Newspapers In Education

Minnesota Target Date

Get Constitution Day material from NAA

In 2005 Congress passed legislation requiring public schools to teach about the U.S. Constitution on Constitution Day, September 17.

In partnership with NAA, the Bill of Rights Institute has produced a 12-page tabloid packed with newspaperrelated activities, interactive puzzles and thought-provoking games.

Newspapers can use some or all of the material on or before Constitution Day. It is available at www.billofrightsinstitute.org/constitutionday. Free lesson plans and other activities already are available from the site.

The project includes an online component in which students can travel back in time to 1787 and assume the role of journalists at the Constitu tional Convention, covering pivotal events in the shaping of the Constitution.

"NIE: Getting Started" guide is available for free.

If you are about to start your first Newspaper In Education (NIE)program, this is the book for you.

If you have an NIE program, or are looking for ways to revive your existing program, this book is for you too.

"NIE: Getting Started" is a 125-page manual for creating or strengthening a Newspaper In Education program. It is useful for newspapers of all sizes and circulations.Tips, templates, suggestions and advice from those who have done it before are located in this manual. It can be downloaded at no charge from www.naafoundation.org.

Whether you hold the position of publisher, circulation or promotion manager, or are a brand-new NIE professional, by the time you have read this book you will understand the major elements of putting an NIE program in place.

"NIE Workshop Workbook" is also available at no charge from NAA Foundation’s Web site. It is their most popular publication. This 99-page book will give you all the tools you need to conduct popular and successful NIE workshops for teachers. The Workshop Workbook is guaranteed to provide you with new ideas and tips if this is your first workshop or your one-hundredth.

NNA initiates campaign to help newspapers reach young readers.

This school year, every newspaper in America can have children reading their community newspaper by joining in the Reading Across the Nation campaign. The project is being initiated by the National Newspaper Association to give community newspapers a tool to connect with young readers both at home and in the classroom.

The project kicks off in October in celebration of National Newspaper Week, October 4-10, and provides a free eight-chapter serialized story along with a teacher’s guide and promotional ads to newspapers at no cost.

President Harry S. Truman often used the saying "The Buck Stops Here," and it’s his story that young newspaper readers will discover in the serial, "A Familiar Face."

In the story, a young boy is assigned a research paper and learns the role Truman had as an adult in international decisions of humanitarian aid, war and racial equality. Scotty Brown takes from the lesson a new appreciation for the top job in America and the realization that even he could someday be President of the United States.

"A Familiar Face" is written by Missouri author Kay Hively. Hively’s historical fiction stories have been produced and distributed by the Missouri Press Foundation since 2001 and have been published in more than 350 newspapers worldwide. Both Hively and the Missouri Press Foundation have donated their efforts to NNA for this project.

"Missouri Press Association has offered its members a Newspaper in Education serial story annually on a statewide basis, and it’s been a popular success," Doug Crews, MPA executive director, said. "Here’s an opportunity for NNA newspapers in all 50 states to band together to attract young readers into their publications. And, the price is certainly right. It’s free!"

Newspapers may download camera-ready PDFs of the story by linking through the NNA Web site at www.nna.org, or the MNA Web site at www.mna.org. The story will be available at no cost for six months through the Reading Across the Nation project and must be published within that period.

The chapters are created in a four column PASS format, 4 columns by 11 inches, and include three activities. The story is available in color and black and white. For a $10 charge, newspapers may request the story, created in Quark, on CD.

Newspapers that publish the story during the project also will receive a free companion teacher guide. The 26-page guide has activities for elementary and secondary students featuring constructed response items, performance tasks, newspaper related activities, character building questions and research prompts. Newspapers may distribute print copies of the guide to teachers or offer it online for the duration of the project.

The serialized story and other materials will be available for download beginning September 1 to allow newspapers time for scheduling and marketing. For further information, contact Dawn Kitchell at kitchell@yhti.net or 636-932-4301.

A Guide to Digital NIE

The NAA Foundation presents the first-ever complete guide to using electronic editions with NIE programs. This 60-page white paper provides step-by-step directions for launching a digital NIE program, suitable for newspapers already producing electronic editions as well as newspapers just getting started with them. Download it DigitalNIE here (3MB).