by Michelle Andrews
My most successful integration of technology into the curriculum came about when my students planned and created a classroom newspaper. We began by exploring different newspapers. We looked at the different types of columns written, "catchy" titles, and what was needed to have a successful paper. I was there simply as the facilitator at all times.
Later in the week, jobs were created and students applied for the positions (voluntarily of course.) Every child wanted to be involved, therefore we assigned a group of 10 or so to be responsible for each paper. The staff needed approximately 3-4 weeks to complete a paper successfully. They used most of their time locating exciting current news stories, interviewing, watching the news or researching to collect needed information.
Each paper was a complete hit because every one was student driven. Every newspaper was different and gave the next group of students even more ideas for their papers. They did a lot of writing-more writing than ever before! They looked forward to the challenging work and had great fun! They were proud to show parents their final products.
If you would like to start a student newspaper in your classroom, the following hints should help you make it something they really look forward to:
1. newspaper must be student driven and voluntary
2. students need to be given lots of time before they start to explore many different newspapers and brainstorm ideas (guidance in the beginning is very important)
3. make sure all student voices count - all ideas are important and useful!
4. divide class into groups to create papers - fewer is sometimes better in the long run
5. be sure to allow sufficient time to complete each paper - it may take a time or two to decide on what is an appropriate length of time for your own class
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