Mini-Lesson

Headline Writing

Mini-Lesson: Grades 4-6

Students will learn about the importance of the headline in a news story.

1. Point out the headline and subheadline of the timeforkids.com news article Too Many Elephants?. Ask: Why do you think the author chose this headline? Probe further by asking why the headline is in the form of a question.

2. Explain to students that headlines are a crucial element to every news story. They must grab the reader's attention and also give a hint to what the article is about. They're often quite short, too. (Explain that the subheadline usually gives more detail.)

3. Finally, ask: Is this article's headline effective? Does it do its job? Why or why not? As an extension, have students come up with alternative headlines for the article.