This fall, our fourth-grade students learned the fundamentals of journalism by serving on a newspaper editorial board and becoming journalists.
This project-based learning (PBL) unit began with Josh Jongsma, a breaking news editor for NorthJersey.com and the USA Today Network New Jersey, sharing his knowledge and expertise about the ins and outs of reporting with our students. [Read his first-person account of his time at EMS.]
Students examined different publications to generate ideas for their project, discussed their target audience, brainstormed content, and collaborated in groups to write an article. Students in each fourth-grade homeroom focused on a different newspaper section and composed an article for that category.
While crafting questions, conducting interviews, and writing articles, the students built the skills necessary to identify and gather essential content for their stories while also gaining an understanding of the diverse perspectives that will lead to the final product: a student-created, special-edition Little School newspaper.
“The fact that they have real ownership of the process and choice in content gives them a sense of pride, and they see themselves as being leaders and decision-makers within our community,” says Little School Spanish teacher Josh Becker, who proposed the idea and collaborated on this PBL unit.
The Little School newspaper will be shared with our community after the winter break.
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