Writers be aware, take notice of your

surroundings. Capture the 5 W’s in your world.

To Write a News Story, Journalists…• Find drama-heightened emotion, the extraordinary, the community event, the hidden story in a story.• Observe-not just the event but the content, including listening for quotes/dialogue.• Capture the 5 W’s-who, what, where, when, why/how.• Use journalistic tone-concise, 3rd person, dramatic but truthful. Be objective, record facts, accurate,

important details. • Angle the story for social significance-make it matter to the community.• Raise the level with suggestive details, grace notes, delightful jolts, and a unified focus.• Seek related stories that illuminate issues that matter to the writer and the community.• Use narrative craft such as action, dialogue, and setting to reveal central ideas and evoke compassion.• Engage readers’ interest and move them toward a bigger truth, with narrative and information

techniques.• Apprentice to masterful writers by reading their work closely and mimicking their craft and structure.• Deepen readers’ associations and connections with analogies and allusions.• Investigate the bigger story by researching sources.• Conduct primary research such as surveys and interviews.• Cite references clearly and accurately. • Frame evidence from sources by analyzing and explaining their information.• Organize their writing and use sophisticated transitions to lead their readers across the parts of their

piece.• Write conclusions that argue for a call to action.

Copy of Mentor Text to AnalyzeThree students were seen fighting in the gym at School for Global

Studies today, over who would be chosen as the center during a class basketball game. The game was an opportunity for Global’s star players to shine in gym. That’s not what happened though. Instead, there was pandemonium.

The students were girls from class 801, and each was a star player. Sharon was the tallest. Rachel was the fastest. Ruby was the fiercest. Each wanted that center spot. There's more than one forward in basketball, there's more than one guard, but there's only one center. To be center is to be a megastar.

Witnesses at the event saw it go from bad to worse. First the girls talked about it. Then they jumped for it. Then they shoved for it. Then suddenly there were girls like puppies rolling on the floor trying to get the ball. Bystanders were kicked, the circle of girls around the players yelped. Then Coach Abrams' long arms reached for the back of the girls' jerseys. Abrams' decision was quick as she threw the girls out of the game. None of the three would play center today. Those stars had just imploded.

Techniques for Making Short Writing “Powerful”Journalists “Pack-A-Punch”

• Include specific, vivid physical details. Details that let us have a picture in our minds, details that make it so we won’t forget this moment. EX strong verbs “the players yelped!” EX simile ‘girls like puppies rolling around on the floor trying to get the ball.’ Use • Dare to use a single elegant word-A GRACE NOTE-in other-wise straightforward prose. Word/phrase that stands out. EX ‘pandemonium.’• End the passage with-A DELIGHTFUL-JOLT-a clever ending.EX ‘The stars had just imploded.’• Keep it focused-it ALL has to be about what it’s REALLY about.

Journalists Develop a Laser-like Focus and Reporters Tone

• Being willing to shine a light on specific incidents and scenes.

• Forget what you know about beginning, middle, end right now.

• Think narrow spotlight.• Listen to the difference

between a fiction tone and a news tone sample from Ms. K

Use Descriptive Language• Journalists match their vocabulary and their word

choice to the reading audience.• Choose precise, more descriptive words to set the

mood or tone of the writing. Show it, don’t tell it. http://www.flocabulary.com/using-descriptive-language/

The students stood at the sidelines chanting.The students crowded the sidelines chanting.• Stood=dull, not revealing how • crowded=energy, excitement. This word implies

there were so many kids they had to jam together.

Journalists stay in 3rd person• Even though you are there to witness the event, you do not

write in first person, like a personal narrative. Create nonfiction.• Think about how to start with an interesting lead to grab your

reader’s attention and get them interested in the facts.• Next, write out the 5 W’s right away in the 1st paragraph.• Use journalistic tone- concise, 3rd person, dramatic but truthful.

No fluff and stuff! • HW 3 more newsworthy observations by Monday. Capture

small moments that can be news. Write 2-3 paragraphs of what you saw. 5 W’s, laser-like focus, 3rd person tone. No editing necessary yet.

Let’s hear a sample of POV• http://www.flocabulary.com/point-of-view/

Write as a Narrator:Shifting from First to Third Person

• Today in 3rd period gym class, Trevor and I were fighting over who would be quarterback.

• Today in 3rd period gym class, eighth grader Trevor and classmate Frank were in an intense altercation over the position of quarterback.

• Writers live stories from the inside, but journalists then step outside, and become the narrator.

Partners Analyze one (1) of the small moments from HW

• How did the author of the article grab the attention of the reader? Feelings the reader experiences, support with text evidence.

• How did the author write the 5 W’s within the 1st paragraph? What specific phrases flow well?

• Include two (2) quotes from the small moment that SHOWS that it’s written in 3rd person.

• What is the tone? The author’s voice or attitude? support with text evidence.

• Include two (2) phrases that include descriptive language.• Give two (2) helpful additions. Specific words, verbs, adjectives,

adverbs. Ask what you as the reader want to know more about.

Re-write edited small moment

• HW Due Friday Oct 3rd. Rewrite 1st draft of the small moment you and your partner discussed.

• Include in this new draft all the suggestions from the W.S.

• Title, lead, 5 W’s, add words that pack-a-punch, partner suggestions.

Academic Vocabulary for Talking JournalismWords to describe the PartsLead-the beginning of a news story,

often consisting of one sentence.

Anecdote-short account of an interesting, powerful, or humorous event.

Vignette-any small, pleasing picture or view.

Closure-bring to an end, conclusion.

Trajectory-flow, movement.

Words to describe the MessageProvocative-stimulate, urge on, prompt or

call forth to action, stir up.

Inflammatory-hostility, passion.

Insightful-perceptive, intuitive understanding.

Discerning-showing good or outstanding judgment and understanding.

Illuminating-informative, enlightening.

Opaque-hard to understand, not clear, dull.

Journalists Seek to Convey a Social Significance

• String scenes together to suggest meaning.• Writing for the community, an issue that affects all of us. It

holds social significance. • Journalists write one small scene, and have it demonstrate

some small meaning. Then write another one, and have it add to the same meaning.

• Let’s read a couple of writing pieces together pg. 56 5-1&5-2 and we will read it through two lenses:

• 1st lens- how does the writer string more than one scene together? 2nd- what effect does that have? What is the social significance/theme/lesson/moral?

• Now pages 57,58, 59. Same as above.

National Bullying Prevention Month It is a reminder that we must all work together to create a safe learning environment for all.1. Safe students are more successful students. Assurance of a safe place becomes all of our responsibility. 2. Some words DO hurt more than others. Bullying and hurtful name-calling based on identity has more severe effects than other kinds of bullying.3. We often underestimate the amount of bullying and name-calling that students experience. If someone says, “Stop!” they mean it. If the bullying doesn’t stop it is a serious harassment issue that could have consequences of expulsion. 4. There are many ways to be an ally. Students can learn to support someone who is hurt by bullying behaviors by speaking out, seeking support from an adult, listening to someone who has been hurt, talking to those involved, and learning about and appreciating differences. Use these times as "teachable-moments."

Cyber bullying must also be addressed and we should all remember:1.Think before you post 2.It's permanent 3.And it's all public.

This is one social issuefor the community. It affects all of us.

Create/Catch2 Random Acts of Kindness

• HW Due Wednesday 8th create/catch two acts of kindness and turn each one into a small moment. Include all the journalistic elements you have learned so far.

• These acts should be worthy of social significance because doing these kind deeds helped out others in the community.

• Acts of kindness, above and beyond the ordinary that someone does.• Helping a disabled student in P.E.• At lunch offer to throw away a students trash, offer to have them go in front of you in

the lunch line. • Explaining & showing an absent student how to do a missed assignment even though

you have more to work on. • Stopping and helping a student who dropped their papers, items all over the floor in

the hall while seeing others just walk on the items and laugh. • Stopping the bully who supposedly is your friend from harassing another student,

speaking up to that friend and telling them what a jerk they really are. Asking the one who is hurt how you could help.

• Kindness shows empathy and compassion for others, watch and be an observer, be present in your life and catch the kind act.

Create/Catch2 Random Acts of KindnessAdd to your own 2 articles…

• 1st sentence to grab the reader’s attention, follow the pattern: (topic) (verb) (message) make them different.

Kindnessi(topic) creates (verb) a culture of compassion for others to follow and emulate (message)Kindness __________________________________________________________.Kindness___________________________________________________________.• Last sentence to sum up social significance message/lesson. Make each different

depending on the kind deed you observed/created. What is the message/lesson you want your readers to know? This is a message/lesson for the community.

Sometimes a person who has nothing gives more than people who have everything. Wherever there is a human in need, there is an opportunity for kindness and to make a difference.Remember there's no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end. No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. A culture of kindness within a community influences people to support each other.

Last-Minute Editing Checklist• I checked that the names of people and places are spelled correctly.• I ran a finger over each sentence to make sure my punctuation is clear &

sensible.• I looked at my quotes and compared the very specific punctuation to these

models:A. Introducing the source, then giving the quotation:According to one witness, “The car came out of nowhere, and so did the brave bystander.”B. Tucking a quote into narration/explanation:A witness first claimed that “The car came out of nowhere,” before adding, “and so did the brave bystander.”C. Leading with a quote, then adding narration/explanation:“The man swept the dog right from under the car’s wheels” was how witnesses described the incident.• I indented to paragraph when the setting changes, when time changes, for a

mood change, and expository (explanation) paragraphs-for new ideas or examples.