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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? 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?
  2. Read the question and choose. An influencer praises a skincare brand but does not say she was paid. What is the problem? (the product must be bad / viewers may think it is an honest opinion when it is really an advert / there is no problem / influencers are not allowed to like products) → viewers may think it is an honest opinion when it is really an advertPrompt: Ask who made the text and what they want you to do or think.
  3. 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?

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? (Breakfast makes you a genius, scientists prove / Skipping breakfast ruins your grades / Scientists say breakfast is pointless / Small study links breakfast to slightly better morning memory) → 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? You Won't BELIEVE What This Teacher Did Next! (it gives a clear summary of the story / it reports a statistic accurately / it names a reliable source / it hides the facts to make you click) → it hides the facts to make you clickPrompt: 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? EVERY Phone Will Stop Working Next Week (it makes a huge claim designed to frighten / it is cautious and precise / it quotes an expert / it asks a neutral question) → it makes a huge claim designed to frightenPrompt: Does the headline tell you the facts, or tease you?
  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? (Garden bird now nests days earlier as springs warm, study finds / Birds abandon spring / Climate change wipes out garden birds / Birds now nest in winter) → Garden bird now nests days earlier as springs warm, study findsPrompt: 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

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 1

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

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

  1. Question 2

    Why is this headline likely to be clickbait? Doctors HATE this one simple trick

    • A. it explains a medical study
    • B. it is written by doctors
    • C. it uses mystery and emotion instead of information
    • D. it gives exact figures

  2. Question 3

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

  3. Question 4

    Why is this headline likely to be clickbait? EVERY Phone Will Stop Working Next Week

    • A. it is cautious and precise
    • B. it quotes an expert
    • C. it makes a huge claim designed to frighten
    • D. it asks a neutral question

  4. Question 5

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

  5. Question 6

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

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

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Answer key: Does the headline match the story?

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

  2. 2. C. it uses mystery and emotion instead of information

  3. 3. C. Rain delays cup final, which ends 2–1

  4. 4. C. it makes a huge claim designed to frighten

  5. 5. C. Garden bird now nests days earlier as springs warm, study finds

  6. 6. B. it hides the facts to make you click