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Lesson 1: News Headlines
Lesson Goals
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to
present a report comparing news reports from two different news media,
and
provide information about main events in a certain country.
Tasks
Students will
a. read newspaper headlines,
b. listen to a radio broadcast,
c. take notes from both media sources, and
d. produce a report comparing the information gathered.
Scenario
Every day while you eat your breakfast, you browse through the newspaper,
reading the headlines as well as some of the news items that interest you.
Also, while driving to work, you listen to the news on the radio. In this
way, you become a very well informed person.
Many times, you make a mental comparison of the newspaper headlines
and the radio news items, and notice differences between the items portrayed
as main news, as well as the differences in the information provided on
the same event.
Today you want to analyze these similarities and differences, and share
your findings with your co-workers. In order to prepare your informal
report on the matter, follow the links and the instructions provided.
a. Here is a list of themes that typically appears
in newspaper headlines and news broadcasts:
politics
international stories
disasters/accidents
sports
art/culture
religion
economics
health
education
defense/military
judicial
crimes
Using the list as a reference, follow these steps:
1. Read the cover page of Diario
Clarín. 2. Identify the main theme of each news item and
10 to 20 keywords associated with each theme.
3. Listen to the latest
news broadcast from Radio Mitre. 4. Identify the main theme of each news item and
10 to 20 keywords associated with each theme.
b. Listen to the latest
news broadcast from Radio Mitre again and take notes on the
3 to 5 main ideas of each news item.
c. Read the cover page of Diario
Clarín again and take notes on the 3 to 5 main ideas
of each news item.
d. Compare your notes from steps b and c, and identify the news
items that appear in both.
e. From the news items that appear in both sources, choose
the
one that interests you most, and do the following:
1. Read the entire newspaper article and take notes on the main
ideas.
2. Listen to the news item one or two more times, take notes
on the main ideas.
3. Prepare a list of the information
i) that is in the article and is also discussed
in the radio broadcast,
ii) that is in the article but is not discussed
in the radio broadcast, and
iii) that is in the radio broadcast but is not mentioned
in the article.
Presentation
Read your notes, make the necessary corrections, and produce a final report
on the treatment that each news source gave the information. Use
your word processor (preferably Word for Windows), attach your text to
an introductory e-mail and send it to: your
co-workers. Thanks, and good luck.
Express yourself:
Use the BoardRoom
to express your comments and opinions about the news you heard. Post
your ideas in the BoardRoom and use this public forum to discuss current
issues with other Spanish speakers arround the world.
Some of the ideas for this lesson are from
Bridges: A Publication Dedicated to Teaching the Final
Learning Objectives, Defense Language Institute, 1997.
Thanks to Maurice Funke and Steve
Solomon.
