High School Journalism: Research & Article Writing
A classroom-ready lesson plan for teaching source evaluation, synthesis, fact-checking, article structure, and citation practices.
Grade Level
High school
Subject
English Language Arts, Journalism, Media Literacy
Lesson Length
60 to 75 minutes, with an optional extension activity
Grouping
Whole class, pairs, and individual work
Learning Objective
Students will analyze and synthesize information from multiple sources to create a well-structured, factually accurate journalistic article.
They will evaluate source credibility, cross-check claims, organize evidence, and use citations so readers can trace where information came from.
Students Will Be Able To
Identify characteristics of credible and less-reliable sources.
Cross-reference information across multiple sources before treating a claim as established fact.
Develop research questions that identify missing information.
Organize a journalistic article around a headline, lead, body, evidence, and conclusion.
Create a preliminary bibliography or source list.
Reflect on weaknesses in their own research process.
Materials
One strong example of a researched journalistic article
Internet-connected devices or a teacher-curated source packet
Whiteboard or projector
Student Research and Source Evaluation Worksheet
Journalistic Article Planning Sheet
Detailed Lesson Plan
0 to 8 Minutes: Notice and Wonder
Project a strong piece of journalism for students to analyze.
Ask students to spend several minutes silently reading and recording what they notice about:
Structure
Language
Evidence
Sources
Organization
Then ask students what they wonder about the article.
Questions might include:
Where did the writer find this information?
How did the writer know which sources to trust?
Why was certain information placed near the beginning?
What research probably happened before the article was written?
Have students compare their observations with a partner before sharing a few ideas with the class.
The goal is to help students see journalism as something constructed from research and evidence rather than simply written from beginning to end.
8 to 20 Minutes: Mini-Lesson on Research
Explain that strong journalism depends on more than finding information.
Journalists need to determine whether information is accurate, useful, and supported by evidence.
Introduce the importance of:
Using multiple sources
Evaluating credibility
Prioritizing primary sources when possible
Identifying where information originally came from
Cross-referencing important claims
Recognizing contradictions between sources
Model the process by selecting one claim from the example article and showing students how they could verify it using another source.
Remind students that several websites repeating the same claim do not automatically provide several independent pieces of evidence.
20 to 30 Minutes: Mini-Lesson on Article Structure
Review the major parts of a journalistic article.
Headline
The headline should clearly communicate the topic while giving readers a reason to pay attention.
Lead
The lead introduces the most important information or central idea and encourages the reader to continue.
Body
The body organizes the evidence and context needed to understand the story.
This may include:
Facts
Statistics
Quotes
Background information
Context
Explanations
Primary-source evidence
Conclusion
The conclusion should help readers understand why the subject matters, what may happen next, or what broader significance the story has.
Have students identify each section in the model article.
30 to 43 Minutes: Think-Pair-Share Research
Have students form pairs.
Assign a recent news event or allow pairs to choose one.
Give students approximately 10 minutes to research the event using several sources.
Ask them to record:
Which sources they used
Which facts appeared in more than one source
Which information appeared only once
Whether any sources contradicted one another
Which source they considered strongest
What information still needs verification
Afterward, ask pairs to share how they decided which information they trusted.
43 to 52 Minutes: Co-Craft Research Questions
Ask students to identify what they still need to know before they could write a complete article.
Have pairs create research questions such as:
What caused this?
Who is affected?
What happened before this?
What evidence supports the main claim?
Who has firsthand knowledge?
What would someone with another perspective say?
Is there data available?
What happens next?
Ask each pair to share at least one strong research question with the class.
Discuss how better questions lead to better reporting.
52 to 67 Minutes: Independent Article Planning
Have students choose a topic that interests them or has current relevance.
Before drafting the article, require students to create an article plan.
The plan should include:
A working headline
A draft lead
The central idea of the article
Major sections
Evidence supporting each section
Sources for that evidence
A preliminary bibliography
Circulate while students work and help them identify gaps in their research.
If students cannot identify a source for an important section of the article, encourage them to treat that as a research problem before they begin drafting.
67 to 72 Minutes: Exit Reflection
Ask students to respond to two questions:
What was the most difficult part of researching this topic?
What will you do differently the next time you research an article?
Use their answers to identify areas that may need additional instruction.
Teaching Notes
Remind students that multiple sources are only useful if those sources provide independent evidence.
Encourage students to ask whether a source is presenting original information or simply repeating another source.
Teach students to record source information while researching instead of trying to reconstruct citations after the article is written.
When students encounter conflicting information, encourage