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KWL Chart and Peer Survey on Newspapers- Use this to brainstorm what students know, what they want to know and what they learned about newspapers, as well as allowing them to survey their peers on what they know about newspapers.

Newspaper Scavenger Hunt- This is a whole-classroom project, as most students do not know what these terms mean.  I made an overhead of this and we went through as a group and defined the words.  Then they can try to find an example of each in a newspaper brought from home.

Local News Pre-Writing Sheet- Students can use this to identify the parts in a news story, or to outline one they will write on their own.

Creating a Classroom Newspaper- Instructions from Read, Write, Think

Let's Write A Newspaper Story- Lesson by lesson unit for newspaper creation

Newspaper Rubric- I used this rubric to grade our final project for newspapers: student created papers.  They could choose any theme they wanted (Harry Potter, sports, etc.) and then write stories on those subjects.  The stories did not have to be true, but they had to carry the characteristics of each kind of writing format- editorial, straight news, feature, reviews, etc.  The kids did a fantastic job, and the products were beautiful.

Student Produced Newsletters Parent Note- If you would like students to produce your weekly newsletter home, attach this note to the first one.  This will give parents a heads up on the quality and types of articles they may read, as well as explaining the rational behind it.

Communications History- A timeline of communication (sorry about the writing-these were mine from high school....)

Headline News- Students create stories from words cut from headlines

Also see Podcasting for reporting ideas.

Straight News

Editorials

Travel