THE ENERGY TIMES

Join your students in making an energy newspaper that will benefit the whole school! Not only will producing a newspaper help your students learn about energy, but it will also sharpen their research and writing skills at the same time. An alternative to this activity is to include it in the school newspaper, and just set up an energy column in every issue.

THE WRITING PROCESS:

First, brainstorm with your students about articles you would like to include. The idea is to encourage student interest in energy awareness. Here is a list of ideas to help you get started:

  • An article by two people who are on opposite sides of a controversial energy issue—a point/counterpoint feature.
  • a story about teaching an energy education unit or lesson
  • energy related experiments that can be done at home
  • a story about how much energy the school uses (also have students find instances where the school wastes energy, and perhaps suggestions on how these problems can be fixed)
  • an interview with elderly people on how energy affected their lives when they were your students age, and how things have changed
  • helpful hints on saving energy.
  • games, crossword puzzles, or energy jumbles
  • energy horoscopes, i.e. Pisces—Your car will continue to guzzle gas if you keep on idling.
  • an article about a family producing or saving energy in a unique or effective way.
  • a profile of an energy economist, engineer, historian, or of a student preparing for an energy career.
  • a factual article explaining the ten energy sources, forms of energy or how energy is used.

    Once you have a list of articles, you will need to assign certain students to write stories and others to produce the newspaper. You may want to assign students in groups to write each article if the class size is large. Get all students involved in the production of the paper in some way. A description of these responsibilities is given below:

    Reporters: Once you have decided on the stories you would like to cover, assign a reporter to each. You may want to ask for volunteers, or for students who have contacts with people working with energy for certain articles.

    Production Committee: Decide on the format for your newspaper. How many pages will it be? How many columns per page? What will you call the newspaper? What will you use for a masthead? If you want to add graphics, have a talented student do pen and ink drawings, or find noncopywrited art from other sources (or teach students to cite the source correctly).

    Once the articles are typed in the proper column width, the newspaper can be pasted and assembled. Another option is to use a word processing program with a newspaper style template. Then print the newspaper, and distribute to the entire school (or selected grade levels).

    Another option is to also distribute the newspaper to the community through libraries, grocery stores (clerks could put in a copy in customer’s grocery bags), newsstands, or newspaper carriers. If you choose this option, you will have to develop a budget for getting the appropriate number of newspapers printed. You may need to find sponsors to pay for printing costs. If this is the case, be sure to leave room for the sponsors name or logo on the paper. Be aware that it may be easier to raise funds with several sponsors. Be sure that sponsors receive several copies. Also, distribute extra copies to energy related businesses in your area. They may be willing to sponsor future projects.

    TIPS:
  • Encourage students to put "punch" and enthusiasm in their writing.
  • Keep the newspaper simple, and stick to one broad theme.
  • Use an organized and attractive layout to capture the reader’s attention.
  • Be sure to keep the newspaper geared to the target audience.
  • Use artwork sparingly and with purpose.
  • Avoid handwritten newspapers—always have them typed.
  • Use colored ink if your budget allows.
  • Keep the stories concise and the paragraphs short for easier reading.
  • Always proofread before publication. Do not allow typographical errors to make your publication look bad. You may want to have students switch articles and proofread each other’s work before you check them.