👀 Compare These Two Newspapers
Below are two school newspapers created in Microsoft Word. One is good and one is bad. Look carefully at both and think about what makes them different.
The long jump and shot put events were equally competitive, with records broken in both categories. Staff even took part in a relay race, much to the delight of the watching students.
"It was an amazing day for the whole school," said PE teacher Ms Davies. "The sportsmanship was outstanding."
| Event | Date | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 9 Disco | 28 March | 6:30pm | Main Hall |
| Science Fair | 4 April | 2:00pm | Lab Block |
| Bake Sale | 11 April | 12:00pm | Canteen |
🎯 Learning Objectives
🗞️ What Makes a Great Newspaper Layout?
Real newspapers use specific design features to grab your attention and make articles easy to read. When you create a newspaper in Word, you need to think about:
🎮 Match the Word Tool to Its Purpose
Click a tool on the left, then click its matching purpose on the right. Get all 6 correct!
🔧 Word Tool
🎯 Purpose
Ready to Learn the Skills?
You now know what tools you'll need. Let's learn how to use them step by step.
🎨 Skill A: Creating a WordArt Masthead
The masthead is the title of your newspaper. We use WordArt to make it look professional and eye-catching.
Open a new blank document. Make sure you can see the ribbon at the top.
Look at the tabs along the top of Word. Click Insert (it's between Home and Design).
In the Insert tab, find the WordArt button (it has a big letter "A" with effects). Click it and choose a style — pick something bold and professional (avoid rainbow colours!).
A text box will appear. Delete the placeholder text and type your newspaper name, e.g. "The Academy Herald" or "School Times".
Click on the WordArt, then press Ctrl + E to centre it. Drag the corner handles to make it bigger or smaller.
📝 Skill B: Creating a Bold Headline
Every newspaper article needs a headline that grabs the reader's attention. Here's how to format one properly.
Click below the WordArt masthead and press Enter to start a new line.
Type a short, attention-grabbing headline. Good headlines are usually 6-10 words. For example: "Sports Day Smashes Records as Year 9 Dominate"
Click and drag to highlight all the headline text, or use Ctrl + A if it's the only text.
Press Ctrl + B to make it bold. Then change the font size to 22-28pt using the font size box on the Home tab.
If you want, press Ctrl + U to underline your headline. This can help it stand out even more.
📊 Skill C: Setting Up 2-Column Layout
Columns make your newspaper look professional. Here's how to split your article text into two columns.
The long jump and shot put events were equally competitive, with records broken in both categories. Staff even took part in a relay race, much to the delight of the watching students.
Press Enter after your headline and type (or paste) your article text. Write at least 2-3 paragraphs.
Highlight only the article text (not the masthead or headline). Click at the start and drag to the end.
Click the Layout tab at the top, then click Columns. Choose "Two" from the dropdown.
Your text should now flow in two columns side by side. If the whole page changed (including your heading), press Ctrl + Z to undo and try again — make sure you only selected the article text.
🧠 Test Your Knowledge — Headlines & Layout
Answer all 5 questions. If you get one wrong, you can try again!
Skills Learned!
You now know how to create a WordArt masthead, format headlines, and set up columns. Time to plan your newspaper!
Newspaper Planner
Fill in each field — the live preview will update as you type
✅ Lesson 1 Checklist
Before moving on, make sure you've ticked everything off:
Lesson 1 Complete!
Your newspaper is taking shape. In Lesson 2, you'll add images, text wrapping, and an events table.
🎯 Learning Objectives
🖼️ Why Do Newspapers Use Images?
Images are one of the most important parts of a newspaper. They:
📊 Why Do Newspapers Use Tables?
Tables are perfect for organising information that has multiple pieces of data. In a newspaper, tables are great for:
- Events calendars — What, When, Where
- Sports results — Teams, Scores, Dates
- Timetables — Days, Times, Activities
- League tables — Position, Team, Points
🔢 Put the Steps in the Right Order
These are the 8 steps for creating a complete newspaper in Word, but they're all mixed up! Drag them into the correct order (or use the arrows on mobile).
Ready for the Skills?
You know the order of steps. Now let's learn how to insert images and create tables.
🖼️ Skill A: Inserting & Resizing Images
Your newspaper needs at least 2 images. Here's how to insert them and make them the right size.
Square text wrap
Click in your article text roughly where you want the image to appear.
Click the Insert tab, then click Pictures. Choose "This Device" to find a picture saved on the computer, or "Online Pictures" to search the web.
Browse to find a suitable image, click it, then click Insert. The image will appear in your document.
Click on the image to see the resize handles (small circles in the corners). Drag a corner handle to make it bigger or smaller. Always use a corner — this keeps the proportions correct!
📐 Skill B: Setting Text Wrapping
By default, images in Word sit on their own line. To make text flow around the image (like a real newspaper), you need to change the text wrapping.
Click on the image you want to wrap text around. You'll see it get selected with handles.
When you click the image, you'll see a small icon appear at the top-right corner of the image. It looks like a tiny rainbow arc. Click it!
Square wraps text in a rectangle around the image. Tight wraps text closely to the shape of the image. Both work great for newspapers — Square is the easiest.
Now you can click and drag the image anywhere on the page. The text will flow around it automatically. Try placing one image on the right side of your article.
📊 Skill C: Inserting a Table
Tables are perfect for showing events, results, or schedules in your newspaper. You need a table with 4 columns (Event, Date, Time, Location) and at least 4 rows.
| Event | Date | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 9 Disco | 28 Mar | 6:30pm | Main Hall |
| Science Fair | 4 Apr | 2:00pm | Lab Block |
| Bake Sale | 11 Apr | 12:00pm | Canteen |
Position your cursor below the article where you want the table to appear. You might want to add a sub-heading first (e.g. "Upcoming Events").
Click the Insert tab, then click Table. A grid will appear — hover over it and select 4 columns x 5 rows (4 across, 5 down).
Click in the first cell and type Event. Press Tab to move to the next cell. Type Date, Tab, Time, Tab, Location.
Press Tab to move to the next row and fill in your school events. Use real or made-up events!
Select the top row (click and drag across all 4 cells). Make it bold (Ctrl + B) and add a background colour using the Shading button (paint bucket icon) on the Table Design tab.
🔲 Skill D: Adding Borders
Borders make your table and your whole newspaper look neat and professional.
Click the small crosshair icon at the top-left corner of the table to select the entire thing.
On the Table Design tab (which appears when you click in a table), look for the Borders button (it looks like a grid). Click the dropdown arrow next to it.
Select "All Borders" to add lines around every cell. This makes the table much easier to read.
🔍 Spot the Correct Formatting
For each question, click the card that shows the correct way to format something in Word.
In Line with Text
The image sits on its own line. Text appears above and below but NOT beside it.
Square
Text flows around the image in a rectangle shape. The image can be placed anywhere on the page.
Drag from a corner handle
This keeps the width and height in proportion, so the image doesn't get squashed or stretched.
Drag from a side handle
This only changes one dimension, making the image look stretched and distorted.
Skills Complete!
You now know how to add images with text wrapping and create tables. Time to finish your newspaper!
Events Table Builder
Plan your events calendar here — then copy this into your Word table
Fill in at least 4 school events. These can be real events from your school or ones you make up.
| Event | Date | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
Image Planner
Plan the 2 images you'll use in your newspaper
✅ Final Newspaper Checklist
Go through every item and tick it off when you've done it in your Word document:
⭐ Rate Your Newspaper
Be honest! Rate how well you think you did on each skill. Click the stars (1 = needs work, 5 = excellent).
Congratulations — You Did It!
You've learned how to use WordArt, headlines, columns, images with text wrapping, and tables in Microsoft Word. These are skills you'll use again and again!