Esther Wojcicki is the author of How to Raise Successful People. An internationally known journalism teacher, she is the founder of the largest high school media program in the United States, the Palo Alto High School Media Arts Program.
In this episode of Literacy at Work, educator and journalist Esther Wojcicki shares her lesson on conducting an interview and writing a personality feature—an intriguing, creative article about the interviewee. Learn along with students from Palo Alto High School and discover why journalism is especially important in today’s digital age.
With this video and the resources below, students learn how to develop questions, conduct interviews, take effective notes, and write a personality feature. This activity helps students gain insight into an important aspect of journalism, build critical thinking skills, and learn more about their classmates, friends, or family members.
Ready-to-Use Resources
Our free teaching guide and student worksheet can be used for whole-class instruction or completed by students outside of the classroom.
Writing a Personality Feature | Grades 6–12
Teacher Guide: Use this guide to teach students how to conduct interviews and write a personality feature using this episode of Literacy at Work. This lesson plan can be used with individual students or for whole-classes instruction.
Teacher Rubric: Use this rubric with the Teaching Guide to assess your students’ personality features.
Sample Personality Feature: This sample personality feature can be a helpful model as students work on their own features.
Student Activity: Students learn how to come up with intriguing questions, conduct an interview, and write a personality feature. This activity can be used independently or with the Teacher Guide.
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Learn more about the Literacy at Work web series, an HMH effort to not only help students grow as readers and writers but also show them the lifelong role literacy plays in their lives.
