COURSE TITLE: Journalism
TEACHER: Ms. Bohon
ROOM: B 1.16
E-MAIL: heather_bohon@eu.odedodea.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The journalism course encourages student
responsibility for the development of a publishable product. As a journalism
class, students will create a newspaper that will be distributed at the end of
every month. During this process students will learn to:
COURSE
GOALS/OBJECTIVES/STANDARDS
The course is an overview of the field of
journalism. It includes press freedoms, responsibilities and ethics as well as
the practical aspects of producing a newspaper. Writing projects will include:
news stories, columns, and reviews.
Students are involved in both group and individual projects and will
contribute to the school newspaper. Journalism is an elective in the Language
Arts department.
SCOPE & SEQUENCE
August/September
Organizing
a newspaper (idea session)
Microsoft
publishing
Editing/layout
History
of American Media
Responsibilities
of Media
Writing
news stories
Publish
September issue
October
Ethics and responsibility in journalism
Censorship
Libel and Slander
Taste and Standards
Publish October issue
November
What is news?
Feature
stories, sports, editorials
Interviewing
Publish November issue
December
Timeliness
Writing
for the Audience
Using
sources
Anonymity
Publish December issue
January
In-depth
reporting
Book/music/movie
reviews
Writing
humor
Feature/Column
writing
Publish January issue
February
Photography
Digital
camera
Publish
February issue
March
Newspaper
design
Magazine
design
Publish
March issue
April
Public
Relations
PR
case studies
Propaganda
Publish April issue
May
Broadcast news
Publish May issue
June
Final Exam
Publish June issue??
COURSE
GRADING/ASSESSMENT:
In each quarter there will be 4
categories the students will be evaluated: Tests= 15%, Articles=30%, Production
Tasks = 30%, and Class Activities= 25%.
The semester grade will be calculated by averaging the 2 quarter grades and a
semester exam worth 20%.
CLASSROOM
EXPECTATIONS/CONSEQUENCES:
Each
day you will….
·
Use
positive language at all times
·
Participate
in group and individual activities
·
Exhibit
the dignity, cooperation and responsibility necessary for all team-oriented
performances
·
Survive
the entire period without gum, food or drink
·
Treat
all equipment with respect
Consequently,
failure to live up to these standards will result in an immediate parent
conference and contact of administration.
TEXTBOOK:
Journalism Today
(I will supply handouts or
give lecture notes in class from additional texts. Students are not required to have these books, but are
responsible for the material given.)
SUPPLIES
(REQUIRED/RECOMMENDED):
Students will be responsible for keeping a disk in the computer lab.
There will be some lecture notes and handouts given in class. Students will be required to keep a notebook
or binder so they can keep up with this material.
HOMEWORK POLICY:
All long-term projects and/or articles will be completed on time.
Failure to complete assigned work on time will be a zero.
MAKE-UP WORK POLICY:
Students must get assignments before they leave school for any
pre-arranged absences. It is the student’s responsibility to collect all
missing work after being absent from class. There will be a time period given
to complete work based on the type of assignment.
PLAGIARISM:
Students are responsible
for understanding plagiarism. Merriam
Webster defines the term “plagiarize” as “to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of
another) as one's own: use (another's production) without crediting the
source… to commit literary theft.” We will discuss this concept at length in
class. I fully expect my students to do
their own work and to follow the honor code that we discuss and set up in
class. Georgetown University has an
excellent website that discusses the topic of plagiarism at great length.
http://www.georgetown.edu/honor/plagiarism.html
CHEATING:
Cheating on tests is completely
unacceptable. Students caught cheating
will automatically be given a zero. If
a student is looking on another student’s paper then both involved will be
given a zero. There is no discussion on
this point. The idea is to keep your
eyes on your own paper and to keep your own paper covered. Hopefully, students will not feel the need
to cheat in the first place.