Computer Learning Foundation Technology Lesson Plan

Title of Plan:
Comparing and Contrasting Coverage of World Events in International On-Line Newspapers

Teacher's Name:
Barbara Peskin

City, State
Concord, MA 01742

Grade Level(s) of Plan:
10-12, Media Studies, Sociology, World Cultures, adaptable to subject matter and grade can be focused on specific political or scientific issues (e.g. global warming, pollution, human rights), or used as an English assignment to enhance internet research and comparative writing skills.

Prerequisite Skills:
• For Final Written Project: Word Processing at minimum–ability to create newsletters could be useful but not required. Procedural and declarative knowledge needed to compare and contrast (can be reviewed in class).
• For Internet Research: None. Students will learn about the internet and how to browse a web site, use a mouse, and other software and skills needed for internet research.
• Group Work and Presentation Skills: to be discussed in class.

Software & Technology Materials Required:
• Internet access, preferably access to a computer lab so that some internet research work can be done during class time with the teacher on hand.
• Teacher web page containing links to online newspapers to be used. I have a choice of seven on the page I created and posted at http://www.edstwk.com/twk/intlnews/. (New York Times, St. Petersburg Press, Washington Post, Hong Kong Standard, Irish Times, The Jerusalem Post, and Times of India.) Each group will choose four out of seven they want to work with. My lesson plan focuses on browsing and reading sites rather than on using search engines, thus I prefer to provide links to the newspapers to be used. By providing a web page as a gateway to the seven newspapers, students will have easy access to the on-line newspapers from home, school and library. Other teachers can use my web page as a template, changing links for international newspapers of choice. My assignment focuses on comparing and contrasting coverage of world events, but the lesson plan, and thus newspaper links provided, could be modified to complement comparing and contrasting specific issues like racism, global warming, women's rights, etc.

Other Materials Required:
• Posters or handouts to use in support of a general explanation of the internet and browsing tips and tools.
• Several copies of hardcopy versions of some of the newspapers to be worked with, even if several years old, while not necessary, would be a valuable complement to the assignment.
• Each student or group should have access to a world map or atlas.

Time Required:
Six to seven class periods and individual and group work outside of class.

Activities/Steps to Follow:
• First class period:
Teacher presents overall project:
Students will compare and contrast online coverage of world events. In groups, students will select 4 out of 7 international online newspapers (the four should include either the New York Times or the Washington Post) to research. Links to the seven newspapers are provided through the web page posted at www.barbarapeskin.com/twk/intlnews/. Each group will assign a newspaper to each student in the group. Students will then explore their newspaper to determine world events covered by that newspaper during a specific time period (perhaps the week the project starts or when the class will first be in the computer lab). The group will review their findings and come up with three world events that were covered by every one of the four newspapers. The group will produce two products to be assessed: 1) The group will prepare a written presentation comparing and contrasting international coverage of world events. (Outlined below under Fourth and Fifth Class Period). 2) The group will prepare a ten-minute presentation addressing three questions (outlined below under Fourth and Fifth Class Period) regarding their findings. Each student will also submit a short summary of their experience working in the group.

–In presenting the overall project to the students, an example from current events should be used, i.e. if a group found that The New York Times, The Jerusalem Post, the Irish Times and the St. Petersburg Press all covered nuclear testing in Korea, they would then proceed to compare and contrast the coverage of the event. The coverage of nuclear testing would be one of the three stories the group will compare and contrast.

• First and Second Class Period:
The class is given a background of the internet with a focus on important history and terms, what kinds of organizations provide information on the internet and a general understanding of the world wide web.

• Second and Third Class Period:
Hands-on work in computer lab if possible working with mouse and web site to review browsing techniques. Students will start from my web page (currently posted at http://www.edstwk.com/twk/intlnews/--other teachers can provide a handout of URLs for the seven newspapers). The class will review browsing techniques using my web page and then using the New York Times and St. Petersburg Press. Students will practice looking for indexes, world news section, last update and author information. During the third class period, the teacher assigns students into groups of four. (By this time there should be opportunity to assess computer skills and the teacher can create groups based on the assessment.)

• Fourth and Fifth Class Period: Students begin group and individual work towards the final project. Each student in the group will be responsible for individual and group work. The sequence of individual and group work should be as follows:
• Group- introduce each other and assess individual strengths and weaknesses
• Group- decide which four newspapers to use (one and only one should be U.S.) assign each individual in the group one of four newspapers to explore
• Individuals - determine the world events covered by the newspaper they are covering (many of the newspapers have a world, global or foreign section); create a list noting headline, date and specific URL as needed
• Group- compare lists and determine which three stories the group will compare and contrast for the written presentation (choose three stories that are reported on in each of the four newspapers your group chose.)
• Individuals- return to the on-line newspaper you started with and find as much information as possible about the three news stories the group will focus on. Summarize findings for each story, keeping a bibliography of online URLs, and printing as necessary.
• Group- meet again to compare and contrast the coverage each individual has discovered regarding the three news events. Start with one news event and let each individual share with the group what they found. Repeat the process for each of the four news events. In a written presentation (newsletter or word processing) compare and contrast the news stories. How is news coverage the same for each news event, how is it different? Groups can decide how to approach this task. The teacher may suggest a model as to how students can accomplish the goal (e.g. three students each prepare a written presentation comparing and contrasting news coverage of one of the stories based on input, discussion and written notes gathered by the group, a fourth student is editor-in-chief for the final product and can help other students as needed). Draw a conclusion about how each newspaper covered the stories and why the coverage or bias may have differed or been similar to the coverage in U.S. newspapers. In addition to the groups final written presentation comparing and contrasting international coverage of world events, each student should submit a short summary of their experience working with the group.
• Group- plan ten-minute presentation of conclusions to class. The group should plan to address these questions: 1) Were major news events covered by other newspapers the same way they were in the U.S. newspaper? If yes, why do you think so, if no, how does coverage differ? 2) Which three news events did your group ultimately work with, why do you think each of the four countries covered that event? 3) Which on-line newspaper did your group like the best and why?

During the Fourth and Fifth Class Period the teacher can help students by making atlases available. Atlases can help students:
• pinpoint location of city publishing online newspaper
• pinpoint location of cities/countries covered in the news stories to be compared and contrasted

Additional time will be needed and each group should plan for ways members can help each other to accomplish work outside of class time. Groups may need up to two weeks to accomplish work outside of class.

• Sixth and Seventh Class Periods: (perhaps two weeks later) Ten minute presentations from each group (as outlined above in Fourth and Fifth Class Period). Class discussion about what was learned about international news coverage will provide a wrap-up.

Follow up/Extension Activities:
Possibilities include:
• Later in the semester, perhaps as a filler between other lessons, students can return to the lab and the web page to see what stories are currently being covered. Or, students can visit the newspapers on their own and bring a list of world stories to class for class discussion.
• Later in the semester students can check their local newspapers for current information on the same news events their group explored.
• Individuals or groups can create their own web pages linking the relevant pages and links of the international events compared and contrasted during the lesson.

Barbara Peskin© 1999-2006