The Newsroom

A great story is worth nothing if the source does not hold up.

The Newsroom puts your fifth graders in charge of the school's online paper. They weigh story pitches, evaluate sources, assign reporter hours, and decide what runs on the front page. On Day 3 an anonymous tip lands with a tempting headline, and the teams have to decide whether to verify it or chase the clicks. It is reading and judgment they cannot fake.

See what your students get, and why it lands.

No mockups. Every page below is real, pulled straight from the files you download. Tap any one to see it full size.

A worksheet cannot do what a real decision does.

Your fifth graders are not answering questions about an article. They are running a newsroom, deciding which stories to chase and which sources to trust. On Day 3 an anonymous tip arrives with a headline that would get everyone talking, and the team has to decide whether to verify it first or rush it to the front page. The teams who check the source before they print it learn what real reporting costs. That is evaluating evidence, with the paper's name on the line.

Tap to read the anonymous tip

They are graded on their thinking, not on the headlines.

Here is the part teachers do not expect. A team that ran the most popular stories is not graded higher than a team that ran fewer. Clicks are not the point. Students are graded on the quality of their reasoning, written in their own reflection. A team that killed a juicy story for good reasons scores higher than a team that printed it and got lucky. That is how a fifth grader learns that sound judgment beats a flashy front page.

Tap to read the grading note

Let the workbook track the newsroom.

The Newsroom comes with a workbook that tracks story pitches, source ratings, reporter hours, and the front-page lineup. The team logs its calls, and the record keeps itself. Their attention stays on the hard part, which sources hold up and which stories are worth the hours, instead of on the bookkeeping.

Tap to see the newsroom tracker

Five days, already scripted. You just run the room.

You do not need a journalism background to teach this. The guide scripts every day, tells you what students will likely say, and hands you exactly how to respond. The pitches, the anonymous tip, and the Day 5 press day are all written for you. You bring the facilitation. The mission brings everything else.

Tap to read the teacher guide

The lesson plan is already written.

Every simulation comes with a fully editable, admin-ready lesson plan. Standards alignment, daily pacing, learning objectives, differentiation, and an assessment plan are already done, so you can hand it to an administrator or adapt it to your district template in minutes.

Tap to preview the lesson plan

Everything you need to run it.