Writing Feature Articles - Step 1 - Lesson 1 | Page 8

Writing Feature Articles - Lesson .
Beginner
Modify Instructional Strategy:
Have students use Feature Articles Packet – Beginner (Handout
1.1a) which does not include nonexamples of feature articles. Have
students look at the following articles
in the packet in order to identify the
characteristics of feature articles:
• “Dogs sniff out peanuts for
allergic kids”
• “Hold On- I’ve Got Another
Call”
• “Life in a Green School”
• “In the Middle.”

Preparing for Writer’s Work Time
Distribute the Feature Articles Packet – Intermediate (Handout
1.1a). Give the following directions:
?? Preview the following articles from the packet and select
two which you think might be features and one which
you think is not:
o “Hold On - I’ve Got Another Call”
o

“A Police Death in Brooklyn”

o

“Cats are Trainable and That’s Not a Punch
Line”

o

“High -Tech Bullies”

?? Review the list of characteristics:
o has a focused topic

Modify Instructional Strategy:
Have students use the Feature
Articles Packet – Experienced
(Handout 1.1a). Ask students to
identify which articles are news articles, which are feature articles and
what makes them different.
Students should complete this task
using the following articles from the
packet:
• “Saving the Working Class
with Green-Collar Jobs”
• “Fashion Police”
• “School Big in Test Tamper”
• “26 Students are Arrested in
Protest...”
• “Should the Government Tax
Your Coke?”

o

provides a new angle

o

Experienced

has “features”

o

goes in-depth.

?? If the article seems likely to be a feature, read the text.
?? Record the title and author in your writer’s notebook.
Record evidence of each characteristic.
?? Review the list of characteristics again and decide if the
article is a feature article or not.
?? Continue to do the same for the other articles.

Writer’s Work Time (

min)

Using the process modeled during the mini lesson, students
review the articles in their packets, look for characteristics of
feature articles and record their ?ndings in their notebooks.
Circulate among students, guiding them in previewing the texts.
Encourage them to ?nd evidence that supports their reasoning
about characteristics present in each article.

Conferring and Di?erentiation
During Writer’s Work Time, determine if student has:
?? an understanding of the characteristics of a
feature article.

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