Chapter Notes: Making The News

Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Building Vocabulary
3. News Features
4. Making Headlines
5. Ordering Information
6. Digging for Meaning
7. Browsing Brochures
8. Explanation
9. Diary Doodles
10. Point of View
11. Direct Speech
12. Report the News
13. Important Terms
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Introduction

News is all around us - on TV, in newspapers, on websites, and even in school newsletters. In this chapter, you will learn how news is written and shared. You will build your news vocabulary, read news reports, write headlines, use time words (adverbials), explore word families, understand formal language, compare diary and news styles, and finally plan and write your own news report.

Building Vocabulary

Using new words in sentences

• Use words from the coloured boxes to write sentences.
• Use a dictionary to check spelling and meaning.
• Make sure each sentence:
  • has correct grammar,
  • matches the topic, and
  • clearly shows the meaning of the word.

Working in groups

• Share your sentences with your classmates.
• Check and edit each other's work kindly and carefully.
• Help your friends correct mistakes and improve style.
• Write your final sentences neatly and share them with the class.

News Features

Example news report: "Mummy Mystery Baffles Experts"

Archaeologists working in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt found two mummies. One mummy was inside a coffin and the other was lying on the ground. The tomb looked simple, so it seemed that the mummies were not important people. However, some clues suggested they might actually be important.

Making up questions

• Closed questions (who, what, when, where)
  • Give short answers and key details.
• Open questions (why, how)
  • Ask for explanation and more information.
• Work with a partner:
  • Take turns to be interviewer and interviewee.
  • Ask and answer your questions aloud.
• Good interviewer skills:
  • Speak clearly.
  • Keep eye contact with the interviewee and the audience.

Making Headlines

Analysing example headlines

• "Exciting discovery for all!": Everyone was happy with the discovery.
• "Mystery - unsolved...": Nobody knows what happened.
• "Three cheers for Prof.!!!": A history professor gets an award.
• "Statue 'emergency'": Pieces of a statue have been damaged.
• "SAVING HISTORY?": Historians are trying to repair an ancient object.

Checklist for good headlines

• Summarise the main idea in a few words.
• Use large, bold text (in printed or digital layout).
• Use strong, specific words to make an impact.
• Use punctuation for effect (for example: ?, !, ...).
• Catch the reader's attention.

Making words more interesting

• Use a thesaurus to replace dull words with stronger ones.
  • Example: problem → disaster, crisis, failure.
• Practice changing simple headlines into stronger ones.
  • "The team's results were very good." → "Team Shatters All Records!"
• Write your own headlines for recent events at home or school.
• Read headlines aloud with expression, using punctuation clues.

Ordering Information

What are adverbials of time?

• Adverbials of time are words or phrases that tell when something happened or in what order events took place. They help show the sequence of events in news or stories.
• Common adverbs: eventually, before, firstly, secondly, finally, next, lastly, meantime, later, then.
• Adverbial phrases: the day before last, during spring, the other day, last month.

Position in sentences

• Adverbials can be at the beginning or at the end of a sentence.
• When at the beginning, put a comma after the adverbial.
  • First of all, we discussed the plan.
  • Finally, we arrived at the museum.

Example: Solving the mummy mystery

The scientist's steps in solving the mummy mystery:

1. First of all, a small wooden box was found in a tomb near Queen Hatshepsut's temple.
2. The inscription said the box contained one of Queen Hatshepsut's teeth.
3. So, the mouths of both mummies were scanned.
4. One mummy had a tooth missing.
5. The tooth in the box matched the gap in that mummy's mouth.
6. Finally, they concluded that this mummy was Queen Hatshepsut.

Students identify the adverbials and check that the order of events makes sense.

Digging for Meaning

Word roots and families

A root is the main part of a word. Many different words can be built from one root. For example: power, powerful, powerless.

Word family for "mummy"

• mummy (noun)
• mummified (adjective)
• mummification (noun)

Origin of the word "mummy"

Bodies were wrapped in white linen cloth. Over time, the cloth turned black. Scientists thought a black tar called bitumen had been used. The Persian word for bitumen is mummia. From this, the English word mummy developed.

Practice with word pairs

Use these word pairs in sentences to show their meanings:

• mummy (noun); mummified (adjective)
• discovery (noun); discover (verb)
• bury (verb); burial (noun)
• fossil (noun); fossilised (adjective)
• archaeologist (noun); archaeological (adjective)

Proper Nouns and Proper Adjectives

Proper nouns: A proper noun names a specific person, place or thing and always begins with a capital letter. Examples: India, Egypt, Pakistan, Nile, Tom.

Proper adjectives
A proper adjective is made from a proper noun and also begins with a capital letter.

• Pakistan → Pakistani
• England → English
• India → Indian
• America → American
• Africa → African
• Egypt → Egyptian
• China → Chinese

Browsing Brochures

What is a museum?

• A museum is a place where objects from the past, works of art and scientific items are kept and shown.
• We can see artefacts, models and information displays in a museum.

Where do we find information?

• On labels beside the exhibits.
• In brochures, posters and guides.

Brochure extract: "Find out about the AKHMIM MUMMY"

Visitors to the museum can see ancient Egyptian artefacts, including a model of a man created from a mummy. The brochure tells the story of Peten-Amun, a man from Upper Egypt who lived about 2,300 years ago.

• The museum shows his coffin and a reconstruction of his face.
• Scientists think he was about 60 years old.
• He probably died of natural causes or an age-related illness.

Project Mummy - facial reconstruction

In 1990, Dr Bill Aulsebrook and his team used a CAT scan to make a three-dimensional model of Peten-Amun's skull. Using this model, they built up what his face might have looked like.

Explanation

Mummification - step-by-step explanation

The process of making a mummy took about 70 days.

1. First, all the internal organs were removed.
2. Then, the body was cleansed with palm wine and crushed incense.
3. Next, it was filled with crushed myrrh and other spices.
4. After that, it was covered with a salt mixture to dry it out.
5. Then, the body was wrapped in strips of white linen cloth coated with resin.
6. Finally, the preserved body, or mummy, was placed in a coffin and sealed in a tomb.

Diary Doodles

Diary extract - "Diary of a treasure hunter"

• A child writes in their diary about going to the park with Dad.
• They use a metal detector to find coins and rubbish.
• They are surprised to find a beautiful gold pendant.
• Mum and Dad are excited and think it might be valuable and belong in a museum.
• The language is personal, emotional and written in first person ("I").

News report of the same event

• A reporter writes about an eight-year-old boy who found a gold pendant in a park.
• He was using his father's metal detector.
• His father calls it beginner's luck.
• His mother says she is delighted.
• The parents hand the pendant over to be examined.
• The writing style is formal, factual and in third person ("he", "they").

Formal vs informal language

To make writing more formal, we avoid contractions and very casual words.

• "They'll check it out." → "They will examine it."
• "He'll give it a go." → "He will try it."
• "The whole bunch had a blast." → "Everyone enjoyed themselves."
• "You're the best!" → "You are excellent."
• "It's so real." → "It appears authentic."

Point of View

Types of point of view

1. First person
   • The writer is part of the story.
   • Uses: I, me, mine, we, us.
2. Second person
   • The writer speaks directly to the reader.
   • Uses: you, yours.
3. Third person
   • An outside narrator tells the story.
   • Uses: he, she, it, they.

Point of view changes how the reader feels about the story or report.

Direct Speech

What is direct speech?

• Direct speech shows the exact words that someone says or thinks. These words are written inside inverted commas (speech marks).
• Examples:
  • "Here it is," he said.
  • He said, "Here it is."
  • "Here it is," Rob said.

If the sentence continues after the speech, the full stop inside the speech is usually replaced with a comma. The comma goes inside the inverted commas. The word after the closing inverted commas is not capitalised unless it is a proper noun.

Report the News

Structure of a news report

1. Headline: a short, powerful title.
2. Lead sentence: answers Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
3. Body: more details, quotes and background information.
4. Conclusion: final comment or outcome.

Writing and editing

• Write a first draft of your news report.
• Swap drafts with a partner and check:
  • Headline, lead, body and conclusion are present.
  • Spelling and punctuation are correct.
  • Vocabulary is clear and interesting.
  • The tone is formal and in the past tense.
  • The report uses third-person point of view.
  • Adverbials of time are used to show sequence.
• Write or type a neat final copy.
• Use coloured pens to edit your own work and pencil to edit your partner's work.
• Display the finished reports and discuss which ones feel the most realistic.

Important Terms

• Vocabulary:All the words you know and use.
• Interview: A meeting where one person asks another person questions.
• News report: A written or spoken piece of news giving facts about an event.
• Headline: The title of a news article, written in a short, strong way.
• Adverbials of time: Words or phrases that tell when something happens or in what order.
• Root word: The basic part of a word from which other words are formed.
• Mummy: A dead body preserved using special methods.
• Mummification: The process of preserving a body as a mummy.
• Burial: The act of placing a dead body in the ground or in a tomb.
• Fossil: The remains or mark of a plant or animal from long ago, found in rock.
• Archaeologist: A person who studies remains of past human life and activities.
• Reconstruction: Rebuilding or creating again what something may have looked like.
• Embalm: To use oils and chemicals to preserve a body.
• Account: A description of something that has happened.
• Evaluate: To think carefully and judge how good, useful, or important something is.
• Pendant: Jewellery that hangs from a chain around the neck.
• Proper noun: The name of a specific person, place, or thing (e.g., India, Nile, Tom).
• Proper adjective: An adjective formed from a proper noun (e.g., Indian, Egyptian).
• Brochure: A small booklet that gives information about a place, product, or event.
• Artefact: An object made by humans, usually from the past.
• Point of view: Who is telling the story (first person, second person, third person).
• Direct speech: The exact words that someone says, shown inside inverted commas.
• Inverted commas (speech marks): Punctuation marks used to show direct speech (" ").
• Formal language: Polite, careful language used in reports, letters, and essays.