Mindi Siegley

903-323-7780 ext 1180

msiegley@springhill.esc7.net

Conference: 8:00- 8:20

Journalism, Yearbook, Newspaper

Texas Association of Journalism Educators

To be eligible for staff membership for the Panther's Paw student newspaper and the Panther yearbook, students must complete Journalism I as a prerequisite. Students may receive credit for Yearbook/Newspaper. Newspaper staff members may participate in UIL competitions that include: News Writing, Feature Writing, Editorial Writing and Headline Writing. Students that advance to the state level are eligible for one DAP credit. Students who win individual awards at the ILPC State Convention or if the staffs win the Award of Distinguished Merit or a STAR are also eligible for a DAP credit, earning a maximum of two credits.

Course Syllabus for Journalism

Journalism is an entry-level course designed to give students interested in newspaper and or yearbook an overview of the different types of journalistic writing and knowledge of publications production. Law, ethics and the history of journalism will complement the major units of study: reporting, writing, editing, photography, management, teamwork, advertising and design. In addition, students will have the opportunity to use computer aided publishing tools and other hands on production tools.

Overall Course Goals:

To teach the student skills necessary in communicating in the print media today with emphasis on writing, but including interviewing, observing, reporting, reacting and synthesizing.
To help the student become an intelligent consumer of the mass media.
To give the student the opportunity to discover and explore the various forms of writing utilized in journalism.
To provide the student with opportunities to critique his own writing, the writing of others and have his/her writing evaluated by teacher.
To help the student understand and accept the legal, moral and ethical responsibilities inherent in a free press.
To help the student learn the copy rules and tools necessary for preparation of copy for newspapers, yearbooks and magazines.
To help the student develop responsibility for punctuality in meeting deadlines.
To teach the student the practical aspects of producing a school newspaper and yearbook, including financial and advertising problems.
To teach the student the necessity of adding validity, emphasis and depth to writing.
To help the student develop the verbal, written, personal and social skills needed to publish a school newspaper and/or yearbook.
To teach the student how to present his/her writing in an attractive, inviting manner, including headlines, graphics, and photography.
To give the student an outlet for creativity not found in other classrooms.
To awake in a student an awareness of the world around him, both social and political.
To stimulate an interest in journalism as a career.

Units to be Taught:

History of American Journalism
First Amendment freedom and the responsibility of the press
News Writing basics: what is it and how to gather it
Writing news leads and articles; utilizing the inverted pyramid technique
Copy editing skills and AP Stylebook
Editorial and column writing
Headlines
Captions and photography
Advertising
Layout, design and graphics
Staff Organization and Management
Newspaper/Yearbook production (organization/purpose, theme, coverage and design)

Grades & Expectations
Each student's nine-week grades will be determined using the following formula:

Tests and major projects will count as test grades and are worth 66% of your grade.
Daily assignments, vocabulary quizzes, reading logs/weekly reports, and worksheets will count 33 1/3% of your grade and each grade is recorded one time.
Students are responsible for placing all work in the assigned collection basket.

Click the following links to view lesson plans for the week.
To determine the week you wish to view, visit the District Calendar page of our school's web site.

Lesson Plans

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- Email: msiegley@springhill.esc7.net