WorksheetsHeadline and Lead Quiz
Total questions: 13
Worksheet time: 11mins
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
Read the story: The town of Hamelin was overrun with rats. The Pied Piper offered to get rid of the rats for 50 pounds, and the mayor agreed. He started playing his pipe. The rats followed him, and he led them into the harbor. He went back for his money, but the mayor only paid 20 pounds. The Pied Piper wanted to teach him a lesson, so he played his pipe and all the children followed him out of town. The mayor sent men to find the children, but they never found them again.
Which headline and lead are best for this story?
Headline: Piper clears rats, mayor refuses payment
Lead: “A mysterious piper removed the rats from Hamelin after agreeing to a fee, but the mayor later underpaid him.”
Headline: Children vanish after mayor breaks promise
Lead: “When the mayor refused to pay the full price for clearing the town’s rats, the Pied Piper returned and led the children away last week in Hamelin."
Headline: Town Celebrates After Rats Disappear
Lead: “Hamelin officials praised the disappearance of thousands of rats after a piper played his tune through town.”
Headline: Piper leads children away in mysterious Disappearance
Lead: “After removing rats from Hamelin, a piper returned to lead the town’s children away following a dispute over his payment.”
Which is a rule for both headlines and leads?
Use unnecessary adjectives to make it fancy
Avoid repeating words if there’s another way to say them
Always write in past tense
Include personal opinion
Which is NOT recommended when writing headlines and leads?
Keep language clear and concise
Provide accurate information
Use vague statements
Focus on the main event
The Tortoise and the Hare
Read the story: A hare boasts about his speed and challenges a tortoise to a race. The hare is so confident that he takes a nap during the race, while the tortoise keeps moving and wins.
Which headline best fits this story?
Tortoise wins race against speedy hare.
Tortoise wins race against speedy hare
Tortoise Wins Race Against Speedy Hare
Hare won race against speed hare
What is a lead in a news article?
Answers the questions who, what, where, and when
Has quotations from authority figures
Is a long introduction to the article
Contains who wrote the article
How long should a headline be?
10 words or fewer
7 words or fewer
5 words or fewer
one or two words
How many words should be in a lead?
5-10
10-15
10-40
15-35
What tense is the headline written in?
Present tense
Past tense
Gerund
All the above
The Scorpion and the Frog
Read the story: A scorpion wants to cross a river but cannot swim, so it asks a frog to carry it across. The frog hesitates, afraid the scorpion might sting it, but the scorpion promises not to, pointing out it would drown if it killed the frog in the middle of the river. The frog considers this argument sensible and agrees to transport the scorpion. Midway across the river, the scorpion stings the frog anyway, dooming them both. The dying frog asks why it stung despite knowing the consequence, and the scorpion replies: "I am sorry, but I couldn't resist the urge. It's in my nature.
Write a headline and lead for the story.
What is the main purpose of a headline in a news article?
To summarize the entire article in detail
To grab the reader's attention and highlight the main event
To provide background information
To include the writer's opinion
Which headline best fits the story of 'Little Red Riding Hood'?
While traveling through the woods to deliver treats to her ailing grandmother, a young girl in a red cloak encounters a deceptive wolf who outruns her to the cottage and devours the elderly woman. The predator disguises himself as the grandmother to trap the girl, but she is ultimately rescued by a brave woodsman who defeats the wolf and saves them both.
Little Red Riding Hood, grandmother survive wolf attack
Girl and grandmother survive wolf attack
Girl, grandmother survive wolf attack
Girl, grandmother survived wolf attack
Find the error:
Middle School Soccer Team Wins Championship
The eighth-grade basketball team defeated North Hall 42-30 Friday night.
Missing when
Lead is too short
Wrong verb tense
Where missing
Find the error:
Middle schooler earns top honors in essay contest
Jessica Ramirez, an eighth grader at Lanier Middle School, won first place in the county essay contest Thursday for her paper about environmental conservation.
Nothing is wrong
Wordy headline
Missing where in the lead
Wrong verb tense in lead
