Though I searched long and hard for Canadian and Newfoundland references to National Newspaper Week I couldn't find any. I did, however, find a Canadian resource that would be useful in newspaper themed learning. The Canadian Newspaper Association has a special site, Newspapers in Education, that is dedicated to making it easy for teachers to include newspapers in learning in their classrooms. On this site the lessons are grouped according to grades. As homeschoolers, however, we know that lessons can be adapted to meet different age/grade levels so be sure to check out any that interest you and don't let the suggested grades be a hinderance. Here's a list of the lessons on the site grouped according to the suggested grades:
I provided a direct link to the Canadian Government lesson because this would be a good one to do now with the government so much in the news due to the upcoming elections.
Though not a Canadian resource, the National Council of Teachers of English blog post titled Celebrate National Newspaper Week gives a little information about the history of National Newspaper Week and about this year's theme. It also provides links to resources that could be used in newspaper themed learning. Below I will give a description of these resources.
The ReadWriteThink site is a joint effort between the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teacher of English and provides resources for reading and language arts instruction. They have a number of lessons with a newspaper theme and these are the ones that are linked on the National Newspaper week post at the National Council of Teachers of English blog. Once again, they provide suggestions as to grades for the lessons, but we homeschoolers know better than to be hemmed in by such suggestions. :) I will include the suggested grades simply for reference.
Elementary Grades 3-5
ReadWriteThink: Lesson Plan: Creating a Classroom Newspaper, is suggested to be broken into 10 sessions. A resources column on the left hand side has links to great PDF's that can be printed and downloaded to aid in learning - Inverted Pyramid Format, Newspaper Story Format, Story Feedback Form, Newspaper Writing Assessment, Reporting Tips, Reporters Guide. These sheets are to be used in the different lessons but they could also be used alone.
ReadWriteThink: Lesson Plan: Weekend News! A Weekly Writing Activity, a short lesson that is to become a weekly writing activity. A great idea for a school journal or blog.
Middle school Grade 6-8
ReadWriteThink: Lesson Plan: Imagine That! Playing with Genre through Newspapers and Short Stories, suggested to be divided into 3 lessons which have children "condensing a short story into a newspaper article and expanding an article into a short story". Once again there are great PDFs in the resources column that can be downloaded and printed to go with the lessons.
ReadWriteThink: Lesson Plan: Technology and Copyright Law: A "Futurespective", a 5 part lesson on copyright laws
ReadWriteThink: Lesson Plan: Book Report Alternative: A Character's Letter to the Editor, suggested to be divided into 4 lessons in which students write a letter to the editor from the point of view of a character in a book they have read. Very interesting concept!
High School 9-12
ReadWriteThink: Lesson Plan: Persuading an Audience: Writing Effective Letters to the Editor, suggested to be divided into 4 lessons in which students work on a letter to the editor on a current local or national issue.
ReadWriteThink: Lesson Plan: Broadcast Coverage of Character, Conflict, Resolution, and Setting, suggested to be divided into 5 lessons in which student "prepare original news programs based on incidents in a recent reading".
ReadWriteThink: Lesson Plan: The Feature Story - Fifteen Minutes (and 500 Words) of Fame!, suggested to be divided into 5 sessions. "This activity asks students to write a profile of a classmate, with a particular focus on a talent, interest, or passion of that classmate. In the process, students learn how to differentiate between a news story and a feature story, they practice interviewing techniques, they develop voice, they learn to write for an audience, and perhaps most importantly, they come to celebrate their individual strengths."
Each of these lessons actually have links to PDFs and suggests other resources that could be used. They are well worth taking the time to check out.
The Kentucky Press Association has put together a National Newspaper Week Kit that you can take advantage. This kit appears to be geared towards newspaper editors but contains elements that homeschoolers can adapt and use. The kit is also very American based, especially in the graphics on the posters, but you don't have to use the posters and you can adapt it to fit Canadian learning.
There is a PDF titled "What is Public Notice" that would make a great jumping of point for discussion about this year's theme "Public Notice: Good Government on Display". It would also be a great addition to a booklet or portfolio of learning about National Newspaper Week.
Editorial Column #1 explains what a public notice is and why it's important. It would be good for generating discussions with older students.
Editorial Column #2 discusses why newspaper notices are important in our society and would also be good for generating discussions.
There is a full page PDF which includes both editorials, a crossword puzzle, and a cartoon. It, too, would make a great addition to a booklet or portfolio of learning on the theme.
There is also a Q&A about Public Notices that would again be good for generating discussion.
