Tight Headlines, Smart Captions and Copyediting

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Communications and Media · Journalism / Yearbook / Media
SP-JOURN-007 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 2
Tight Headlines, Smart Captions and
Copyediting
Communications and Media · Journalism / Yearbook / Media · Grades 9-12 · 50 minutes
Time needed
50 minutes (one class period)
Prep
Copy the 2-page worksheet (one per student). No other prep is needed.
Technology
None.
Student
independence
High. Students work alone, then trade papers with a partner.
Copies to make
One 2-page worksheet per student
Materials
Pencils, Worksheet
Goal for today: Students will write a short, accurate headline, write a caption that identifies people and adds
information, and correct errors in sample sentences.
Before the bell
☐ Copy the worksheet, one per student (2 pages).
☐ Write on the board: HEADLINE: short, active, specific, accurate. CAPTION: who, what, where, when, plus one
new detail.
☐ Keep the answer key (page after the worksheet) on your desk. Some items are open-ended, so the key gives
samples.
Say this to start
Good morning! Today you will practice three jobs that every newspaper and yearbook staff does: writing headlines,
writing captions, and copyediting. A copy editor is the person who catches mistakes before readers see them.
Everything is on paper, and you will work quietly on your own. Read the short rules first and then work through the
parts in order.

SubstitutePlans.com
Communications and Media · Journalism / Yearbook / Media
SP-JOURN-007 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 3
Run of show
Minutes
What you do
What students do
0–5
Take attendance the way the school requires. Hand out the
worksheet and read the two board lines aloud.
Settle in and read the title and directions.
5–12
Ask students to read “The Short Rules” silently. Ask,
“Which rule do you think is hardest to follow?” Take a few
answers.
Read the rules and join the quick
discussion.
12–24
Tell students to complete Part A (questions 1–6): headline
choices, headline writing and a headline fix.
Choose and write headlines.
24–36
Tell students to complete Part B (questions 7–8): captions
from photo descriptions.
Write captions and find the problems in a
weak caption.
36–46
Tell students to complete Part C (questions 9–11): fix the
errors in each sentence.
Rewrite the sentences correctly.
46–50
Have students swap papers with a partner and compare
headlines. Then collect all worksheets and stack them for
the teacher.
Share one headline with a partner and hand
in the worksheet.
If things go wrong
• If students say they cannot write a caption without seeing a photo, remind them the photo descriptions are in
the passage, and they should use only those facts.
• If students invent extra facts such as scores or names, tell them to use only what is given.
• If students want to use all capital letters in the headline, tell them to follow the examples and use
sentence-style capitals.
• If students finish early, use the early finisher list.
Early finishers
• Write a second headline for the quiz bowl story that is five words or fewer.
• Write a caption for an imaginary yearbook photo of a lunch table, using made-up names.
• Write a headline for the science fair story about Maya, Eli and Noor.
Support and challenge
• Support: Let students complete questions 1–4 and 6, and fix only the first two sentences in Part C.
• Challenge: Ask students to write a headline that is under 25 letters and spaces and still includes a verb.

SubstitutePlans.com
Communications and Media · Journalism / Yearbook / Media
SP-JOURN-007 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 4
Notes for the teacher (you fill this in)
Jot a few lines before you leave. A full Daily Sub Report is in the free Sub Survival Kit at SubstitutePlans.com.
How far the class got / what to pick up next:
Students who were especially helpful:
Anything the teacher should know: