Learning From the News – William and Kate in Wales KS3

Lesson plan – William and Kate in Wales: English p.01

Useful links and Teachers TV links p.02

Lesson Plan: William and Kate in Wales
Lesson overview: Pupils will learn about the style of news stories and how to find useful synonyms
Key Stage 3 English: Composition
Objectives
Pupils will:
·  write clearly and coherently, including an appropriate level of detail (2.3a) / Outcomes
Pupils should:
·  learn more about synonyms and different styles of writing
Resources
·  Video lesson starter: http://www.teachers.tv/videos/william-and-kate-in-wales
·  A whiteboard to show the video on
·  Printouts from pages 2 and 3 of this lesson plan
Starter
·  Whole class activity: Show the video http://www.teachers.tv/videos/william-and-kate-in-wales
·  While they are watching, ask the pupils to write a one sentence summary of what the video is about
·  Discuss the video. What did the pupils think of the language used?
Main activity 1
·  Pair work: Write the word synonym on the board and then hand each pupils a word cut out from page 2 of this lesson plan. Ask the pupils to write a synonym of the word on the back of the paper and then swap it with their partner and get them to think of two more synonyms, but only give the pupils 5-10 minutes to do this task
·  Independent activity: Hand out the script from the video from page 3 of this lesson plan. Tell the pupils that their task is to rewrite it from a script, to a short news article. Tell them to think about the language used in news articles versus the language used in scripts. Why should it be different? Why doesn’t this script work as a news article? Would a news article work as a script?
·  Ask the pupils to swap articles and comment on the style used
Plenary
·  Whole class activity: Now challenge the pupils to write a better headline for the video and news story than ‘William and Kate in Wales’

Words

ecstatic / meaningless
language / photograph
famous / pretty
celebrate / busy
marriage / royalty
expensive / private
employed / rich
perfect / flawed
veteran / attention

Script from William and Kate in Wales

She is not yet royalty but this is what it will be like: Often grander, frequently bigger crowds, but always the centre of attention.

Kate Middleton’s journey into official public life began here at (Treyatha) Trearddur Bay in Anglesey. Her job: to name a new lifeboat. Prince William is hardly a veteran at these events himself, but he has a relaxed manner in public. It’s something his partner seems to have little trouble learning.

When they played the Welsh national anthem, Kate sang along in Welsh – a sure way to win hearts and minds. She was formally welcomed to Anglesey by her future husband.

This was comfortable territory for a debut, William is a search and rescue pilot nearby, and rents a house in the area. The couple are often seen in local shops and restaurants.

But for Kate, performing her first public duty, a door is opening to a very different world. Kate Middleton is being carefully prepared for what lies ahead and protected as much as possible. The lessons of Diana have been well learned. But for all that, it’s impossible to under-estimate the attention that she’s going to receive. From now on she’s going to be in the eye of a media storm.

The camera loves Kate and from now on will be a constant companion. Photographers from around the world are now following in her wake. And, for a royal family that’s struggled with its approval rating, she may provide a welcome boost.

Tomorrow, William and Kate will return to St Andrew’s University where they met 10 years ago. Another official engagement for the bride to be who’s looking more and more like a princess.

Useful links

·  Ideas for teaching pupils about synonyms from Hertfordshire’s Grid for Learning: http://www.thegrid.org.uk/learning/english/ks3/sow/year8.shtml

·  A lesson plan from the BBC on how to write an article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/teachers/ks3bitesize/english/writing_article.shtml

·  BBC lesson plan on writing a news story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/school_report/4784843.stm

Related Teachers TV Videos

·  http://www.teachers.tv/videos/guy-the-gorilla

·  http://www.teachers.tv/videos/learning-from-the-news-the-nobel-prize-for-medicine

·  http://www.teachers.tv/videos/somali-pirates-free-british-couple

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