Classroom Newspaper Projects

Sports, entertainment, science, technology and literature are just a few examples of the subject matter you can choose for a classroom newspaper project. To engage the whole class, have each student write a newspaper article on a specific subject or let the students choose. Insert the articles into a newspaper template (create your own or look for one online), and print a copy of the newspaper for each student.

Complete a class newspaper by choosing a theme for the students to follow. One theme the students can easily relate to is "How You Spent Your Holidays." Ask students to interview one another or come up with their own ideas for articles. Ideas can be true or embellished, and if students have a photo from their trip they can add it to the finished story. Ideas for holiday stories include dinner reviews and reports on visits to locations such as museums, ski trips and beach days.

Broaden the newspaper's horizons by creating a "School Paper" issue of your class newspaper. Students can cover sports games, music and student elections, and they can interview teachers about special classes they teach. Offer different assignments for students to allow them to write, think and investigate things they would not normally gravitate toward. Other ideas include real-life coverage such as a mystery surrounding a lost backpack, graffiti on a school wall and art projects students are working on. Send a small team of students -- two reporters and a photographer -- to the school dance.

The class newspaper can cover current events taking place in the city or town where you live. Create a mock-up of a real newspaper by assigning each student a section you would find in a regular newspaper. Weather, movie reviews, horoscopes and editorial coverage of current events should be included. Topics for coverage include news about a new library branch opening, a fire downtown, a new animal arriving at the local zoo and coverage of a hockey, baseball or football game.

For world news, assign each student a different country and have each report on something of interest. Students can interview friends, family or relatives from a different country to enhance their articles. Ideas for news coverage include festivals, presidential elections, scientific discoveries, technological advances and medical breakthroughs. Storms such as floods, tornadoes and hurricanes offer excitement to current events-style writing. Help students come up with eye-catching headlines to lure readers in. Combine the stories into a "World News" edition of your class paper and hand them out to students.