Lesson 2: Gathering News

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

OBJECTIVES

To have an understanding of:

• Fact and opinion
• Open questions
• Ingredients of a news report
• Copyright

LESSON 2: ACTIVITIES AND RESOURCES

STARTER ACTIVITY

1. Video: Huw Edwards' tips

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

Worksheet 2.1: Huw Edwards' top tips on gathering 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

2. Fact and opinion

Explain: Journalists often start by collecting two types of information - facts and opinions. Ask students to define them:

• A fact is a statement that is true and can be backed up with evidence

• An opinion is a statement based on a belief or view

In pairs, students choose a piece of text-based news on the BBC News or CBBC Newsround websites, or a newspaper (low tech alternative). They underline THREE facts and TWO opinions.

Ask students: How can you tell which is a fact and which is an opinion?

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY

• Play this educational game which involves balancing interviews Checking a story

Discuss their answers with reference to the following points:

Quotation marks: In text-based news, opinions are often inside quotation marks, in other words, they clearly belong to someone other than the journalist, who should remain impartial. Impartiality is one of the BBC News values.

Balance: A journalist should balance one opinion with an opposite view, particularly if there is a lot of debate around the issue.

3. Open questions

Ask one student to answer the following questions WITHOUT saying Yes or No.

• Do you like school?
• Do you meet your friends during break?
• Is homework set every day?
• Do you eat school dinners?
• What do you like about school?
• Where do you go during break time?
• How much homework do you receive?
• What do you think of school dinners?

Ask the rest of the group: Which questions generated the best answers? Ask the student: Which questions were easier to answer without saying Yes or No?

Explain: Closed questions often prompt the short response: Yes or No. Open questions are used by journalists because they encourage people to give more information.

4. Five Ws

Explain: Open questions are also known as W questions because they begin with What, Who, Where, When, Why - and How.

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY

• Students who finish this activity write ONE question, about their chosen news story, to ask members of the public.
• They conduct a VOX POP (voice of the people) collecting answers from several students in the group.
• Teachers tip: Students respond well to vox popping people outside the classroom.

Using their chosen text-based news, now with underlined facts and opinions, and the top section of Worksheet 2.2 (see below), students work backwards to compile a list of open, or W questions, the journalist would have asked. For each question, they suggest who they might have interviewed.

Worksheet 2.2: Gathering news

5. Gathering additional material, and copyright

Ask ONE student to find a legally safe still (or photograph) to illustrate their chosen news topic, by following these search tips.

• Use an advanced search on an image search system
• Search on the site news.bbc.co.uk
• Look at the bottom right corner of the photos
• You can use ones marked AP, AP, AFP or GETTY IMAGES
• Right click and Save Picture As

As a low-tech alternative, go onto the next section of the activity.

Divide the rest of the group into three news media:

• Video
• Audio
• Text-based

One pair presents a summary of their chosen news story and planned questions.

Using the bottom half of worksheet 2:2: Gathering News, students tick the additional material the presenting part would need to gather. They may also like to do the same activity for their news story.

The single student presents their chosen still and explains how they found it.

Explain to students: You CANNOT use any photographs, graphics, music, etc WITHOUT the owner's permission. Breaking copyright law could result in a heavy fine. More information on copyright

The BBC have given permission for you to use the School Report logo, sting (music) and animated titles to be used as part of the project. They are on the DVD in the teachers pack.

Also, four photographic agencies - AP, PA, AFP and GETTY IMAGES - have given permission for their photographs which appear on the BBC News web pages (www.bbc.co.uk/news), to be used as part of School Report.

PLENARY ACTIVITY

6. Questions, facts and opinions

Present the group with this scenario: School has been cancelled for the rest of the week.

Bearing in mind what they have learnt about open questions, students ask you questions to find out the facts.

Then they ask the teacher questions in order to find out opinions.

Summarise: Facts are often the answers to W questions - what, who, where, when and why? Opinions are often the answers to questions such as How do you feel? and What do you think?

For reference, teachers may like to look at previous years' resources including Lesson 2 for School Report 2006-8 .

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