Power of the Question
Soledad O’Brien
Name of lesson: Soledad O’Brien, tone, style and active listening
Suggested grade levels: 6-8 (can be adapted for grades 9-12)
Suggested subjects: Language Arts, Social Studies, Journalism, Humanities, Government
Suggested time allowance: seven class periods or sessions
Lesson Overview
In these lessons, questioning skills are explored using a CNN newscaster Soledad O’Brien video. Topics include recognizing the importance of tone and style, being active and engaged listeners, and building a repertoire of thoughtful and powerful questions. This lesson also introduces probing interview questions, specifically “out-on-a-limb” and “devil’s advocate.”
Objectives
Students will:
• Analyze interviews for tone
• Determine interview style
• Compare and contrast different questioning styles
• Demonstrate an understanding of question types, using student discussions and assignments
• Evaluate other’s questions and determine which are most effective
Soledad O’Brien Video
Lesson Plan
Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Lesson 3
Lesson 4
Lessons created by Y-Press journalists and Indiana teachers for its power-of-the-question project
Copyright 2009 Y-Press