The CBBC Press Pack — for The Herald?

The CBBC Press Pack has been around since 1992 and it mainly revolves around newscasting for teens under the age of 16. You can make an account on their website and you can earn points for doing a variety of games on the website from a journalism tutorial to Headline Grabber.

Members are allowed to send in a report to the CBBC website and it will be read by kids all around the world. Kids have written about autism, Harry Potter and appendicitis . Along with reports and news, members of the website can also send in videos, photos, and film ideas.

I think the CBBC Press Pack is a great website for kids who are interested in news reporting and online publishing. It teaches about journalism and has educational games which helps kids and teens brush up their skills in the verbal and written area.

The Hillwood Herald is capable of sending in reports to this website. We can send in interview videos, a few of our posts, and some photos. It can attract more people to our blog.

The Kid Reporter Talent Search

Student Assignment:
Lance Y.
To enter the "Why I Learn" contest, students must be at least 13 years old. However, the contest — TIME for Kids — that 9-year-old Brennan entered is for students 13 years of age or younger.

For this assignment, explain the basic information about this award and highlight some of the interesting kids who won this year. You will find information on the TIME for Kids website.

Remember to answer the five W’s of any good news story:

• Who: students 13 and younger
  
• What: a journalism contest for students
  
• When: June 19, 2010 (it is an annual event, so we can change the date)
  
• Where: on the Internet
  
• Why:

At the end of the article, include two ideas for stories that The Herald could enter.

Photo credit: Corbis for TIME for Kids.

What Does It Take to Be a Kid Reporter?

Student Assignment:
Rubina H., Anya J.
Nine-year-old Brennan, runs The Spruce St. Weekly, a handwritten weekly Port Townsend, Washington, neighborhood newspaper. TIME magazine recently recognized Brennan's work with an award. This award is the news hook in your article. (A news hook is a timely event that makes your subject more interesting and relevant to your audience.)

• To learn more about Brennan, watch the above video and read this article from the Port Towsend Leader from October 2008.
• To learn about the news hook, read this recent article on the Seattle PI.

After watching Brennan's video and reading the article about him and the award, write three to five sentences (one paragraph) about Brennan and his winning of the award.

Remember to answer the five W’s of any good news story:

• Who:
• What:
• When:
• Where:
• Why:

Interview Tips

Student Assignment: Rubina

You have two assignments this week: First, write a story about how to interview people based on these tips from The New York Times.