Content Area(s): Language Arts, Social Studies
Grade(s): 4, 5

Invitation
How does a teacher capitalize on the initiative of a group of fourth and fifth graders who want to create a newspaper by kids for kids? What techniques can she share that allows the students to plan, illustrate and format their newspaper? In this unit students are guided to create their own school newspaper.

Tools
Computers, printer, word processing software; Template: Editor's Checklist

Situations
The planning sessions and editing sessions take place in the library. The students work on newspaper stories during class time but most editing sessions occur after school. The writing and editing sessions require 6 to 8 students to work a total of 20 hours both during and after school.

Interactions
The students work as a team and make decisions about delegation of roles and responsibilities. The students use word processing to compose and to edit stories submitted by other students. Pairs and groups of students conference and edit their work at every stage of the project, using the Editor's Checklist Template. The teacher models some of the skills necessary to format the newspaper and is available at all writing sessions to offer help or answer questions as needed.

Standards (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills)
The student forms and revises questions for investigations, including questions arising from interest. The student writes for a variety of audiences and purposes, and in a variety of forms. The student writes to inform such as to explain, describe, report, and narrate.

Tasks
Teachers and students participate in a planning meeting where audience, content length, number of issues, number of copies of each issue, procedures for submitting articles, newspaper name, roles of students, software to be used, costs, and time line are discussed. The students create a newspaper master format and type stories. The students take a field trip to the Austin American Statesman newspaper. The students print their final copy and distribute it to other classrooms.

Assessment
The students compare the final product with goals set in planning meetings. Teachers and students participate in a meeting to reflect on the first issue of the newspaper. They discuss problems that arose and note how they were solved. Students and teachers compile student, teacher and parent responses and suggestions to apply to future issues.