Header: Use the "Insert Header" format option to open a space for the banner of the newsletter or report. Press return 9 times to allow enough space for designing the banner. Select "Show Tools" and begin designing a title, graphics, logos and other information for the top of your document. Notice on the ruler above the Icon above the 1 inch are for aligning text, the icons above the 2: are for spacing and the icons above the 3 inch mark is for setting tabs.

Footer: The "Insert Footer" format option will allow for additional information to be typed in the lower portion of your page. It can contain date and page number.

Columns: Click in the area of your document below the header at the top. You should see the cursor blinking by the left margin. Use the column icon just above the 4.5 mark on the ruler (see ruler graphic above) to create two columns for your newsletter.

Headlines: Start each article with a font and size large enough to emphasize the title (headline). The headline fonts may be special and different from your other typing. Refer to newspapers and real world newsletter for examples.

Bylines: The author for each article should be placed after the title for the article (headline). If all the articles are by the same person, you can include the name in the banner instead of after each article. Be sure to give credit to sources for each article you summarize. For research reports, you can include a reference or bibliography section at the end of the report. See format for referencing here

News: Students find three current events on the Internet. A good place to find current events is from the directory of a search engine. Younger students can use Yahooligans to find many excellent news sources. One strategy for avoiding plagiarism is to assign research in a reflective way so that text that is copied from a source will not work. In this case, ask students to report on how the news will affect them personally. Jamie McKenzie has an excellent article to assist teachers in avoiding plagiarism by students in the information age.

Section Break: If students have more than one page, the header can be eliminated by using a section break.

Spreadsheets: A nice feature of ClarisWorks is that you can incorporate a spreadsheet into a text document. Use the spreadsheet tool on the tool bar (second row, first tool under the arrow) to draw a spreadsheet, enter data for a survey and then chart a graph for your newsletter.