Welcome to my Newspapers in Education blog.  What is Newspapers in Education?  It’s a nationwide program in which educators use the newspaper to teach a variety of subjects in the classroom. Newspapers can be used to teach reading, writing, grammar, social studies, current events, science, math and more! There are many activity guides and teaching materials available to assist you.

Teachers – most newspapers have an NIE program. Contact your local paper and ask if they participate in NIE. Your contact at the Grand Forks Herald is me – Sue Lindlauf and at the Forum in Fargo is Kerri Kava.

There is a very useful guide available called “I Know I Read It in the Newspaper!” What was the final score of the game last night? Is it supposed to rain on Friday? What movies are playing? Wouldn’t it be fun to have all the answers? It’s easy when you read the newspaper every day. This guide takes you though the newspaper from front to back. It covers the different types of news, sports, features and advertising. It even includes a newspaper scavenger hunt. This guide was produced by KRP, a company that specialized in producing material for teachers.  Click here to download the guide

Parents can also benefit by reading the newspaper with their children. Newspapers are great for kids of all ages. Here are some activities from the Newspaper Association of America Parent Newspaper Guide to get you started:

1. Play a game with the index section of the newspaper. Read it with your child, or have your child read it to you. Have your child locate each section as you call out the page numbers. How are newspaper page numbers different than those in textbooks?

2. Walk your child through the entire newspaper. Discuss what kind of information can be found in the different sections.

3. After reading news stories, have your child tell you the Five Ws (who, what, where, why) and the H (how).

4. See if your family can predict the content of a newspaper story by only reading the headline.

5. Find news articles, pictures and advertisements in the newspaper that you think would tell about life today. Imagine that you and your child are responsible for preparing a scrapbook that you will give to your grandchildren and great grandchildren. Include things that you have in your home – or that are common in people’s homes today.

For more information on Newspapers in Education send an email to slindlauf@gfherald.com.