Freddie Johnson, a third grade teacher at Woerner Elementary School, used the St. Louis American Foundation’s Newspapers In Education program to teach her students about main ideas in writing, starting with something they were already interested in: athletics.
“I teach all boys, and I noticed how much they enjoyed reading the Sports section of The St. Louis American. I started asking them to pick out important ideas in articles about basketball or football and draw comics that detail what they read,” Johnson said.
“This gave me the idea to come up with a ‘Main Idea’ graphic organizer. I’ll assign students an article and ask them to highlight the main idea, three supporting details, and a few other things. At the end of the worksheet, students are asked to reflect and give their opinion on what they just read.”
Johnson has been teaching with The American’s Newspapers In Education (NIE) program for as long as it’s been running at her school, which is three years. Now the state’s largest NIE program, The American has offered it for six years. With support from corporate partners, The American distributes newspapers to 7,000 students, in nearly 300 classrooms, in eight participating area school districts every week.
The NIE program recognizes how integral educators are in making the program such a success and awards exceptional teachers every year with The Golden Apple prize. This year Johnson was awarded, along with Christopher Gardner, a fifth and sixth grade teacher previously at Vogt Elementary School.
Johnson was recognized at her school during an assembly. She was unaware she had won until she noticed her close friends and family members were in attendance.
“I was completely shocked,” Johnson said. “It was really nice. My kids inspire me to be a better teacher every day. Everything is about them and for them.”
After a teacher becomes a recipient of the award, they are invited to join a Teacher Advisory Committee with the NIE Program where they can work to better incorporate and improve the program along with fellow educators.
“The nominees and winners of this program understand and recognize the value of the newspapers,” said Cathy Sewell, a 24-year veteran of NIE programs who manages The American’s program.
“They really take advantage of the program and its many resources. They use the whole paper and incorporate it into educating their students regularly.”
Though The American’s dedicated NIE pages have clear points of focus – the STEM section highlights science and technology subjects and the Healthy Food page tackles the issue of nutrition and exercise – Sewell believes that “the whole newspaper is important and of value” and encourages educators to teach beyond those pages, as Johnson does.
Sewell said that when teachers incorporate newspapers into their classrooms, the possibilities for learning are endless.
“What I have found is that when teachers truly embrace the program, there is a great opportunity for students to learn and experience reading in a unique way,” Sewell said. “The paper is cool and colorful and current.”
Some teachers get creative in their approach to the program, often using the paper to invent their own projects and assignments to use in the classroom. Customizing different parts of the program helps students begin to process what they are learning and how it relates to the world outside of the classroom.
“The program supports excellence in education by cultivating newspaper/school partnerships,” Sewell said, “and it influences students to take an interest in reading and what is happening in their communities.”
