Writing Feature Articles - Step 1 - Lesson 1 | Page 18

Writing Feature Articles - Lesson . Teacher Model ?? Review your topic ideas from the previous lesson by revisiting the brainstorming chart created in the previous lesson. ?? After revisiting the “questions” and “possible topics,” select two that show potential for your feature article because they have: o a focused topic o a new or unique angle or perspective o potential to go in-depth. ?? For the ?rst of your topics, think aloud about three or four possible angles. Write these angles down as third person statements. ?? Select one that you feel is unique, in-depth and potentially appealing to readers. ?? Model the start of a notebook entry about this topic and corresponding angle, extending your ideas as far as possible. Narrative These are the three topics that I think will be the most interesting for a feature article. ?? I come from a large family – as a kid growing up we couldn’t have everything because there were so many of us. ?? I recycle at home – it’s often confusing to ?gure out which items can be recycled and which cannot. ?? I enjoy seeing movies – I can tell all my friends which movies to see and which to skip. I need to ?gure out which ones are focused, have a good angle and that I will be able to write in-depth about. I know a lot about hiking, but my experience is fairly common. I don’t really have a new or interesting angle for that topic so I am going to eliminate it. My topic idea about big families is a good one. It is focused, I will be able to write in-depth about it, and I can come up with a variety of different angles. The ?rst angle that I can think of is that: 1. Big families can be dif?cult. It’s important to think of variations on my angle. Here are some: 2. Big families can be stressful for parents. 3. Big families can have some embarrassing moments. 4. Big families can be hard work for moms. 5. Big families can be dif?cult for kids growing up. I’m going to pick number ?ve because it is unique, I know a lot about it and can certainly write in-depth about it. I also think it will be appealing to readers. © 2010, Teaching Matters, Inc. www.teachingmatters.org Page 41