The SPORTS section reflects the Washington metropolitan area’s appreciation for sports by covering the latest in local, national, regional and international competition.
As in most news throughout the paper, SPORTS articles and features are about people and the events that bring these people together.
Reporters and columnists capture the challenge and rivalry, the business and promotion, the ethics and sportsmanship of teams and individuals. They observe, interview, record and analyze the statistics-and write on deadline. They enter the realm of pain, perseverance and possibility.
Specific exercises have been created for the SPORTS section that expand a student’s self-knowledge and reinforce the strategies that assist in developing an efficient and effective reader.
The exercises in this section focus students’ attention on specific features of the SPORTS section. A general overview of this portion of the newspaper, would help students—especially young learners— understand the language of sports, its symbols and how they serve to connect with the curriculum.
Unlike most other sections of the paper, SPORTS is seasonal. Write the names of the twelve months across the board and work with the class to chart the months spanned by each major sport — baseball, football, basketball, golf. What sport(s)is(are) currently “in season?” Which sports occur all year long?
Preparation for working with SPORTS might include having students consider the different types of team sports and individual sports. Which sports are considered “spectator sports?” Which are largely participated in without observers? Before students look at the SPORTS section, how many examples can be listed for these categories? This could be a whole class or small group activity. The SPORTS section can then be scanned to verify and to add to the lists.
The SPORTS section offers cooperative learning experiences and can be used to explore how specificity, action verbs and comparison-contrast lead to constructing meaning from text.
Similar to the ECONOMY AND BUSINESS section in MAIN NEWS, opportunities for use in math abound with the SPORTS section. Students could be asked to consider how many math applications can be explored in SPORTS. Again, this could be done as a whole class or in competitive small Groups. By demonstrating an ability to communicate mathematically, students will be able to connect mathematics topics with real world experiences.
Encourage students to think of every possible way math (or numbers) might be encountered within this section. Examples will include scores, points won per goal, number of wins/losses, batting average, individual points per game, weights, lengths, distances, averages, heights, speeds, stadium attendance, jersey numbers, “purses” or winnings, number of players on a team, minutes per quarter, half and number of innings. After student ideas are exhausted, the SPORTS section can be checked for additional math applications.
https://nie.washingtonpost.com/node/133
This guide encourages teachers to use the Sports section to study the work of Post reporters as models for students to write and to compare ledes, sports news and columns, to prepare charts and graphs using the scores and other data, and to read maps. Post photographer Jonathan Newton’s pointers are illustrated with his photos of high school and professional athletes. Two of Fred Bowen’s Friday sports columns in KidsPost introduce younger students to opinion writing and serve as models for assignments. Student handouts include “Take the Lede,” “It’s About You … and Sports,” and “Out the Door Every Day
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