ICONIC GAMESYEAR 4
TERM 3 · WEEK 2Newsroom: You're the Reporter

TERM 3 · WEEK 2

Newsroom: You're the Reporter

A team of Year 4 junior reporters working together inside a modern Aotearoa newsroom with cameras, maps, editing screens and a live news desk.

Find the story. Check the evidence. Interview a source. Publish the news.

0 / 7 missions complete

ENGLISH

News Detective: Fact, Viewpoint or Needs Evidence?

01 · News Desk

Let’s investigate the words for Newsroom: You're the Reporter. Look for what changes, then explain what you notice.

WHAT AM I LEARNING?

Distinguish checkable facts, viewpoints and claims that need more evidence by considering the whole statement and its source.

YOUR MISSION

Work the news desk. Classify each statement as a checkable fact, a viewpoint/opinion, or a claim that needs more evidence. Explain why context matters.

Need help? See the steps
TEACH · LEARN THE IDEA

Evidence is a clue from the text, picture or data that supports your thinking. An inference is an idea you work out from clues.

  1. STEP 1Read or tap each word.
  2. STEP 2Look closely at the word part the mission is teaching.
  3. STEP 3Sort, build or compare the words.
  4. STEP 4Explain the pattern in your own words.
NEWS DESK · LANGUAGE CHECK

Fact, viewpoint, or needs more evidence?

0 / 8
CHECKABLE FACT

Something we can verify with a reliable source, record, measurement or direct observation.

“The test lasted 30 minutes.”
VIEWPOINT / OPINION

What somebody thinks, feels, prefers or believes.

“I think the robot is brilliant.”
NEEDS MORE EVIDENCE

A claim that goes further than the information we have.

“The robot will save every native bird.”
REPORTER TIP

Words such as probably or according to are clues, not automatic answers. Read the whole sentence and ask: Can this actually be checked?

Choose a statement, then send it to the right desk.
A junior reporter filming a conservation field report with rangers, a camera robot and native birds in an Aotearoa forest.

ENGLISH

Breaking News: Robot Rangers

02 · Broadcast Desk

Read the Newsroom: You're the Reporter information first. Talk the idea through, then answer one small question at a time.

WHAT AM I LEARNING?

Identify who, what, where, checkable facts, attributed quotations, purpose and limits in a short news report.

YOUR MISSION

Listen to or read the fictional training bulletin. Record the key reporter details, identify a fact and a quotation, explain the report's purpose, and identify what the evidence cannot prove.

Need help? See the steps
TEACH · LEARN THE IDEA

Evidence is a clue from the text, picture or data that supports your thinking. An inference is an idea you work out from clues. Your purpose is why you are writing.

  1. STEP 1Read once to understand what it is mostly about.
  2. STEP 2Read the question again and find the part that helps.
  3. STEP 3Say your answer aloud using because, then check it against the text.
  4. STEP 4Record a useful clue from the source.
  5. STEP 5Explain what that clue tells you.
BREAKING NEWS TRAINING

Watch a real report, then take reporter notes

5W + evidence
REAL NEWS EXAMPLE · KEA KIDS NEWS

Watch how a young reporter builds a story

Reporter Inaya investigates a question about children and AI. While you watch, notice how the report mixes a checkable number, reporter narration and interviews with different viewpoints.

WHO? Who is interviewed?FACT? What can be checked?VIEWPOINT? What does somebody think?SOURCE? Where did information come from?

Video blocked at school? No problem. The fictional training bulletin below contains everything you need to complete the mission.

NOW YOU TRY · TRAINING BULLETIN

Use the same reporter skills on our fictional conservation story.

MĪHARO NEWS · TRAINING BULLETINFICTIONAL REPORT
Conservation rangers and young observers using a camera robot to monitor native birds in an Aotearoa forest reserve.
ROBOT RANGERS HELP COUNT NATIVE BIRDSA conservation team tests a camera robot in an Aotearoa forest reserve.

Listen first if you can. The transcript is available so everyone can complete the mission.

READ THE TRAINING REPORT

FICTIONAL TRAINING REPORT. ROBOT RANGERS HELP COUNT NATIVE BIRDS. On Tuesday, a conservation team tested a small camera robot in a fenced forest reserve in Aotearoa. The test lasted 30 minutes. The camera recorded 18 bird sightings across four species: 8 tūī, 5 pīwakawaka, 3 kererū and 2 korimako. Ranger Hana Lee said, “The robot helped us look under thick plants without disturbing nests.” The team said the robot is a useful tool, but one short test cannot tell rangers how many birds live in the whole forest. More counts would be needed before making a bigger conclusion.

REPORTER NOTEBOOKFind the information a reporter would record.

1 · WHO is this story mainly about?

2 · WHERE did the test happen?

3 · Which is a FACT from the report?

4 · Which sentence is a QUOTE from a source?

5 · What is the main PURPOSE of this report?

6 · What can the report NOT prove?

Play or read the bulletin, then complete your reporter notebook.
Junior reporters interviewing a community member, taking notes and filming at a local Aotearoa sports event.

ENGLISH

Investigate & Interview

03 · Field Desk

This is your real-world Newsroom: You're the Reporter challenge. Work out what the problem asks you to find or make.

WHAT AM I LEARNING?

Gather checkable facts and a first-hand viewpoint for a safe real-life news story by planning and conducting a short interview.

YOUR MISSION

Choose a safe story from family, sport, a hobby, an event or your community. Record three checkable facts, write at least two open reporter questions, interview one person involved, and record one useful answer or quote. Do not enter private contact or address information.

Need help? See the steps
TEACH · LEARN THE IDEA

Start with the steps below. They show you what to look for and what to do.

  1. STEP 1Read the whole challenge once.
  2. STEP 2Find the numbers, facts or rules you need.
  3. STEP 3Choose a useful strategy.
  4. STEP 4Show your solution clearly enough that someone else could follow it.
FIELD REPORTING

Investigate a real story from your world

research + interview
REPORTER SAFETY

Choose a safe everyday story. Do not enter a home address, phone number, email address, school login, or other private information. First names or roles such as “Dad”, “my coach” or “my friend” are enough.

INTERVIEW SCHOOL

Ask questions that lead to useful answers

TOO CLOSED“Did you like it?”

This might only get yes or no.

BETTER REPORTER QUESTION“What was the most exciting part, and why?”

This gives your source something interesting to explain.

Choose a story, collect three facts, then interview one person.
Young newsroom fact-checkers comparing charts, bird data and notes at a glowing data desk.

MATHS

Data Desk: Check the Headline

04 · Data Desk

Work through one maths question at a time. Your answers will be checked before the next mission unlocks.

WHAT AM I LEARNING?

Read frequencies from a bar graph, compare categories, find totals and use numerical evidence to decide whether a headline is supported.

YOUR MISSION

Bird sightings from the fictional robot test: Tūī 8, Pīwakawaka 5, Kererū 3, Korimako 2. Find the highest and lowest frequencies, the difference between 8 and 5, the total, then test the headline: 'More than half the bird sightings were tūī.'

Need help? See the steps
TEACH · LEARN THE IDEA

Evidence is a clue from the text, picture or data that supports your thinking. An inference is an idea you work out from clues.

  1. STEP 1Read the question and decide what you need to find.
  2. STEP 2Notice the important numbers and units.
  3. STEP 3Choose a strategy and work it out.
  4. STEP 4Type the answer, then check that it makes sense.
NEWSROOM DATA DESK

Read the data before you write the headline

statistics
FREQUENCY

Frequency means how many times something appears. A bar graph makes frequencies easy to compare.

REPORTER RULE

A headline must agree with the numbers. If the data does not support the claim, the headline needs to change.

1 · Which bird had the highest frequency?
2 · Which bird had the lowest frequency?
3 · How many more tūī than pīwakawaka were recorded?
4 · How many bird sightings were recorded altogether?
FACT-CHECK THIS HEADLINE

“More than half the bird sightings were tūī.”

Total sightings
Half of 18
There were 8 tūī. Is 8 more than 9?
CHECK THE NUMBERS
Read the graph, answer the four questions, then fact-check the headline.
Young editors turning reporter notes into a polished newspaper page inside the newsroom publishing desk.

ENGLISH

Reporter School: Write & Publish

05 · Publishing Desk

YOUR WRITING JOB: Complete the reporter-school editing revision, then write a headline, lead and two-paragraph news report about a safe real event from your own world. Use at least three checkable facts and one attributed interview quotation.

WHAT AM I LEARNING?

Apply capital letters, sentence punctuation, question marks, speech marks and paragraphing to write and publish a short factual news story.

YOUR MISSION

Complete the reporter-school editing revision, then write a headline, lead and two-paragraph news report about a safe real event from your own world. Use at least three checkable facts and one attributed interview quotation.

Need help? See the steps
TEACH · LEARN THE IDEA

Start with the steps below. They show you what to look for and what to do. First get your ideas ready. Then build the writing one part at a time.

  1. STEP 1Plan what your first paragraph needs to tell the reader.
  2. STEP 2Add the facts, reasons or details the mission asks for.
  3. STEP 3Plan what your second paragraph needs to explain or add.
  4. STEP 4Put the paragraphs together and read them back.
REPORTER SCHOOL + PUBLISHING DESK

Learn the writing tools, then publish your own story

edit → write → publish
QUICK REVISION

News writing still needs the punctuation you already know.

Do each edit before the publishing desk opens. Read the teaching note first, then choose the version that is ready for publication.

CAPITAL LETTERSNames, days and the beginning of a sentence need capital letters.

Which version is ready for a news report?

QUESTION MARKSAn interview question asks something and ends with a question mark.

Which question is punctuated correctly?

SPEECH MARKSSpeech marks wrap the exact words somebody said.

Which sentence shows the speaker's exact words correctly?

PARAGRAPHSStart a new paragraph when the report moves to another part of the story.

Which plan is easier for a reader to follow?

BUILD A QUOTE

Turn an interview answer into direct speech

  1. 1Find the exact words the person said.
  2. 2Put an opening speech mark before the first spoken word.
  3. 3Start the spoken sentence with a capital letter.
  4. 4Put the spoken punctuation before the closing speech mark.
  5. 5Tell the reader who said it.
MODEL“I was nervous at first, but then I had fun,” Mia said.
1HEADLINE

Short, interesting and accurate.

2LEAD

Tell the most important who, what, when and where.

3DETAILS

Add checkable facts, numbers and useful context.

4QUOTE

Add a source's exact words with speech marks.

✓ capitals✓ sentence punctuation✓ 2 paragraphs✓ checkable facts✓ attributed quote✓ accurate headline
Complete the four quick edits first. Then use your reporter notes to write and publish.
Young reporters racing against the clock in a fast-paced newsroom word game with a large letter display.

ENGLISH

Newsroom Scatter

06 · Newsroom Arcade
GAME BREAK

Complete three Scatter rounds. Use the round letter to build WHO + ACTION + WHAT + WHERE. Your ACTION must be a strong headline verb, and you must read the finished headline aloud and check that it makes sense before banking it.

GAME BREAK · NEWSROOM SCATTER

Beat the letter. Build a headline that makes sense.

ROUND 1 / 3 · SCORE 0 / 12
HEADLINE SCHOOL

A headline needs more than random words.

Use this order so your reader can understand the news:

WHOthe subject + ACTIONstrong headline verb + WHATwhat the action affects + WHEREthe place
GOOD MODEL Bob Builds Boat in Brisbane

Bob tells us who. Builds tells us what Bob does. Boat tells us what he builds. Brisbane tells us where.

NOT READY Bob · Boat · Building · Brisbane

These are B words, but they do not yet tell the news as a clear sentence.

HOW TO PLAY

Each round gives you one letter. Your four important words must begin with that letter. Small glue words such as in or at do not have to. The timer starts as soon as you begin typing.

THIS ROUND'S LETTERBAll four important words start with this letter.
60seconds Starts when you type
STRONG HEADLINE VERB

For ACTION, use a verb that works straight after WHO. News headlines often use strong present-tense verbs: Builds · Breaks · Brings · Buys.

Avoid -ing here. “Bob biking…” is unfinished. “Bob bikes…” tells us what Bob does.

Round 1 uses B. Start typing when you have your first idea — the clock will start automatically.

Newsroom Debrief

07 · Editor Desk

This part is about your own learning. There are no right or wrong feelings.

WHAT AM I LEARNING?

Reflect on using evidence, interviews, punctuation, statistics and editing to create a news report.

YOUR MISSION

Choose how independently you worked, explain one newsroom skill you understand better now, and give one example from the week.

Need help? See the steps
TEACH · LEARN THE IDEA

Choose what feels true for you, then write one thing you understand better now.

  1. STEP 1Choose how the week felt.
  2. STEP 2Write one thing you understand better now.

How did this week feel?

There are no right or wrong answers. Choose what feels true for you.

YEAR 4 HOMEWORK CLUB

Your Year 4 progress

Your work saves on this device.

Recommended next: Term 1, Week 1 →