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News Anchor Workshop ✨ cross-curricular

Teacher: TeacherAI | Grade: 5 | Subject: Reading/ELA, Technology | Duration: 45 minutes

📝 Description: Students create and deliver news reports using tablets to record, review, and improve their speaking clarity and presentation skills.

Standards

  • 5.SL.4 (Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace)
  • 5.SL.6 (Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, using formal English when appropriate to task and situation)
  • TECH.5.1.c (Use technology to seek feedback that informs and improves practice and demonstrate learning in various ways)
  • TECH.5.1.d (Understand fundamental concepts of how technology works, choose and use current technologies, and explore emerging ones)

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to:

  • Create a 30-second news report with clear introduction, main facts, and conclusion
  • Adapt their speaking style to match formal news presentation format
  • Use tablet recording technology to capture and review their performance
  • Provide specific feedback to peers using digital tools and improve their own presentation based on feedback

Supplies Needed

  • Tablets or Chromebooks
  • Headphones
  • White paper
  • Pencils

Lesson Structure

Opening (5 minutes)

Show a 1-minute clip of a professional news anchor. Ask: "What do you notice about how they speak? How is this different from casual conversation?" Write student observations on the whiteboard, focusing on pace, tone, eye contact, and formal language.

Main Activity (35 minutes)

Step-by-step instructions:

  1. Script Planning (8 minutes): Students choose a school event or classroom topic to report on. Using the News Report Template, they write a 30-second script with opening, 2-3 key facts, and closing. Circulate to help students focus on formal language and clear sequencing.
  2. Practice Round (5 minutes): Students pair up and practice reading their scripts aloud to each other. Emphasize speaking slowly, clearly, and using "news anchor voice" - more formal than everyday speech.
  3. First Recording (7 minutes): Students use tablets to record their first news report. Show them how to use the camera app's record function. They should look directly at the camera and speak clearly. Allow 2-3 takes if needed.
  4. Self-Review Session (5 minutes): Students watch their recording with headphones and complete the Self-Assessment Checklist. They identify one strength and one area for improvement in their delivery.
  5. Peer Feedback (5 minutes): Partners watch each other's recordings and provide feedback using the Peer Feedback Form on their tablets. Focus on clarity, pace, and formal speaking style.
  6. Revision and Re-record (5 minutes): Based on feedback, students make one specific improvement and record a second version. Common improvements: speaking slower, making better eye contact, or using more formal language.

Closing (5 minutes)

Volunteers share one improvement they made between their first and second recording. Discuss how technology helped them see and hear themselves clearly to make improvements.

Quick Check: "What makes news speaking different from casual conversation? How did recording yourself help you improve? Name one technology tool we used today."

Formative Assessment

During the lesson, look for:

  • Students writing scripts with clear beginning, middle, and end structure
  • Use of formal language and "news voice" rather than casual conversation tone
  • Ability to identify specific improvements between first and second recordings

Differentiation Strategies

Support for Struggling Students:

  • Provide sentence starters for each part of the news report template
  • Allow them to work with a partner to co-write and co-present their report
  • Focus feedback on one element at a time (pace OR eye contact, not both)

Challenge for Advanced Learners:

  • Add weather or sports segment to their news report for a longer presentation
  • Research and report on a current local news event with multiple sources
  • Create graphics or visual aids to enhance their news presentation

ELL/ELD Support:

  • Pre-teach key news vocabulary: "reporting," "breaking news," "this just in"
  • Provide news report template with more sentence frames and transitions
  • Allow extra practice time with the recording technology before the activity

Printable Materials

News Report Script Template

Name: _________________ Topic: _________________


Opening (Introduce yourself and topic):

Good morning/afternoon. I'm _____________ with _____________ news.

Today we're reporting on _________________________________.


Main Facts (2-3 important details):

First, ________________________________________________.

Additionally, __________________________________________.

Finally, _____________________________________________.


Closing (Wrap up professionally):

That's all for now. I'm _____________, reporting for _____________ news.

Self-Assessment Checklist

Watch your recording and check each box:

  • ☐ I spoke clearly and slowly enough to understand
  • ☐ I looked at the camera (eye contact)
  • ☐ I used formal, news-appropriate language
  • ☐ My report had a clear beginning, middle, and end
  • ☐ I spoke at an appropriate volume

One thing I did well: _________________________________

One thing I want to improve: ____________________________

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