Journalism
I
Welcome
to Journalism I, the course that produces the world famous, award winning,
Olympia High School Torch! I know
you are all in here to write for the school paper and have tons of ideas on how
to make the already fabulous Torch, even better.
There are a few things we need to cover first
for a variety of reasons, hence the distribution of the journalism textbook,
Journalism Today. This course is
arranged in two sections. First this
semester is a study of basic newspaper writing (including news, features,
headline and editorial writing) out of the textbook. Newspaper writing is completely different
from any essay writing done in previous English courses.
Grades
Mrs.
Hapgood follows the school’s standard grading scale policy.
94-100 A
86-93 B
77-85 C
70-76 D
Tests and
Quizzes
There
will be quizzes covering material learned in the textbook, class activities, readings and lectures. There will be one midterm over the
book and lecture material and a cumulative 15% final at the end of the
semester.
Web Site Reporting
The
Torch offers the unique opportunity for all students to publish their writing
in two formats. One is the traditional
student newspaper; the other is publishing news articles to the Olympia
District web site. Once students have
studied news writing, students will choose a “beat” to cover. A beat is a source that the reporter contacts
regularly to look for stories and events to cover; this type of news reporting
allows the reporter to build a base of knowledge and familiarity about a
specific area (such as football or FFA) and then write expertly about it. Students are required to write one
beat every two weeks all semester—even during Torch production—for 50
points each. All beat articles must be
emailed to Mrs. H by the assigned deadline along with a photo that illustrates
the story. There will be several lessons
on photography as well to prepare for this assignment.
The
Torch
Once
students have mastered the basics of Journalism, production will begin. Students will brainstorm, write, create,
illustrate, photography, design, edit, publish and distribute 2 issues of The Torch. This class is awesome because students
create the look and content of each issue in its entirety! (with the helpful
advice and guidance of Mrs. H, of course!)
Job
Assignment
Once The Torch is in production, everyone in class
will be assigned a specific job. These
jobs range from Editor in Chief to photographer to page editor. There is something for everyone! Students will turn in three job choices and
Mrs. H will put together a staff list based on everyone’s talents and
abilities. Regardless of the assigned
job, everyone in class is a reporter and writer!
Participation
Remember that The Torch
is a group production. Daily
participation and attendance is crucial.
During each production period, 100 points is given for completing
assigned jobs. Students must be busy on Torch business during the production
process—failure to work on Torch
assignments or production will result in the loss of points.
Story Assignments
Every
production period, students will have three stories to complete—each is worth
50 points. Deadlines are crucial
here.
In
order to receive credit, stories must have appropriate subject matter and be
turned in on time. Stories also must be turned
in with a cover sheet. All stories are
to be typed and saved on student X drives.
A printed out copy must be given to Mrs. H with attached coversheet for
revising.
Stories
are assigned during a group session—students will be able to choose the stories
that they want to write—it is rare that a story will be assigned to a specific
reporter.
Welcome to the Torch
staff! I love teaching this course and
am always excited to see what each new staff brings to the long tradition of
this school paper.
Questions?
Please email or chat with Mrs.
Hapgood:
Amanda.hapgood@olympia.org
