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BELL RINGER / EXIT TICKET

Sketching the News

Grade:

K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

Uses:

Current Events Connection
/  Review of Content or Skill

Materials:

Sketching the News handout, Britannica School In the News! article, coloring supplies, and writing utensils
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Description

Students read a news article and then draw and label a main event to demonstrate their understanding.

Preparation

Select a Britannica School In the News! article, that connects to your learning objective, theme, or unit of study.
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Implementation

Display or distribute printed copies of the article along with the Sketching the News handout. Have students read the article independently or as a whole class. Then ask students to draw and label the main events from the article on the handout.

Teaching Tips

  • For students in early elementary, read the news article in one lesson, and then use this starter activity as a follow-up in your next class.
  • Consider using the Teach Britannica Storyboard graphic organizer to encourage sequential drawing for more than one main event.

Supporting All Learners

For students needing extra support: Provide sequential sentence starters such as “First…,” “Second…,” “Next…,” “Then…,” and “Finally…” to help organize events in the news story (e.g., beginning, middle, and end).

For advanced learners: Ask them to add a headline or title to their drawing or orally share what they think a possible headline or title might be.

For multilingual learners: Pre-teach vocabulary that will appear in the news story and vocabulary related to sequencing (e.g., first, next, later, last), and pair students with supportive peers to draw and label the main events.

Note: Provide accommodations and modifications based on your learners’ needs to ensure full participation.