Wednesday September 30

The following is a list of those articles I have received and are in the final process of being edited. There will be five posted tomorrow on the paper. If you do not see your name and either sent the article either by e-mail or put it on my flash drive, let me know, for as of this time, there is a zero beside your name.

Claire
Alanna
Lyla
Dionna
Felisa- please resend, as it could not be opened. Copy it into the body of the e-mail.
Lashante
Amy
Jessica
Amanda
Jonathan
Chandel
Devonte
Rasheed- please resend yours, as it could not be opened. Copy it into the body of the e-mail.
Emily
Amber
Maya
Harriet
Peter
Suzie
Justin
Chynna
Katy
Elizabeth
Jala
Stephanie
Michael
Tyler
Josh
Michelle
Nastalsia
Joe
Candice
Venessa
Nate
Maya
Yanni
Travisha
Carolyn

Lastly- final three days for your projects. Everyone should be ready to present on Monday. You'll have ten minutes. Make sure the material in on your flash drive, so we won't waste time with logging on and off. I'm hoping to be able to use room 176 with the smart board.

Remember: you are not reading, but presenting. Work from notes only. A rehearsal is strongly suggested. Tomorrow I'll put up a rubric, so as you'll be able to measure yourself.

Tuesday September 29

Good day, Sunshines

Four days left to finish your projects. Thanks to all for yesterday's responses.

Monday September 28

Your articles are in the process of being edited. Thanks for all your hard work.

Class today: I'd like you to take a look at the Sydney Morning Herald, (http://www.smh.com.au/world/ ) Browse through the paper, noting the various sections and what is of topical interest. Do you see any commonalites with our local paper? Next: look at the Washington Post's (http://www.washingtonpost.com/)world headlines. On the comment section of today's blog, write the down what is the major headline each shares and why you think this is so. Also what is a fixie?Since some folks have a yahoo account, please put your first name on the top of the response, so that you get credit.

This is the last week for projects. Presentations begin next Monday.

On October 13 Ms. Belair will come in to give you the overview on the senior exit interviews, We'll have four days in class to complete the sections. More to oome on that.

Friday September 25

Lots of journalism students are signed up for the blood drive. Bully for you. Please remember that I need you articles today, as they must be edited over the weekend for the paper. Thanks to all who have already sent them in.

From perusing over your shoulders, folks are doing an excellent job on the projects. You have five class days left. If you plan on using the smart board and putting in links, organize your time, so you can use the library. Make sure to ask which computers have the program.

Have a lovely weekend.

Thursday September 24

You are balancing your project work and your stories, which are due tomorrow.

Thanks to all the parents who came last night.

Wednesday September 23

Putting it all together / clarification

By Friday in class I need your stories, so that I may edit them over the weekend and upload some. Any not received by then are superfluous and will have earned (how's that for an English tense?) a 0. Look at it as a regular job assignment due to your editior, who also has a deadline.

OK; next on the list are your projects. There is some great work going on the classroom, keep it up. Use the time wisely...or you'll be using your out of class time (hint to the football obsessives!) The library has the smartboard program on some of its computers. Do check with the librarian to find out which ones. I'm hoping to switch with Ms. Fell-Ricard, so they we may present in the classroom. Out time frame is limited; so if for some odd reason you are not ready to present a by October 2, life could get complicated.

lastly: curriculum night.I hope to see some of your folks. Make sure they know to come to the 4th floor lab for those in 4th and 2nd floor lab for 9th.

Tuesday Septrmber 22

http://my.hsj.org/Schools/Newspaper/tabid/100/view/frontpage/newspaperid/1959/Default.aspx
The above is the link to the Sotacrat and Chronicle. For some reason (my technological incompetence, no doubt)the actual is not working....so, you may also go to google and type in Sotacrat and Chronicle; that will allow you access to the paper. Check out the format, look over the staff list and read the article. On the class sheet, write down your article choice.

DUE FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 25

Monday September 21

Welcome back after a delightful fall weekend. Although I do not know yet as to when Ms. Belair will be coming into the classroom to work on the resumes (curriculm vitae), cover letters, etc, the goal is to complete the projects by Friday October 2 for presentations on 5 October. Allow enough time to set up your material on the smartboard. Eighth period no one is in 176. I plan on the presentations taking place in that room, the individual who uses it taking over our lab for several days. More information will follow in the next couple of days.

Today: you were asked to think about a story for the newspaper. The following are suggestions; think of your own variations. Yours specific one is due at the beginning of class tomorrow.

PICK YOUR OWN STORY

There are hundreds of stories all around you. Every person, every school, every community has a story to tell. Just keep Who, What, Where, When and Why in mind as you start off with a great lead, tell the story — maybe throwing in a quote or two — and finish off with an eye-catching headline. To make a REALLY great story, use a photo or a graphic.
To start you thinking, here are some of the stories recently turned in by 4th grade students for their newspaper:

Be Smart! Don't Start Smoking
Is Pluto Really a Planet?
Construction in Our Community
Help Save Asthma Sufferers
The Best Grandmother
People Like Ice-skating
Horseback Riding Dangers
The Funniest Teacher in School
What is a Twin?
The Secrets of Soccer
What It's Like to Be in Middle School
Don't Do Drugs
Sounds of Wind Instruments
A New Teacher
Dangerous Reptiles
Kids' Right to Vote
Harry Potter
Do Students Have Too Much Homework?
A Hero in Our Midst
Nintendo's Next Game
The Best Book Fair
Halloween Safety Rules
The Vice Principal Talks about School
My New Baby Sister
Online Safety
Homemade Costumes
Kids for President
Taking a Look at Space
Homeless (A True Story)
What It's Like to Be a High Schooler
Being the Oldest
What's Your Favorite Sport?
Why is P.E. a Popular Subject?
Abby Wambach: A Great Soccer Player
Where is Celion Dion Now?
What Boys and Girls Like to Wear
Chorus Concert
Going for the Gold
School Clubs
Department News

Friday September 18

Everyone should be working diligently on their projects. Plan your powerpoint or video or music. Do you want to use the smartboard and put in some links?

On Monday come in with your idea for a news story. They will be written in class next week.

And: have a safe and fun weekend!

Thursday September 17

If you have not already done so, choose a partner and project and hand in a log sheet. If you have chosen, I'll return your log sheet today and you will fill in as needed, that is what you have specifically accomplished today and your objective for tomrorrow. This should be returned at the end of class. If your partner is absent, make sure you turn in the sheet anyway to get credit for your work.

Although you are in the reseach stage, consider how you actually want to dissemminate this information to the class.

I'm checking the CNN responses from yesterday. Make sure you have completed that.

Also: next week you must write and article for the newspaper. Have an idea by Monday.

Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday September 14 / 15 /16

On Monday and Tuesday, folks are writing their critical lens based upon the summer reading. These are due at the end of class on Tuesday.

The following students missed the first day of the critical lens and should make arrangements to complete the work.

Alanna, Claire, Candice, Caroline

Those students who missed the unit 1 quiz on the history of journalism on Friday September 11, and have a legally excused, noted-with-Ms. Aspenleiter-absence, have until Monday 21 September. This may be done before or after school or periods 2, 5, 6 or 8. See me, please.
For full credit, all papers were due on Friday September 11. Thank you all who e-mailed your work by 6 pm. Since it is 10 points off per day for late work, those not received by Wednesday will receive a grade of 50; that is better than a 0. (That is assuming you do turn in the paper.)

New material: everyone should be registered on the site. There will routinely be short assignments to which you will respond on line only. These will be due at the end of class and be posted to the site. You will receive any comments and grade this way as well.

First short: go to cnn.com http://cnn.com. Please note the news topic headings. Choose one article, read and give a one sentence summary.

New Major project: history of journalism
Directions (read carefully):Pick a partner in your class and select one of the topics listed below to complete for the major grade in the History of Journalism Unit. Proposals are due at the end of class today. The presentation should be 10 minutes, neither less, nor more.

LOG SHEET: your name and partner's on the top.
Each day write down what you have specifically accomplished and your objective for the next day. These will serve as your 20% daily participation grade. These should be turne in everyday.

Projects will be presented in October to the class orally by using a PowerPoint, video or website(s) presentation. Your presentation must not be read to the class, so avoid putting text on your presentation media and use visual and acoustic items to augment what you say in class. I apologize that I cannot give you a specific presentation date, as I am waiting to hear when Ms. Belair will be coming in to work on your resumes and cover letters.

TOPIC CHOICES:

1. Printers: Find out about famous journalists (at least 3) that devoted themselves to improving the print industry. Show and discuss the progression of printing through the years. How have techniques changed and what impact did each change have on the newspaper industry? Tips – Johannes Gutenberg, Ben Franklin, Letterpress, Offset Printing.

2. Reporters were sometimes found to be “radical” in different periods of history. Look at people like Martin Luther, Horace Greeley, John Upton Sinclair, Sam Adams and others who used their journalistic skills to fight for people’s rights. See “Muckraking.”


3. Coverage of politicians’ private affairs – How does the media handle cover personal situations in politicians’ lives? How have they done this in the past and what has the development has occurred?

4. Examine the history of the papers owned and run by Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hurst during the period from 1895 to 1905. How sensational can reporters write without becoming a “yellow journalist”?

5. Beginning with the area of the “Penny Press,” going through today, discuss the cost of newspaper subscriptions and the evolution of advertising. How does advertising help finance production costs? How much revenue is generated today vs. years ago? How does the industry decide on the price of the ads?

6. Stunt Journalism – Does it take reporters engaging in “dangerous” acts to get stories and to make it in the field? Ideas: look at someone like Nellie Bly and compare her to the people and type of reporting today which is similar. How has it made a difference in society?

7. Compare coverage of the Civil War vs. Vietnam War and Desert Storm. Show how reporting and photography has played a major role in shaping the public’s opinions of U.S. involvement. How has reporting changed over the last 100 years? Where do reporters, called correspondents, get their information?

8. Trace the course of the woman’s involvement in journalism from the colonial days to the present time. Use the Anne Catherine Green story as a basis as well as others Fanny Fern, Margaret Fuller, Middy Morgan, Jane Grey Swisshelm, Winifred Black (Annie Laurie), Bessie Bramble, Margherita Arlina Hamm, Julie Hayes Percy, etc. Find some current successes and compare stories. What has made them so successful?

9. Since “The Yellow Kid” began in 1896, trace the changes an evolution of the nature of comic strips. Why are some humorous, some adventurous; why are some self-contained in one day, and some continuing stories? What purposes do comic strips serve?

10. Trace the lines of communication that went up across America from the telegraph to the telephone and radio stations. Show how the discovery of waves in the air led to broadcast journalism where sound could come into homes and eventually into cars. What was impact of Samuel Morse’s invention? How did each new invention or discovery change the way we communicate? Discuss AM and FM frequencies. How have Bill Clinton’s radio broadcasts affected the public in comparison to Roosevelt’s “fireside chats” when he was in office?

11. Music and music videos have made a huge impact on the youth of America. Show how forms of music have changed over the past 50 years in equipment, as well as the variety of content available. What change in the music industry took place when MTV aired? How has MTV changed from the original format? Trace the history. Don’t forget to touch on ratings and censorship within the music industry.

12. Minorities have often had difficulties breaking into the media industry historically. Research and discuss historically minorities who have made it in the industry. What challenges did they face? How were they able to break into the industry when so many tried to shove them out? What was it about the people who were successful that helped them to made it? Did they have any advantages?

13. How and why does the media work as a “watch dog” or society? How has investigative reporting helped the “betterment” of America? Discuss what influence the book, “The Jungle,” and stories such as “Watergate” have done to impact and better society. Include examples of current journalists doing similar things .

Friday September 11

Quiz today on chapter 1
Paper due today by 6 pm
And on Monday you are writing your critical lens on the two summer reading books.
Your choices were Jennifer Government by Max Barry, The Road by Cormac McCarthy, Princess by Jeanne Sasson, Kindred by Octavia Butler, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and any of The Twilight Saga books by Stephanie Butler.

the following is a copy of the critical lens model that was handed out in class.

As (insert the author’s name or write as someone once said if you do not know the author’s name) once said, “ (insert quote). In other words (this is where you paraphrase the quote.) Use words that are not part of the quote. You may write two to three sentences. This is supported in the (insert first genre: novel, autobiography, play, memoir, epic poem) (insert first title) by (insert author) and the (insert second genre) (insert second title) by (insert second author) through the literary elements of (choose two:character, plot, setting, theme, tone).
Paragraph 2: support the above with book 1
Give two detailed, specific examples
Paragraph 3: support the above with book 2
Give two detailed, specific examples.

Conclusion: do not repeat the quote, but make a general, universal statement that ties the two books into the writer’s words.

Thursday September 10

Make sure your name and blog is on the list circulating the room/

Due end of class tomorrow: paper on the impact of the First Amendment on American media.
As a reminder: begin by discussing / analyzing and evaluating the free speech aspect of the amendment. Quote specifically and paraphrase. Secondly, think about our media. Use other sources as needed.

And: quiz on chapter 1.

Wednesday September 9

Please make sure you have registered as a follower to the blog. Add a picture, if you wish, either something you import from home or the web.

The paper on the impact of the First Amendment on American media is due Friday by the close of class. You may give me a hard copy in class, or in the case of the new lab (or if just wish), you may e-mail it to me. If you are absent, you must e-mail it to me by 6 pm in order to get full credit. Ten points off per day, including Saturday and Sunday!

Again, quiz on Friday on chapter 1.

Tuesday September 8

It's time to register yourself on the blog, so that more of our work can be accomplished without paper. Set it up under followers. Put in a photo if you wish.

Continue with the paper discussing the impact of the First Amendment on the American media. You should have finished reading the links (sorry we had some diffiulties with them, but folks were very inventive getting into the material). You are sitting at a computer, so take advantage of it: explore other sources to get ideas and add them to you notes. The suggestion was to copy and past into a word document and then paraphase and write your analysis on that statement. You are building your paper. Please use MLA style. That also is accessible on line. And of course, don't forget the fundamentals of grammar, capitalization, subject/ verb agreement- in other words, proofread!

School wide critical lens essay is next Monday the 14th. This is 25% of this terms grade; that means the best you can hope for this term is a C if you chose not to read. There is still time.

Friday September 4

Both journalism classes have coalesced and are diligently working on the writing assignment due next Friday. It is pleasing to see that several students are looking beyond the Find Law First Amendment site for more information on how the amendment has impacted American media. You are all encouraged to do so. As well, you should all have a word document where you can copy and paste any quotes and write down your own analytical reflections. You are creating the foundation for your paper, so in essence, you will have an easy time assembling it.

Don't forget to read chapter I, which was handed out on Wednesday. Quiz Friday Sept 11

AND begin thinking about the first article you are going to write for the school newspaper.

September 14- in class critical lens essay on the two books you read over the summer.

Thursday September 3 part 2

Please continue working on the assignment concerning the impact of the First Amendment on American media.

1. Do take copious notes- and include at least a half-dozen quotes.
2. Use your time productively; remember if a cell phone / electronic equipment comes out, that is a 0 in the day's class participation grade. Yesterday was the grace period. Keep those phones away!
3. The only outside work you have at this point is the chapter 1 reading, for which you have the quiz on Friday September 11.

Thursday September 3 assignment!

Read chapter 1: Looking Back: Looking Back History of American Media. Please note the key terms at the beginning. QUIZ on Friday Sept 11.

In class work: Begin researching the First Amendment of the Constitution using the following link: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment01

Read the sections Freedom of Expression - Speech and Press
Freedom of Expression:the philosophical bases
Freedom of Expression: Is there a difference between speech and press
The Doctine of Prior Restraint

Take summary notes as you read.
Make sure to include specific quotes

Due on Friday September 11 is a 500 word (2 pages, MLA format) essay. Topic: How the First Amendment has impacted the American media.