The Feature Story—Fifteen Minutes (and 500 Words) of Fame!

Materials and Technology

Student Interactives

Printouts

Websites

Preparation

 

MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGY

Sample newspapers and magazines (see Websites for possible online sources)

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STUDENT INTERACTIVES

Grades   K – 12  |  Student Interactive  |  Writing & Publishing Prose

Printing Press

The interactive Printing Press is designed to assist students in creating newspapers, brochures, and flyers.

 

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PRINTOUTS

• Qualities of a Feature Story
  
  
• Prewriting Questions: What Makes you Interesting?
  
  
• Reviewer Response Sheet
  
  
• Sample Leads for Feature Stories
  
  
• Student Reflection Sheet

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WEBSITES

• The New York Times
• The National Scholastic Press Association

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PREPARATION

• Collect issues of newspapers and magazine that students can use in class. Include both national and local publications.
  
  
• Collect sample feature stories that offer personality profiles. Look for recently published pieces in newspapers and magazines, especially pieces about people with whom students are familiar. A good source is Parade—The Sunday Newspaper Magazine. Also some local papers in their annual back to school issues publish feature stories about area teenagers. These are especially effective and engaging for students.
  
  
• Prepare copies of the handouts for the lesson:
  
  
  • Qualities of a Feature Story
    
    
  • Reviewer Response Sheet, if needed for response group work.
    
    
  • Sample Leads for Feature Stories
    
    
  • Student Reflection Sheet
    
    
• The Society of Professional Journalists offers a succinct description of feature reporting that can be used for teacher reference.
  
  
• Test the Printing Press on your computers to familiarize yourself with the tool and ensure that you have the Flash plug-in installed. You can download the plug-in from the technical support page.

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