To aid students in understanding meaning, this lesson will concentrate particularly on the differing structures and objectives of news articles and editorials. At the end of this lesson, students are going to:
- Determine the aim of the writer in nonfiction writings.
- Cite examples of how nonfiction text structures improve reader comprehension.
- Elucidate the uses of different nonfiction passage types in news article formats.
- Analyze the information's objectivity or bias and the reader's reaction to the information's presentation.
- Write an editorial and a news story on a subject of the student's choosing.

- How can readers decide which information from what they hear, read, and see to believe?
- How do literary and informational texts become meaningful to strategic readers?
- How does interaction with text elicit thought and response?
- What is the objective?
- What exactly is the topic of this text?
- What distinguishes effective and clear writing?
- What methods and tools do I employ to decipher unfamiliar vocabulary?
- Why acquire new vocabulary?

- Bias: A judgment based on a personal point of view. 
- Editorial: A newspaper or magazine article that gives the opinions of the editors or publishers; an expression of opinion that resembles such an article. 
- First Person: The first-person, or personal, point of view relates events as they are perceived by a single character. The main character “tells” the story and may offer opinions about the actions and characters that differ from those of the author. 
- Objective Summary: A brief description, in the writer’s own words, of the main idea and major points of a text, without stating an opinion or advocating a view. 
- Point of View: How an author reveals characters, events, and ideas in telling a story; the vantage point from which the story is told. 
- Third Person: A perspective in literature, the third-person point of view presents the events of the story from outside of any single character’s perception.

- online or printed local newspapers for sample news articles and editorials
- Inverted Pyramid handout (L-8-3-3_Inverted Pyramid Template)
- examples of editorials

Keep the emphasis of the lesson on demonstrating how text structure can improve reader comprehension.
To assist students in recognizing the different kinds of nonfiction passages:
For the duration of the lesson, keep the qualities of the news articles up on the interactive whiteboard or board so that students can keep going through the list.
Keep an eye on every student and note who can define or explain each of the traits. Try projecting a news article onto an overhead projector and labeling it while you discuss its features.
Examine how well students have understood the format of news articles by using the inverted pyramid graphic organizer. While you go around the classroom, assist groups that require more explanation.
Watch the students as they produce news stories and editorials on the same subject while working in pairs. Give students feedback so they can assess how they're doing concerning the lesson's objectives.

Explicit instruction, modeling, scaffolding, and active engagement 
W: Assist students in realizing how their comprehension of news article formats will enhance their ability to read aloud. 
H: Examine the various kinds of news distribution platforms. 
E: Assign students to summarize sample news stories and editorials using a graphic organizer and personal experiences. 
R: As they engage in guided practice, sharing, and guided class review, ask students to consider, rewrite, and reconsider the lessons' ideas. 
E: Give students the chance to share what they've learned in class by having them complete the visual brainstorming outlines and lead discussions. As needed, encourage them to edit their own notes. 
T: Using individual responses, small-group discussions, and class discussion, modify the lesson to accommodate multiple intelligences—intrapersonal, interpersonal, visual-spatial, and verbal-linguistic. 
O: The lesson plans go from a class review to individual research and analysis, student-guided practice, and back-to-class review for comprehension and clarification checks. 

Main Question: What formats do news articles use to present information?

Ask, "Where do you obtain your news?" (newspapers, magazines, the Internet, television, cell phones, Twitter, Facebook, blogs, emails, and parents). Say, "Today we'll examine a mass communication medium that's significant both historically and currently: newspapers. In England, the London Gazette has been published continuously since its founding in 1665. Ben Franklin printed the Pennsylvania Gazette, which was among the first publications in the colonies."

Provide newspapers (or multiple publications) or internet access for students to read before class begins. Give them the task of completing a scavenger hunt using a newspaper or a computer. Ask students to search for the following items during the scavenger hunt:

political  animation
categorized advertisement
headline for the sports page
editorial/views
current events
Discuss how each item has a distinct purpose and structure with the students after they have shared the findings of their hunt.

Part 1

Say, "We're going to compare and contrast two different kinds of articles today. They are the editorial and the news article." Write on the board or interactive whiteboard the following essential news article structural elements: Request that pupils duplicate these in their notebooks.

Important features of a news article's structure are as follows:

important details: who, what, where, when, why, and how
Inverted pyramid style: the most important information is presented first, followed by the least important information.
objective third-person perspective:
never use I, me, my, we, or our.
no personal feelings or opinions
minimal imagery
concise: brief, to-the-point paragraphs that typically consist of two or three sentences
Copy the L-8-3-3_Inverted Pyramid Template handout and distribute copies. Either draw a sample on the board or project the picture onto an interactive whiteboard or overhead projector. Say, "Remember a significant incident that happened recently in your life or the life of someone you know. Which details of this event are the most significant? What happened, who was present, where it happened, when it happened, why it happened, and how did it happen?" Ask students to write this information regarding the summit of the inverted pyramid event they are thinking of. Use a sample to guide your writing. Say, "Now, see if your sentences fit the requirements for a news article." Once you've shared your model, ask students to share it with a partner so they can ensure the objectivity of their sentences. Ask students to rewrite any sentences that don't adhere to the guidelines.

After the students have completed writing their important information, ask them to skip two lines inside the pyramid. Say, "Now, let's go over the specifics of how and why the event happened. For the time being, we won't attempt to organize this information into paragraphs. We're just going to provide a list of extra details so the reader can learn more about the circumstances." Ask pupils to enumerate four or five more fundamental facts. After choosing the least significant fact from the list, students should draw an arrow from that fact to the bottom of the page, or the pyramid's tip. Use the pyramid you created as a model for this.

Ask, “What can you learn about a news article from the way it is organized?” Lead the discussion, using the following questions:

“Where is the information for the entire article summarized?” (in the first few sentences)
“Where are the supporting details for the article?” (in the middle)
“What is the purpose of this type of news article?” (tell facts, be objective about events)
“What might be a hint that the article is biased or slanted toward a position?” (use of emotional language)

Part 2

Say, "An editorial is a different kind of newspaper article." Put the following essential elements of an editorial on the interactive whiteboard or board: Request that pupils duplicate these in their notebooks.

An editorial should have the following essential components:

frequently written in informal, intimate language.
frequently adopts a first-person perspective.
composed of brief paragraphs and sentences that are medium in length.
gives a personal viewpoint on the subject.
employs arguments, logic, and persuasive strategies to persuade the reader of the writer's position throughout the entire piece.
may express their opinion right away or wait until the very end.
Give out copies of a well-written editorial sample, or give two opposing examples, one that is a fact-based example and the other that is just a rant. Ask, "What makes an effective editorial well-written?" (It convinces the reader to agree with a viewpoint.)

Have students come up with ideas for editorial topics, or use the following as an example: Put notes on the interactive whiteboard or board. "Everyone had a great time at the most recent school assembly on truancy." Remark, "You've just written a sentence that expresses my opinion about an event. My goal is to persuade the reader. How can you tell that's just an opinion? (generalization, use of the word "great") Consider a captivating or unexpected way to open an editorial. For instance, I might write, 'Who needs school anyway?' if I were writing about the school assembly. That would certainly catch your interest, wouldn't it?"

Say, "Let's now examine and evaluate the model editorials. What bolsters the viewpoint?" (statistics, facts)

Say, "I should include information about the previous assembly in my editorial. It should, for instance, outline what transpired, who was present, and what was discussed. Although I want the readers to concur with me," Ask students to brainstorm at least three ideas that would persuade a reader to agree with their point of view on the assembly. Make your way around to offer assistance. Students should present their ideas to the class.

Review by using the following questions:

"What does an editorial serve as?" (For the purpose of convincing.)
"What could indicate that an article is skewed or biased in favor of one side over the other? " (Precise terms of opinion, expressive language)
Use these questions to compare and contrast news articles and editorials:

"How do editorials and news articles compare?" (brief sentences and paragraphs, both of which may contain facts)
"What distinguishes editorials from news articles?" (A news story attempts to stay impartial and free of bias. A news story makes an effort to be impartial. The goal of an editorial is to influence readers to share the writer's viewpoint. A first-person point of view is frequently used in editorials.)

Part 3

Give the students a list of subjects that interest them, or ask them to come up with a list on their own. Put the list up on the interactive whiteboard or board. Ask students to write a quick news story and an editorial about one of the topics they have chosen in pairs. Allow pairs of students to exchange work and analyze whether the articles and editorials meet the criteria discussed in the lesson.

Extension:

Give students examples of news articles and editorials if they need extra practice distinguishing between the points of view in editorials and news reports.
Assign students who are struggling to recognize editorial techniques to the task of analyzing an editorial and labeling the various rhetorical devices used.
For students who require additional practice, have them read news articles and label or color-code the information they find. This will help the students identify the topics and supporting details.
Students who are prepared to go above and beyond the requirements might engage in any of the following:
Ask them to compose complete editorials on their own.
Use Microsoft Publisher to have students work in small groups to create a newspaper and write editorials and news pieces in the style of a traditional newspaper.
Assign students to compare news articles from newspapers and websites with news broadcasts.