News vs. Opinion

Proverbs 18:17

“The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.”

Class Goal:

Learn how to recognize news, feature, and opinion writing and how to keep personal opinions out of factual reporting.

Fact or Opinion?

Raise one hand for FACT and two hands for OPINION.

A week has seven days.
Summer is the best season.
CHEAR has classes on Wednesdays.
Photography is more fun than journalism.
The Bible contains the book of Proverbs.
Chocolate is better than vanilla.
A newspaper can contain photographs.
Homework should never be given on weekends.

Remember

A fact can be checked or proven.

An opinion tells what someone thinks, believes, prefers, or feels.

News, Feature, or Opinion?

Journalists can write about the same subject in different ways.

NEWS = Tell Me What Happened

News focuses on facts.

“The entrepreneurship class presented business ideas Wednesday.”

FEATURE = Tell Me the Story

A feature is based on facts but gives readers more details and helps them understand or picture what happened.

“After weeks of planning, students stood before their classmates Wednesday and presented the business ideas they had developed.”

OPINION = Tell Me What You Think

Opinion writing shares someone's thoughts, beliefs, preferences, or judgment.

“The business presentations were the most exciting class activity this semester.”

The Quick Test

Ask yourself:

Can I prove it? → FACT

Is it giving me more details about a true story? → FEATURE

Could someone reasonably disagree? → OPINION

Scripture Connection

“The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.”

Imagine a student tells a reporter:

“Our tutor canceled our class activity.”

Is that enough information to publish?

No.

The reporter talks to the tutor and discovers the activity was canceled because the equipment stopped working.

The first statement wasn't necessarily false, but it wasn't the whole story.

A good journalist should:

Ask questions.
Check information.
Talk to the people involved.
Look for evidence.
Hear more than one side when appropriate.
Keep personal feelings separate from factual reporting.

Your goal as a journalist is not to prove your opinion. Your goal is to discover what happened and report it truthfully.

Game: News, Feature, or Opinion?

designate three areas of the room:

NEWS

FEATURE

OPINION

When a statement is read, move to the area representing your answer.

“CHEAR held picture day on Wednesday.”
“Picture day is one of the best days of the school year.”
“Students lined up outside the photography area Wednesday, waiting for their turn in front of the camera.”
“The journalism class interviewed three tutors.”
“Journalism is the most useful class at CHEAR.”
“After interviewing several students, the journalism team began putting together this month's newspaper.”
“The photography class has 12 students.”
“Photography is much more interesting than website design.”
“Students opened their laptops and began building the home pages for their websites.”
“CHEAR classes meet on Wednesdays.”

Be prepared to explain why you chose your answer.

NEWSPAPER TEAM MEETING

October Newspaper Issue

It is time to begin creating our October newspaper!

Each student has an assigned section. During our final 15 minutes of class, you will share ideas, brainstorm, and make a plan. Your homework will be to submit a first draft of your assigned section.

October Assignments

Encouragement Section: Brooklyn
Choose a Scripture-based encouragement for CHEAR students and families. Your article should encourage readers and point them back to Scripture and YAH.

Main Story: Matthew
Choose a Bible story to report as if you were a journalist covering the event.

Your story should help readers understand what happened and encourage them to go back and read the biblical account for themselves.

Include:

A strong headline
Who was involved
What happened
When and where, if Scripture tells us
Important events and details
Scripture references
An interesting opening
A conclusion that points readers back to the biblical account

Important: You may make the article interesting and descriptive, but do not invent facts, dialogue, thoughts, feelings, or details that Scripture does not give us.

Think like a reporter:

“If I had been assigned to report this biblical event, what facts could I truthfully report from Scripture?”

Comic: Keagan
Create a comic for the October issue. It can be funny, school-related, biblical, seasonal, or connected to something happening at CHEAR. Submit a rough sketch with dialogue or captions.

Puzzle: Abigail
Create a crossword, word search, riddle, trivia challenge, or another puzzle for readers. Submit the puzzle and an answer key.

Live Game: Maliha
Create a game that we can play live with CHEAR students when the October newspaper is released. It should take approximately 10 to 20 minutes.

Submit the game name, instructions, materials needed, number of players, and any questions or challenges needed.

Photos: Jo
Create a photo plan for the October issue. Think about classes, students, tutors, activities, and events that should be photographed.

Consider what photos Matthew, Andrew, Ben, and the other newspaper sections may need.

What's Happening: Andrew
Choose a CHEAR classroom or activity to highlight. Interview the tutor and/or students to learn what is happening in the class.

Submit a first draft of your article along with any interview information you collected.

Events: Ben
Cover an upcoming CHEAR event, recent event, or special day happening during the month.

Include the important details readers need to know, such as who, what, when, where, why, and how.

15-Minute Newspaper Planning Meeting

5 Minutes: Brainstorm

Write down ideas for your assigned section.

Ask yourself:

What could I create for October?

What would CHEAR students enjoy?

What information do I need?

Who do I need to interview or talk to?

Do I need photographs, artwork, Scripture, or research?

5 Minutes: Develop Your Idea

Choose your strongest idea and begin planning it.

Writers can begin outlining their articles.

Matthew can choose his Bible story and locate the Scripture passages he will use as his source.

Keagan can begin sketching.

Abigail can begin developing her puzzle.

Maliha can begin planning how her game will work.

Jo can begin listing photographs.

5 Minutes: Share Your Ideas

We will go around the room. Each student should briefly tell us:

My section is: __________

My October idea is: __________

For my draft, I am going to: __________

I need help/information/photos from: __________

Listen to each other because your sections may connect!

Homework

October Issue First Draft

Your assignment is to submit a FIRST DRAFT of your section for the October newspaper.

Brooklyn: First draft of the Encouragement article, including Scripture.

Matthew: First draft of the Bible Main Story written in journalism style, including a headline and Scripture references.

Keagan: Rough draft/sketch of the Comic, including dialogue or captions.

Abigail: Draft of the Puzzle plus the answer key.

Maliha: Complete plan for the Live Game, including instructions and materials.

Jo: October Photo Plan listing the photos we need and which newspaper sections they support.

Andrew: First draft of the What's Happening article, including information from your interview if completed.

Ben: First draft of the Events section with important dates and details.

Remember: This Is a Draft!

It does not need to be perfect.

The purpose of your first draft is to give us something we can review, edit, fact-check, improve, and prepare for publication.

For our October issue, everyone has an important job. When we put all of your sections together, we will have a complete newspaper created by our journalism team!