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English lesson plan · 7th grade (Year 8 in England) · 30 minutes

Does the headline match the story?

Reading Comprehension

CCSS RI.7.2CCSS RI.7.7England: KS3 Reading (media)England: GCSE English Language Paper 2 Q2

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Does the headline match the story?.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: News, opinion, advert or satire?; Summarising

Leads to: Checking claims online: lateral reading and tracing sources

Materials: A short text or extract (one copy each), Highlighters, Question cards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 4 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (News, opinion, advert or satire?; Summarising). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. What kind of text is this? Tired of slow Wi-Fi? Switch to ZoomNet today and get your first three months half price! (news report / opinion piece / advertisement / satire) → advertisementPrompt: Is it reporting facts, giving a view, selling something, or exaggerating to make fun of something?
  2. Read the question and choose. A post looks like a news article but is labelled 'Sponsored' at the top. What does that mean? (it was written by a journalist with no connection to anyone / it has been checked by fact-checkers / it is the most popular story / a company paid for it, so it is a form of advertising) → a company paid for it, so it is a form of advertisingPrompt: Ask who made the text and what they want you to do or think.
  3. What kind of text is this? A wildfire has burned 4,000 hectares near the coast. Firefighters expect to contain it by Friday, officials said. (news report / opinion piece / advertisement / satire) → news reportPrompt: Is it reporting facts, giving a view, selling something, or exaggerating to make fun of something?

Hook · 3 min

  • Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
  • Share the objective: Does the headline match the story?. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 7 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Two of the town's five libraries will cut their Saturday opening hours from eight to four from next month. All five libraries will stay open. Which headline reports the story most accurately?
  • Step 1: An accurate headline matches the size and certainty of the facts in the story; clickbait exaggerates.
  • Step 2: Only two libraries change, and only on Saturdays; none close.
  • Step 3: So the answer is: Two libraries to shorten Saturday hours
  • Answer: Two libraries to shorten Saturday hours
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 6 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. A study of 300 students found that those who ate breakfast scored slightly higher on morning memory tests. The researchers said more studies were needed before drawing firm conclusions. Which headline reports the study most accurately? (Scientists say breakfast is pointless / Skipping breakfast ruins your grades / Small study links breakfast to slightly better morning memory / Breakfast makes you a genius, scientists prove) → Small study links breakfast to slightly better morning memoryPrompt: List the key facts: who, what, how many, how much.
  2. Why is this headline likely to be clickbait? EVERY Phone Will Stop Working Next Week (it asks a neutral question / it makes a huge claim designed to frighten / it is cautious and precise / it quotes an expert) → it makes a huge claim designed to frightenPrompt: Does the headline tell you the facts, or tease you?

You do: independent practice · 7 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 3 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. Why is this headline likely to be clickbait? Doctors HATE this one simple trick (it gives exact figures / it is written by doctors / it explains a medical study / it uses mystery and emotion instead of information) → it uses mystery and emotion instead of informationPrompt: Does the headline tell you the facts, or tease you?
  2. The rescue centre found homes for 40 dogs this year, up from 32 last year. It still has 15 dogs waiting for owners. Which headline reports the story most accurately? (Rescue centre rehomes more dogs than last year / Rescue centre empties its kennels / Dog rehoming falls / Every dog finds a home) → Rescue centre rehomes more dogs than last yearPrompt: List the key facts: who, what, how many, how much.

Watch out for

  • Answering from memory or opinion instead of evidence in the text.
  • Copying a long quote without explaining what it shows.

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: News, opinion, advert or satire?.
  • Use concrete materials: a short text or extract (one copy each).
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Move on to: Checking claims online: lateral reading and tracing sources.
  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-7.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

eurekami

Does the headline match the story?

Name

Date

Score/ 6

  1. Question 1

    Why is this headline likely to be clickbait? Number 7 On This List Will SHOCK You

    • A. it summarises the main fact
    • B. it is a neutral label
    • C. it promises a shock to keep you clicking
    • D. it shows where the list comes from

  2. Question 2

    Researchers found that a common garden bird has shifted its spring nesting about five days earlier over the last 40 years, a change they link to warmer springs. Which headline reports the research most accurately?

    • A. Garden bird now nests days earlier as springs warm, study finds
    • B. Birds abandon spring
    • C. Birds now nest in winter
    • D. Climate change wipes out garden birds

The Shark on the Motorway

During a storm last spring, a photo exploded across social media. It showed a large shark swimming beside cars on a flooded motorway. Within hours it had been shared more than 80,000 times, often with captions such as "Stay indoors — sharks in the streets!" Fourteen-year-old Amira Haddad saw the photo in her family group chat. Something felt wrong. "The shark looked too sharp compared with the blurry water," she said. "So I decided to check." First, Amira ran a reverse image search. She found the same shark in a wildlife photo published years earlier, on a website about ocean animals. Next, she checked two local news sites. Neither mentioned sharks; both reported flooding and road closures. Finally, she found an article from a fact-checking organisation explaining that the image had been edited and had appeared during several different storms in different countries. Amira posted the fact-check in the group chat. "My uncle had already shared the photo," she laughed. "He was embarrassed, but he thanked me." Fact-checkers say edited images spread fastest when they are shocking and arrive during real emergencies, when people are anxious and want to warn others. Their advice is simple: pause before you share, look for the original source, and check whether reliable outlets are reporting the same thing.

  1. Question 3

    Read "The Shark on the Motorway". Which headline best fits this article?

    • A. Social media to close after storm
    • B. Sharks invade city during storm
    • C. Teen uses simple checks to expose viral storm photo
    • D. Uncle bans phones in family chat

  1. Question 4

    Why is this headline likely to be clickbait? You Won't BELIEVE What This Teacher Did Next!

    • A. it hides the facts to make you click
    • B. it names a reliable source
    • C. it reports a statistic accurately
    • D. it gives a clear summary of the story

  2. Question 5

    Heavy rain delayed the start of the cup final by 45 minutes. The match was then played in full, ending 2–1. Which headline reports the story most accurately?

    • A. Storm cancels final
    • B. Rain delays cup final, which ends 2–1
    • C. Cup final washed out
    • D. Final abandoned after downpour

  3. Question 6

    Why is this headline likely to be clickbait? This Is The End Of Football As We Know It

    • A. it is a cautious summary
    • B. it reports a score accurately
    • C. it quotes a named source
    • D. it uses dramatic exaggeration with no facts

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Answer key: Does the headline match the story?

  1. 1. C. it promises a shock to keep you clicking

  2. 2. A. Garden bird now nests days earlier as springs warm, study finds

  3. 3. C. Teen uses simple checks to expose viral storm photo

  4. 4. A. it hides the facts to make you click

  5. 5. B. Rain delays cup final, which ends 2–1

  6. 6. D. it uses dramatic exaggeration with no facts