communicate ideas.

Possible classroom resources include: Television Reporters by David Cupp & Cecilia Minden; DK Readers: Jobs People Do -- A Day in a Life of a TV Reporter by Linda Hayward

Invite a local newsperson to meet with the class and discuss his profession. Prior to the visit, students compose questions for the guest. After the meeting, students post learning to a class blog.

Have students work in small groups to identify newsworthy topics to report on in school. Students investigate the topic, compose a report on the topic, and video tape the report for class viewing. Upload videos to a class computer.