Lesson video

Hi, I'm Mr. Buckingham, and it's so good to see you here for today's lesson.

Now I'm excited today because we're starting a brand new unit, which links together learning about climate change with learning about how journalists do their jobs, and write journalistic reports.

And we're going to work towards writing a journalistic report about a climate protest.

I think you're gonna really enjoy this unit.

So let's get going.

Today's lesson is called Exploring the Structure of a Journalistic Report, and it comes from our unit called Climate Emergency Journalistic Report Writing.

By the end of today's lesson, we'll be able to identify the structure of a journalistic report and distinguish between statements of fact and different perspectives.

So today, we're going to be looking really closely at a journalistic report about a climate protest as the first step towards writing one of our own about a different protest.

Now, I'll be showing you the whole text in this video, but for one of the tasks, you will need to highlight sections of it, and you'll find the text in the additional materials for this lesson.

You'll also need two coloured pencils or highlighters.

If you're ready to go, let's make a start.

Here are the key words for today's lesson.

My turn, your turn.

Journalistic report.

Perspective.

And fact.

Well done, so a journalistic report is a nonfiction text that informs the reader about an event.

And someone's perspective is their view of events.

A fact is something that is true or proven.

So here's our lesson outline for today.

We're going to start off by exploring and reading a journalistic report, and then we'll move on to looking at the difference between facts and perspectives.

So a journalistic report is a non-fiction text found in a newspaper, magazine, or online.

And its purpose is usually to report on recent news events with up-to-date information.

Its audience, the person who's reading it, is any person who wants to know more about that particular event.

And its layout maybe in columns if it's a paper newspaper, or it could just be separated into paragraphs, like we normally write.

And you might see that in an online journalistic report.

It has a headline usually, that tells the main point of the story so that people can decide whether or not they want to read the whole report.

So are these statements true or false? Pause the video and decide.

Well done, good job.

So A says a journalistic report can be read online.

That is true.

A journalistic report is always written in columns.

False, that would be in a paper newspaper usually, but if it was online, it would tend to be just in paragraphs, like a normal piece of writing.

C says journalistic reports usually focus on events from long ago, that's false.

They're usually about up-to-date recent events.

And D says a journalistic report is a non-fiction text.

That is true, it's not based on imagination, it's based on facts and reality.

So we are going to read a fictional journalistic report about an environmental protest.

So let's look first at some vocabulary it uses so we understand the report really well.

If you're adamant, you feel very strongly about something.

So maybe someone was adamant that they weren't gonna do their work, they felt really strongly that wasn't gonna happen.

If you're vociferous, you're loud.

So maybe the class protested vociferously when they were told they were staying in for playtime.

An advocate is someone who pushes for a change.

So if you're an advocate for action on climate change, you're someone who really pushes for that to happen.

An urban area is a city.

Combating means fighting against.

So if I said it's really important we combat climate change, it means that we fight against climate change.

Sustainability is about reducing our impact on the environment.

So if I'm a sustainability expert, I'm someone who knows a lot about what we can do to live within the means of our planet, and make sure we don't damage the environment.

The severity of something is how serious it is.

So maybe someone would say, "Oh, what's the severity "of the storm that's coming? "How bad is it going to be?" Projectiles are objects that you throw.

And if you maintain order, you keep things calm.

So maybe your head teacher is very good at maintaining order in your school.

So can you fill the gaps in these sentences using these words? Combating, advocate, adamant, and maintain order.

Pause the video and have a go.

Well done, good job, so A, we'd say he was adamant that the new road should not be built.

For B, combating climate change is everyone's job.

For C, she is a vociferous advocate for green energy.

So we've got two of our words there.

Vociferous meaning kind of loud.

And then advocate someone who pushes for something.

And for D, the police tried to maintain order at the demonstration.

Really good job if you matched those up.

So we're ready to read the first paragraph of our fictional journalistic report, which is the introduction.

And you can find the whole text in the additional materials for this lesson.

Are you ready? Let's read.

The headline says, city residents rally against removal of historic trees.

Residents of Oakville took to the streets this weekend to protest against the planned removal by the city council of several historic trees along St.

Andrews Street.

The council claims that the removal is necessary for health and safety reasons, but protestors are adamantly opposed.

The peaceful protest was a scene of handmade signs and vociferous chants.

Although the local local police attended, no arrests were made.

So we can see we've got a headline here which summarises the whole story.

City residents rally against removal of historic trees.

Straight away, we know what this story is about.

We know what this report is going to cover.

It's about a protest held by people who live in the city about these trees being removed.

Then we've got the introduction, which tells us a few really important things.

It tells us what has happened, why it's happened, who is involved, where the event occurred, and when it's occurred.

When we say the event, we're talking about the protest.

So what does the introduction of the journalistic report tell us about each of these questions? Pause the video and see if you can work it out.

And you can look back at the report if you'd like to.

Well done, good job.

So what has happened? There's been a protest.

Why has it happened? Because trees are going to be removed.

Who's done it, who's done the protest? Well, it was residents of Oakville.

Where did it happen? On the streets.

And when did it happen? This weekend.

So we've just got very small piece of information, but already we know so much because the introduction has covered all of these points.

Really well done if you were able to spot all those pieces of information.

So let's read the next three paragraphs of the journalistic report, and you can read along with me if you like.

So it says, local environmental advocate Jordan Adebayo, who led the protest, voiced his concerns.

"These trees are more than just plants.

"They are the living, breathing heart of our neighbourhood.

"They provide shade and clean air, "and they give a sense of beauty that cannot be replaced." Adebayo called on the city council to rethink its decision, arguing that it had been made without consideration of the environmental impacts.

The protest, which took place outside City Hall on Saturday lunchtime has drawn attention from the academic community as well.

Professor Jacqui O'Keefe, an urban sustainability expert, offered a scientific perspective, emphasising the role urban trees play in combating climate change.

"Trees in urban areas are not just beautiful.

"They absorb CO2, cool our cities, and support biodiversity." O'Keefe, who did not attend the protest, has argued for an increase in urban tree-planting as a means of reducing the severity of climate change.

Local police who attended in small numbers said that the protest had been peaceful and respectful.

While a handful of protestors threw projectiles, including eggs, at City Hall, they quickly stopped when warned by officers.

Superintendent Maryam Mirza, a police spokesperson, commented, "Our role is to ensure that all community members "can safely exercise their right to free speech.

"We attended the demonstration to maintain order "and to protect all parties involved." So what's happened in these three paragraphs? Well, these paragraphs tell us more information about what's happened.

But even more than that, each of them gives a different perspective on the events.

And they include quotations as well, from different people.

And quotations are where we say what someone said.

So what perspective is being given in each of these paragraphs? Whose perspective is being given in each one? Pause the video and see if you can work it out.

Well done, good job.

So the first paragraph there is the protester's perspective given by Jordan Adebayo who led the protest.

The next one tells us an expert's perspective.

It's Jacqui O'Keefe, who is an urban sustainability expert from the academic community.

Meaning she probably works at a university.

And then the last one gives us the police's perspective, including Superintendent Mirza, who gives her perspective as well.

So we've got three different perspectives in three different paragraphs.

So let's read the final paragraph of the journalistic report, which is the conclusion, ready? It says, earlier today protestors returned to City Hall presenting a petition of over 500 signatures opposing the trees' removal.

Adam MacKenzie, the city council spokesperson, said the council was listening to local people's concerns.

We understand the strength of feeling regarding the St.

Andrew's Street trees.

For this reason, we will be holding a public forum in the days to come.

Until then, no tree removal will take place.

The meeting, which is due to take place on Wednesday evening at City Hall, will be open to the public.

So what's happened in this paragraph? Well, we're given the very latest, most up-to-date information about the situation.

The fact the protestors have returned to City Hall.

And we get that official perspective from the council.

The council is the people responsible for the city as a whole.

So we get their perspective on the event that's happened in their city.

And finally, we're told what will happen next.

We're told there's going to be a public meeting on Wednesday evening.

So can you match each feature of the conclusion to the information that's given in the report? Pause the video and have a go.

Well done, good job.

So the most up-to-date information is that a petition has been presented to the council.

The official position is we understand how strongly people feel about this.

And what will happen next is our public meeting will be held tomorrow.

Really well done for matching those up.

So let's look at the structure of the whole report.

And we can see the whole thing now with the five paragraphs.

So we have a headline that summarises the main point of the story, and then the introduction, which fleshes out those key details.

Then we have these three main paragraphs that give different perspectives and a few extra details.

And then we have this conclusion that tells us the newest information and what will happen next, along with that official perspective from the council.

So we've got a really clear structure here, an introduction, three main paragraphs, and a conclusion.

And all headed up by the headline, which summarises the whole thing.

So what do we find in each section of the journalistic report? What's in the introduction? What's in the main paragraphs? And what's in the conclusion? Pause the video and have a go.

Well done, good job, so the introduction has the key details about what, why, who, where, and when.

Then the main paragraphs give different perspectives on the event with some extra details mixed in.

And the conclusion gives us that latest information, the official position, and information about what will happen next.

Really well done if you managed to get those.

So let's do our first task for this lesson.

We've seen that a journalistic report contains different perspectives on an event.

So we're going to do some role play.

I want you to take on the role of one of the perspectives given in the report.

Maybe you're the protestors.

Maybe you're the expert.

Maybe you're the police.

Maybe you're the city council.

And I want you to compose your body into a freeze frame that shows your actions or feelings during or after the protest.

So if you're the protestor, maybe you want to show your actions during the protest.

If you're the expert, maybe you want to show how you're feeling having heard about the protest.

Or when you're talking to the journalist about it.

If you're the city councillor or the city council spokesperson, maybe you'll just show how you're feeling now after the protest has happened.

And I want you to be ready to say your thoughts in role about what has happened.

And I want you to make sure when you say that, you're going to use 'I', because you're pretending to be that person.

So if you're at school, maybe your teacher will say the name of people they want to share.

If you're at home, you could just write down your thoughts if you like, or record them, or say them to another adult at home.

So pause the video, compose your freeze frame.

And be ready to speak in role as your character.

Have a go.

Well done, great job.

So let's look at some examples of what you might have said in role.

Maybe you said this.

The council just started thinking about how important trees are for reducing the effects of climate change.

So that could be the protestor or maybe it's the expert talking.

Then we've got this one.

Look, I understand why you're so upset.

Please come to the public forum tomorrow.

That must be the, well done, city council spokesperson.

Then we've got this one.

I'm just glad that the protests stayed peaceful.

It's important everyone gets to have their say.

I think that's the police.

And then finally, these trees are vital for our city.

They make it a better place to live.

How could they do this? And I think that must be the protestor.

So we tried to take on the perspective of these different people who are involved in this story.

Really well done for your effort there, good job.

So we've explored that report.

Now we're gonna see if we can talk about the difference between facts and perspectives.

'Cause we saw both in our report.

So journalists have to be very careful about how they present information in a journalistic report.

If it's a news report, journalists don't usually give their own perspective, their own thoughts.

They present the facts and then they explain other people's perspectives, which is what we saw in the report we read.

So they wouldn't write this.

The destruction of these trees is a disgrace.

That would be the journalist's own view.

And they don't usually give that in a news report.

Instead they might write this.

The protestors hope to stop the destruction of the trees.

Can you see how that is saying what the protestors think? It's not the journalist's own view.

So how might a journalist know if something is a fact? Pause the video and have a chat to the person next to you or have a think on your own.

Well done, good ideas.

So journalists do lots of things to establish what are facts.

They might do research online, they might interview people, they might look at footage or photos.

And they might attend events in person in order to work out what are the facts of this situation.

So let's imagine you're a journalist that has heard that the tree protest is going to happen and you know you want to report on it.

What could you do to make sure you get the facts right? Pause the video and think of as many things you could do as possible to make sure you get these facts right before you write your report.

Have a go.

Well done, good job, great ideas.

So you could attend the protest in person, couldn't you? To see what happens.

If that's not possible, you could ask people who attended to show you footage or audio recordings of what happened.

Then you know it's factual, that it's true.

You could interview a range of different people who attended.

If you just interviewed one person, that might not be very reliable, mightn't it? But if you interview a range of different people, then you're much more likely to get out the truth to establish the facts.

And you could even record their comments to make sure you've got a record of what they said.

You could look at photos of the event that are available online or elsewhere.

And you could ask the police and the council for statements because those would be kind of the official people who were involved.

So there's loads of steps you could take to work out exactly what happened at that protest, and establish the facts.

Really well done for your ideas.

So, if a journalist determines that something is a fact through any of those methods we just talked about, they can present it as fact by writing it as a statement in their report.

For instance, a protest took place this weekend against the removal of several trees.

Well, the journalist might know that's a fact because they could have attended the protest, or seen the videos, or talked to the police and the council, and established that that is true.

So it's presented as a statement of fact.

And journalists are often careful to avoid giving, as we said, their own perspective.

So let's look at these two examples and see which one sounds best.

The first one says the trees, which are the living, breathing heart of the local area, are threatened with removal by the council.

And the second says Jordan Adebayo said that the trees were the living, breathing heart of the local area.

Well, the first one we wouldn't see in a journalistic news report because there it's stating as fact that the trees are the heart of the area.

But that's not really a fact, is it? That is Jordan Adebayo's view.

So, the second example is presented appropriately.

There we're saying that this is Mr. Adebayo's perspective, it's his view.

It is not established as fact.

So that second one is presented much more appropriately for a journalistic report.

So let's test that idea.

Which of the sentences below are presented appropriately for a journalistic news report? Pause the video and decide.

Well done, good effort.

So A says the protestors are quite rightly adamantly opposed.

Well, there the journalist is giving their own view.

So no, that's not quite appropriate.

B says, although the police attended, no arrests were made.

That's a statement of fact, that's appropriate.

C says a few disgraceful protestors threw projectiles at City Hall.

That's not appropriate, that's giving the journalist's own view.

And D says the meeting will be open to the public.

That's just a statement of fact, that's appropriate.

Now I should say that sometimes journalists do give their own view in what's called opinion pieces.

Which is where they state their own opinion.

But newspapers and magazines have to be really careful to say that that is the journalist's own view and it's not a statement of fact.

So newspapers do a lot of work to try and distinguish between those two things.

Really well done if you noticed these differences here.

So when we present these different perspectives in a report, we often use quotations to make clear what someone said.

For example, Adam Mackenzie said, "We understand the strength of feeling regarding "the St Andrew's Street trees." There we've got direct speech, we've used inverted commas around the words Adam Mackenzie said.

And the journalist here has written the exact words he used.

We can't make up words that people use and put them in inverted commas.

It has to be the exact words they said.

But we can also say what a person said without using a direct quotation.

Let me show you.

We could say Adam Mackenzie said that the council understood the strength of feeling regarding the St.

Andrew's street trees.

So this is called reported speech.

And here we haven't used the exact words Mr. Mackenzie said.

We've summarised his perspective, and we've said what he said without quoting him directly, without using inverted commas.

So if you use inverted, we are saying these are the exact words he used.

If we use reported speech, we are saying this is the gist of what he said.

This is a summary of what he said.

And that has to be accurate.

But we don't have to use the exact words in that case.

So has the journalist here used direct speech, the exact words, or reported speech, a summary of the words, in each of these examples? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done, good job.

So A has inverted commas, so it must be direct speech.

B says, Superintendent Mirza explained that the police attended to maintain order.

We're not saying the exact words she used so that is reported speech.

And notice those words, "Explained that." That's a big clue that we're using reported speech.

Especially that word 'that,' that comes up a lot in reported speech.

And here it is again.

Mr. Mackenzie said that the council was listening to local people's concerns.

We're not saying that these are the exact words he used.

We've summarised his view accurately in this reported speech.

Really well done if you spotted those differences.

And either way, what we're doing is giving a person's perspective.

And it has to be an accurate reflection of what their perspective was.

So we've seen that a journalistic report can contain both facts and different perspectives on an event.

And when journalists report someone's perspective, they often use words like these.

Claims that, has stated that, argues that, believes that.

Commented, said, has called on.

For example, they could say this.

Professor O'Keefe has argued that tree planting is essential for combating climate change.

It's very clear that's her perspective.

I could say Superintendent Mirza stated that the police had attended to maintain order.

It's clearly her perspective.

And finally, Adebayo called on the city council to reconsider the matter.

Again, we are saying someone's viewpoint, someone's perspective.

Notice how I remove the first name there.

I just said Adebayo, instead of Jordan Adebayo or Mr. Adebayo.

That's something journalists often do, and it's something we could do in our own writing as well.

So let's have a look at this introduction and headline.

Which sections of the introduction give facts and which give different perspectives on the events? Pause the video and see if you can work out where are the facts and where are the different perspectives.

Have a go.

Well done, good job.

So at the start here, we've got some facts.

Residents of Oakville took to the streets this weekend to protest against the planned removal by the city council of several historic trees along St.

Andrew's Street.

That is not being presented as someone's perspective.

It is being presented as something which factually happened, which the journalist has verified to be true.

So those are statements of fact.

We've then got this section in the middle, which is perspective.

It says the city council claims that the removal is necessary for health and safety reasons, but protestors are adamantly opposed.

So this isn't being established as fact.

It's saying these are the two perspective, the two different viewpoints we have.

And at the end we have another statement of fact.

It says the peaceful protest was a scene of handmade signs and vociferous chants.

Although the local police attended, no arrests were made.

The journalist here is stating this as fact.

They are saying this is definitely true.

There were definitely handmade signs and chants and there were definitely no arrests.

So the journalist is saying, I believe this statement is true, based on my research and the evidence I've seen.

Really well done if you spotted those differences.

So let's do our final task for this lesson.

We are going to look in detail at the report we've read.

And identify which parts of it give facts and which gives different perspectives on the event.

So I want you to take your two colour pencils or two different colour highlighters, and use one colour to highlight or underline facts.

Then use the other to highlight or underline places where a person's perspective is given.

As we saw, they might be mixed up within the same paragraph.

And remember, direct and reported speech are clues that someone's perspective is being given.

So pause the video and highlight the different sections that show facts and perspectives.

Have a go.

Well done, good effort.

So here are some of the facts you might have highlighted.

Remember, these are things that the journalist is stating to be true, based on the evidence and the research that they've done.

I've got, first of all, earlier today, protestors returned to City Hall presenting a petition of over 500 signatures opposing the trees' removal.

I've also got, the protest which took place outside City Hall on Saturday lunchtime has drawn attention from the academic community as well.

And finally, while a handful of protesters threw projectiles, including eggs at City Hall, they quickly stopped when warned by officers.

None of these are presented as someone's perspective.

They're all presented as statements of fact, which means the journalist believes them to be true.

Then we have some perspectives that you might have highlighted.

Adebayo called on the city council to rethink its decision, arguing that it had been made without consideration of the environmental impacts.

Superintendent Maryam Mirza, a police spokesperson, commented, "Our role is to ensure that all community members "can safely exercise their right to free speech." And finally, professor Jacqui O'Keefe, an urban sustainability expert offered a scientific perspective.

"Trees in urban areas are not just beautiful.

"They absorb CO2, cool our cities, "and support biodiversity." So in each of these cases, the journalist is not saying these are facts.

They're saying these are different people's perspectives.

This is what these people say about the situation.

Really well done if you noticed that distinction between the facts and the perspectives, good job.

So let's summarise our learning in this lesson.

We said that a journalistic report is a nonfiction text that usually provides information about recent events.

It might appear in a newspaper, a magazine, or online.

We said that a journalistic report will start with a headline and an introduction that gives an overview of the story being covered.

We said that the report will contain a mixture of facts and different perspectives on the events, including both direct and reported speech.

Really well done for your effort in this lesson.

I hope you enjoyed reading that report.

And I hope you're looking forward now to writing one of your own about a similar protest.

I'd love to see you again in a future lesson, goodbye.