Activities and resources
Your teacher may direct you to use some of these resources or complete some of the activities collated below:
Editorials
Editorials – A suggested structure
Editorial Writing – Developing writing checklist
Exploring “The Age”
1. Spend 10 minutes reading the comment section of ‘The Age’.
2. Select the article you read that interests you the most.
3. On your eportfolio share one word, one phrase and one sentence from the article that you believe captures the essence of the article’s point of view. Explain your choices.
4. What connections can you make with the article? How does it connect to your personal experience? How does it connect with other texts you have read/viewed? How does it connect with other issues/ideas?
Class Discussion:
Why do newspapers include ‘opinion’ writing?
Why do people read the ‘opinion’ section of a newspaper?
What might ACTIVE reading of opinion writing involve?
What ‘thinking’ opportunities does the ‘opinion’ section offer readers?
How is media changing?
Complete the survey on your Media usage.
Based on our lesson so far how are the ideas and information presented so far connected to what you already knew?
What new ideas have you got that have extended or pushed your thinking in new directions?
What is still challenging for you to get your mind around? What questions, puzzles or wonderings do you now have?
Watch the following video about the changing media landscape Australian Media preferences.
Class discussion and individual written response prompt: If the trend is towards engaging with media through social media platforms, do traditional media and professional journalism still have a place in modern society? Why?
Media Comparisons
News Headlines CSI
1. You have five minutes to research news headlines from various media sources. You do not have to read the articles, just the headlines.
2. Collect your top five headlines. Which grab your interest? Share these with a partner
Suggested sites: CNN, BBC, ABC News, New York Times, The Conversation, Herald Sun, The Age, Sydney Morning Herald
3. Pick ONE headline and create a “CSI” in PicCollage. A CSI contains:
- ONE Colour that represents the emotion or feeling of your headline
- ONE Symbol that represents your headline and
- an IMAGE that sums your headline up.
Write a 3 to 5 sentences for your Colour, Symbol and Image.
Here is a health example and the link below connects to a News headline example.
