Lesson Plan
Read All About It!
The Importance of a Headline
Created: 10/2015 by the National FFA Organization
STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing these activities students will…
1. Examine information that is associated with a headline.
2. Develop an effective headline that can be used in their advocacy efforts.
3. Identify specific food security topics that are new to them.
TIME REQUIRED: 30 minutes
RESOURCES: FFA.org – My Journey
Elanco ENOUGH Report - https://www.ffa.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/myjourney_enoughreport_page6.pdf
EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES NEEDED:
1.
2.
A copy of the “Read All About It!” worksheet for each student.
Internet access to view the Elanco ENOUGH report.
THIS QUICK LESSON PLAN WOULD WORK WELL AS:
1.
2.
3.
Class opener
Supplemental activity for a lesson in an agriculture communications course
Supplemental activity for the FFA chapter reporter
THESE ACTIVITIES ARE ALIGNED TO THE FOLLOWING STANDARDS:
FFA Precept




FFA.PG-H.Social Growth: Successfully interact with others and adapt to various social situations.
FFA.CS-M.Communication: Effectively interact with others in personal and professional settings.
FFA.CS-N.Decision Making: Analyze a situation and execute an appropriate course of action.
FFA.CS-O.Flexibility/Adaptability: Be flexible in various situations and adapt to change.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the
text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the
text.
Common Core- Reading: Informational Text
Common Core- Writing


CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.4 Produce clear and coherent writing the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.5 Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or
trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.
Common Core- Language

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.6 Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases,
sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate
independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or
expression.
Common Core- Math Practices



CCSS.MP1: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
CCSS.MP3: Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
CCSS.MP6: Attend to precision.
AFNR Career Ready Practices

CRP.04. Communicate clearly, effectively, and with reason. Career-ready individuals communicate thoughts, ideas
and action plans with clarity, whether using written, verbal and/or visual methods.
Partnership for 21st Century Skills







Civic Literacy
Communication
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Information Literacy
Media Literacy
Think Creatively
Social and Cross-Cultural Skills
LESSON PLAN:
1.
Introduction:
Headlines grab people’s attention. They are often the first or only thing that individuals read. Headlines are the “first
impression” in articles, posts, and other documents. Headlines can be a powerful tool in advocacy and they should
be well designed to capture the interest of a larger and broader audience.
In this activity, we will study headlines by examining examples in the Elanco ENOUGH Report and formulating our
own.
2.
3.
Activity: Each student needs a copy of the handout “Read All About It!”
a.
Each student will need to read and study page 6 of the Elanco ENOUGH Report. The direct url is
https://www.ffa.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/myjourney_enoughreport_page6.pdf
b.
Students can then complete the activity by using what they learned to answer the questions on the
worksheet and begin to develop headlines of their own.
Follow-up:
a. Have students write articles and use their headlines in the school newspaper, local newspaper, blog posts,
on social media or even on display boards. Have students watch for clues that their headlines draw readers
into the content.
NAME:
Read All About It!
DIRECTIONS:
Study and read page 6 of the Elanco ENOUGH Report found at:
https://www.ffa.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/myjourney_enoughreport_page6.pdf
Use what you learn to complete the worksheet below.
1. What 3 headlines caught your attention most on page 6 of the
Elanco ENOUGH Report?
2. Why do you think these headlines caught your attention most?
???
Use the acrostic poem found on the
infographic to fill the lines below.
H
E
A
D
L
I
N
E
S
_________
_________
_________
_________
_________
_________
_________
_________
_________
Aligned to the following standards:
FFA.PG-H., FFA.CS-M., FFA.CS-N., FFA.CSO., CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.2, CCSS.ELALiteracy.W.9-10.4, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.910.5, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.6,
CCSS.MP1, CCSS.MP2, CCSS.MP6, CRP.04
Research on food labels by the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology
(CAST) reveals an increasing number of consumers want to know more about how
their food is produced.
“One of the most prominent right now is the genetic engineering, the genetic
modification of plants. There is a lot of controversy over whether that should be
labeled.” 26 states have considered legislation requiring any genetically modified
food be labeled as GMO.
Messer says other examples of food process labels include how livestock are
raised. “There is animal humane certified, there’s free range (or) cage-free
chickens. All of these things are what we call process labeling, which again is how
the food was brought to market, not so much about the ingredients.”
He says consumers want to know about their food because often they don’t see
how it’s being produced directly. Messer says the research also suggests consumer
education needs to be done.
“We have confusing labeling around what’s natural. Most consumers see the
natural label and assume it doesn’t have GMO’s in it, which is incorrect.”
He tells Brownfield there are many examples where consumers misinterpret the
science behind the label. Messer says science must also do a better job of clearly
and accurately providing information about food and how it’s produced.
Excerpt from Brownfield Ag News; October 14, 2015; Mark Dorenkamp
What would your headline be for this article?
Would you change your headline for different audiences, like farmers,
mothers, or consumers with no agriculture background? If so, how would
you change it?