Happy Birthday!

Today is one of my favorite former editor's birthday.  Happy Birthday Dylan!

That reminds me that sometimes it's the small things, the extra effort advisers put in to recognizing staff members which make the most impact.

Create a small poster or area in your journalism room to celebrate staff birthdays.  Maybe have an actually party each month or each season to celebrate those kids.

Years ago, I did a Student Of The Week board.  Quite elementary, but when a former student returned for a visit she commented on how I didn't do that anymore.  She had remembered the week she was honored and recalled it for me.  The little appreciations, notes, positive emails to parents, birthday cards...those are the actions that endear a student to you and the journalism program.

Currently, I'm using one of the bulletin boards in my room as a You're A Star board.  The photographers on staff select their favorite pictures each week and post them on the board.  It not only recognizes the photographer's work, it also promotes pictures that will appear in the yearbook or newspaper; therefore, encouraging the photographed student to buy a yearbook, log on to the e-edition, or save a newspaper for their scrapbook.

Hope you all had a great week.  I'll be blogging again on Monday.  Thanks for reading!

Vocab Boot Camp

I have to give Allen Loibner, Director of the Arkansas Scholastic Press Association, the credit for this concept.  A boot camp of vocabulary words is an entertaining way to introduce these basic journalism terms to beginners.  Advanced students can also benefit by using the PowerPoint as a review.

Click Here for the Boot Camp PowerPoint

Staff Mailboxes

Here is a quick organizational tip for helping the staff communicate.  If your staff is spread throughout the teaching day or never see you during the school day, this mailbox system is a simple way for the staff to maintain a level of communication. As a teacher, you could use multiple mailbox systems or one row for each class period to return student papers.

Click Here For Image

Mass Media Intro Project

This activity is to reinforce skills learned regarding the forms of mass media and to provide an opportunity to practice interviewing skills.

Assignment

Divide into pairs.
Prepare 20 questions for your partner to obtain general information about that person.
Using one of the forms of mass media studied in class, create an introduction for your classmate.
If you choose a newspaper, flyer, etc...you must have enough copies for the class.  If you choose a commerical, radio spot, etc...3 minutes is the time limit.
The assignment is due Friday.  You will be required to make an oral presentation/introduction.

Possible Formats

Newspaper
Newsletter
Tweet
Brochure
Pamphlet
PowerPoint
Flyer
Commercial
Billboard
Radio Spot
Advertisement
Web Page

Journalism History

An historical element should be addressed early in the semester with an emphasis on the mass media.  Here is a simple project to get the year rolling that will enliven journalism history for your students.

Beginning Journalism

1.  Select historical figures (Nellie Bly, John Peter Zenger, Margaret Bourke-White, Benjamin Day, Ida B. Wells) write them on sticky notes and post them on your board.  At the beginning of the class have the students select the random names from the board.  These become their historical people to present.

2.  Have the students research the historical figure and write a short synopsis of how that person contributed to the history of journalism.

3.  A presentation is part of the assignment; however, they may choose any form of mass media to present their historical figure.  One may choose to Tweet about Nelly Bly or provide a PowerPoint on John Zenger.  Their presentation time is limited to 3 minutes or less.

Advanced Classes

For advanced journalism classes, switch up the assignment to suit their learning level.  For example, have a reporter compose 20 questions he/she would ask Benjamin Day for an in-depth interview.  This will show the level of research the student accomplished based on the level of intensity contained in the questions.