How to Write a News Article

March 15, 2012
Grades 2-4 These additions to the Language Arts Explorer Junior: Writing series provide an excellent, step-by-step guide for children learning to produce different kinds of writing. The authors, both of whom have doctorates in language and literacy, clearly know what they are doing. In How to Write a News Article, they produce a sample story about a snow day. The short, pithy sentences are both fun and easy to read. Clear, believable examples are provided for each step of the writing process, and a checklist at the end ties everything together. The idea of producing consumable copies of activities on the publisher's website is a good one, though, unfortunately, the activities are difficult to locate on the site. For visuals, the books include a combination of illustrations and photos. The photos tend to look like generic stock photos, but the illustrations of children and of a mouse-writer character add a light, humorous touch to what could be dry topics. The books' back matter includes a one-page glossary, books, websites, online games, For More Information, and more.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)