If you know how to pitch a story, it might get you the job. That’s what students in Elissa Apar and Jaqueline Harrison's fifth grade class found out during a recent lesson in non-fiction writing.
“Good morning fifth graders! If you would like to write a feature article for The C.V. Starr Times, you must enter the Bear Den with an angle for your story,” said Apar, “We want to know your story idea, three reliable sources, and text structures you will be using. If you win us over you will get your story published.”
“Having a good pitch or thesis helps students organize their ideas so they know the important points they want to write about and keeps them on point. This activity is fun but also important for non-fiction writing,” said Gladstone.
Before the pitch however, students had work to do. They had to come up with an idea, research that idea and then fill out a Feature Article Proposal Page. After that, the pitch.
Apar and Harrison sat in the front of the room in saucer chairs wearing official striped Executive Editor ties. As each student approached the Bear Den, Shark Tank music played.
“Sean Brewer, what's your feature story idea for The C.V. Starr Times?” asked Apar.
“Messi’s Rise to Glory,” said Brewer, “Since soccer is my favorite sport and Messi is the best player in the world, I want to write about how he became the best and how he is different from the rest.”
“What sources did you use?” asked Harrison.
“World Book Online, Encyclopedia Britannica, and Kids Search.”
A “contract” was signed–Brewer swayed the editors.
The next student, Sammy Nelson, pitched “Axolotls and their Unique Appearance.”
“Axolotls are amphibians,” explained Nelson, that live in the water. I think they are really strange looking and I want to learn more about them.”
Nelson explained the text structures she would use in her article: description, compare and contrast–to tiger salamanders; and cause and effect.
There were pitches on pandas, red eyed tree frogs, Michael Phelps, Hurricane Helene, and another on axolotls. At the end of the session most students had won a contract to write up their article or else gotten feedback from the editors to tweak their pitch. Now the work of writing a nonfiction article really begins.
