Learners who are at different levels in an integrated classroom can be encouraged to relate to local, national, and international news using the following developmental procedure throughout the semester. Each step in the procedure can be modified to accommodate the needs of the learners over a period of time. Skills are overlapping and increase in difficulty as the semester progresses.

  1. Introduce question words. Never assume a learner comprehends the meaning of the five Ws. Select a picture or a simple news story from the local paper. Brainstorm and write the answers to the questions – Who? What? Where? Why? When? (See attached handout #1.) Select news items that increase in difficulty over a period of time and work with the learners until they can locate the answers in groups and/or independently.
  2. Listen to taped local news items and identify the main idea of each item. Tape the 7:30 morning news. Write vocabulary, idioms, and pertinent background information on the board that will not be familiar to the class. Ask learners what they know about the issues/events that will be heard on the tape. Before turning on the tape, write “Subject” and “Did What” at the top of the board. As the first item is being played, write the main idea under the “subject” and “predicate” headings. While the second item is being played, leave the subject blank, but write in the predicate. Leave the third news item blank.