I've just reached wk 20 of Yr 1 Redesign. I have a 4th grade and 7th grade student doing the newspaper assignment.
I've having alot of trouble telling the students what exactly to do. We've read the "Writing Aids" segment on Newspaper Writing, as well as the student pages from the WA CD, and the Newspaper Article Worksheet.
I'm getting two different concepts from the reading, and all newspaper articles I can find don't seem to support either exclusively.
On the one hand it seems like the student is supposed to write pretty much a regular essay with an introductory/summary paragraph, then a paragraph supporting each fact from the first paragraph.
However, I read somewhere in WA that it was to be only 3 paragraphs long, so is that a summary intro para plus 2 detail paragraphs or is that 3 detail paragraphs with no intro, or something else I haven't thought of?
The other idea seems to be that the student is to write an introductory/summary paragraph, then "answer questions" as they fill in with successively less important details.
I can kind of see where the two could meld to an extent, but then when I read "real" newspaper articles, I'm finding usually a one sentence intro followed by mostly one-sentence follow-up paragraphs consisting of progressively less important and finer detail.
Can somebody fill me in on this?
Thank you

Hi,

I'm not sure that I have a solid answer for you, but wanted to tell you that we struggled with this assignment as well. I posted a question on the forum last year and Marcia was kind enough to answer and give an example. Her explanation was very helpful. Here's a link to the post from Marcia http://tapestryofgrace.groupee.net/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6511059621/m/4161048772

We use Writing Aids all the time and have found it to be excellent. The grading rubrics and all the support have been invaluable to me. For some reason, the explanation on this assignment in WA was confusing to me. The charts for grading summaries seemed to say something different than the guidelines for writing a summary. My advice is to avoid getting hung up on the details too much. I had to relax a lot in my requirements, because summary writing is informal and less structured than an essay. I think I was just trying to make it more difficult that it really needed to be. Seeing Marcia's summary example was very helpful to me! In addition, Dana was kind enough to follow-up with me and ask how it could be made more clear to users in the future.

Perhaps someone else can offer more specific help for you, but I wanted to be sure and point you to Marcia's example.

Blessings,
Eia

Sorry for the confusion, Tami!

Your second description is closer to what we have in mind when we assign newspaper writing. Most articles (that are newsy, not editorials, mind you) have the "big, important" facts first. What happened and what it means. Then, succeeding paragraphs (of no set number) go into increasingly less important detail. Hence, on our worksheet, the inverted triangle.

So, if you were writing about the inauguration of President Obama, you might have a first paragraph like this:

Today, in our nation's capital, the first black President ever will be sworn in, and become the 44th President of the United States. Dignitaries from all over the world will be present, and record crowds of ordinary citizens are expected to crowd into Washington D.C.

2nd para: Barack's recent election and how he got to this moment in time.

3ird para: details about the ceremony to be

4th para: expected dignitaries

5th para: crowd size expectations and control measures being undertaken by Park Police

Conclusion

Does that help?

Thank you, Eia!
I had searched the forum but must not have searched for the right thing because I didn't see this already discussed. I'm going to go read that now. Hopefully it'll be all I need, but if not, I'll post a follow-up question.
I appreciate your time and encouragement.
Tami

Yes, that helps tremendously! Thank you.

The example is particularly helpful. Is there somewhere on the site where there are examples of all the WA writing "categories"?

What you describe is exactly what I'd found in "real" articles.

To make sure I'm clear on this, here's what I'm taking from the conversation:

In non-newspaper writing, there is usually a format wherein each supporting fact noted in the introductory paragraph is fleshed out fully in its own "detail" paragraph. In newspaper writing, there is no such "format". Rather, the introductory paragraph states the broadest description of the report, and each following paragraph goes into increasingly finer detail. Therefore, whereas in "non-news" writing, one plans a specific number of paragraphs based on the number of facts/concepts presented in the opening paragraph, in "news" writing, the number of paragraphs is not as easily predicted.

How's that?

About the "planning worksheet"... I'm thinking of reworking a version of it to have "primary", "secondary", "tertiary" and "incidental" sections following the "summary". Do you think that would move the kids in the right direction?

Thank you so much for your thorough support of your products. It makes this SO much easier.

Tami

Hello!

The reason newspaper articles are structured as they are is that most people will start reading the first paragraph or first couple of paragraphs and then may wander off to read something else on the page. The idea behind the 'inverted pyramid' structure of a newspaper article is that all the main facts, in a general way, are in the very first (or 'top') paragraph. That way, if the reader only reads that paragraph, they have the main points.

Reporters are also trained to write more than they need and editors will simply start chopping from the bottom of the article if space is tight. That requires no re-writing since the information in the article started with the most important facts in a more general way and dwindled down to the least important things and the teeny-tiny details.

An example of a lead paragraph for a newspaper vs. the intro paragraph for a report or essay might be something like this:

Newspaper Lead -- "People who live in cities are more likely to visit a public library than those in rural communities according to a BogusDotCom survey released last week." The article would go on the site more specific but less important facts as it goes ... the specific percentages of city people and rural dwellers, where the survey was conducted, the margin of error, etc. Instead of going into all the relevant info about each key topic in one paragraph, the article would use the most important tidbits first and save the less important details about that same topic for further down in the story. Your outline might look like this ---
1. Lead paragraph -- all important but not necessarily specific information
2. Facts 1 and 2 (most important) about key point A
3. Facts 1 and 2 about key point B
4. Facts 1 and 2 about key point C
5. Facts 3 and 3 about key point B
6. Facts 3 and 4 about key point C
7. Facts 3 and 4 about key point A
8. Any miscellaneous (non-vital) details about topic

Report or Essay Opening Statement -- "Country librarians are lonely." Obviously, the report intro would group 2-3 key topics in a summary and have a topic sentence before going on to elaborate with all the relevant details for each key topic in their appropriate paragraph. It might cover everything the newspaper article does, it's just arranged in a more traditional sequence ---
1. Opening statement and introductory paragraph
2. Topic sentence and all facts about key point A
3. Topic sentence and all facts about key point B
4. Topic sentence and all facts about key point C
5. Sumamry statement and conclusion

When we last did newspaper writing here, we'd write all the facts for the article individually on notecards or strips of paper. Then, rather than grouping them by topic, we're prioritize them by importance. THEN we'd write the lead paragraph to be sure we included enough or didn't include too much. I was concerned with their abililty to identify and prioritize the facts and then be able to summarize the most important ones tidily in a sentence or so.

Hope this rambling helps! Many blessings,
Monica

VERY well put, Monica.
Thank you for taking the time.
I think I'm off and running now.

T

I created a worksheet for my students based on all the info provided by Marcia and Monica. If there's some way to post it, I'll gladly share.
Otherwise, anyone who is interested can e me and I'll send it directly.
T