SUBJECTS: Religion, History, Writing, Cooperative learning, newspaper skills, computer skills
GRADE LEVELS: 5th-8th

OBJECTIVES:
Student will learn more about Catholic in American present and past.
Students will enhance research skills and learn how to write a newspaper.

TIME: Project: may be worked on one or two periods a week for a quarter or a semester

MATERIALS:
Kids Explore America’s Catholic Heritage
Newspapers (copies of the school’s newspaper would be appropriate)
Computer with printer (a newspaper program such as Writer’s Workshop or a publication program, if available)
Pencil and paper

ACTIVITIES:
1. Whole class examines newspapers to see the type of articles, the type of sections and the format.
2. Whole class examines book Kids Explore America’s Catholic Heritage and discuss what could be used in a newspaper. (The book has many biographies that could be used in an interview format - see pages 104-105 for an example. Newsworthy events could be fashioned from articles on pages 36-37. Home and entertainment activities could be taken from the chapter entitled Hands On Fun. It is always fun to have a couple of puzzles in the paper. These are just a few examples of ideas that could work for a newspaper.)
3. Discuss the 5 W’s of a good newspaper article: Who, What, Where, When, and Why.
4. The class should decide on four or five sections for their newspaper. Then divide the class into groups, one for each section. (The teacher may want to create an Editorial Staff with three or four students. These students would be responsible for the layout and final appearance of the paper plus other duties as the teacher determines need.)
5. Each group will decide on two or three articles to work on for their section. (The Editorial Staff could make sure no two groups are working on the same person or event.)
6. Over the next few time periods, the students can work on their articles, do proofreading and add illustrations if they choose.
7. As articles are completed, the Editorial Staff will type them on the computer in newspaper format.
8. The completed newspaper can be copied for each student or for the entire school.

NOTE: This is a big project but well worth the effort. In addition, there are many more ideas that can be added to your newspaper, such as current news events from your parish, parish history, school or school history.