Back to the lesson plan builder
Lesson length30 min45 min60 min
Questions🔀 New questions

Print the plan for yourself; the student sheet prints on its own page after it.

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

News, opinion, advert or satire?

Reading Comprehension

CCSS RI.7.6CCSS RI.7.8England: KS3 Reading (non-fiction and media)England: GCSE English Language Paper 2

Objective and success criteria

Students will: News, opinion, advert or satire?.

  • 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: Which source is most reliable?

Leads to: Does the headline match the story?; 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 (Which source is most reliable?). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. A website about a medicine is run by the company that sells it. What should a careful reader think? (it must be the most accurate source / it is useless and completely false / it may be biased, so compare it with independent sources / it is fine because it looks professional) → it may be biased, so compare it with independent sourcesPrompt: Ask: Who made this? Do they know the topic? Is it up to date?
  2. Read the question and choose. A photo shared online shows a shark swimming down a flooded motorway. What is the smartest first step? (share it so others can check it / count the comments / search for the image to see where it first appeared / trust it because it looks real) → search for the image to see where it first appearedPrompt: Think about expertise, evidence, purpose and date.
  3. You are researching how many moons Jupiter has. Which source is most reliable? (a quiz app with no sources / an old encyclopedia from 1985 / a science-fiction film about Jupiter / a space agency's website, checked for its latest update date) → a space agency's website, checked for its latest update datePrompt: Ask: Who made this? Do they know the topic? Is it up to date?

Hook · 3 min

  • Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
  • Share the objective: News, opinion, advert or satire?. 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: What kind of text is this? Tired of slow Wi-Fi? Switch to ZoomNet today and get your first three months half price!
  • Step 1: News reports inform; opinion pieces argue; adverts sell; satire exaggerates to criticise or amuse.
  • Step 2: It is trying to sell a product.
  • Step 3: So the answer is: advertisement
  • Answer: advertisement
  • 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. 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 is the most popular story / it has been checked by fact-checkers / a company paid for it, so it is a form of advertising / it was written by a journalist with no connection to anyone) → 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.

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. Read the question and choose. A post looks like a news article but is labelled 'Sponsored' at the top. What does that mean? (it has been checked by fact-checkers / it was written by a journalist with no connection to anyone / a company paid for it, so it is a form of advertising / it is the most popular story) → 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.
  2. What kind of text is this? Join FitFam Gym before Friday and get a FREE water bottle. Spaces are limited! (news report / opinion piece / advertisement / satire) → advertisementPrompt: Is it reporting facts, giving a view, selling something, or exaggerating to make fun of something?

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: Which source is most reliable?.
  • 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: Does the headline match the story?; 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

News, opinion, advert or satire?

Name

Date

Score/ 6

  1. Question 1

    What kind of text is this? Scientists Confirm Mondays Are 37% Longer Than Other Days, Ask Public To Stay Calm

    • A. news report
    • B. opinion piece
    • C. advertisement
    • D. satire

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 2

    Read "The Shark on the Motorway". Why do edited images spread fastest during real emergencies, according to the article?

    • A. Phones work better in storms.
    • B. News sites stop working.
    • C. People are anxious and want to warn others, so they share without checking.
    • D. Fact-checkers are on holiday.

  1. Question 3

    Read the question and choose. A post looks like a news article but is labelled 'Sponsored' at the top. What does that mean?

    • A. it was written by a journalist with no connection to anyone
    • B. it has been checked by fact-checkers
    • C. a company paid for it, so it is a form of advertising
    • D. it is the most popular story

  2. Question 4

    What kind of text is this? Join FitFam Gym before Friday and get a FREE water bottle. Spaces are limited!

    • A. news report
    • B. opinion piece
    • C. advertisement
    • D. satire

  3. Question 5

    Read the question and choose. Why can satire be mistaken for real news online?

    • A. satire uses no headlines
    • B. satire is always false and harmful
    • C. news sites never use humour
    • D. when shared without its source, the joke can look like a real headline

  4. Question 6

    What kind of text is this? The school will replace its paper planners with a free app from September, the head teacher announced in a letter to parents.

    • A. news report
    • B. opinion piece
    • C. advertisement
    • D. satire

Free from eurekami.com

for the adult only

Answer key: News, opinion, advert or satire?

  1. 1. D. satire

  2. 2. C. People are anxious and want to warn others, so they share without checking.

  3. 3. C. a company paid for it, so it is a form of advertising

  4. 4. C. advertisement

  5. 5. D. when shared without its source, the joke can look like a real headline

  6. 6. A. news report