Reporters are taught to begin news stories with the most important facts first—the who, what, when, where and how. Less important facts go later in the story. That way, if the story needs to be cut to fit a space, all the important facts remain.
Writing this way can be a worthwhile exercise for children. It forces them to use higher level thinking skills: to analyze a situation and rank facts in a hierarchical order, most important to less important.
A good time to teach this kind of writing is during a social studies class. Suppose the students have just finished studying the assassination of JFK. What if they are reporters in Dallas and the assassination has just happened? How would they write the story?
First, discuss with the students what the important facts are. Then ask students to consider in what order the facts should be reported.
- Would the story’s lead sentence start with the time or date? “At 12:30 p.m. central time on Friday, November 22, 1963. . .”
- Would the sentence start with the place? “At Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. . .”
- Would the sentence start with the how? “With gunshots. . .”
- Would the sentence start with who? “President John F. Kennedy. . .”
- Would the sentence start with what? “An assassination. . .”
In this case, the news story would start with the who since the most important fact is the President of the US. The next most important fact is that that the President died. How and where probably rank next. The least important fact is the date and time it happened. “President JFK died from gunshot wounds in Dallas, Texas at 12:30 today” might be a good first sentence.
News stories don’t always begin with the who. Suppose Hurricane Katrina is approaching Louisiana and Mississippi but has not struck yet.
- Would the lead sentence start with the time or the date: “Sometime tomorrow, Monday, August 29. . .”
- Would the lead start with the where: “The coast of Louisiana and Mississippi. . .”
- Would the lead start with the who: “Millions of Americans. . .”
- Would the lead start with the what: “A category four hurricane. . .”
- Would the lead start with the how: “With a storm surge expected to surpass 12 feet and winds of more than 130 m.p.h. . . .”
In this case the what and the where are most important, followed by the when. “A category 4 hurricane is expected to slam the coast of Louisiana and Mississippi in the early hours of Monday” would be a good lead sentence. How many people could be in harm’s way and the details of what a cat 4 hurricane can do are important, but they are less important than the fact of a strong hurricane threatening a particular area.
Writing like a reporter combines critical thinking skills with writing skills. If the children report on a breaking news event, they can match their efforts with the stories of real reporters. Or they can report on real happenings in the classroom–a spelling bee, a field day, a class visitor. Connecting writing activities to real life events is a sure way to engage students.
Good writers make a good first impression. They rewrite their introductions and first pages many times because they know if those words don’t grab a reader, the reader will put down that piece of writing and move on. But you don’t have to be a professional writer to hook a reader in the first sentence or two. Read this sentence by a fifth grader:
Good writers make their endings strong, too. Good writers know how to make a reader smile or nod with satisfaction at the end of a piece of writing.
Good writers organize their articles and stories so that readers can follow along without getting lost or confused. Good writers use topic sentences that tell the reader what to expect. They use transition words like “first,” “next,” and “finally.” Or they use chronological order, including time words such as “in the morning,” and “later that same day.” Notice how this first grader began a fairy tale using transitions.
Good writers don’t just tell something, they show it. In informational essays, good writers give examples to show what they mean. In narratives, good writers show a character acting, such as his hand wiping away a tear, or his foot tapping, so that the reader can judge for herself if a character is sad or excited. Here is how a kindergartener showed a character.
Good writers use sentences that are varied and interesting. They vary the verbs in sentences, begin sentences with different words and different parts of speech and write some long sentences and some short sentences. Notice how this sixth grader starts an essay with a 20-word sentence followed by a six-word sentence. He starts with a prepositional phrase but the next sentence begins with an adverb.
Good writers write for the ear, not the eye. Good writers read their writing aloud and listen for ideas that are not clear. If characters are speaking, good writers make characters dialog sound different from one another. Since most people don’t talk in complete sentences, good writers have their characters speak naturally, even if that breaks rules of grammar. Notice how a second grader uses dialog to explain what a book is about.
Good writers elaborate; they try to share a lot of information and detail. Good writers provide lots of detail—numbers, dates, seasons, days of the week, proper nouns, dialog, sensory information, and examples. Good writers put themselves in the shoes of the reader and provide the information that a reader needs even if the writer already understands it. See how that same second grader uses detail.
Good writers get their facts right, even when they are writing fiction. In passages about science or social studies, good writers use the proper vocabulary. They check their facts online or by talking to experts. They go over their writing to be sure names are consistent and numbers are accurate. Read how a first grader uses scientific facts which she researched.
Good writers should know when to quit. Good writing is concise writing. The writer needs to trust that the reader will understand the first time if the writing is clear enough, so repetition isn’t necessary. And that’s why I am going to stop now. –Mrs. K
English Writing Teacher 