On the Day
You Were Born... 

 

a research-based web lesson
Carole Tauber
Cabin John Middle School
Potomac, Maryland 20854
carole_tauber@fc.mcps.k12.ms.us

 

Introduction

IntrTaskion

Procedure

Evaluation

 

 

INTRODUCTION

Yes, you were the biggest news for your family on the day you were born, but did you ever wonder what else happened on that incredible day?

At the end of this lesson students will know:

important events (other than their own arrival) that make the date of your birth significant
and
how to use Microsoft Publisher to creatively display information in newspaper form Top of Page

 

TASK

Your birth date is special for obvious reasons, but there are often other reasons for its fame as well. Today you will create a personal newspaper (form) to share(purpose) with classmates(audience) that includes information about you and the day you were born(topic).  Top of Page

 

PROCEDURE

Step One

Step Two

Step Three

Step Four

 

 

Step One

Find the answers to interesting questions about the day your were born using a variety of web and print resources.

Questions:
1. What are your vital vital statistics? the when (date), where (place), time (approximate hour) of your birth, and your full name

2. What are five newsworthy events that occurred on your birth date? Provide a brief detailed description of one of them.

3. Identify five famous people who share your birth date. Provide some noteworthy facts about one of the people that explains his.her fame.

4. Name five sports facts that occurred in the year you were born. Describe one of them with some detail.

5. Find the titles of five movies, television shows, and/or songs that were popular during the year you were born.

6. Who was the president on the day you were born?

7. What was the weather like on the day you were born?

8. What books were popular during the year you were born?

WEB Resources:

Anyday in History
Uncle Woody's Almanac-scroll down to the calendars
Famous Birthdays-Use the calendar on the side of the page
CNN Almanac-scroll down after choosing your birthday on the calendar and find some interesting birth date-related information; it will not help with the year
Movie History-enter your birth date where it say "search again" on the left

PRINT Resources:

Famous First Facts
Sports Almanac
World Almanac
...and ask the Media Specialist for more suggestions

Record the information on the data collection sheet.

Question and Answer Sheet
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Step Two

Plan the newspaper by classifying the information you have gathered into sections that mirror a real newspaper. These sections may include:

Entertainment
Sports
Style
Weather
National News
International News
Personalities
Business
Real Estate
Health
Comics
Obituaries
Births Newspaper Planning Sheet
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Step Three

Format the newspaper. Decide where the information will appear; this is called the "layout." The newspaper must include:

~one-four pages
~graphics
~creative newspaper title with the date of your birth
~weather for that day
~headline(s) Sample Layout Sheet
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Step Four 

Put it all together. Use Microsoft Publisher to create your newspaper. Follow the directions carefully and be certain to save your work in the correct folder in your personal directory with no spaces:

h:initialsteacher'snameclassperiodnewspaper
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EVALUATION

The personal newspaper will be graded based on a rubric that evaluates content, creativity, and appearance. grading rubric

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