Year 8-- Newspaper work

Sorry-- I'm now away on a Year 10 trip! I'll see you later on in the week, when we'll get all our work sorted out. Here's what you can do this lesson:

First of all, if you have still to finish your broadsheet-style article, do so now!

If you have finished, work on the following:

Bias

One of the complaints people make about newspapers is that they are biased-- you'll remember that was the basis of your written piece defending teenagers a couple of weeks ago. 'Bias' means that an article subtly manipulates you to feel one way or the other-- to have a specific point of view, to like one person (or group of people), and dislike another, or to make you feel sympathetic to someone/something.

Ways of creating bias:

Descriptive terms-- Look out for words, such as adjectives or adverbs, that make you feel something about a subject. For instance, describing someone as a "troubled teenager" makes you feel one way, while labelling the same person a "menace" makes you feel quite the opposite!

Control of speakers-- Who is allowed to 'speak' in the article? If only one side of a controversial issue is interviewed, it generally means the article is biased in their favour. Watch out for articles that quote from both sides, but 'bury' one side (giving them less time, or placing their views later on or less prominently in an article!).

Selection of facts-- like controlling speakers, if you only allow facts that support one side into your article, chances are you're biasing your reader in one direction. Do stories 'leave out' the other side of a controversial issue?

Her are some links for you to read:

http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/english/docs/Biased_or_Balanced.doc
This shows (very simply!) how a biased article is constructed.

Now, having read that, I'd like you write a biased article on the following subject:

A government minister has announced that he/she intends to shut down all Independent schools in the UK. The minster believes that Independent schools give students unfair advantages, and everyone should go to their local state school.

You either write to support the minister's actions, or to undermine them! You can 'make up' additional facts, and supportive quotations!

Choose a suitable national newspaper to place this article (which newspapers would support independent schools? Which would oppose them?) and write the article in the appropriate style (tabloid or broadsheet). Don't worry about creating a 'front page'; just write the article!

U6 English Language-- Cover for January 29, 2008

Hey y'all!

I know-- he's off for two weeks, and then he's off for a Year 10 Poetry trip. I realise that most of you are pining for a Language lesson, but you'll have to hold out 'till Wednesday afternoon, when I will seek to 'blitz' through an overview of the whole reading/writing shbang, and get us up-to date.

Today, I want you to focus on orthography-- that's the fancy word for 'spelling'. I've attached some online links for you to peruse or download, looking at issues surrounding how children learn (or don't learn!) to spell.

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/267

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/vivian.c/Children.htm

http://www.tda.gov.uk/upload/resources/pdf/t/tta99-16.pdf
Warning: this is government teaching material, so it may prove hard going!

http://www.warwick.ac.uk/staff/D.J.Wray/Articles/spelling.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/1796331.stm

http://www.spellingsociety.org/kids/index.html
This is from the Simplified Spelling Society; it highlights the many orthographical inconsistencies of English, and their proposed solutions!

Please feel free to use this as a 'starting point'; seek out other materials on children and spelling/orthography, and bring them to Wednesday's lesson!

Mr H.