Extreme Weather in the News

Extreme Weather in the News Student Book 5c, pages 121 122 Understanding Media Instructional Focus IDENTIFYING THE CONVENTIONS OF NEWS BROADCASTS Identifying the conventions of news broadcasts enables students to understand how the different elements of news broadcasts work together to help viewers understand news stories. Instructional Approaches SHARED READING Transparency 56: Extreme Weather in the News Extreme Weather in the News Student Book 5c, p. 121 INDEPENDENT READING Extreme Weather in the News Student Book 5c, p. 122 Expectations LANGUAGE O: Oral R: Reading W: Writing ML: Media Literacy O Communicate ideas and information orally in a clear, coherent manner R Analyze/explain how the characteristics of texts literary, graphic, informational help communicate meaning ML Identify conventions/techniques in media forms and explain how they convey meaning/influence the audience ML Produce media texts for specific purposes and audiences, using appropriate forms/conventions/techniques SCIENCE CONNECTION Forces Acting on Structures and Mechanisms: Analyze forces that act on structures and mechanisms in the environment About This Selection This selection is a transcript of an actual CBC news broadcast, with still photos taken from video footage. The text and photos show what goes into one brief news report that is part of a longer news broadcast. Because this is a transcript from an actual broadcast, the topic-specific vocabulary and complex sentence structures may be challenging for students. ACCESSIBILITY Easy Average Challenging Reflecting on Your Practice How can I encourage my students to be aware of the conventions of media forms they encounter in their daily lives, and how the various elements of media forms work together to communicate a message? ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING Ongoing Observation Students who understand will identify the opening of a news report that gets viewers excited identify background information and video footage that helps viewers connect to the news story identify video footage that helps viewers understand the event explain how knowing the conventions of news broadcasts helps viewers understand the news story Differentiated Instruction If students do not understand, use Identifying Parts of a News Report (see Differentiated Instruction: Extra Support, p. 54) Assessment Demonstration Task, p. 56 Key Assessment Question How did knowing the conventions of news broadcasts help you understand the news story? Assessment Tools BLM 2: Oral Language Tracking Sheet BLM 3: Small-Group Observation Tracking Sheet BLM 4: Self-Assessment Checklist and Personal Goal Setting BLM 13: Strategy Rubric Strip Identifying the Conventions of News Broadcasts 52 Nelson Literacy 5 Teacher s Resource: Natural Forces

media Understanding Identifying the Conventions of News Broadcasts Extreme Weather in the News People have many ways of keeping up with the news, including newspapers, magazines, radio, and TV. TV news broadcasts offer viewers information and opinions. Most TV news reports are only a couple of minutes long. Shared Reading Use Transparency 56: Extreme Weather in the News and its related teacher notes in Transparencies for Shared Reading and Modelling to model how readers identify the conventions of news broadcasts. Before U12_S09_pg121-122.indd 121 A TV news reporter brings news and drama into people s homes. How does the opening of this news report get viewers excited? Reporters often use background information and video footage taken at the scene of an event (like a flood) to help viewers feel connected to the news story. Video footage shows viewers what is happening, nearby or thousands of kilometres away. How do these images help you understand how serious the problem is? CBC TV News Broadcast, January 25, 2002 Opening scene: footage from 1997 Manitoba flood as seen from helicopter over the town of Ste. Agathe. Sound of helicopter blades. Voice-over: news reporter Kaveri Bittira. Kaveri: It was the community hit hardest during the 1997 flood. Much of Ste. Agathe was under water. Now the province has a mega project in the works: to flood-proof the Red River Valley and better protect Winnipeg. Two ideas: an expanded floodway or massive water detention structure. These still pictures are taken from the video footage for this news broadcast. Cut to: present scene, community meeting in Ste. Agathe. Camera pans crowded room. Sound of meeting in background as Kaveri speaks. Kaveri: The latter, an earthen dike, would go 2 km south of Ste. Agathe. But that s too close for some near the community. They worry the dam will back up and that water can cause even worse flooding than in 1997. 121 Vocabulary 8/1/07 10:48:05 AM floodway a giant ditch dug around a city or town to divert flood waters away from the city or town footage a quantity of film shot during a news broadcast, movie, or other production guaranteed compensation program a promised arrangement to provide something in return for a loss or injury news story the event that a news report is about pans moves a camera so as to take in a whole scene voice-over narration by an unseen announcer water detention structure a dam built especially to hold back flood waters Strategy Tip: Ask an expert Explain that some vocabulary relates to specific subjects or topics, and that one way to learn about such words and phrases is to ask someone who is an expert on the topic. Discuss whom students might ask to find out what voice-over or floodway means. RELATING TO PERSONAL EXPERIENCE 1. Describe the following scenario to students. You go to a friend s home and see your friend through a window, watching TV. This is what you see on the TV through the window as you watch for a few minutes: a woman sitting at a desk, talking a video scene of a building on fire a close-up of a firefighter, talking a man at the fire, looking into the camera and talking a man drawing on a large map of the area a screen showing temperatures and icons of clouds, rain, and sun 2. What kind of program is your friend watching? How do you know? (a news program; things like video clips, a reporter, interviews, and a weather report are all parts of news programs) In this scenario, what was the reporter reporting on? (a fire) How did you recognize him as a reporter? (he was at the scene of the fire, looking into the camera and talking about the fire) 3. Tell students that they are going to look at the transcript of a news report that is part of a news broadcast. Extreme Weather in the News 53

During INTRODUCING THE TEXT 1. Ask students if they have heard or read about the Manitoba flood that happened in 1997. Explain that one of the main rivers in southern Manitoba, the Red River, could not carry away the combined water of melting snow and torrential spring rains that year. The result was a major flood. 2. Display a map of Manitoba. Tell students that they will be reading about places in Manitoba that were affected by the flood. With their help, locate Winnipeg, Selkirk, and Ste. Agathe. Track the path of the Red River through southern Manitoba. 3. Give students time to look over Student Book pages 121 and 122 as you read the title and the introduction. Explain that the transcript they see on these pages looks much like the script of a play, with camera instructions and characters identified along with their spoken words. READING AND DISCUSSING THE TEXT 1. Direct students to read the first chunk of boldface text and the first annotation on page 121. When was this broadcast shown on TV? (January 25, 2002) What would viewers see and hear at the beginning of this news report? (video pictures of a flooded town; helicopter blades; voice of the news reporter) How does the opening of this news report get viewers excited? (it shows something dramatic and unusual; the sound of helicopter blades whirling makes it sound urgent) 122 Natural Forces U12_S09_pg121-122.indd 122 How does the rest of this news report help viewers understand the news story? Cut to: Man from Ste. Agathe being asked his opinion Man: We do not want unnecessary flooding in the community south of Ste. Agathe. We know what it s like; we were there in 97 and we don t want to repeat that exercise. Cut to: camera pans over community meeting in Selkirk. Voice-over: news reporter Kaveri. Kaveri: But those living north of Winnipeg worry too. At a recent flood meeting in Selkirk, residents raised concerns about an expanded floodway and how it might cause more flooding in their community. Cut to: Kaveri standing outside Kaveri: The premier s already on record saying he favours an expanded floodway. But residents near Ste. Agathe say if the massive detention structure is built, they want to see a guaranteed compensation program from the province. Kaveri Bittira, CBC News, Winnipeg. Differentiated Instruction: Extra Support 8/1/07 10:48:10 AM Identifying Parts of a News Report Discuss the transcript of the news report in greater detail to help students understand the parts of a news report and how they work together. Ask students to read Student Book pages 121 and 122, looking for the parts of the report in the order in which they happen. List their responses, for example, opening scene with video footage of flood, voice-over of reporter; second scene with video footage of community meeting, voice-over of reporter; third scene of man talking; fourth scene with video footage of another community meeting, voice-over of reporter; last scene of reporter talking while standing outside. Discuss how the video footage and the sound for each scene occur at the same time. If possible, tape a news report to show to students. Discuss the different scenes and what is happening in each one. 54 Nelson Literacy 5 Teacher s Resource: Natural Forces

2. Read Kaveri s first speech and the second annotation aloud. What is Kaveri, the news reporter, reporting on, specifically? (the province s project to flood-proof the Red River Valley) How do you think the video footage and background information related to the Manitoba flood helps viewers feel connected to the news story? (they make viewers think about the people whose homes and lives were damaged and feel sorry for them; people who watched the news when the flood happened would remember the news story and be interested to hear about the people and towns now) Discuss any terminology and concepts related to the new flood-control project to clarify students understanding. 3. Read the third annotation and ask students to look at the still pictures from the video footage. Imagine hearing about this flood on radio news, then seeing video footage on a television news broadcast. How would these images help you understand how serious the problem is? (you can see that homes, yards, sidewalks, and roads are flooded so much that people couldn t get around without boats; they couldn t shop for food or anything; you don t know how deep the water is until you see the pictures) 4. Tell students that the news report continues on the topic of the flood-proofing project. Invite them to read to the bottom of page 121 to find out where Kaveri is reporting from now. What does the camera show? (a crowded meeting room in Ste. Agathe) What do the viewers hear? (Kaveri speaking; the sound of the meeting in the background) INDEPENDENT READING Read the introductory question at the top of Student Book page 122. Ask students to scan the page to note that it is set up in the same way as page 121. Arrange students in pairs to read the rest of the news report and discuss their responses to the question. After These questions and activities give students the opportunity to share and consolidate their learning about news broadcasts. You may use BLM 2: Oral Language Tracking Sheet and BLM 3: Small-Group Observation Tracking Sheet to track student progress through the unit. REFLECTING ON THE STRATEGY Invite student pairs to share their responses to how the rest of the news report helps viewers understand the news story. What features of this part of the report help viewers feel connected to the story? (footage shows real people looking worried; hearing one man speak about the community s concerns will remind viewers that the story is about real people with a real problem) The report is about the province s two ideas for floodproofing the Red River Valley. How do you know that this is not a simple matter to resolve? (people in different communities have meetings to talk about it; there are concerns about both of the ideas; either idea could cause more flooding in some of the same areas as before; some people want the province to promise them money or other assistance if they re flooded again) How do the opening of this news report and the rest of the report connect? (the Manitoba flood was big news when it happened; if the flood hadn t happened, people probably wouldn t be talking about ways to prevent flooding, so the province s flood-proofing projects are news now because of the flood back then) ORAL: ROLE-PLAYING A NEWS INTERVIEW Ask student pairs to take on the roles of the news reporter and the man in Ste. Agathe who gave his opinion. Encourage them to write down two or three questions the reporter might ask for the television broadcast, and the man s answers. Or, the interviewee could be a person from the Selkirk meeting, or the premier. Remind students to rehearse their interview before performing it for others. MEDIA: WRITE A NEWS REPORT TRANSCRIPT Encourage students to find a news article in a newspaper or on a preapproved website that interests them. (Ensure students are under adult supervision when using the Internet.) Suggest that they use the format of the selection to develop three scenes within which to tell the story, or part of the story, as a news report. Each scene should have a description of what is happening in the scene (video footage and who is speaking), a photo or drawing of a still picture taken from the video footage, and the words of the person speaking. Remind them to incorporate the conventions of news broadcasts that they have learned: opening scene to get viewers attention; background information to help viewers feel connected to the news story; video footage that shows viewers what is happening. Ask students to store their transcripts in their writing folder for later use in the Demonstration Task. Extreme Weather in the News 55

Home Connection Encourage family members to help students identify the conventions of news broadcasts. Suggest that they watch different news broadcasts together, and make notes on the conventions they have in common. Students could first share what they have learned about news broadcasts, and then look for examples of those conventions, as well as others, as they watch. ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING Checking Progress Demonstration Task Direct students to make a chart with two columns labelled Conventions of News Broadcasts and Examples. In the left-hand column, have them list the following conventions: opening that gets viewers excited; background information and video footage of the event to help viewers feel connected to the news story; and video footage to help viewers understand the event. Invite students to exchange their news report transcripts with a partner, and record an example of each convention from the news reports they are reviewing on the chart. Key Assessment Question Students may respond to the Key Assessment Question either in writing or orally in a conference. How did knowing the conventions of news broadcasts help you understand the news story? Record individual progress on BLM 13: Strategy Rubric Strip Identifying the Conventions of News Broadcasts. Next Steps Encourage students to continue to view news broadcasts in their daily lives and analyze them for. Make time for students to share their observations with classmates. Strategy Rubric Strip: Identifying the Conventions of News Broadcasts A full-size version of this rubric, suitable for recording assessments, is provided on BLM 13. Criteria Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 identifies the opening of a news report that gets viewers excited identifies background information and video footage that helps viewers connect to the news story identifies video footage that helps viewers understand the event explains how knowing the conventions of news broadcasts helps viewers understand the news story Cross-Curricular Application applies the skills of identifying the conventions of news broadcasts in other areas of the curriculum Student Self-Assessment Encourage students to think back to their learning with Extreme Weather in the News and reflect on their ability to identify the conventions of news broadcasts. Ask them to describe, while conferencing with you or a peer, how they might have used the skills from this lesson in other subject areas or in their daily lives. Then direct them to check off the appropriate box on BLM 4: Self-Assessment Checklist and Personal Goal Setting. 56 Nelson Literacy 5 Teacher s Resource: Natural Forces