FRONT PAGE NEWS FROM

BENICIA HISTORY

Brandy Shelton

Table of Contents

Anticipatory set Project description Timelines & deadlines Grading and Rubrics

Anticipatory Set

Step back in time and pretend that you live in Benicia during the 1800’s . What do you think people would find interesting? Who would keep the small town buzzing? Your job is to create the font page of Benicia’s local newspaper complete with pictures, captions, and articles. Make sure to use what we have learned about Benicia’s history and the fascinating people who started our small town.

Project Description

What would you include in Benicia’s local newspaper in the 1800’s?

Begin your newspaper creation by reviewing the historical information that we have covered in class, or you have found on your own. Focus on looking for one important event, one important person or family with their picture, and one important place or site with its picture.

Next, write a rough draft of a short article that is 1 to 2 paragraphs long for each event, person, or place. Include the most important information by answering the questions: Who or what is the article about? Why is it important? How did it affect or help

Timeline

Day 1: Classroom- Review the information that you have collected and discussed for different events that led up to Benicia’s growth and expansion into the city we know it as today. Talk about the people and what they did that helped our city grow as well. Review different parts of the “Benicia Book” that has already been put together, highlighting important details in the city’s history.

Days 2-4: You will need to choose one event that you feel was important to Benicia’s history and one person that helped our community grow in the 1800’s. You will then write two rough draft articles: one article explaining the important event as if it were happening today, and one article highlighting an influential person in Benicia’s history. You will need to have your rough drafts completed before doing a “First Edit” with a peer, checking for grammatical errors and complete thoughts, ideas, and correct details. After completing a “First Edit” you will then rewrite your articles for a “Second Edit” which is completed with the teacher.

Timeline Continued

Days 5-9: Classroom and Computer Lab- You will learn how to open Microsoft Word and then change the page format in “Columns” from one column to two columns. This will set your writing up so that you will already have a newspaper article format. You may also change the font you are using and adjust the font size so that your text fits the front page with illustrations. You will need to type your articles in the two-column format, print them, and then save your document as “Name-Benicia Front Page.”

Days 10-14: Classroom- You will then put together your newspaper’s front page by creating and writing a title at the top of the page, cutting and pasting your articles into the appropriate spaces, and then creating a colored illustration for each article with a detailed caption. You can then “age” your newspaper by giving it an antique color and crumpling it after completion.

Grading – What are you expected to do?

You will be graded on your Benicia history research and Front Page Newspaper project.

Your research should be posted in your Benicia history book. The Front Page Newspaper project will need to include:

Newspaper layout with headline and captions for each article and illustration.

Columns that have been typed up using Microsoft Word. Articles that answer the questions who, what, when, where,

and how. Make sure you give adequate information for each person, place, or event.

All writing has been proofread for correct spelling and grammar.

Project Rubric