Subject Matter: Language Arts, Journalism, Interdisciplinary Connection

Overview: This lesson engages students in the art of writing using a historic role model, research on the Web, and practical reporting methods. Students become "investigative reporters" in a fast-paced news "office". They analyze and evaluate a video about the first famous female reporter, Nellie Bly (1864-1922), focusing on the qualities it takes to be a successful communicator. Students research a writer of their choice and present their findings in a News Spot report. Nellie's Top Ten Writing Tips inspires students to design their own creative self-portrait as a reporter. Finally, the ace reporters conduct real-life interviews with a current role model and write an article celebrating a neighbor.

Time Allotment: Two 75-minute class periods

Students will be able to:

From the English Language Arts Curriculum Framework, Massachusetts

Video: Around the World in 72 Days (PBS VIDEO)

People and Features

pbs.org/amex/world/

This Web site, a tie-in to the PBS series, American History and Culture, features famous journalists.

My Hero, Directory - Writers

This Web site features information, quotes, and book lists on great writers.

Authors on the Web

This is a children's literature Web guide. (Yahoo magazine) "One of the most amazingly helpful sites."

Just for Kids Who Love Books

A great collection of links about authors and books, this comprehensive site summarizes authors' lives and lists their books.

Prior to teaching, bookmark the Web sites used in the lesson. Cue the videotape to the appropriate starting point, and photocopy the handouts.

Prepare the name "tents" by cutting paper 6"x 9", fold in half long ways.

Ask the first student to arrive to act as "editor" and have students print their "name tents" in black marker, then place on their "office" desk.

The following activities will prepare your students for a lesson on the art of writing and introduce the first female investigative reporter, Nellie Bly, as a historic role model.

Step 1: Establishing a Personal Connection to Writing

It's the year 2010. Ask your students what career they see themselves pursuing.

Let them share their future dreams. Explain that whatever job they choose they'll probably need to be a good writer. Writing skills are necessary in a variety of jobs, such as, newspapers, Web sites, publishing houses, business reports.

Ask students if they can write a sentence…a paragraph… a story. They'll probably answer YES, but tell them that there is something more to writing than spelling and grammar.

Tell your students that they're going to meet an amazing writer who will inspire their work. Ask students to raise their hands when they can identify this historic role model from the following four clues from people who knew her…

Clue 1 from her childhood friend: "A long time ago we played sports and games, climbed trees, and rode horseback. Her elegant mansion in Pennsylvania held 13 children, plus parents!"

Clue 2 from her mother: "She read books from our library, wrote stories, and dreamed of being a real-life author some day. Her spelling and grammar however were terrible!"

Clue 3 from Joseph Pulitzer, her editor: "She went from princess to pauper to print! In spite of little education or money, she was hired as a reporter when a teenager and became my best reporter on The World."

Clue 4 from Jules Verne, hottest author of the day: "As an undercover reporter she exposed a range of social problems from child labor to slum conditions. I met her in France at the high point of her career."

If your students haven't guessed, tell them it's Nellie Bly who lived from 1864-1922. Tell them that because of Nellie Bly's courageous example, The Nellie Bly Newspaper Club is named in her honor. Explain how the classroom is now a fast-paced news "office" and their name "tents" identify their news desks. They're the reporters of the new millennium. The first assignment - investigate who was Nellie Bly?

Step 2: Establishing a Personal Connection to History

Ask your students to jump back into the 19^th century and imagine Nellie Bly's world. Imagine it's 1864, the Industrial Age. It's near the end of the Civil War. Who is President of the United States? Victoria is Queen of England. Ask your students to think about how life was the SAME or DIFFERENT then. Ask for two volunteer reporters to list ideas on the board. Brainstorm…

Reporter S - people read books, magazines, daily newspapers.

people went to concerts, plays, parks.

people wanted to be happy, have a good job.

Reporter D - people had no TV's, computers, phones, radios.

women couldn't own property or vote.

children often worked in factories for 12 hour days, 6 days a week.

Step 1: Explain to your students that you will now be examining what historians, who write about the past, and biographers, who write about people, say about Nellie Bly, "the best reporter in America." You will be exploring her life through a video. Grab your pencils and notebooks. Since students are acting as ace reporters, they need to listen and write at the same time.

Insert Around the World in 72 Days into your VCR.

Provide your students with a Focus for Media Interaction, asking them to begin a list in their notebooks of the qualities they think made Nellie Bly a good writer.

Start the tape when the screen is filled with a close-up photo of Nellie and a male voice is saying, "Nellie Bly became one of the most famous women in the world…". Play the tape until you hear a female voice say, "So I think Nellie saw a lot of tough times and a lot of the dark side of life." Pause the tape.

Check for comprehension, and ask your students Nellie's real name and nickname. What does her nickname tell you about her? What challenges did she face early in life? What qualities did they find that helped her? What did she mean by, that to be great you must "know yourself and not let the world know who you are?"

We'll see how Nellie rises above her personal circumstances to achieve a successful career.

Step 2: Provide your students with a Focus for Media Interaction, and ask them to identify the qualities Nellie had as a teenager facing limited opportunities.

Mute the tape briefly until the screen is filled with a photo of Nellie and the male voice says, "Pink Cochran would depend on no one." Play the tape, until the screen is filled with a photo of Nellie and a male voice says, "He hired her on the spot."

Pause the tape.

Ask your students what opportunities were available to Nellie? What do her ambitions tell us about her? What turning point changed everything?

Remind your students that Q. O. thought that she had no style, no punctuation, no grammar. Why would he hire her? Would you hire her? Help your students to see that because Nellie stood up for what she believed in, it was the beginning of her career.

Step 3: Provide your students with a Focus for Media Interaction, asking them to discover what made Nellie different from other women reporters and where did that take her? Play the tape until the screen is filled with a map and a male voice says, "they took her by ferry to the Woman's Asylum in the East River off Manhattan." Pause the tape.

Check vocabulary comprehension - byline, expose, meticulous reporting.

Ask your students why Nellie left the Dispatch for Mexico? Why did she quit and leave for New York? What qualities do they see?

Remind your students that it's not enough to have dreams, but ambition, courage, and self-direction are also needed.

Step 4: Provide your students with a Focus for Media Interaction, asking them to raise their hands when they find two results from Nellie's most difficult assignment. Fast forward the tape to Nellie's photo and a male voice says, "In a few days Bly quit her theatrics…" Play the tape, until the screen fills with B. Kroeger saying, "…to greater effect than anyone else." Stop the tape.

Ask your students why Nellie felt it was better to be in the mad house rather than just write about the mad house. Was this true courage or real foolishness?

Ask your students what stunt journalism accomplished beside more sales.

Ask your students what basic American freedom allowed Nellie to write about controversial topics? Can they identify freedom of the press, as part of the First Amendment in The Bill of Rights? Who would support her exposes? Who would oppose them? Why would Nellie need a pen name if this is a free country?

Remind students that even though Nellie Bly lived years ago, that her example is inspiration for today. Ask students to check their notes and raise their hands every time they can add a different quality about Nellie that contributed to her success as a writer. How many can they add to their list? (courage, ambition, confidence, spunk, fearlessness, self-direction, interest in people) As a result of her outrage, persistence, and undercover reporting style, many problems in this country were exposed and changes were made to benefit society. Her motto was, "energy rightly applied can accomplish anything".

In order to review with students that good writing is more than getting the facts, it's an art, have students conduct their own search for a writing role model as reporters of the new millennium.

Step 1. Divide your students into pairs at the computers. Ask them to assume the roles of investigative reporters preparing a one-minute summary for the evening news. They must "discover" a new author of their choice. A current or historic writer may inspire them. Working together, they research writers on these Web sites:

Step 2. Ask your students to find the answers to three questions, such as "How did this writer get started? What did they write about? How did this writer find inspiration for stories? The reporters can take turns reading aloud while the other takes brief notes. Sticking to a deadline of 15 minutes will give students a sense of moving along like actual reporters.

Step 3. Ask each pair of students to decide on one reporter to present a news spot on the evening TV report. The other student may act as support, help the reporter put on a trench coat, and hold the "mike". Improvise the evening news focusing on writer role models.

Provide students with a copy of the three page Nellie Bly Booklet. Discuss Nellie's Top Ten Writing Tips (worksheet) as an on-going source of what a good writer has. Ask students to keep this as an important document in their binders. Now they can use it as a basis for creating their own self-portrait entitled Know Yourself (worksheet). Include real name, pen name, and motto. Add pen name to back of name "tent."

Working in pairs as reporters, assign students the job of interviewing a parent, grandparent, teacher, or friend. They don't have to be a famous writer. Prepare a few questions ahead of time, such as, "Do you like to write? What kinds of things do you write? What books do you like to read? Discuss the importance of setting a time for the interview that’s convenient for everyone, spelling names correctly, and being a good listener. Student reporters may want to take notes, tape, record, or produce a video of the interview with permission. Share the results in a class program, Know Your Neighbor.

In small groups ask your students to create a Play of the Day. Based on their knowledge of Nellie Bly, Q. O., Joseph Pulitzer, etc. write about one moment in time, such as Nellie trying to get Pulitzer to hire her. Encourage students to read books to add to their information and details for the script. Encourage them to improvise as they feel inspired. This living-history may include simple scenery, costumes, or artifacts, such as Nellie Bly undercover in a disguise, Pulitzer's tall silk hat, or an early typewriter.