Rules of Journalism

OBJECTIVE: Students will analyze the rules of journalism by relating the rules to their stories about Castro.

As we report our stories, there are nine rules we must abide by.

Please open a WORD document.

1. Journalism's first obligation is to the truth.

• What does this mean to you?
• How will you find the truth when you work on your story?
• If you can't find the truth, how can you still write your story?

2. Its first loyalty is to citizens.

• What does this mean to you?
• How can you be loyal to students, teachers and staff as you tell your story?
• If you can't be loyal, how can you still write your story?

3. Its essence is a discipline of verification.

• What does this mean to you?
• How will you verify facts in your story?
• If you can't find out if everything is true, do you still tell your story?
  

4. Journalists must maintain an independence from their stories.

• What does this mean to you?
• How will you remain independent in your story? (Do you take sides?)
• If you can't find every side to the story, how can you still tell your story?

5. It must serve as an independent monitor of power.

• What does this mean to you?

6. It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise.

• What does this mean to you?
• Will people criticize your story?
• How will you deal with people who criticize your story in a respectful way?

7. It must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant.

• What does this mean to you?
• How will you make your story interesting and relevant?
• If your story is not interesting and relevant, do you still tell it?
  

8. It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional.

• What does this mean to you?
• How can you be short and to the point, but also tell everything you need to tell?
• What if your story is too long? Too short?
  

9. Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience.

• What does this mean to you?
• If there is a story, but you know you should not contribute to gossip and rumors, do you still tell the story?
  

Story Telling

Imagine that you are the principal of Castro Middle School.

Write a story that describes what the school would be like with you as its leader.

Write three paragraphs (each paragraph should be 3-5 sentences). Your story should have a beginning, middle and end.

Use correct spelling, grammar and punctuation.

Then, answer these questions. You may have new ideas after writing about what it would be like to be the principal.

Improving Our Storytelling

The words we've been working on this week will improve our storytelling. It makes us think WHY are we telling a story.

OBJECTIVE: Considering our words for this week, students will analyze the "WHY" of a story by thinking about several different scenarios.

PLEASE ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS

Is your story worth telling?

Objective: Students will analyze the seven ideas that help make a story newsworthy by defining the words and creating their own definitions using a power point slide show.

Program: Power Point
Number of slides: 7
Google: Images and definitions
Use your brain: Come up with your own definition.

Part One: Using the dictionary on the computer or dictionary.com, look up and write definitions for these words.

These words help determine whether a story is interesting, newsworthy or important. If a story does not have these elements, your audience may not be likely to listen to your story.

Conflict
Action
Timeliness
Novelty
Impact
Proximity
Prominence

Part Two: Discuss with a partner what these words mean to you. Write definitions in your own words or give examples from your own life.

Part Three: Find a picture online that helps describe the word. Explain your picture.

Part Four: Put your pictures and your writing (captions) into Powerpoint to create a final project.

Edit Movies and Current Events

Today's Choices

• Continue to edit your movies.
• Click here to answer these questions if you are done.
• Free time when you finish the questions.
  

Edit Movies and Story Telling

OBJECTIVE: Students will be able to construct a story by using iMovie.

Continue to work on this project. If you are finished, begin the next story telling project.

OBJECTIVE: Students will be able to construct a story by using Domo Animate.

Think about:

• Genre
  
• Characters
• Problem
• Solution
• Your story must make sense.
• Someone watching must be able to know what's going on.

Click here to explore!

Purpose

Keep in mind, as you edit your movies, the goal should be to tell a story.

• You should have a purpose to your movie.
• Your audience should not have to struggle to figure out what's going on.
  

Movie Editing and Plan

Since today is a short day, we will return outside tomorrow to do more filming.

Today, continue to edit what you have and plan what you want to get tomorrow.

For editing:

• music and sound effects
  
• photos
• text - title, alone or over the video, credits
  
• transitions
• blue edit button with clip, video and audio adjustments, cropping and rotation

For planning:

• What is the point/purpose of your story?
• Will your audience be able to follow your story? Does it make sense?
• When you got your video were you too close? Too far away? How can you adjust?
  

Movie Planning

To be able to go out and create a movie, we must PLAN.

First, answer these questions. If you answered these questions on Friday, great. Now, write out your story.

In WORD, write out your dialogue and your scenes. You must have a well-defined plan before you can begin recording.

Create a WORD document like the one you see to the left. Write out what happens in your movie. Write it out just like you would write out a story so that you know what you want to film.

OBJECTIVE: Students will be able to create a movie by planning out the dialogue, the scenes and the character development.

Current Events 2/3/11

OBJECTIVE: To discover what events are affecting the nation and world by using proper search techniques and giving correct information with viable sources.

Write in full sentences.
Use proper grammar.
Edit for spelling.
List your source. Where did you find the answer? Not google. Google is a search engine that led you to the source.

CLICK HERE TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS

Castro Cougar Courier

Let's review our school news:

OBJECTIVE: Students will write, take photos and edit video to show what is going on here at Castro by using Word, iPhoto and iMovie and posting their well-planned story onto the Castro Cougar Courier.

Take a look at some recent stories posted on our site:

Castro Cougar Courier

Continue to plan out your ideas. Be mindful of the WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN and WHY.

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Now for the SO WHAT?

In PAGES, define these words:

Conflict
Action
Timeliness
Novelty
Impact
Proximity
Prominence

Use dictionary.com.

Write a dictionary definition and then write your own definition.

Find a picture online to help describe each word.

You should finish with 7 pages. One word, dictionary definition, your definition and pictures on each page.

What are Others Doing?

OBJECTIVE: To observe and analyze "Do Something" examples from fellow Castro classmates. Consider options to help, build and grow their plans or your own plans.

OBJECTIVE: Continue to search online for what you can do to positively impact the world by using Do Something.org as a starting point.

Do one of the projects! Go to freerice.com and use the login mruttech and password castro. Be sure to click on the groups and click on Castro Middle School.

Here are some more examples. The projects are listed as a student idea first and then an already established organization:

Big Kids, Little Books and First Book

World Hunger and Free Rice

Music in Our Schools and Music in Our Schools Month

GED Help

Helping Kids With Cancer