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Lessons
Angling for a Story: Exploring Multiple Ways to Cover a Single News Event
Discipline
Reading
Grades
8, 9, 10
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Professional Commentary

In this lesson, students explore various writing angles as they report on a specific local event. They begin by examining the angle of a New York Times sports article. Teachers may wish to substitute the article with a more current piece or one which reflects events of local interest. For additional study of perspective in writing, choose a variety of articles to provide examples of how perspective differs depending on the writer and the topic. Using original story ideas, students create an outline for their stories, which includes a description of the news angle, a rough lead, and a list of research needed to complete the article. (author/ncl)


Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts
Grades 6–12
Writing
Grade 8
Text Types and Purposes
W.8.2 
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
  1. Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information into broader categories; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
  2. Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
  3. Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.
  4. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
  5. Establish and maintain a formal style.
  6. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented.
Production and Distribution of Writing
W.8.4 
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)
W.8.5 
With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1–3 up to and including grade 8 on page 52.)
W.8.6 
Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others.
Range of Writing
W.8.10 
Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Grades 9-10
Text Types and Purposes
W.9-10.2 
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
  1. Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
  2. Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.
  3. Use appropriate and varied transitions to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.
  4. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic.
  5. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
  6. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented (e.g., articulating implications or the significance of the topic).
Production and Distribution of Writing
W.9-10.4 
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)
W.9-10.5 
Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1–3 up to and including grades 9–10 on page 54.)
W.9-10.6 
Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.
Range of Writing
W.9-10.10 
Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Ohio English Language Arts Standards (2001)
Writing Process Standard
Benchmarks (8–10)
B.
Determine the usefulness of organizers and apply appropriate pre-writing tasks.
Grade Level Indicators (Grade 8)
2.
Conduct background reading, interviews or surveys when appropriate.
5.
Use organizational strategies (e.g., notes and outlines) to plan writing.
Grade Level Indicators (Grade 9)
2.
Determine the usefulness of and apply appropriate pre-writing tasks (e.g., background reading, interviews or surveys).
5.
Use organizational strategies (e.g., notes and outlines) to plan writing.
Grade Level Indicators (Grade 10)
2.
Determine the usefulness of and apply appropriate pre-writing tasks (e.g., background reading, interviews or surveys).
5.
Use organizational strategies (e.g., notes, outlines) to plan writing.
Writing Applications Standard
Benchmarks (8–10)
D.
Use documented textual evidence to justify interpretations of literature or to support a research topic.
Grade Level Indicators (Grade 8)
4.
Write informational essays or reports, including research, that: a. pose relevant and tightly drawn questions that engage the reader; b. provide a clear and accurate perspective on the subject; c. create an organizing structure appropriate to the purpose, audience and context; d. support the main ideas with facts, details, examples and explanations from sources; and e. document sources and include bibliographies
Grade Level Indicators (Grade 9)
4.
Write informational essays or reports, including research that: a. pose relevant and tightly drawn questions that engage the reader; b. provide a clear and accurate perspective on the subject; c. create an organizing structure appropriate to the purpose, audience and context; d. support the main ideas with facts, details, examples and explanations from sources; and e. document sources and include bibliographies.
Grade Level Indicators (Grade 10)
4.
Write informational essays or reports, including research that: a. pose relevant and tightly drawn questions that engage the reader. b. provide a clear and accurate perspective on the subject. c. create an organizing structure appropriate to the purpose, audience and context; d. support the main ideas with facts, details, examples and explanations from sources; and e. document sources and include bibliographies.