A new school year, a new staff – make sure your staff is well informed
by Cyndi Hyatt
By now we all have fallen into the rhythm of another academic year. With the advent of new staffs, new ideas and maybe new procedures it’s also good to pause and reflect.
What have you done to make sure your staff, especially the rookies, is trained in more than how to write copy, conduct an interview or edit a package?
Student journalists are eager to cover what’s news but they need to be armed with the necessary tools, skills and knowledge BEFORE the story is filed.
Read MoreStatement of importance of student journalism
Title
Statement of importance of student journalism
Description
A lesson on writing an editorial to explain the function of scholastic media.
Summary
This advanced lesson will take students through examination and discussion concerning the importance of journalism so students can write an editorial explaining their points. When students publish, they may send the article for inclusion in the JEA/NSPA editorial project e-book, which will appear on JEA’s site.
Objectives
- Students will learn and understand the Five Freedoms outlined in the First Amendment.
- Students will begin to see how these Freedoms are present in their lives.
- Students will understand how the First Amendment, which was written more than 200 years ago, has withstood the test of time.
Common Core State Standards
| CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1.a | Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence. |
| CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1.b | Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns. |
| CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.6 | Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically. |
Length
150 minutes
Materials
Note taking
Questions for discussion
White board
Computers
Internet
Google doc access
Lesson step-by-step
- Introduction — 4 minutes
Choose one editorial (maybe even a local one) from CNN’s list printed for Aug. 16 in which the professional media addressed the importance and function of journalism.
- Text reading — 8 minutes
Ask students to read through the Boston Globe’s introduction here. Ask students to find three big takeaways or items they found poignant.
- Large group discussion — (10-15 minutes)
Ask the students what they noted. Each student should post their thoughts on the whiteboard. (Having five or six post at one time helps move this along.)
- Small group discussion: 10 minutes
Ask students to identify trends they see. (They may note the shock of the populace actually stating the need for state-run media or the percentage of people who believe the statement “the press is the enemy of the people.”)
How can scholastic journalists fight this?
What are the ways students can make sure they are taken seriously as journalists and believed by their classmates and staff?
(Answers here should include verification, few unnamed sources, accuracy, interviewing a wide array of people, etc.)
- Small group reports — 10 minutes
Small groups should report what they think to the class.
Day 2:
- Revisit notes — 5 minutes
Ask students to review their notes from the previous day.
- Evaluating what the pros did — 10 minutes
Students will choose one of the editorials listed on the Boston Globe site or on NPR. What were the talking points of the editorial?
- Discussion preparation — 5 minutes
Explain to students they are going to work to come to a consensus concerning writing one of these editorials.
- Student editorial discussion in groups of 5-7 — 30 minutes
Students should come up with talking points and then write a staff editorial concerning the discussion.
Day 3
Production day (50 minutes)
Option 1:
Students should spend the first 30 minutes writing the staff editorial (in groups using Google docs) and then the rest of the class period editing the work. For the editing, each student group should pair with another to receive feedback and then, subsequently, make any necessary changes.
Option 2:
In addition to editing, students could work to meld all of the editorials together to make one that encompasses all points they deem necessary.
If the resulting editorial is published in student media, please send the content to keekley@gmail.com by Sept. 25 for inclusion in an e-book.
Extension
Bring in a focus group and examine your school media credibility.
Use Constitution Day as a kick off for media literacy education for your students.
Read MoreConstitution Day highlights from previous years
As we brainstormed ideas for this version of Constitution Day, we realized how many previous activities and lessons were still relevant today. Here are our top eight. If you’d like to revisit the previous years’ lesson and ideas, we’ve included links to each year at the end of the page.
Celebrating Constitution Day (Lori Keekley, 2015): This activity encourages the English, social studies and journalism teachers to engage students in exploring the Constitution’s relevance to their daily lives, facts about the Constitution and understanding the amendments to the Constitution
First Amendment School Dialogue (Jeff Kocur, 2017): Guide your students through a class-sized (or whole-school) dialogue about the five freedoms of the First Amendment. Students will identify and evaluate the impact of the First Amendment in their own lives and the lives of others.
The Importance of an Independent and Active Press (Matthew Smith, 2017): Expose students to the many possible benefits of independent media in a democracy through quotes and video excerpts of world leaders espousing the necessity of a free press. Students will evaluate and discuss their own reaction to these arguments.
Understanding the perils of prior review and restraint (Jeff Kocur, 2015): Click here for the activity. For additional resources and model ethical guidelines and staff manual procedures for this, go here and here.
Examining the gray area between political correctness and free speech (Matthew Smith, 2016): Students will explore several topics through peer discussion and real-world examples in small groups followed by a large-group discussion. By Matt Smith
The Decision to Report: Because You Can, Does that Mean you Should? (Jeff Kocur, 2013): Allows students to explore the conflict of reporting the truth when that truth may have consequences. Students work with several leading questions and apply them to several scenarios.
Our Right to Comment (Jeff Kocur, 2016): Since media organizations have moved to online formats, they have struggled with the practice of hosting online comments next to their content. Many news organizations require posters to meet specific standards, moderate the comments, and reserve the right to remove or delete comments and users. Some organizations even require each post be approved by a human before it can be live on their sites. More recently, NPR is the latest news organization to completely remove comments from its news sites. Students will explore the question whether the ability to comment on news stories creates a more or less informed culture. By Jeff Kocur
Takedown demands (John Bowen, 2014): This lesson addresses how to handle takedown requests. Students will work through two scenarios and then create a takedown request policy.
Previous Constitution Day lessons and activities by years:
Read More5 activities to consider before next fall
By John Bowen, MJE
Looking for end-of-year activities to rebuild or revisit how your student media operate, the range and effectiveness of content, no matter the platform?
Consider the following, either now at the end of the year or during summer staff retreats, to help students strengthen your program’s foundation.
Read MoreImportance of scale in visual reporting QT67
Guideline:
Journalists must be vigilant in ensuring charts and infographics do not inaccurately depict the information nor should it mislead the reader. Be weary of data interpretations from others — especially those who benefit from the results.
Read More