Journalism Lesson Plan

Overview: A study in the journal “Pediatrics” indicates more students are hurt on school buses than previously believed. Still, the way to make students safer isn’t as easy as just buckling up a seat belt. Some injuries happen getting on and off the bus, and earlier reports indicate without the proper kind of seatbelt, the number of neck injuries could be far higher.

Suggested time allotment: Approximately a week to read the research and do some of your own locally about bus safety. Then one week to write the article about the situation. If the staff or editorial board thinks local practices should be changed, they could write an editorial.

Objectives

Students will:

1. Read the research and news articles for background.
2. Find out from administrators what the school bus safety record is for the district and what precautions the district takes. (Although they may not want to reveal this, it is a public document and available with under the Freedom of Information Act. See below)
3. Interview the superintendent, school board members, teachers, students and parents and bus drivers about what they think the practices or precautions should be.
4. Debate the pros and cons of different practices. What do other area schools have, for instance, when it comes to seat belts?
5. Write a news feature about the situation at the school, using the news peg of the recently released study. Explore all sides.
6. Write an editorial if the editorial board believes practices should be changed.

Standards: National Council of Teachers of English and International Reading Association Standards for English Language Arts:

4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written and visual language (e.g.,conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

7. Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
8. Students use a variety of technological and informational resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
12. Students use spoken, written and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion and the exchange of information).

Resources and materials:
Web sites with information:
• “Pediatrics” is available online, including an abstract of the article about the study and, for $12, a copy of the complete text. It’s title: “School Bus–Related Injuries Among Children and Teenagers in the United States, 2001-2003.”
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• A news article about the report came from the Seattle Times via the Chicago Tribune Nov. 6, 2006: “Injuries from bus accidents exceed estimates,” by Jeremy Manier and Carolyn Starks.
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• The National Transportation and Safety Board has a portion of its Web site devoted to studies and information about school bus passenger safety.
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• If the district won’t release the safety record of school buses, try to file a State Open Records Law Request Letter. The Student Press Law Center Web site has a letter generator to help you do that.
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