Fun newspaper activities for
the family

Message to NIE parents

Children learn best when parents are interested and involved in their education. Many parents have found that looking through the newspaper is an easy and enjoyable way to read, talk and think together with their children. Seeing a parent read the newspaper every day motivates a child to want to do the same – read and learn.

Since parents are a child’s first and most important teacher, The Fresno Bee presents the following guidelines for using the newspaper as a source of valuable information and an educational tool you can share with your child.

As a parent, you play a vital role in developing your child’s attitude about learning and success in reading and thinking skills.

This parent guide will show you how to use The Fresno Bee to:

• Share a special time with your child.
• Learn more about your child’s interests and views about the world.
• Encourage and build an appreciation for reading and learning.
• Reinforce what’s being taught in school.
• Develop and practice “comfortable” conversations.
• Learn about shared interests.

This guide is divided into four categories:

1. Helpful NIE Hints



2. NIE Activities
• Early Readers
• Experienced Readers
• Adolescent Readers
• On Their Own
  
  
3. The Bee’s Daily Features
   
   
4. Glossary of Newspaper Jargon
   
   
   
   
   Helpful NIE Hints

Newspapers are great for kids of all ages. Even young children enjoy photographs and comics. Early readers can read the large print headlines and ads. What child doesn’t enjoy just talking “about stuff” with a parent? Special time together will go a long way to promote positive attitudes toward learning.

Don’t overlook any part of the newspaper as a starting point for a conversation with your adolescent. Sports, comics, classified ads, advice columns, as well as news items, can present interesting topics. These activities will help you talk, read and think with your child. Pick a few activities from each category. Some days a child may be more interested in reading, while on other days a “talk together” activity might be more fun.

Consider your adolescent’s interests when selecting Bee articles for discussion. At the same time, learn more about your child’s interests based on what they select. Understanding their choice helps you select articles the child will enjoy.

Reading The Bee together can help build a daily reading habit. Read aloud to young children every day. Ask grandparents, neighbors and older siblings to help. Ask the child to read something to you.

Read aloud some of the shorter articles and have your adolescent do the same, but don’t stop at the end of the article. Make it a part of a regular routine to talk about what you have read; exchange ideas and opinions during discussion. Anytime you find the time to talk with your children, it will help develop communication skills.

Scale down the newspaper with young children. Use only one section at a time. Establishing a comfortable place for reading and educational activities is vital. An art gallery on the refrigerator door to show off your child’s work is a good way to motivate the child. Share projects with parents, friends and neighbors. If your child shows no interest, try another day with a new activity.

Make cleanup a regular part of your newspaper routine. Also, use short, frequent periods for the activities, rather than occasional extended periods.

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NIE Activities

Early Readers

Instruct your child to find a picture in The Bee he/she finds interesting. Tell your child to make up a story about what’s happened in the picture. Ask your child open-ended questions such as “What were the signs/cues that make you think this is what happened?” and “What do you think happened before the picture was taken? After?” Read the story together and see if you were close with your story.

1. Cut out a comic strip. Remove the captions and ask your child to tell a story about the pictures. You can also keep the captions, cut the comic by slide and ask the child to sequence it in order. Read together.
   
   
2. Look for pictures that show people’s facial emotions or expressions (photos and ads are great for this activity). Ask your child how each person is feeling. Ask your child why he thinks this person is feeling this way. Ask for incidents where the child experienced similar feelings as the pictures.
   
   
3. Look for pictures of someone famous (president, athlete, rock star, firefighter, etc). Talk together about what these people do. You might ask: Why is this person’s picture in the newspaper? What is happening in the picture?
   
   
4. Read The Bee’s weather forecast with your child. Look at pictures that illustrate different weather conditions. Look at the forecast for tomorrow and help your child select appropriate clothes to wear. You can extend these activities by using the weather map to learn more about weather in other places, for example; “What is the weather like where Grandpa lives?”
   
   
5. Read the television listings together. Help your child choose a program for the family to watch. Ask why that program was chosen. Was the entire family considered? Would a different program be chosen if it was just for the child? How much time is spent watching TV on a daily basis?
   
   
6. Have your child cut coupons from the Sunday newspaper and sort into categories (example: cleaning products, breakfast cereals, snacks). Make a shopping list and have your child select coupons you will need.
   
   
7. Using the food section (Wednesday) choose a recipe with your child. Prepare it together. Ask your child to read the directions, assist in measurements, etc. Serve it together to family or friends.
   
   
8. Have your child choose an object in the newspaper and describe it to you. See if you can correctly identify it based on the description. Switch and repeat roles.
   
   
9. Give your child a pretend allowance for grocery shopping. Using the ads in the Wednesday Bee cut out prices for different foods. Help your child find at least two items in each food group that the family would enjoy. Together, total your purchases. How much money did you spend? Is there something that would help make the money budgeted go further?
   
   
10. Have your child choose his/her favorite character from the comics. Make a list with two columns. In column one, ask your child to identify similarities between him/herself and the character. In column two, ask for differences.
    
    
11. Use the index section of The Bee for this next game. Either read it with your child or have your child read it to you. Have your child locate each section as you call out the page numbers.
    
    
12. Cut out a circle, square, rectangle and triangle out of lightweight cardboard. Have your child look through The Bee for shapes that match the templates. They can cut out the matching shapes and see what there’s most of.

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Experienced Readers

1. Ask your child to cut out a picture of a famous person in the paper. Ask your child to tell you why he or she is in the paper. What’s their story? If your child could meet this person for an interview, what questions would he/she like to ask?
   
   
2. Find a story or picture of a group of people who need help (example: fire victims, homeless, people in hospitals). Talk about ways your family might help by spending time, sharing talent or even contributing money.
   
   
3. In the classified employment section, look for jobs held by family, friends and neighbors. Find out what kind of duties and responsibilities these people hold. Ask your child to find positions he/she would enjoy. Ask why.
   
   
4. Have your child look in The Bee’s Life section on Friday to find a movie review that would interest him/her. Read and discuss this together. What do you know about this movie? What’s the rating? Why is that important?
   
   
5. Find a story in the paper that expresses two points of view. Talk about the opposing points with your child. Ask your child if he/she feels strongly about one of the positions. Why?
   
   
6. Select an editorial on the Opinion page that deals with a problem that may have some effect on your family. Determine the opinion of the newspaper on the problem. Discuss the opinions of family members on the issue.
   
   
7. Read an article with your child about a person who has broken the law. Ask what the consequences of this action are. Is this a good law? Why?
   
   
8. Role-play with your child. Pretend to be a chef for a day. Plan a meal using recipes in the Wednesday Life section of The Bee. Remind your young chef to take advantage of coupons and sale items. Have your child create a grocery list for what you need to buy and set a spending limit on food purchases. Ask your child to help prepare the meal.
   
   
9. Look through the ads with your child. Identify slogans, pictures, key or persuasive words that attract attention or influence decisions to buy. Ask: “Are any of the advertised products ones that we use at home?” and “Are there any that you think we should try? Why or why not?”
   
   
10. Find news articles, pictures and ads in the paper that you think describe life today. Imagine that you and your child are responsible for preparing a scrapbook that you will give to your grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Include things you have in your home or that are common in people’s homes today.
    
    
11. Ask your child to look through the newspaper for pictures or stories about people from different cultures or ethnic backgrounds. List five on a sheet of paper. Discuss your list. What customs of other ethnic groups would your family enjoy? What traditions does your heritage bring? Are there articles about European-Americans (Caucasian) culture? Ask your child why this culture is not as easy to identify. Explain why everyone’s heritage or background is important to respect.
    
    
12. Ask your child to look for the “jumps” or continuations of stories from The Bee’s front page. Have the child match the identifying subtitles, page numbers and columns.
    
    
13. Find a picture of wildlife in The Bee and paste it in the center of a piece of paper. Have your child draw a safe habitat around the picture where the animal could live. Show what kind of food it would eat and what other necessities it would have.

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Adolescent Readers

1. Clip and save newspaper articles on people your child considers interesting. Discuss what makes them interesting and why they became famous. Look in the USA Weekend or Parade magazines in The Bee.
   
   
2. Read a story or study a photograph of people who might need help such as fire or flood victims, homeless families, etc. Discuss reactions to these people and their situations and how your family might help them.
   
   
3. Look through the Job Market section in Sunday’s Bee together. Discuss possible jobs your adolescent might consider in a few years. What are the good and bad points of each job? What are the working conditions described? Talk about careers that interest your son or daughter and what steps have to be taken to get one of those jobs.
   
   
4. Read and discuss reviews of movies or other family entertainment offered in your area. Exchange ideas on what might be good and why. Ask about television shows that may have been influenced by books.
   
   
5. Look for articles about people from different cultures and backgrounds. What are some of the customs and cultural differences? What are the similarities with your culture? Do you think the newspaper does a good job of representing your culture or ethnic background? What about other groups? Explain.
   
   
6. Read an editorial or newspaper column that expresses different points of view about a local, national or international issue. Do you support any particular view strongly? Why?
   
   
7. Select an editorial article about an issue that has a direct effect on your family. Determine the newspaper’s opinion on the issue. Do you and the adolescent agree with the writer? Discuss why or why not.
   
   
8. Read an article about someone who has broken the law. Discuss the crime committed. How is the situation being handled by authorities and what might happen to the individual. Are there alternative ways this situation can be handled?
   
   
9. Work with your adolescent on a grocery list. Recruit your adolescent’s help in finding the best prices for what you’re looking for. Look for money-saving coupons and use them for items on the list. Find out how much money you can save from careful shopping.
   
   
10. Look through the advertisements in the newspaper. How many words can you identify that are used to persuade or influence your decision to buy? Discuss which products and advertising approaches appeal to your adolescent and why.
    
    
11. Read the newspaper coverage of a major news story presented on television. Talk about the differences between reading newspapers and watching television news.
    
    
12. See if your family can predict the content of a newspaper story by only reading the headline.
    
    
13. Read a review of an entertainment event or a report of a sports event that your family attended or viewed. Are the reviewer’s or the sport’s reporters impressions the same as yours. How do they differ? Why?
    
    
14. Ask your son or daughter to think about renting an apartment when he/she is old enough to live away from home. Check rental listings in The Bee. What will it take to make ends meet? Calculate the expenses.
    
    
15. Find a picture in The Bee about some natural phenomenon such as a storm, earthquake or a volcanic eruption and have your child write a paragraph explaining where such a phenomenon is likely to occur. Can you find out what causes this event to happen?
    
    
16. Have your adolescent select several pictures from the newspaper that are examples of Newton’s Law. For example: pictures of roof designs, power equipment that illustrates gravity, force or equilibrium.

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On Their Own

Here are some activities children can do on their own.

Note: Activities 1 - 7 are for young children and 8 - 17 are for older children.

1. Have your child cut out pictures of faces, clothing, hands and feet and then arrange them to create funny looking people.
   
   
2. Have your child cut out letters from the headlines of The Bee to spell his or her name. Paste the name on a sign or poster to display. Your child might also try to spell names of other people in the family, perhaps making a place mat for each.
   
   
3. Challenge your child to look through the food ads to find products that could be combined into a new and unusual sandwich. Look for words in the paper that describe your sandwich.
   
   
4. Have your child choose a picture from The Bee. Your child might draw a picture of what just happened before the picture was taken and another of what happened after.
   
   
5. Check Friday’s entertainment section for movies or concert ads. Choose a place you would like to go as a family. Ask your child to figure the cost of having all family members attend.
   
   
6. Have your child create a scrapbook of stories, pictures, ads or comics that are of interest.
   
   
7. Ask your child to write a letter to a family member or a friend who lives in another city. Share with that person local news and events that have been gathered from Thursday’s City View section or the Local & State News section.
   
   
8. Find pictures in The Bee of two people you would want to know more about. What actions have caused this person to be in the news? List each person’s good qualities/actions or bad qualities/actions.
   
   
9. Find words and pictures in The Bee that best describe them. Can they find a newspaper description of someone else who shares some of their interests? Do this for other members of the family.
   
   
10. Look through the Wednesday food ads and find coupons or bargain prices for favorite foods. Compare prices at two stores. How much money can comparison-shopping save?
    
    
11. Choose characters from the Sunday comic strips that would make up their family. Create a comic strip using these characters.
    
    
12. Create a scrapbook of stories, pictures, comics and ads that appear in The Bee on important days of their lives such as birthdays, graduation, etc.
    
    
13. Look through The Bee’s Sunday Travel section to find locations they would like to visit. Find ads for airlines, hotels, clothes and other items that might be needed if they were to visit these locations.
    
    
14. Find a column in The Bee that you enjoy reading. If you could work as a columnist, what topics would you like to write about? Write a sample column and share with your family.
    
    
15. Find an issue in The Bee that you feel strongly about. Write a letter to the editor expressing your opinion on the issue.
    
    
16. Over a period of one week, have children find pictures and articles about other children in the news. What sections were most of the articles in? What did the children do to be in the newspaper?
    
    
17. Look up the weather in the city where your favorite sport is played. What kind of special clothing do athletes need for different sports?

The Bee's Daily Features

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Glossary of Newspaper Jargon

Assignment - A story a reporter is detailed to cover.

Beat - Reporter’s routine for covering news sources.

Byline - Name of writer at the head of a story.

Circulation - Total number of copies the newspaper delivered in one day.

Copy - All material for publication, whether written stories or pictures.

Copy Editor - A newspaper worker who corrects or edits copy written by a reporter and writes headlines.

Cut - To shorten newspaper copy; also means a newspaper photograph.

Cutline – The descriptive information below pictures.

Dateline – The line at the beginning of a story giving the place of the reported incident.

Deadline – Time at which all copy for an edition must be in.

Edition - The issue for one press run.

Editorial – An expression of opinion by the newspaper’s editors, usually reflecting the opinion of the publisher or owner of the newspaper.

Feature – A story in which the interest lies in some factor other than news value.

Five W’s - Who, What, When, Where, Why (and sometimes how), the major questions all answered in the lead of a well-written news story.

Headline – An explanatory title over a newspaper article summarizing the main point for the reader.

Inverted Pyramid – A method of writing by placing parts of the story in descending order of importance.

Jump - To continue a story from one page to another.

Lead – The first few sentences or the first paragraph of a news story.

Libel – Publication of material unjustly injurious to someone’s reputation.

Managing Editor – The editor who directs the daily gathering, writing and editing of news and placement of the news in the paper.

Masthead – The matter printed in every issue of a newspaper or journal, stating the title, ownership, management, subscription and advertising rates.

Op-ed page – Means “opposite the editorial page,” some newspapers use this page to print reader opinions, articles by columnists and other non-news features.

Publisher – The chief executive and often the owner of a newspaper.

Review – An account of an artistic event that offers critical evaluation. The opinion of the writer.

Rewrite – 1) Write a story again to improve it, 2) Alter a story that has appeared elsewhere, 3) Write a story from facts called in by a reporter.

Syndicated Features – Material such as comics, advice columns, etc., supplied nationally to newspapers by news syndicates.

Typo – Short for “typographical error,” which is a mistake made during the production of a story.

Wire Services – News gathering agencies such as the Associated Press and United Press International, which gather and distribute news to subscribing newspapers.

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