Madison 1St-Graders Are Newspaper Publishers
By Ryan Hurley
WEAC PR/Comm summer intern
The journalists studying under the supervision of Marilyn Harper have
a pretty impressive résumé, considering they are first-graders
at Falk Elementary School in Madison. For the last four years, Harper’s
class has been composing its own newspaper, The Falk Kids Press.
The newspaper is produced once a year and is written by the children
in Harper’s class. The paper is inserted into the Wisconsin State
Journal and includes interviews with political figures like the mayor
of Madison; poetry; movie, restaurant and book reviews; an advice column
and more.
“The students get a wonderful sense of writing for a purpose,”
Harper said. “They are able to actually see what they wrote —
published and in print — so people can read it.”
Harper also incorporates math into the project by teaching lessons
about how much it costs to publish the newspaper and how much they receive
from advertisers. Then, students calculate a budget.
Handling an interview can be tough for a first grader, so students
practice to help them prepare. The student who conducts the interview
asks a list of questions compiled by the class, which includes things
that the students most want to know about the interviewee. The student
tape records the interview. With the help of their parents, the students
transcribe the questions and answers so they can take the dialogue and
form it into a story.
“I contact people to set up the interviews based on who the children
say they are interested in talking to,” Harper said. Students
have interviewed community figures like Wisconsin First Lady Jessica
Doyle, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, and Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz.
Harper invites professional journalists into her classroom to talk
to her students about the process of writing a newspaper article. She
also takes her students on an annual field trip to the Wisconsin State
Journal building to talk to photographers and other staff involved in
the layout process to give the students an idea on how their paper will
be produced.
Each student writes a piece on his or her own with input from peers
and Harper on organization and fluidity. Other students help the writer
edit the article, and then he or she reads it in front of the class
to see if any students can offer suggestions on how to improve its cohesiveness.
Students look at sample newspapers in class to get ideas about how
their own paper should come together. They decide which articles should
be placed on the front page by deciding which topics they feel are most
important or by which topics readers might find most interesting.
“This has really helped the students in their writing process,
and to be able to see what it takes to start a piece from the interview
and end with the publication,” Harper said.
Harper said she receives praise from all over the United States from
people who are impressed that young people can write a newspaper. Many
teachers have contacted Harper in hopes of starting a similar project
with their students, she said.
Harper said other schools could expand the idea of having a newspaper
by combining classes or grades to have a larger-scale production. “The
potential is endless,” she said.
“Out of all the things that I have done with my students over
the course of the year, I think that this will be the thing that will
stick with them the most,” Harper said. “They will always
remember throughout their school experience, that as first graders,
they published a newspaper.”
If you would like to receive a copy of The Falk Kids Press, send a
check for $2 payable to The Falk Kids Press to 9 Foxboro Cir., Madison,
WI 53717 or call (608) 833-5238.
Posted July 2, 2004