Lesson 4: Assembling news

This lesson plan is the forth of a series of six that explain the news-making process followed by professional journalists.

OBJECTIVES

• To understand the relationship between the words of a news report and additional material including quotes, sound, video, stills and graphics.

• To revise copyright

LESSON 4: ACTIVITIES AND RESOURCES

	Activity	Resources	Low tech alternative
1	Video: Huw Edwards? tips	Internet access or DVD	Worksheet 4.1
2	Start with a script	Worksheet 3.2, internet access	Worksheet 3.2, printouts from the BBC website cut into strips
3	Selecting quotes	Paper and pens, Worksheet 3.2	Paper and pens, Worksheet 3.2
4	Adding an info-graphic	Internet access, Worksheet 3.2	Printouts from BBC website, Worksheet 3.2
5	Critical audience	None	None

STARTER ACTIVITY

1. Video: Huw Edwards' tips

Huw's top tips: Assembling news

Students watch this Huw Edwards video, then recollect his top tips using this worksheet.

Worksheet: 4.1 Huw Edwards top tips on assembling news

1. Low tech alternative to video

Using the above worksheet students match each top tip with Huw's advice.

Teachers tip: This worksheet could also be used as a plenary activity.

MAIN ACTIVITIES

REPORT INGREDIENTS Words Quotes Video Sounds Stills (photographs) Graphics Glossary of media terms

2. Start with a script

Students select part of script from the most recent BBC World News for Children bulletin and copy, or glue it, onto worksheet 3.2: Writing and assembling news. As a low tech alternative, teachers choose the script and printout copies.

Alternatively, students continue working on the worksheet they used during Lesson 3: Writing news.

3. Selecting quotes

Students devise ONE open question which will prompt people to give their opinion about the news topic.

USEFUL RESOURCES Guide to making video content Guide to making content for radio Guide to creating a photo story slideshow Examples of shots SOURCE: 60 Second Shakespeare

They VOX POP (voice of the people) members of the group (between 3 and 5 people), noting down their names and opinions.

Teachers tip: Students respond well to vox popping people outside the classroom.

Students select the best TWO quotes and place them in the left-hand column of Worksheet 3.2: Writing and assembling news, indicating where they would be inserted into the script (using an arrow, for example).

If necessary, they re-write the script surrounding the inserted quotes, in order to make the words and quotes work together.

4. Adding an info-graphic

Atlantic circulation Enlarge Image

Show students examples of info-graphics in the Special Reports section of the BBC News website. This news story about global warming contains two examples.

Students draw an info-graphic about their news topic, in the left-hand column of the worksheet, which will appear behind the presenter while they are reading out the script. They must decide at which word it will appear (in) and at which word it will disappear (out), and mark that on the worksheet,

Remind students about copyright as discussed in Lesson 2 gathering news .

Students may also like to add notes about sound, video and stills, they would like to add to make the script lively and engaging. For each piece of material they should indicate the in and out points.

PLENARY ACTIVITY

5. Critical audience

A handful of students present their work. The rest of the group act as a critical audience, commenting on what works well - and why - and what could be improved - and how.

For reference, teachers may like to look at previous years' resources including Lesson 4 for School Report 2006-8 .

This lesson has been approved by the
BBC College of Journalism.