Introduction

The year is 2026. You are working at a major newspaper, reporting on special events. You have recently received an assignment to create a feature for the 250-year anniversary of the birth of our nation. Luckily you have just discovered that your grandmother has magical powers that can take you back in time. Since you are studying about the American Revolution, you decide to take this opportunity to travel back in time to gather information that will help you with your assignment.

Task

Your job is to create a newspaper that contains the following types of articles:

Profile- This article should contain information about how a person during this time period was affected by the war.

Editorial- Write from the viewpoint of a loyalist or a patriot. How would they interpret the events happening around them?

Hard News- Choose a major event and describe its effects on the people and how previous events influenced it?

Process

Step 1: Visit the Newspapers Writing Styles website. As a group, decide who will write each article.

Step 2: Browse the on-line resources and begin gathering information needed for your article.

Step 3: Decide on a focus for the article

Step 4: Do more in depth research using the appropriate links

Step 5: Create a Kidpix web to organize ideas

Step 6: Research the proper article format

Step 7: Write the rough draft of your article

Step 8: Create a headline

Step 9: Peer edit your stories

Step 10: Layout your newspaper page and create the final copy.

Resources

Newspaper Writing

http://www.canada.com/calgary/calgaryherald/specials/wiredforwords/Styles.pdf - Newspaper Writing Styles (PDF)

http://www.freep.com/jobspage/academy/writing.htm - Newspaper Writing 101

http://www.canada.com/calgary/calgaryherald/specials/education/pdf/HardNews.pdf - how to write a hard news story

http://www. schweiz-in-sicht.ch/en/5_ler/5_gem_zei.html– How do I write a newspaper article?

http://www.lib.uconn.edu/~mboyer/kim2.htm - writing a news article

Events

htpp://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/-information from PBS about events and people of the American Revolution

http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/revolution/ - timeline of Revolutionary War events

http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/revolution/rev-prel.htm - timeline of events leading up to the Revolutionary War

http://www.multied.com/revolt/Battles.html- links to sites about the important battles

http://rims.k12.ca.us/women_american_revolution/links.html - links to sites about various aspects of the revolution

http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/ - How the American Flag came to be.

People

www.ctssar.org/patriots/nathan_hale.htm- Nathan Hale website

http://home.ptd.net/~revwar/index.html - Diaries and other personal writings from the Revolutionary War period

http://rims.k12.ca.us/women_american_revolution/index.html - information on women during the Revolutionary War

http://www.ushistory.org/march/index.html - what it was really like to be a soldier during this time

Evaluation

1(Below Basic)	2 (Basic)	3 (Proficient)	4 (Advanced)
Includes little or no insightful connections between events and people. Includes few details and supporting evidence from at least 2 sources.	Includes few insightful connections between events and people. Includes few details and supporting evidence from at least 3 sources.	Includes some insightful connections between events and people. Includes some details and supporting evidence from at least 4 sources.	Includes many insightful connections between events and people. Includes numerous details and supporting evidence from at least 5 sources.
Little or no use of correct form or organization including the omission of some or all of the following: 1) Establishes a topic, 2) Presents important ideas and events in a logical sequence or chronological order, 3) Provides details, 4) Transitional expressions link one paragraph to another in a clear line of thought, 5) Concluding paragraph summarizes important ideas and details.	Writes a multiple-paragraph composition using some organizational structure and may include some of the following: 1) Establishes a topic, 2) Presents important ideas and events in a logical sequence or chronological order, 3) Provides details, 4) Transitional expressions link one paragraph to another in a clear line of thought, 5) Concluding paragraph summarizes important ideas and details.	Writes a multiple-paragraph expository composition that includes the following organizational structure: 1) Establishes a topic, 2) Presents important ideas and events in a logical sequence or chronological order, 3) Provides details, 4) Transitional expressions link one paragraph to another in a clear line of thought, 5) Concluding paragraph summarizes important ideas and details. (1.2 a, b, c Strategies)	Writes a multiple-paragraph composition that includes all organizational and structural requirements. The composition is engaging, clear and easy to understand, and uses precise vocabulary.
Little or no varied sentence structure. Uses mainly simple or compound sentences. Little or no use of transitions and conjunctions to connect ideas.	Some varied sentence structure that may include simple, compound, and complex sentences. Some use of transitions and conjunctions to connect ideas.	Uses varied sentence structure including simple, compound, and complex sentences. Uses transitions and conjunctions to connect ideas.	Uses varied sentence structure and uses effective coordination and subordination of ideas to express complete thoughts.
Little or no correct use of grade level spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar.	Some correct use of grade level spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar.	Uses grade level spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar most of the time. (1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5 Conventions)	Uses grade level spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar consistently throughout writing.

Conclusion

You should now have an idea of what events led up to the American Revolution and how the interactions of the people affected the outcome. It should be clear how people lived their lives and what their thoughts and feelings were about the war. You should have a finished product that you can present to your editor (teacher) and the newspaper subscribers (classmates).