6th graders at The Columbus School are studying  journalism with English teacher Veronica Armstrong and learning to improve their literacy skills by writing feature articles.

Feature articles make a good introduction to journalism because their structure is very straightforward. Students are have been writing expository feature pieces about topics they have  researched or a story they want to share.

“I liked writing feature articles because you can get to know new things about topics that interest you while you are investigating what you like. That’s why I feel enthusiastic about writing the article in class,” Alejandro Uribe, 6th grader, said.

Students are studying journalism because of their need to know different people’s perspectives about on-going world issues and to have a wider view of the world about themes such as politics, terrorism, war, medicine, and discoveries.

“They are also great because it is an art to be able to write unbiasedly about a topic that you may or may not agree with,” Armstrong said.

When writing in the nonfiction genre, there are many things to consider such as organization and author’s craft, tools, language techniques and storytelling can be used to make writing more exciting and enjoyable for the reader.

“Students are writing about sports, famous people, travel, tourism nature, social issues, technology, video games, history, and many other subjects,” Armstrong said.

Students often struggle with finding a topic and choosing their angles. They often could not focus on just one area because of really broad themes. The most coveted themes were sports, environmental issues and famous people.

“When researching about my topic I could not decide what information to include  and what to leave out, there was too much to decide,” Uribe said.

Ms. Armstrong uses the modelling technique, used to give students a template for their writing; students like it because it shows them how to write an article so they can try it out themselves. She also provides many examples of introductions or conclusions for the students to look at.

“I think that this assignment really helped my students learn more about how to organize and develop their writing. Articles are always a good idea to start with because now they will be prepared to take their writing to the next level in High School,” Armstrong said.

The writing level for 6th graders at The Columbus School is not as advanced as teachers want it; students are still writing  poorly and are not arriving to High School fully prepared. The modeling technique now used by the Middle School English teacher will help increase their levels over time.

“Ms. Armstrong gave us really useful examples that were extremely helpful, they were easy to follow and understand, thanks to that my article,” Isabela Correa, 6th grader, said.