EAL/D News
Writing Like a News Reporter: Year 6
In Year 6 EAL/D this term, students stepped into the role of young journalists as they learned how to turn an exciting school event into a clear and informative news story and write the opening paragraph—or lead—of a news story.
We began by looking at the photographs from our 150th Anniversary Community Fair.
The images provided a rich opportunity for students to talk, share ideas and build the vocabulary needed to describe a large community event. Students discussed what they could see, who was involved, what was happening and why the event was significant.
A strong news lead gives the reader the most important information first.
Together, we explored the 5 Ws:
Who was involved?
What happened?
When did it happen?
Where did it happen?
Why/How was it significant?
Students then had a chance to discover how a real lead paragraph was constructed through a Monster Cloze activity. Students had to become language detectives, predicting which words might belong in each blank space. As students suggested words, the paragraph gradually appeared.
The 150th anniversary celebration at Hurstville Public School, on Saturday 8th August, was a memorable community event, bringing together past and present students, parents, teachers, staff members for a day filled with a wide range of enjoyment, activities and shared memories.
EAL/D learners had opportunities to hear, say, rehearse and manipulate the language of a news lead before writing.
We explored useful vocabulary and language structures such as:
Expanded noun groups: hundreds of students and community members
Precise vocabulary: anniversary celebration, community event, activities
Reporting verbs: organisers reported…
Objective language: describing what happened without adding personal opinions
Time and place phrases: on Saturday 8th August at Hurstville Public School