Title – Journalism

By – Sophia Davenport

Primary Subject – Language Arts

Grade Level – 9th

TEKS Objectives: The student reports and writes for a variety of audiences and purposes and researches self-selected topics to write journalistic texts. (I) The student is expected to: use journalistic style; (K) write captions; (L) demonstrate an understanding of the function of headlines through the writing of headlines.

Class Objective: The students should be able to apply their understanding of what a caption and a headline are. They should be able to write both in accordance to articles provided. The comprehension rate should be 85% of the students present before moving on to the next topic of discussion.

Supplies needed: paper, pencils, chalk, student handouts to practice headlines, student handouts to practice captions, illustration pictures, and assessment handouts for students at the end of the period.

Methodology: First, explain to the class what headlines and captions are and what their purpose is in an article. After the anticipatory exercise, the class will be given a short lecture on what headlines and captions are and then they will be given handout to practice each item. At the end of the class they will be given an assessment page on which they will have to give a caption and a headline for a specific article. These assessments must be turned in before they leave the classroom; this will determine if the percentage rate was met and whether or not to move on to next class’ objectives.

Outline

1. Introduction – Anticipatory Exercise:

   Write the following headlines on the board:

   “The Chicago White Sox make it to the World Series”
   
   “The Chicago White Sox win the World Series”

   Next, show the illustration picture of the celebrating White Sox team members. Ask for a show of hands to see how many believe that the first headline would go with the associated article and again for the second one. Then read the following caption:

   “The Chicago White Sox celebrate after winning Game Four of the 2005 Major League Baseball World Series against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park on October 26, 2005 in Houston, Texas. The Chicago White Sox defeated the Houston Astros 1-0 to win the World Series 4 games to 0.”

   Now go into the discussion for the class.

   1. The definition of a headline.
   
   2. The definition of a caption.
   
   3. The importance of each to an article.
   
   4. How to write each appropriately.

2. Body

   1. A headline is the title or caption of a newspaper article, usually set in large type; however, articles may not be capitalized.
      
   2. A caption is a title, short explanation, or description accompanying an illustration or a photograph.
      
   3. The importance of a headline is to A) grab the reader’s attention to get them interested in the article it was written for, and B) to relay a small bit of information to the reader so that they know what the article is about. The importance of a caption is to relate to the reader what the picture or illustration is and how it ties into the article.
      
   4. In order to write a headline, you must know what the article is about. A play on words is sometimes helpful when trying to write an interesting headline as well as taking a quote from the article and making it the headline. Writing a caption takes knowing when the picture was taken or what the artist of the illustration was going for as far as what they wanted to relate to their reading audience. The pictures or illustrations must be related to the article in order for the caption to be related to the article.
      

3. Conclusion

   1. In conclusion captions and headlines are important and necessary in every article and must be done in a accordance to the guidelines we discussed.
      
   2. Today we have learned how to conclude to appropriate captions and headlines in accordance with the articles supplied.
      
   3. Remember that a headline is the title of the article whereas the caption is the title for the picture or illustration.
      
   4. Next time we will discuss how to edit an article and what the correct symbols for corrections will be used.
      

4. Evaluation

   Pass out photo “B” and ask the class to think of a caption for the photo using the following information: This is a picture of Busch Stadium 2005 NLCS Game 6 . This was the first Pitch for the Houston Astros.

   Next read Handout “C” and ask the students to come up with a headline for the article. (These activities are not to be turned in for a grade they are for class practice only!)

   Finally, pass out the assessment forms. Students are to provide a headline for the article and a caption for the article’s picture and turn it in before they leave class.

   Final Exam Questions:

   1. True OR False: The title of an article is its caption.
   
                       Answer: False

   2.What is a headline?
   
                       Answer: The title of an article.

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Sophia Davenport

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