Unit 3.4: News
English as a Second Language
5 weeks of instruction
STAGE 1 – (Desired Results)
Unit Summary:
In this unit, the student becomes a journalist and creates his/her own classroom newspaper by studying examples of local and global news articles. The student
identifies and differentiates between fact and opinion and summarizes by identifying the main idea and details of non-fiction text.
Transversal Themes:
Knowledge, Life Skills, School to Work, Values, Attitudes, Human Virtues
Integration Ideas:
Social Studies, Science, Math, Reading, Writing
Essential Questions (EQ) and Enduring Understandings (EU)
EQ1. What role does the news play in our lives---past and present?
EU1. News helps us know what is happening in our community or world and what happened in the past.
EQ2. What news is newsworthy and why?
EU2. News we receive is edited for a variety of purposes and does not always include a variety of perspectives.
EQ3. What does it mean to ask a good question?
EU3. Good questions are open and give the interviewee space to share his/her experience.
EQ4. How is spoken language different from written language?
EU4. Written language is more formal than oral language and reflects our ability to communicate in print.
Transfer (T) and Acquisition (A) Goals
T1. The student will leave the class able to read and write news articles to help him/her understand the difference between fact and opinion and to know the importance of self-representation in the
media.
The student acquires skills to...
A1. Listen and interact in class by asking and answering detailed questions, supporting opinions, and responding to text and directions using correct grammar in ever expanding complex sentences.
A2. Use in-depth critical reading to describe text including the main idea or topic of a text, the main purpose of an informational text, and the support an author gives for the points made.
A3. Offer and support opinions by providing text evidence as well as by writing informational texts with a clear topic after participating in shared research.
A4. Demonstrate a command of English grammar when writing or speaking, to use more complex sentence structures when sentences are expanded or combined, including nouns, adjectives, commas, and
correct capitalization.
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Unit 3.4: News
English as a Second Language
5 weeks of instruction
Puerto Rico Core Standards (PRCS)
Listening
3.L.1
Listen and interact with peers during social interactions, read-alouds, oral presentations, and class, group, and partner discussions.
3.L.1a
Ask and answer detailed questions that stimulate conversation and refer to details from the text as the basis for opinions and conclusions, and use appropriate language structure
according to purpose and setting (formal and informal).
3.L.1c
Listen and respond to increasingly complex commands and directions.
3.L.1e
Listen and respond to 5W questions.
Speaking
3.S.2b
Use correct grammar in expanded simple sentences to express ideas for a variety of purposes, to respond to simple instructions, and to answer and formulate questions.
3.S.3
Retell fictional and informational texts; respond to stories, conversations, read-alouds, and presentations; and recount experiences using increasingly complex complete sentences and
key words in order to add detail while speaking using expanded vocabulary and descriptive words.
Reading
3.R.1
Use in-depth critical reading of a variety of relevant texts to describe ideas, phenomena, cultural identity and literary elements in the texts, asking and answering such questions as who,
what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. Recognize fact vs. opinion and fiction vs. nonfiction as well as facts/supporting details from the
texts.
3.R.3I
Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in an informational text.
3.R.5I
Use various text features (e.g., captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in an informational text efficiently.
3.R.6I
Identify the main purpose of an informational text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe.
3.R.8
Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text including, but not limited to, narrative, persuasive, and descriptive writing and knowledge of their qualities.
Reading
Foundational
Skills
3.R.FS.12b
Decode multi-syllable words.
Writing
3.W.1
Offer and support ideas, feelings, and opinions on familiar topics, experiences, or appropriate-level texts, providing text evidence or adding relevant background knowledge about the
subject matter.
3.W.2
Write informational texts (e.g., “how-to” book, simple report) with increasing independence, and organize key ideas and details in a clear sequence.
Page 2 of 15
Unit 3.4: News
English as a Second Language
5 weeks of instruction
3.W.4
Focus on a topic, respond to questions and suggestions from peers, and add details to strengthen writing as needed.
3.W.6
Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of “how-to” books on a given topic and use them to write a sequence of instructions).
3.W.8
Write routinely over short time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a variety of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Writing
Foundational
Skills
3.W.FS.9
Apply the distinguishing features of a sentence when writing (e.g., first word, capitalization, ending punctuation).
Language
3.LA.1
Demonstrate command of English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
3.LA.1a
Use nouns and adjectives in increasingly complex grammatically correct sentences.
3.LA.1h
Combine two simple sentences to make a compound sentence by adding “and," "but," or "because."
3.LA.1i
Produce, expand, and rearrange complete simple and compound sentences (e.g., The boy watched the movie; The little boy watched the movie; The action movie was watched by the
little boy.).
3.LA.2
Demonstrate command of the conventions of English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
3.LA.2a
Capitalize appropriate words in titles.
3.LA.2b
Use commas in writing.
3.LA.2e
Use conventional spelling for high-frequency and other studied words and for adding suffixes to base words (e.g., sitting, smiled, cries, happiness).
3.LA.2f
Use spelling patterns and generalizations (e.g., word families, position-based spellings, syllable patterns, ending rules, meaningful word parts) in writing words.
3.LA.2g
Consult reference materials, including dictionaries, as needed to check and correct spellings, using the ability to alphabetize by the entire word.
3.LA.6
Accurately use basic conversational, general academic, and content area words and phrases.
Page 3 of 15
Unit 3.4: News
English as a Second Language
5 weeks of instruction
STAGE 1 – (Desired Results)
Alignment to
Learning
Objectives
Content Focus
(The student
understands…)
PRCS:
3.L.1
3.L.1a
3.L.1e
3.S.2b
3.S.3
3.R.1
3.R.5I
3.R.FS.12b

EQ/EU:
EQ1/EU1
EQ2/EU2

The difference
between local,
national, and
international
news.
The difference
between
sensational
news and
news that is
newsworthy.
Content Vocabulary







T/A:
T1
A1


Advertisements
Article, news
International,
national, local
Investigate
Journalist, reporter
Media (newspaper,
magazines,
television, internet,
journal, website)
Media bias
(favoring the
opinions and
beliefs of one
group over
another’s in the
news)
Newsworthy (e.g. If
I were a journalist, I
would write about
_____. I think
newspapers today
write too much
about ____ and
need to include
more about
______. For
example, __)
Observe
STAGE 2 – (Assessment Evidence)
Performance Tasks
Other Evidence
Fluency Check

STAGE 3 – (Learning Plan)
Learning Activities
For sample lessons related to the following group of learning activities,
refer to the section ‘Sample Lessons’ at the end of this map.
The student reads
aloud to check for
What’s in the News?
fluency and any words
that he/she has
 The teacher asks the question, “What is news?” and the
difficulty with,
student brainstorms reasons why it is important to know
including intonation,
about what is going on. The teacher asks, “What is
skipped words, and
newsworthy?” and creates a list with the class. The teacher
missed endings (see
sees how this changes throughout the unit as students begin
attachment: Resource
to critique newspapers and magazines for their focus on
8 – Paired Reading
sensational news.
Fluency Check as an
 The teacher brings in examples of different types of media (it
evaluation). The
can be in Spanish or English). The teacher defines media as
teacher checks to make
ways of sharing information with many people. The teacher
sure the student can
brings in examples of magazines (e.g. Children’s Newspaper in
decode multi syllabic
Nuevo Dia, Vanidades, National Geographic, and News
words.
magazines), newspapers, printed websites, or names of
television news shows that are media. The student looks
through them and creates a list of examples of news or
information that is found in the media types.
 The teacher shares how news can have the ability to change
things because it brings an issue into question and asks for
change. The teacher asks, “What makes a good question?” The
student brainstorms problems that need to be investigated in
his/her community. The teacher searches local newspapers to
see if they are addressing these issues and asks “What is
newsworthy?” to find out whether or not these topics are
being covered.
Page 4 of 15
Unit 3.4: News
English as a Second Language
5 weeks of instruction





Parts of an article
and newspaper:
Headline, Caption,
Title, Subtitle,
Editorial, Op ed,
Feature
Sensational
Stereotypes
Topics (crime,
human interest,
government,
investigative,
celebrities, sports,
business)



Page 5 of 15
The teacher models the format of what is in a newspaper by
doing a newspaper scavenger hunt for features in the
newspaper:
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/scavengerhunt/newspa
per/
The teacher describes the different parts of the newspaper
(heading, article, feature, captions, photos, editorial, op-ed
opinion page, and comics). The teacher shows each part and
the students work in pairs to do a newspaper scavenger hunt
to find, cut out, and label the parts of a newspaper to make a
poster of “Parts of a Newspaper.”
The teacher shares how the first paragraph of a newspaper
always contains the 5Ws to give the important information
first. The student uses graphic organizer, 3.4 Graphic Organizer
- 5Ws and 1H, to find the 5Ws in the first paragraph of a
newspaper article.
The student creates a newsletter for the classroom of
important events in the school (as an exercise to prepare for
the larger newspaper performance task) (see attachment: 3.4
Learning Activity – Classroom News Organizer).
Unit 3.4: News
English as a Second Language
5 weeks of instruction
STAGE 1 – (Desired Results)
Alignment to
Learning
Objectives
PRCS:
3.L.1c
3.R.8
3.W.1
3.LA.1
3.LA.6
EQ/EU:
EQ1/EU1
EQ2/EU2
Content Focus
(The student
understands…)


The difference
between fact and
opinion, fiction
and nonfiction.
The role of editing
in the news.
STAGE 2 – (Assessment Evidence)
Content Vocabulary



T/A:
T1
A1
A3


Fact and opinion
Media bias
(favoring the
opinions and
beliefs of one
group over
another’s in the
news)
Newsworthy
(e.g. If I were a
journalist, I
would write
about _____. I
think
newspapers
today write too
much about
____ and need
to include more
about ______.
For example,
__)
Stereotypes
Topics (crime,
human interest,
government,
investigative,
celebrities,
sports, business)
Performance Tasks
Other Evidence
For complete descriptions, refer to
the section ‘Performance Tasks’ at
the end of this map.
Fact or Opinion?
Newspaper Critique and Reflection

STAGE 3 – (Learning Plan)
The student reads and
evaluates a local newspaper
and writes a reflection
based on “What is
newsworthy?” (e.g. If I were
a journalist, I would write
about _____ because____. I
think newspapers today
write too much about ____
and need to include more
about ______. For example,
____.)
Page 6 of 15

The student reads a nonfiction text and uses a T-Chart
to find examples of facts and
opinions. Then the student
creates a Fact or Opinion
Foldable book (see
attachment: 3.4 Other
Evidence – Shutter Fold)
illustrating examples of facts
and opinions on the inside,
with a list of three facts and
two opinions found.
Learning Activities
For sample lessons related to the following group of
learning activities, refer to the section ‘Sample
Lessons’ at the end of this map.
Fact Versus Opinion


The teacher uses the Fact and Opinion Web
(see attachment: 3.4 Learning Activity – Fact
and Opinion Web) to define and give
examples of how to find facts and opinions.
Facts are based on information that can be
proven (person, places, and events) and
opinions are what someone thinks or feels.
Opinions can have adjectives as a way of
showing that they are someone’s thoughts
on a topic.
The teacher gives examples of how fact and
opinion can be found in texts and what type
of texts should have opinions (letters to the
editor, advertisements) and what type of
texts should have facts (articles, non-fiction
books). The teacher shows how an opinion or
fact can be supported through details. The
teacher provides examples of these texts and
the student looks through them to find facts
and opinions as well as the supporting
evidence for one of the facts or opinions. The
teacher shows how advertisements use
opinions to persuade people to buy the
Unit 3.4: News
English as a Second Language
5 weeks of instruction




Page 7 of 15
product.
The teacher creates sentence strips of
sentences that are facts and opinions and
the student sorts and classifies them.
The student finds examples of facts and
opinions in a non-fiction text and sorts them
into a T-chart.
The teacher gives facts and the student
creates an opinion based on the fact.
The teacher connects to how an opinion can
enter into media because of bias or
stereotypes. Using attachment 3.4 Learning
Activity – Bias in the Media, the student
analyzes how different ethnic and racial
groups are represented in Puerto Rican
newspapers.
Unit 3.4: News
English as a Second Language
5 weeks of instruction
STAGE 1 – (Desired Results)
Alignment to
Learning
Objectives
PRCS:
3.L.1
3.L.1a
3.R.1
3.R.3I
3.R.6I
3.LA.6
EQ/EU:
EQ3/EU3
EQ4/EU4
T/A:
T1
A2
A3
Content Focus
(The student
understands…)

How to find the
main idea and
details.
STAGE 2 – (Assessment Evidence)
Content Vocabulary


Main idea
Details
Performance Tasks
Other Evidence
STAGE 3 – (Learning Plan)
Learning Activities
Oral Assessment of Word Wall
For sample lessons related to the following group of
Vocabulary and Individual Vocabulary learning activities, refer to the section ‘Sample
Lessons’ at the end of this map.
 Based on words the teacher
selects for the whole class and Main Idea and Details
on the individual words the
student wants to know in
 The teacher shares that each paragraph in
English for his/her individual
non-fiction writing has a big idea, or main
word list, the teacher has a
idea. On chart paper, the teacher writes a
conference for each student to
paragraph from a non-fiction, grade level
check if the student
text. The teacher scaffolds learning by color
understands the vocabulary
coding the main idea and details in different
words when listening and
colors to visually show them to the student.
speaking (say it by itself, with a
The teacher gradually releases responsibility
sentence starter, or
to the student by having him/her use color
independently). (See
coding to underline the main idea and details
attachment: Resource 1 – Oral
in paragraphs. Students first do this activity
Assessment for Vocabulary
on chart paper and then use attachment, 3.4
Acquisition).
Learning Activity – Main Idea and Details, to
map out the main idea and details.
 The student reads non-fiction texts and
writes the main idea for each paragraph on a
sticky note. At the end of the lesson, the
student shares what main ideas he/she has
found.
 The student uses sentence starters to give
supporting details with a partner. As the
students are reading in pairs, Partner A asks,
“What’s the main idea?” and then Partner B
Page 8 of 15
Unit 3.4: News
English as a Second Language
5 weeks of instruction
states the main idea. Then partner A says,
“Prove it!” and Partner B gives supporting
details. They then switch roles when reading
another paragraph.
Page 9 of 15
Unit 3.4: News
English as a Second Language
5 weeks of instruction
STAGE 1 – (Desired Results)
Alignment to
Learning
Objectives
PRCS:
3.W.2
3.W.4
3.W.6
3.W.8
3.W.FS.9
3.LA.1a
3.LA.1h
3.LA.1i
3.LA.2
3.LA.2a
3.LA.2b
3.LA.2e
3.LA.2f
3.LA.2g
3.LA.6
EQ/EU:
EQ1/EU1
EQ2/EU2
EQ4/EU4
Content Focus
(The student
understands…)

Declarative,
interrogative,
exclamatory, and
imperative types
of sentences.
STAGE 2 – (Assessment Evidence)
Content Vocabulary





Sentence types
(declarative,
interrogative,
exclamatory,
and imperative)
Punctuation
marks (period,
question mark,
exclamation
point)
Spoken
language,
Written
language
Organization
Paragraph
Performance Tasks
Other Evidence
For complete descriptions, refer to
the section ‘Performance Tasks’ at
the end of this map.
Sentence Types Comic Strip
Class Newspaper

STAGE 3 – (Learning Plan)
The student works with a
partner to write generate a
topic and research
questions, conduct an
interview, and plan, draft
and publish an article for a
classroom newspaper.

The student creates a comic
strip that uses the four types
of sentences in the dialogue
between the characters. The
teacher can help the students
determine which comics to
include in the classroom
newspaper (see attachment:
3.4 Learning Activity – Comic
Strip).
Learning Activities
For sample lessons related to the following group of
learning activities, refer to the section ‘Sample
Lessons’ at the end of this map.
Sentence Types




T/A:
T1
A3
A4


Page 10 of 15
Each day during morning message, the
teacher uses a chart to model one of the four
types of sentences (declarative,
interrogative, exclamatory, and imperative).
The teacher gives an example of each type of
sentence and leaves the punctuation part
blank. The student volunteers to say which
punctuation mark goes with the sentence
and why.
The student searches for sentence types in
books he/she reads and creates a chart in
his/her notebook.
The student acts out and creates skits in
which he/she uses the four sentence types.
The student creates a four tab book with
examples of each type of sentence. (See
attachment: 3.4 Learning Activity – Four
Door Foldable).
The teacher models for students how to
combine two simple sentences to make
complex sentence by adding and, but, or
because.
The teacher provides a number of simple
Unit 3.4: News
English as a Second Language
5 weeks of instruction

Page 11 of 15
sentences.
Students work with a partner to combine the
simple sentences, following the teacher’s
model.
Unit 3.4: News
English as a Second Language
5 weeks of instruction
STAGE 3 – (Learning Plan)
Suggested Literature Connections

The Mini Pages newspaper for kids: http://www.lib.unc.edu/dc/minipage/

Time for Kids: http://www.timeforkids.com/

Modeling Fact and Opinion:

Lynn M. Stone
o Penguins

Patricia McKissack
o The Honest to Goodness Truth

Lucinda McQueen
o Little Red Hen

Marietta D. Moskin
o Day of the Blizzard

Elvira Woodruff
o The Memory Coat

Peter and Connie Roop
o Let’s Drive, Henry Ford! ( Before I Made History)

Books about changing or questioning problems around you:

Sharon Dennis Wyeth
o Something Beautiful

Jacqueline Woodson
o The Other Side

Carmen Tafolia
o That’s Not Fair/No es justo! Emma Tenayuca’s Struggle for Justice

Antonio Skarmeta
o The Composition

Doreen Rappaport
o Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Unit 3.4: News
English as a Second Language
5 weeks of instruction

Kathleen Krull
o Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez

David A. Adler
o A Picture Book of Rosa Parks

Margaret Davidson
o Helen Keller

Demi
o

Mother Teresa
Demi
o
Gandhi

David A. Adler
o A Picture Book of Benjamin Franklin

Nikki Grimes
o Barack Obama : Son of Promise, Child of Hope

Ann Abramson
o Who was Anne Frank?

Scott Foresman Reading – Collection 2. 1:

New Beginnings Book and Practice Book

Ann Morris page 70 ( Photo Essay/ Social Studies Connection)
o Tools

G. Brian Karas page 88 (Newsletter)
o The Green Leaf Club News
Additional Resources

Explaining the Inverted Pyramid Organizational strategy in articles: http://fcit.usf.edu/fcat/tests/newspaper/default.htm

List of websites of news for kids: http://www.eduplace.com/ss/current/

Explaining the Inverted Pyramid Organizational strategy in articles: http://fcit.usf.edu/fcat/tests/newspaper/default.htm

List of websites of news for kids: http://www.eduplace.com/ss/current/
Page 13 of 15
Unit 3.4: News
English as a Second Language
5 weeks of instruction
Performance Tasks
Class Newspaper












Step 1: The student brainstorms and investigates topics that are newsworthy in his/her life and at the school to create a class newspaper.
Step 2: The teacher asks the student, “What is newsworthy in our lives?” The student comes up with a list of topics he/she wants to discuss (community issues, needs at the school, important events
or celebrations, problems that need to be addressed).
Step 3: The teacher asks, “What is news?” The teacher discusses the importance of writing your own news and about the importance of self-representation.
Step 4: Out of all of the suggestions, the student selects a topic and works with a partner to come up with a plan (who they will interview, what questions they will ask and what research needs to be
done).
Step 5: The students interview a person about the topic and write down their answers in a reporter notebook. The students also visit a site and write down their observations.
Step 6: The students use attachment 3.4 Performance Task – Inverted Pyramid Graphic Organizer to write their article with the 5W’s in the beginning, details and a quote from their interview.
Step 7: The pairs share their draft with other groups and exchange comments on sticky notes (What can be improved? What information is missing? Is this a fact or an opinion?).
Step 8: The pairs use the comments to rewrite their article and to look for spelling and grammar errors. The students consult reference materials to check and correct spelling. The students apply the
distinguishing features of a sentence (capitalization, ending punctuation, quotation marks). The students rearrange, expand, or produce sentences to make the story more understandable, for
example, by combining two simple sentences to make a complex sentence by adding and, but, or because.
The students apply prior learning from unit 2.6 about nouns and adjectives to write more complex sentences including a variety of nouns and adjectives. The students also use prior knowledge to
capitalize appropriate words in titles and use commas in writing.
Step 10: The students publish their writing in a class newspaper, taking pictures or making illustrations for their article and including a caption describing the photo. The students work together (or
select a group of editors) to work on layout and to decide the top stories to have on the cover.
Step 11: The students share their newspaper with other classes, in the library and in the community (make sure to share with the people interviewed).
The teacher uses attachment 3.4 Performance Task – Descriptive Writing Rubric to assess writing.
Newspaper Critique and Reflection




Step 1: The student picks up a local newspaper (in Spanish), looks through it and makes an inventory of types of stories (local, Puerto Rican, national, international) and topics (crime, human
interest, government, investigative, celebrities, sports, business).
Step 2: The teacher asks the questions, “What is newsworthy?” And “Is there anything you think is missing from the newspaper?” The teacher discusses how newspapers need to make money so
often times the news is sensational and tries to capture the reader’s attention. The student notices if the news is negative (crime, disasters, gossip) or positive (human achievement, discoveries,
investigative (uncovering and questioning problems).
Step 3: The student goes through the newspaper again with the question, “Is this negative news or positive news?” and creates a tally.
Step 4: The student writes a reflection based on “What is newsworthy?” (e.g. If I were a journalist, I would write about _____ because____. I think newspapers today write too much about ____ and
need to include more about ______. For example, ____.)
Page 14 of 15
Unit 3.4: News
English as a Second Language
5 weeks of instruction
Suggested Sample Lessons





Summarizing Fact and Opinion: http://www.readworks.org/lessons/grade2/fact-and-opinion
See attachment: 3.4 Sample Lesson – Finding Facts
See attachment: 3.4 Learning Activity – Bias in the Media (adjust activity for Puerto Rican context by using Puerto Rican newspapers)
Organizing a news story: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/scavengerhunt/newspaper/
Creating a class newspaper: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/creating-classroom-newspaper-249.html
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