Description
Engage your students and school community in reflective writing with this end of the year news article assignment! Ideal for English, journalism, or social studies classes, this resource equips you to lead students through reporting on the school year’s key events and highlights. Suitable for online learning with digital worksheets for Google Classroom®.
Included with this End of the Year Article:
- Writing a News Article Slideshow Lesson – Microsoft PowerPoint®, Google Slides®, PDF
- Teach the Five Questions Model (W5-H)
- Explore the features of a news report (headlines, leads, location, supporting paragraphs)
- Writing a News Article Informational Handout
- Explore the purpose and intent of year-end news articles
- Outline what to include in a news report
- End-of-the-Year News Article Assignment Outline – Editable & Ready-to-Print
- News Article Graphic Organizer – Digital & Print
- Scaffold news article writing
- Guide students through the writing process, including peer editing and reflection
- News Article 4-Level Rubric – Editable & Ready-to-Print
- Teacher Instructions for using this resource
How to use this End of the Year Article:
This project teaches students how to write end-of-the-year news articles, an essential skill that helps them summarize key events, reflect on past experiences, and communicate ideas clearly. Writing a news article requires a strong understanding of informational writing, and this project introduces students to the Five Questions Model (W5-H), a structured approach that ensures their writing remains clear, factual, and engaging. By using this model, students will learn to answer the essential questions—who, what, when, where, why, and how—when crafting their articles. This framework is not only applicable to year-end news writing but also serves as a foundational tool for any type of informational text, reinforcing key skills that extend beyond this assignment. Whether students are writing about school events, personal reflections, or global happenings, this structured approach will help them develop well-organized, impactful articles. If you’re looking for a way to integrate cross-curricular literacy skills into your lessons, this project pairs well with the Making Inferences Mystery Game, as both activities encourage students to analyze information, draw conclusions, and communicate their findings effectively.
You can start this lesson with the Writing a News Article Slideshow Lesson, a visually engaging resource that walks students through the essential elements of a well-written news article. This lesson introduces the Five Questions Model (W5-H) and demonstrates how journalists use this framework to organize their reporting, structure their writing, and engage their audience. In addition to learning how to apply this model, students will differentiate between key features of news articles, including headlines, leads, the location of publication, and supporting paragraphs. By analyzing real-world examples, students will gain insight into how journalists craft compelling narratives based on facts and evidence. This slideshow lays the foundation for critical thinking and analytical reading, both of which are also key components of the Making Inferences Mystery Game, where students must interpret evidence and draw logical conclusions based on textual information.
Students can also review the Writing a News Article Informational Handout, which provides a concise yet detailed explanation of the purpose and structure of year-end news articles. This handout breaks down the intent behind news writing, helping students understand that year-end news articles serve as summaries of important moments, reflections on lessons learned, and discussions of future outlooks. The guide also outlines what to include in a news report, ensuring students have a clear roadmap for their writing process. Since inferencing plays a key role in journalistic writing, students can apply skills from the Making Inferences Mystery Game to analyze how different sources contribute to a complete, balanced news article. Encouraging students to think critically about the reliability of their information and sources will reinforce their ability to evaluate evidence and construct well-supported narratives.
More details about the assignment instructions can be found in the End-of-the-Year News Article Assignment Outline. This assignment outline provides a structured breakdown of the expectations, requirements, and step-by-step guidelines for completing the project successfully. Since classrooms have varying needs and preferences, the outline is available in both editable and ready-to-print formats, allowing teachers to customize instructions to best fit their students’ learning levels and classroom environment. The outline not only clarifies what is expected from students but also serves as a checklist to help them stay on track throughout the writing process. Given that both news writing and the Making Inferences Mystery Game require students to assess multiple pieces of information before drawing conclusions, this structured approach encourages them to be methodical in their thinking and analysis.
Students can then begin the News Article Graphic Organizer, a set of worksheets designed to scaffold the writing process and break it into manageable steps. These worksheets will help students brainstorm ideas, structure their articles, and revise their drafts effectively. By guiding students through the stages of writing—brainstorming, drafting, revising, and editing—this organizer ensures they develop strong, coherent articles. Additionally, the peer-editing process embedded in this activity encourages students to evaluate each other’s work critically and provide constructive feedback. Since inferencing is a crucial skill in both journalistic writing and the Making Inferences Mystery Game, students can strengthen their ability to read between the lines, identify gaps in information, and improve clarity in their writing. The process of revising and refining their articles mirrors the analytical skills used in mystery-solving, reinforcing how different pieces of information come together to form a complete and accurate narrative.
You can foster a collaborative learning environment by incorporating peer feedback sessions into the writing process. Encouraging students to review each other’s work, provide constructive criticism, and suggest improvements promotes a growth mindset toward writing. This process helps students develop a deeper understanding of writing as an evolving skill that requires multiple drafts and revisions. Since both news writing and the Making Inferences Mystery Game require students to think critically about the details presented to them, engaging in peer discussions can further strengthen their ability to analyze and synthesize information. These sessions can also help students become more confident in their writing and editing abilities, preparing them for future writing tasks that demand logical reasoning and attention to detail.
To evaluate this assignment, a 4-level rubric has been provided. This rubric is available in both editable and ready-to-print formats, allowing teachers to adjust the success criteria to align with their curriculum goals and students’ individual needs. The rubric assesses key components such as clarity, organization, factual accuracy, and overall effectiveness of the news article. Just as the Making Inferences Mystery Game challenges students to analyze evidence and draw conclusions, this rubric encourages them to apply those same skills to their writing, ensuring that their articles are well-supported and logically structured. By using a clear, criterion-based rubric, students can reflect on their strengths, areas for growth, and strategies for improvement in their informational writing skills.
✨ Kindly note that due to copyright restrictions, this resource is not editable. This is a common practice within the online marketplace in order to protect the clipartists and software providers that have authorized their intellectual property for the development of this resource.
⭒ For classrooms utilizing Google Classroom® ⭒
To access the digital version of these worksheets, simply follow the instructions within the resource to copy the files directly to your Google Drive®.
