PTSD Informational Text & Unit Test

Hi Guys,
Just wanted to post a reminder about finishing your informational text about PTSD tonight for homework. I will be collecting it first thing tomorrow in class. We will then be taking a test on summarizing and synthesizing. For the test make sure that you can:

• identify the central idea and supporting details/evidence
• write an objective, informational text

Have a great day!

Summarizing Your Own Article

Hi Guys,
Today you are going to be selecting your own article to read and summarize. Below are a list of acceptable news websites. Your article MUST come from one of the sites listed below.  The article should be medium length, with enough information and detail to write an interesting summary. Once you select an article, write your summary paragraph in Google Drive and include a link to your article. You should name your Google document: Period LastName Summary (ex. 1 Davenport Summary). Once you have completed the summary, share your document with  me using my Gmail address, jdavenportplhs@gmail.com.

Choose your article from the following list of  news sites:
PBS News Hour Extra
CNN 
NBC News
CBS News
BBC World News
New York Times
San Diego Union Tribune

After you have selected an article, I would recommend the following:

1. Read the article through from beginning to end;
2. Read the article a second time and take notes on important points you want to include in your summary.  
3. Use the planning template below to write your summary.

A. Identify the text	B. Choose a strong verb		C. Add the central idea
In the article, "_________," by_____________, the author... or ____________ by _____________	advises          compares describes       explains identifies        illustrates suggests         presents argues contends		Write the main idea as a phrase and attach it to the end of the topic sentence.
Paraphrased Details: According to the author… The author states that...  The author points out... The text states…   For example…. Additionally / Also/ Then / Finally...		Concluding statement: Ultimately, ______ is conveying… _________ emphasizes that… In conclusion, __________ suggests...

Independent Study Option

If you have been offered and selected the independent study option for the informational texts unit, below is your assignment. You have until Friday, March 15th, to complete all of the steps.

Objective:

You are going to be writing a submission for our digital school newspaper, Pointer Press. You will gain an understanding and appreciation for news articles after completing this assignment. You will know the format of the article and what content goes into an article. You will learn and demonstrate research and interview techniques. You will also learn news related terms like bias, concise, and objective. 

Introduction:

With so many different opinions about what's happening in our world today, how do we know what's true?  Who tells us what is true?  Do you get your news from Fox News, The Letterman Show, NPR news, your parents?  

There is much bias in news sources today.  That is why it's important to gain an understanding of which news sources are reliable and which news sources aren't reliable.  In this assignment, you will gain a better understanding of how to find the truth in news.  You will also learn the components that go into a good news story and will create a news story your own, which will potentially be a part of the school newspaper.   

Process:

1. First, you will learn about recognizing bias. Watch this short video about Kennewick Man (you'll need headphones). Next, watch the related video about recognizing bias.

2. Interviewing Techniques:  View the following three sites to learn about interviewing techniques.

       1. Interview Questions

       2. Open-Ended Questions

       3. Interviewing Tips

3. Now, after learning about the news writing format, it's content, and how to conduct an interview, it's time to write your story.   

You should now be brainstorming about what or who you want to write your story about.  Think about your audience and what they would find to be interesting.

Here are two helpful Web pages that contains some things to think about while writing a news story: Howto Write a Great Newspaper Article and How to Write a News Story .

The Final Product:

Once you have written your news article, you will submit it for publication to the Pointer Press here.

You will also provide a copy to me.