Lesson Level: Senior Duration: 45 Minutes
Lesson Title: Making the News
Note: This lesson replaces the “Making the News” lesson in Practical Oral English Senior 2 Autumn Term book.
Grammar and Vocabulary
Journalist, interview, breaking news, publish, scoop, story.
Lesson Objectives
Students will be able to give and conduct interviews and repeat facts in a journalistic style.
Materials Required
Two sets of handouts - Crime story in pictures to be correctly sequenced and role cards for role play.
Preparation
Prepare enough copies of handouts to give one per group of four students.
Procedure
1
Write “Making the News” on the board and elicit the meaning.
Tell students that the lesson ISN’T the one in the book but they can use the book to help them with words and phrases.
Check understanding of journalist, interview, breaking news, publish, story & scoop.
2
Put students into groups of four (five can be used for some groups if class size wrong).
Show the first handout and give instructions.
This is a story about a crime.
There are nine pictures. They are not in the right order
Try to put the pictures into the correct order to make the story.
You have only three minutes,
3
Give the first handout.
Monitor and assist as necessary.
At end of three minutes ask class for correct sequence and write on the board.
(E, C, F, A, I, D, H, B, G)
Go through the story with the class.
E. Early one morning a hairdresser was with a customer when she saw something suspicious through the window. Three men parked a car outside the bank. Two got out but the driver stayed in.
C. The two men who got out pulled masks over their faces and went into the bank.
F. The hairdresser called the police.
A. The police arrived and parked around the corner so that the driver wouldn’t see them.
I. The police went to the car and arrested the driver.
D. One policeman took the driver back to the police car. The other two policemen got into the car.
H. The robbers ran from the bank carrying bags of money.
B When they got into the car they were arrested.
G. The journalists came and interviewed some of the people and the bank manager gave a reward to the hairdresser.
4
Tell the students that, still in their groups they will now practice being journalists.
Show the second handout.
Explain that in each group one person will be the journalist and the others are the hairdresser, one of the policemen, a passer-by (and for groups of five - the bank manager)
Write the roles on the board. Tell the groups to choose which character each student will be. (Ten seconds only)
Check that they have done it.
5.
Tell them that the journalists must think of some questions for each of the other characters.
Each of the other characters must think about where they were, what they saw and what they did.
6
Journalists interview each of the others and write down their answers.
7
Get feedback from students.
Ask journalists questions about what they asked and what they other students answered. Ask the other students more questions about what happened.
8.
Tell the students that now they must start to write the newspaper story.
Monitor and assist.
Get feedback from some of the groups.
