Current Events is set-up like a real life news team. We will have an anchor station. Each scheduled participant will be sitting at a desk playing a role on the 3-P News Team. The roles they will play are as follows:
Anchor Person - The anchor person needs to tell the class of a current news story. The news story can came from a number of different sources; the newspaper, a magazine, television, etc. You may report a story that is global, national, state, or local.
Book Critic – This student gets to tell us about a book that he/she has read. Give us the details about the characters and events. Tell us your thoughts on a piece of literature and tell us whether or not your classmates should read the book.
Commercial – This one is immense fun and a great opportunity for creativity. The student can create a product or advertise a current product on the market. Create a commercial for the product and try to sell it to the class.
Food Critic- The food critic tells about a favorite restaurant giving descriptive details about the food and atmosphere. The student can also tell about a favorite home cooked recipe as well. Just give all the mouth watering details.
Movie Critic - The child should pick a “G” rated, school appropriate movie to review. This movie can be a television movie, video, or DVD as long as the content is appropriate and has parent approval. Tell us about the characters, basic plot (DON’T GIVE AWAY TO ENDING), and then rate the movie on your own scale. (Ex. I give this movie 5 out of 5 stars)
Sports Reporter- This person can write about any world, national, or local sport event from ping pong, to NASCAR. Students can also write about a sport that they are participating in or have attended.
The students really enjoy this assignment. It’s a great way to learn about the news and have some fun along the way.
Expectations
There is a schedule to help each child prepare for Current Events. If a student forgets his/her assignment, the news team is missing a teammate and the whole news cast suffers. Students will learn about responsibility and teamwork.
The students need to turn in a paragraph, “script”, or written report that is at least 5 sentences long. (It can be hand written or completed on a word processor.) This may also be in the form of note cards, but there needs to be evidence of preparation. Students can memorize their commercial if they like, however, this is not required, and the students must still turn in written evidence of their work. Students will not be allowed to report information off the top of their head. If a student comes without his/her paper, he/she will not be allowed to participate in the news team that day. Missing assignments will affect a student’s effort grade.
3-P News Teams
Students will receive a Speaking and Listening grade for their report. Students should practice their reports at home and try to make their portion of the news cast interesting for their audience. They will be graded on the following criteria:
Speaking = 4 points
1 point for being loud and clear enough for the audience to hear
1 point for speaking with expression and enthusiasm
1 point for reading fluently and showing evidence of practice
1 point for using good eye contact with the audience
Speaking grade _____/4
Listening = 2
1 point for sitting quietly while classmates are reporting
1 point for paying attention and knowing when it is your turn
Listening Grade ____/2
