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Newspaper Club

Kids ‘R’ Kids Mini Camp

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Kids ‘R’ Kids International © Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

Introduction: In this practical and fun club, campers will explore themes of journalism, storytelling, exposition, writing skills, and even creative ingenuity as they work together to create a school newspaper for 6 weeks (or more). Each week, campers will gather together to pick and create “article assignments” ranging from the weather to sports to camp activities they want to write about. At the end of the week, they will gather all of their fun articles and photos and insert it into a newspaper template to be “published” and distributed to the entire school! Materials: • Computers or tablets • Access to internet • Printer/copier • Paper (newspaper paper is expensive and requires a certain type of printer, just use regular

A4 paper, or other paper of choice that your school may have) Camera/phone • Markers/crayons (optional)

Newspaper Club

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On Monday, gather your new club members together for your first Newspaper Club meeting. In this meeting, you will decide which position in the magazine each camper will have. You can rotate the positions every week so that everyone has a chance to try each position out and learn more about it. You can draw names from a hat, vote, or even write a mini “essay” on why you would like this position this week. There can be more than one camper filling any position each week. The positions of your newspaper are: Editor-in-Chief: The Editor-in-Chief oversees all phases of the production of a newspaper. All articles and sections run through the Editor-in-Chief for a review. Section Editors: Receives stories from reporters who are writing for their section, i.e. Sports, Weather, Entertainment, etc. They make edits for clarity and grammar, double-check numbers and full, formal names of people named. Sometimes fills them in with facts that weren't available when story was submitted, i.e. gas prices are currently $__ in Milton, GA. Reporters: Covers a story, attends events, and talks to sources. Writes story proposals. Reports and writes stories. Typesetter: Formats the magazine onto the paper/template you will be printing the newspaper on. This position would be best suited for a camper who is familiar with Word and has a leaning towards graphic design or is creative. These campers may

require help from a teacher to format the magazine. Photographer: Photographs still images for the reporters who are covering a story. You can take as many photos as you like of a specific area of the school, an event, or whatever else the reporter is covering. Usually only one photo will be used. These photos will then be formatted into the newspaper. *There are many more positions that exist in magazine/newspapers but this is a good simplified introduction to how newspapers are written and published. On Tuesday, you can pick how your club members want the magazine to look and what it should be called. There are several templates online for “school newspapers.” Simply type “school newspaper templates” or use sites like www.makemynewspaper.com, www.flipsnack.com/templates/newspapers, or www.teacherspayteachers.com (search: newspaper templates). Note that some of the templates are free, and some you must purchase. You can also use the Newsletter Templates that come with Word. Once you’ve decided which template you will use for your newspaper, campers can decide what they want to call it! It can be fun name, or it could be modeled off names of real life newspapers. Many newspapers name themselves things like “Gazette”, “Herald”, “Times”, “Journal”, “Sun”, “Chronicle”, “Today”, or “Dispatch” among others. You can name it after your school, i.e. “KRK Milton Gazette” or “The KRK Oviedo Sun.”

WEEK 1

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Let campers come up with names and write them on chart paper for all to see. Then, take a vote for the final name! By Wednesday, as a group or in mini groups headed by one section editor/editor-in-chief and their reporters, choose which news stories you want to report on for next week. Here are some ideas for “sections” in your newspaper that you can report on: Weather: Using a teacher-approved weather app, look ahead to next week for what the weather will be. This article will be nice and short. Perhaps you can make a table for each day Monday-Friday like many weather apps are laid out. You can write a short blurb for the week or each day, such as “Monday will be sunny and warm with a high of 88 degrees! Make sure to wear your sunscreen.” Or “Next week, we’re looking at mostly clear skies with a small chance of showers on Wednesday”. Sports: Are there any sports clubs in your school? Maybe a team of campers is going to play a game of pick-up basketball this week, and you can report on how it went! Report on campers by their last name to make it seem more like professional basketball and even team numbers if they have it. Entertainment: Is there going to be a movie playing at your school this week? Maybe a short play hosted by some other campers? Or karaoke? Anything that can fall into the category of “Entertainment” is fair game! Cover the movie like a movie critic or report on the reactions of the campers to the play and how “well-received” it was.

Teacher Spotlight: Pick a teacher each week you want to put in the spotlight! Put a photo taken by the photographer and add a brief bio on each teacher along with what makes him/her so special! Birthday Announcements: Many newspapers do, or used to have, “wedding announcements” or “birth announcements” to notify the town/locality of exciting milestones families in that community reached. This “birthday announcement” is much the same! Notify your school of upcoming birthdays for the next week by gathering birthday dates from a teacher or other staff member for birthdays that are coming up. Give each student a shout-out and maybe even add a photo of them next to the announcement. Polls/Opinions: Many newspapers and magazines have “opinion columns” where either an editor gives opinions, advice, or they take polls from their readers. Making a poll is easy! Pick a topic like “What is your favorite summer activity?” and get the campers in the school to vote all week. At the end of the week, gather the numbers for each answer and make a poll. There are many more options for sections in your newspaper. Switch it up! Maybe add a special section for a special event that may be happening in your school. Feel free to pick and choose how many and which sections you want in your newspaper.

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At the beginning of the week, switch out newspaper positions as needed. Gather together at the beginning of the week to brainstorm as a team which topics each camper wants to cover for that week. Continue writing, editing, and photographing your articles throughout the week. At the end of the week, typesetters will meet with their teacher to set up the final layout of the newspaper with all articles and images submitted. You can have a deadline like “All articles and photos must be submitted by Thursday morning.” On Friday or by Monday morning, have newspaper in template and printed out to distribute. Get creative! You can either leave the printed newspapers at the front lobby for families, staff, and campers to pick up or you can distribute them to each classroom. You can also make the newspaper available online: upload the template to your school’s website but make sure to let everyone know where it is available! *Optional: You can get campers to color in sections of the newspaper. If the newspaper is printed in Black and White, add color by drawing in the margins, coloring in titles, etc.

WEEK 2

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At the beginning of the week, switch out newspaper positions as needed. Gather together at the beginning of the week to brainstorm as a team which topics you want to cover for that week. Continue writing, editing, and photographing your articles throughout the week. At the end of the week, typesetters will meet with their teacher to set up the final layout of the newspaper with all articles and images submitted. You can have a deadline like “All articles and photos must be submitted by Thursday morning.” On Friday or by Monday morning, have newspaper in template and printed out to distribute. Get creative! You can either leave the printed newspapers at the front lobby for families, staff, and campers to pick up or you can distribute them to each classroom. You can also make the newspaper available online: upload the template to your school’s website but make sure to let everyone know where it is available! *Optional: You can get campers to color in sections of the newspaper. If the newspaper is printed in Black and White, add color by drawing in the margins, coloring in titles, etc.

WEEK 3

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Kids ‘R’ Kids International © Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

At the beginning of the week, switch out newspaper positions as needed. Gather together at the beginning of the week to brainstorm as a team which topics you want to cover for that week. Continue writing, editing, and photographing your articles throughout the week. At the end of the week, typesetters will meet with their teacher to set up the final layout of the newspaper with all articles and images submitted. You can have a deadline like “All articles and photos must be submitted by Thursday morning.” On Friday or by Monday morning, have newspaper in template and printed out to distribute. Get creative! You can either leave the printed newspapers at the front lobby for families, staff, and campers to pick up or you can distribute them to each classroom. You can also make the newspaper available online: upload the template to your school’s website but make sure to let everyone know where it is available! *Optional: You can get campers to color in sections of the newspaper. If the newspaper is printed in Black and White, add color by drawing in the margins, coloring in titles, etc.

WEEK 4

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At the beginning of the week, switch out newspaper positions as needed. Gather together at the beginning of the week to brainstorm as a team which topics you want to cover for that week. Continue writing, editing, and photographing your articles throughout the week. At the end of the week, typesetters will meet with their teacher to set up the final layout of the newspaper with all articles and images submitted. You can have a deadline like “All articles and photos must be submitted by Thursday morning.” On Friday or by Monday morning, have newspaper in template and printed out to distribute. Get creative! You can either leave the printed newspapers at the front lobby for families, staff, and campers to pick up or you can distribute them to each classroom. You can also make the newspaper available online: upload the template to your school’s website but make sure to let everyone know where it is available! *Optional: You can get campers to color in sections of the newspaper. If the newspaper is printed in Black and White, add color by drawing in the margins, coloring in titles, etc.

WEEK 5

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At the beginning of the week, switch out newspaper positions as needed. Gather together at the beginning of the week to brainstorm as a team which topics you want to cover for that week. Continue writing, editing, and photographing your articles throughout the week. At the end of the week, typesetters will meet with their teacher to set up the final layout of the newspaper with all articles and images submitted. You can have a deadline like “All articles and photos must be submitted by Thursday morning.” On Friday or by Monday morning, have newspaper in template and printed out to distribute. Get creative! You can either leave the printed newspapers at the front lobby for families, staff, and campers to pick up or you can distribute them to each classroom. You can also make the newspaper available online: upload the template to your school’s website but make sure to let everyone know where it is available! *Optional: You can get campers to color in sections of the newspaper. If the newspaper is printed in Black and White, add color by drawing in the margins, coloring in titles, etc.

WEEK 6