A teacher at Shepparton High School offered to take yard duty for a tired colleague. Mrs. Jerome said she was feeling like she couldn't go on after teaching her year 8 classes all morning. The anonymous act of kindness allowed Mrs. Jerome to be ready for her next class. Sources say random acts of kindness among staff are becoming more common to lift spirits and improve morale. Team leader Tammy Goynec said happy teachers make better teachers.

1. Mind Up
Lesson Two – Newspaper Article
RANDOM ACTS OF
KINDNESS

2. JM Barrie
(author of Peter Pan)
‘Those who
bring
sunshine to
the lives of
others
cannot keep
it from
themselves.’

3. • To create a text drawing upon the
text structures and features of a
newspaper article
• To reflect on your learning to
assist in your ability to monitor and
evaluate your thinking and
learning skills and strategies
• I created a newspaper article
relating to a RAK
• In my reflection I was able to say
what skills and strategies I used
today to complete all of my work
Learning Intentions Success Criteria

4. Revise vocabulary
• Altruism
• Compassion
• Empathy
Write on a piece of paper (all
anonymous of course) what your
RAK (Random Act of Kindness)

5. Key Vocabulary
•Altruism: behaviour that benefits
someone else rather than oneself
•Compassion: sympathetic pity and
concern for others
•Empathy: the ability to understand the
feelings of others

6. NEWSPAPER ARTICLE

7. Brainstorm
What do we already know about newspaper articles?
• Heading
• By-line
• Image
• Caption for all images
• Paragraphs
What do you need to now?

8. 1. Compile all of your facts
• Plan out your article before you write a news article
• Include all the pertinent facts and information that need to
be included in the article
• This fact list will help prevent you from leaving out any
relevant information about the topic or story and will also
help you write a clean, succinct article.

9. 2. Start with the lead
• News articles begin with a leading sentence that is meant to
grab a reader's attention and interest them.
• This is one of the most important parts of the piece, so start
with the leading statement when writing a news article.
• Your lead should be one sentence and should simply, but
completely, state the topic of the article.

10. 3. Give all of the important details
• Include all the relevant facts and details that relate to your
lead statement.
• Include the basics of what happened, where and when it took
place, who is involved and why it's newsworthy.
• These details are important, because they are the focal point
of the article that fully informs the reader.

11. 4. Follow up main facts with additional
information
• After you've listed all the primary facts in your news article,
include any additional information that might help the reader
learn more, such as additional facts about the topic or people
involved, or quotes from interviewees.
• This additional information helps round out the article.

12. 5. Check facts before concluding
• Be sure to double check all the facts in your news article
before you submit it, including names, dates, and contact
information or addresses.
• Writing accurately is one of the best ways to establish
yourself as a competent news article writer.

13. 6. Remain unbiased
• A news article is meant to convey direct facts, not the
opinions of its writer.
• Keep your writing unbiased and objective.
• Avoid any language that is overly positive or negative or
statements that could be construed as support or criticism.

14. 7. Conclude your article
• Make sure your news article is complete and finished by
giving it a good concluding sentence.
• This is often a restatement of the leading statement or a
statement indicating potential future developments relating
to the article topic.

15. 7 Steps
1.Compile all of your facts
2.Start with the lead
3.Give all of the important details
4.Follow up main facts with additional information
5.Check facts before concluding
6.Remain unbiased
7.Conclude your article

16. NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
PLANNER

18. Act of Kindness Makes Day
for tired teacher...
By Miss Jenkins
A teacher from
Shepparton High
School offered up their
lunch break on Monday
to takea yard duty for a
tired, colleague.
“I wasfeeling likeI just
couldn’t go on” said Mrs
Jerome, who yesterday had
been teaching year 8’sall
morning beforereceiving
noticeof thesurprise
generosity. “It’sincredibly
tough to teach thefirst 4
periodsand then turn around
and do yard duty.” “I’m not
surewhat I would havedone,
especially considering I needed
to beready to teach period 5
aswell. It wasa lovely gesture,
I really appreciated it”
Tattler hastried at length
to obtain theidentity of the
selflesskind doer but when
going to print, had been
unableto securean interview.
Sourcescloseto theyear 8
team havetold theTattler that
Random Actsof Kindness
(RAKs) arebecoming more
common amongst staff asa
way of lifting spiritsand
improving morale.
“It only takes4 musclesto
smilebut twiceasmany to
frown”, team leader Tammy
Goynecommented. “When
teacher’slook out for and
support each other, thereare
many positivespin-offs. Just
asking if everything isOK and
being prepared to listen can
even improvea lesson for
studentsbecausehappy
teachersmakebetter teachers.”
“It was a lovely
gesture, I really
appreciated it.”
Mrs Jerome
SHEPP-HIGHTATTLER
September3,2013
Head Line
By-line
Introduction
Including what
happened and when
Photograph
Caption
Body

19. Review
• How did this exercise make you feel? Do
you see any way in which you might take
it further?
• How could you show acts of kindness in
your community, in Shepparton or even
outside Australia?
• What skills and strategies did you use
today to complete your work?