To understand the ways in which news stories are constructed.

•	Read and select information from a news article.
•	Construct a biased article.
•	Think about the ability of the media to influence people.

•	Core Activity Sheet 4.1: newspaper article, 'Hooligans' Bark'.
•	Core Activity Sheet 4.2: Information Sheet for 'Hooligans' Bark'.
•	Core Activity Sheet 4.3: Task Sheet: 'Hooligans' Bark'.
•	Core Activity Sheet 4.4 and Core Activity Sheet 4.5: Writing Frames for article (see Differentiation)

Note: This would make a good literacy-focused lesson.

1. Read through the article 'Hooligan's Bark' on Core Activity Sheet 4.1 once with the students, explaining that it was written in response to bad press coverage of the Millwall/-/Cardiff match in 1999.

2. Explain that it contains a mixture of positive and negative statements about the football match and the fans' behaviour. Ask students to separate the statements into categories A, B and C on Core Activity Sheet 4.2 (these statements could be cut into cards to make this easier).

3. Discuss the lists the students have come up with.

4. Ask the students write their own article on football violence using one of the following headings: 'Football violence continues to threaten the game', or 'Football moves on to leave violence behind'. (See Differentiation for an easier written task.)

5. Ask the students to read out their articles to the rest of the group.

•	What differences in terms of facts and language used can you see in the two types of article people have written ?
•	Describe the pictures that you think would be used to accompany these articles in a newspaper.
•	Do you think you would be influenced by some of these reports? Why?

Students should identify the reporter's views on football violence in the 'Hooligans' Bark' article ( Core Activity Sheet 4.1 ) without the help of Core Activity Sheet 4.2 .

Students use the writing frameworks on Core Activity Sheet 4.4 and Core Activity Sheet 4.5 to help them construct their own article.

OR

Students write their own news reports on the match from a biased perspective, using the information from the 'Hooligan's Bark' article ( Core Activity Sheet 4.1 ) and adding some imaginative material of their own.

Use the students' own biased reports and the 'Hooligans' Bark' article ( Core Activity Sheet 4.1 ) to conduct a survey. The students' own articles will need to be photocopied, or the pupils could work in pairs (one good representation / one bad). Ask friends / family to read each of the three types of article and then rank the significance of football violence 1 to 10. Was there a difference in their responses depending on the articles read? Follow this up with a discussion on the power of suggestion and influence of the media.

	1(h) Media
	2(a) Think about moral and social issues
	2(b) Justify ... a personal opinion about such problems
	2(c) Contribute to group and exploratory class discussions
	3(a) Consider others' opinions