Introduction to News-2-You Lesson Plan Templates

The included lesson plan templates are intended to assist teachers and other educators in developing standards-based instructional lessons using the News-2-You activities. The lesson plans are "generic" to the structured activities that can be downloaded each week. However, the specifics of the lesson will vary depending on the topic, theme and vocabulary presented each week in the News-2-You material.

Each lesson plan identifies "instructional targets" which reflect the essence of academic content standards. This will help educators to identify the skills that all students should be gaining as the result of the lessons. As in the general education classroom, students in the early grades have a different skills focus than those in the older grades.

The "Lesson Plan" section of the templates offer specific instructions on how to build skills and incorporate the News-2-You® activities in a way to maximize learning. Of course a creative teacher may also find other ways to extend the learning activities, and this is encouraged in all instructional activities. These lesson plan instructions are directly related to the standards-based instructional targets

Students who utilize News-2-You® lessons vary significantly in ability levels. Therefore, there is a section of the template that offers expectations for differentiated tasks.

• Level 1 students are typically requiring maximum support within instructional tasks. For these students, increasing the level of participation is the main objective. It will be important to find supports that encourage active response to lesson activities. Use of talking switches and errorless choice making should be explored.


• Level 2 students may require picture support and other direct support in learning and the demonstration of comprehension. The regular or simplified editions of the News-2-You® materials will be appropriate for this student.


• Level 3 students will typically be ones who are learning to read text, and can independently demonstrate comprehension of the learning information. The higher level editions of the News-2-You® materials are generally appropriate for this student.

There must be an understanding and expectation that ALL students will participate in standard-based instructional activities. That is the fundamental belief of the News-2-You® program. It is also to be assumed that ALL students can participate in the same/similar activity when appropriate differentiated supports are in place.