Examining newspapers

Preparation and Planning

The starter for this activity involves a slideshow collage of tabloid and broadsheet newspaper headlines and extracts of articles. It may be useful to have actual samples of both a tabloid and a broadsheet newspaper to hand so that the students will have a tangible evidence of the contrasting formats. Ensure that you photocopy enough Worksheets for the whole class. Worksheets are designed to be used in pairs.

It is also important to note the potential sensitivity of the subject of the Annual Ten Tors Exhibition. In March 2007 a young school girl was killed in an accidental drowning whilst in training for the event with her school group.

About the MOD Topic

The Army has used Dartmoor for training for many years. In 1959, three army officers decided that the moor would provide a good challenge for civilians as well and Ten Tors was created. In the first year, there were 203 participants. The event, organised by 43 (Wessex) Brigade of the British Army has become so popular that numbers are now restricted to 2,400 participants.

The event is a challenging two day trek, with different courses depending on the age of participants. Completing the course is made all the more difficult by the fact that competitors have to carry everything they need with them, including food, drink and sleeping bags.
On the starting gun, usually fired by the General Officer Commanding 5th Division, teams set off from Okehampton Camp for the two day trek. They hike their way to the finish line, and to their prized awards, via ten of the tors or rocky crags.

There are three levels of challenge: a. Bronze routes are 35 miles long and are open to youngsters 14 - 15 years of age, Silver routes are 45 miles long and open to 16 and 17 year olds and Gold routes are 55 miles long and open to 17 - 20 year olds. Anybody aged 17 years must have completed a 45 mile route in previous years.

The teams meet at the Okehampton Army Camp on the Friday where they are briefed and their kit is checked. They camp at the Okehampton Camp for the night and set off on their designated routes at 7.00am the next morning. They are allowed to walk for up to 13 hours after which they must make camp for the night. Participants are not allowed to pass the eighth tor on the first day.

All of the Bronze participants must camp on a tor whereas the Silver and Gold teams can camp anywhere on the moor. All teams must have visited the furthest tor on their route before they return to the Okehampton camp by 17.00pm on the second day of the expedition. Any team who in the organisers' opinion will not meet the 17.00pm deadline are considered to be 'crashed' and are taken off the moor by vehicle, having failed the challenge.

Ten Tors could not work without the support of helpers from all three Services and numerous civilian organisations.

In May 2007 The Ten Tors challenge was called off due to dangerous weather conditions. Torrential rain and fog would have made continuing the course perilous and swollen rivers gave further cause for concern. Nearly 2,500 young people were evacuated from the moor by two Royal Navy Sea King helicopters manned by naval crews and two Army helicopters manned by pilots from the Territorial Army. In total, more than 700 military personnel and 150 volunteers from Dartmoor Rescue Group, civilian police and St John's Ambulance were involved in the evacuation.

Further Opportunities for Learning

Ask students to write their own headlines for a major (personal) occasion that has had to be cancelled. It could be a birthday party or a holiday abroad that has been cancelled due to illness or similar. Tabloid headlines could be along the lines of 'Cancelled Club Med Claire Cries' and a contrasting broadsheet headline of 'Child's holiday cancelled due to illness.'

Students pair up and interview each other about the aforementioned cancelled events. Ask students to make detailed notes and then use these to write up an article for either a broadsheet or tabloid article. Whilst composing these articles the students should consider the following elements: style, audience, layout and headline.

Students are divided into two teams and the teacher acts as host for a 'Have I Got News For You?' style quiz. Students in each team are asked to research images from the Defence Dynamics website. Project these images onto the whiteboard and invite each team to invent headlines in the style of broadsheet or tabloid. The Adjudicator allocates points to each team.

Ask students to write the first paragraph of an article for each of the headlines supplied in Episode 1 or for other headlines that you have sourced.

Ask students to write both a tabloid and broadsheet article on the events described in a piece of literature you have recently studied (for example the tragic events at the end of Romeo and Juliet) in order to demonstrate an awareness of style.

Student worksheet answers

Download the teachers notes PDF to access the answers for this lesson.