Activity room

In the lask week of December 1999, the hijacking of an Indian Airlines aircraft IC-814 put the brakes on the festive spirit. Newspapers had only this incident as the main story. Had you followed the events closely, you would have perceived that the incident was reported or presented in many ways. This is what is known as a news story. Here are some activities that will set you thinking about the different ways of presentation and help you work on a "newspaper project".

Divide your class into two groups: Brainstorm ideas that come to your mind when you think of what you know about a newspaper. Record these ideas. Some sample questions:

What is it used for?

Where can you get one?

What are its benefits?

Why do you buy one?

Who can write for a newspaper?

How are they able to do this?

Having recorded your ideas identify parts of a newspaper. For instance, there are several sections, such as news, sports, business, weather, religion and the crossword. Discuss each component as a group.

For starters, take the news story of the hijacking of the Indian airlines aircraft. Before writing a news story, reporters gather facts and observe what is happening. They always keep these questions in mind known as the 5 Ws and H. These are:

What happened?

Who are involved?

Where did the event happen?

When did it occur?

Why and How?

Write a brief report on the hijacking incident keeping the above questions in mind. Give a headline for your report. Then take up each question and throw it open for discussion. You will be surprised at the answers that come up. Brainstorm on how the media - newspapers, television, radio - projected the event. Write down other examples of news stories that you can think of.

Test your vocabulary:

Here are some words that were used while reporting the incident. Frame sentences using these words in the context of the same incident.

1) Diabolical 2) crisis 3) apprises 4) tardy 5) posture 6) stalemate 7) hiatus 8) dishevelled 9) expired 10) consensus.

Total recall:

Given below are five questions based on the hijacking. These sum up, briefly, the entire event. See if you can answer them from memory.

1) What was the route that IC-814 took while the entire drama unfolded?

2) Give the names of the terrorists released by the Government.

3) What do you understand by the term "Stockholm Syndrome"?

4) Did the U.N. play any role in rescuing the hostages?

5) Name the captain of the ill-fated IC-814.

The human element:

Every news story has a human element. This means that since people are involved, emotions run high leading to trauma and depression. The hijacking incident, too, left a lot of people with memories they would wish to forget. The Hindu published several pictures which caught the expression of the people. Get these photographs and make a collage. Give captions that capture the essence of the photograph and put it up on your school notice-board.

Extension activity:

Get your teacher to arrange a trip to the local newspaper office, or arrange for a reporter to visit your class. Write up the activity in the form of a news story. Remember to include all the important elements.

Going back in time:

The Hindu, in a photo essay, which appeared in December captured the 20th Century's defining moments - from global upheavals to strides in science, to celebrating the Indian genius. Take one of the photographs and write a factual story surrounding the event or personality featured in the picture.

In a lighter vein: Reading a comic strip in a newspaper on any day lightens up the mood. But when it comes to an end, there is a bit of disappointment too. Who was the comic character who decided to take his last bow and who was his creator? What was the comic strip known as?

Compiled by

M. NIRMALA

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