1.

Desiree Rasmussen
2. Area C: Theatre for Social Change and Values
3. “News Play”
4. Objective:
a. To have students express what they know/learn about current events.
b. To have students make connections with the effects of these current events.
c. To have students understand and express their knowledge of personal opinions,
prejudice and other people’s input in producing a news story.
d. To have students critically analyze the way a news story is produced or presented.
5. Content Standard: Subject Area: No standard needed for this area.
6: Materials: None needed
7. Description of Game:
a. Teacher will start this lesson with a discussion of Television News or (if time
permitting) other forms of news, such as newspapers or internet.
b. Discussion can start by asking questions to students for interaction and
engagement. Questions: Why do Network run News? Why do people watch it?
What can you tell by a community, by watching the news?
c. The teacher can discuss how the news editor presents the truth can shape opinions
and perceptions of their audience.
d. The teacher will then have students get into groups of 3-4 people.
e. The group has to act out a news broadcast of a current event they have heard or
seen.
f. The group has to choose one person to be the news anchor. The other members
can be witnesses or people that are involved that are being interviewed by the
news or they can act out the event that happen. If they act out what happen, the
anchor can just present the news as a separate scene.
g. The teacher gives whatever amount time wanted by the teacher for groups to
practice their scene.
h. The groups then present one at a time their scene.
i. After each presentation, the class discusses and analyzes how the groups
presented their scene. Did it seem truthful? Did it gave others a different
perspective about that event? Was there any prejudice?

8. Follow-up Activities: Cinema Discussion

This can also be brought up again in the discussion of cinemas. Teacher and students can
discuss about films that are based on true events like the Titanic, Pearl Harbor, Remember the
Titans and many more. The discussion can be about how the movie might present a different
perception, than the actual story or how accurate it was.
Teacher can then have students get into groups and choose a film based on a real life
story. Make sure all students in the group are familiar about the movie and knows the key events
that take place. Students must choose one key event that is based on an actual event from the
film. Then the teacher can have the groups research news articles about the real event that takes
place. Students would then have to present two scenes. The scenes are how the research presents
the event and how the movie presents the event.
9. Assessment: Did the students understand the assignment? Where students able to fluently
present a scene about a current news event? Where students participating in the discussion
meaningfully? Are students able to analyze the scene and identify prejudice or personal opinion
in a current event?