Lesson 10 – News Report: Narrative
Lesson 10
Starter
The worksheet provided asks you to choose ONE sentence from each of the boxes to make a news report.
Example– A local school teacher– Was interviewed– In Aldi– Last Saturday– For not using the red dog poo bins
Make five news stories!
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Todorov’s narrative theory
Tsyvetan Todorov claims that there are five stages to every narrative.
This could be applied to TV news reports, as they do follow a similar structure, although quite often a story may not have closure, i.e. hard news such as a conflict in a different country, which has continuity news value.
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Todorov’s narrative theoryLinking this to the 5 Ws, we come up with something like this:
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COPY THIS INTO YOUR BOOKS – you will need it later!
Stage 1
• The Equilibrium – Life is just as usual – NO NEWS
Stage 2
• The Disruption – A problem happens – NEWS – WHO and WHAT
Stage 3
• The Recognition – Think about how to resolve the problem – NEWS – WHERE and WHEN and WHY
Stage 4
• The Repair – Go ahead and resolve the problem – NEWS – WHAT
Stage 5
• The Restoration – Life returns to normal – NEWS – END
Writing a news report using the 5 Ws
Paired activity
Student 1 – find a news story in a newspaperStudent 2 – will be the interviewer and ask the 5 Ws questions
Complete the worksheet.
Then turn the answers into a concise (to the point) TV news report.
Can you write a hook?How will you end the report?
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Swap your TV news report with another pair!
Can you point out the 5Ws?
Can you apply the Todorov narrative theory to your news report?
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TV news report script terminology
Match the terminology with the definitions
• In groups of four:
• Cut up the sheets
• Quick tip – share out the terminology words between your group
• Glue your matched definitions on the sheet of paper
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Applying the terminologyUsing a TV news catch-up service – pick a TV news programme to view.
You will need to watch a 10-minute section.
• Can you apply the terminology from the starter?
Tick off the ones you find on the worksheet provided.
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Scriptwriting
Presenters read the news at 3 words per second.
This means a 10-second news report will contain 30 words.
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Plenary
QUICK QUIZ
In the back of your exercise bookswrite the numbers 1–4.
Are you ready?10
Plenary
Question 1
How many words per second does a TV news presenter read at?
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Plenary
Question 2
How many words does a 10-second report contain?
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Plenary
Question 3
What is an aston?
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Plenary
Question 4
What is a slug?
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Plenary
ANSWERS
1. 32. 303. An on-screen caption4. The title of a story
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Homework
Watch a TV news programme on a catch-up service. Pick one story and count how many words the presenter says. How long did the story take to present? Did it meet the 3 words per second rubric?
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