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Happy News Project

Classroom learning sequence

The lessons in this learning sequence are designed for 9 to 11-year-olds, so you may wish to adapt some of the activities if you are running this project with younger pupils. If you are setting this as a home learning project, try our child-led Making your own news activities.

Download the learning sequence

1. News and wellbeing

Begin the project with a focus on wellbeing - see our PSHE lesson on managing feelings to explore how news can affect emotions and identify different strategies for managing wellbeing: focusing on happy news is one of these!

NewsWise lesson

Managing feelings about the news (PSHE education)

2. Roles in a newsroom

Try out a range of journalism duties in our lesson on how news is produced. Pupils can have a go at different roles from reporter to subeditor, and practise the skills needed ahead of producing their own reports.

NewsWise lesson

How is news produced?

3. Newsworthy or not

Explore how journalists choose which news stories to report in our newsworthy news lesson, preparing pupils for selecting their own stories.

4. Find a story

Allow time for pupils to search for and discuss potential happy news stories, remembering what makes a newsworthy story. Once teams have decided on one to report, hold a news conference where each team shares their chosen story with the rest of the newsroom, justifying how it will help to spread joy and why it is newsworthy for their audience.

NewsWise lesson

Identifying newsworthy stories

5. Fact or opinion

Help pupils learn the skills to spot rumour, opinion and speculation in our fact and opinion lesson. Try the ‘Rumour Has It’ activity which also provides the opportunity for pupils to practise their summarising skills - essential for reporting news.

NewsWise lesson

Identifying the difference between fact and opinion

Rumour has it

Download this activity

6. Let the research commence

Each team must now find the key facts and interesting details about their chosen happy news story. See our planning a news story lesson for tips and planning templates to help with research.

NewsWise lesson

Reporting real news

7. Time to interview

Where possible, help pupils to conduct real interviews: if they are reporting a local story, who could they interview to find out more? Remember interviews can be held over the phone or via a video call. They could also interview each other, their families or school staff to gather different views about the story. Watch this video for interviewing tips from Guardian reporter, Rachel Hall. Before conducting interviews, you might also like to practise interviewing techniques with our reporting resource.

Interviewing activity

Download this resource

8. Explore language and structure

Have a look at our lessons on the language and structure of news reports to help your pupils develop a formal and concise tone and an effective structure for putting their reports together. Your pupils might like to play our Headline Generator Game to learn about effective headline writing. Watch this video from Guardian subeditor Suzanne Warr for tips on how to write brilliant headlines!

NewsWise lesson

Structuring news reports

NewsWise lesson

Recognising news report language

Headline generator game

Download this activity

9. Get reporting

Each team is now ready to write and/or rehearse and record their report. You might like to use our front page template for written reports or our script template for audio or video reports. Remember that subeditors have a crucial role here in editing and proofreading the finished product, and picture editors must choose images carefully. See our lesson on subediting and publishing a finished report for further tips and activity ideas.