COURSE TITLE: HS
YEARBOOK
ROOM: B.3.5 (Third
Floor, BLUE POD)
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is
designed to give the students the experience of digitally preparing a school
yearbook for production. Students will
be involved in all aspects of the preparation such as planning, research,
photography, copy writing, and page layout. They will also be involved in the
after-production aspects such as advertising, sales, and distribution. The emphasis will be on student-orientated
activities and will encourage a hands-on approach in those individual and
cooperative activities. The page layout
will be done completely on the computer using a layout software compatible with
the chosen printing company. Digital
and print photographs will be used and skills in cropping and formatting of
photos will be developed. Treated as a
serious journalistic effort, a school yearbook presents the opportunity for
students to acquire knowledge they will use in many areas of their lives, such
as the skills necessary for effective oral, written and visual communication
and for successful people and time management.
Students’ initiative, creativity, organizational skills, and the ability
to work in groups will be encouraged.
Students will learn to apply these skills in their assigned sections of
the yearbook and in their completion of feature articles.
COURSE
GOALS/OBJECTIVES/STANDARDS: Upon
completion of the yearbook production course, students should be able to:
·
Produce a
quality yearbook in a timely fashion.
·
Provide
accurate accounting for all funds collected/disbursed.
·
Present the
school in a positive manner.
·
Discover and
nurture talents and interests in photojournalism.
SCOPE AND SEQUENCE
Planning, organizing, surveying, and photographing and layout of school events/activities
Photographing and layout of class and individual pictures, layout of school events/activities
Soliciting and fund-raising; photographing and layout of school events/activities
Editing and preparing the yearbook for publishing and sales, final photographs and layout of school events/activities
Final sales and distribution of yearbooks; preparation of CD-ROM for yearbook purchasers
AFNORTH International Middle/High School’s CSP (Continuous School Progress) goal is, “All students will improve their written communication skills across the curriculum.” The 6 + 1 trait is the model selected to improve school-wide writing in all subject areas. The 6+1 Trait writing framework is a powerful way to learn and use a common language to refer to characteristics of writing as well as establish a common vision of what “strong” writing looks like. Teachers and students will use the 6+1 Trait model to identify areas of strength and weakness as they continue to strive towards continued writing improvement. Success of all students requires that the 6 + 1 Trait become a consistent and integral component of each course taught at AFNORTH International Middle/High School. Students, therefore, in High School Yearbook, will become familiar with the six traits and apply them to feature writing.
COURSE GRADING/ASSESSMENT
There are no tests, quizzes, or exams in this course. The students will be required to keep track
of the pages that they do and the activities necessary for the pages they are
responsible for. Every two weeks, this
log sheet is collected. If students
fail to fill out a log sheet describing the work they are currently working on
and the projects they are involved in, they will receive a zero for that log. This work record is 100% of their
grade. Sitting in the yearbook class
and not completing your assigned pages will result in failure of the
class. If a page that you are assigned
is not completed in a timely manner, another student will be assigned and you
will receive a zero for the page. This class is graded on work
performance. If you don’t do the work,
you will be giving yourself an “F” in this class. Students are expected to
earn 50-70 points per two week period. Quarter 3 is highly weighted as the
yearbook should be completed by that point.
Students are expected to be involved in all elements of the production of the yearbook: photography, photo editing in Adobe Photoshop 6.0, and layout in Quark. Students can use personal cameras as well as the yearbook cameras to take pictures of events/activities.
CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS/CONSEQUENCES
Students are expected to follow all rules set forth in the
student handbook. I will be prepared to
give you my best and I expect that you will be, too. Class begins and ends on
time. I expect you to be in your
seat before the appointed time for class.
Racing to beat the clock will result in a tardy if you are not in your
seat with materials and prepared to begin. Please demonstrate respectful
behavior and speech for others in class and on campus. Within the classroom and outside the
classroom, you are representing the school and the class itself. You are expected to be on your best behavior
and not be a distracting force when you enter other classrooms to complete your
assigned yearbook tasks. Consequences
for a poor choice will be determined by the severity of the situation; however,
there is zero tolerance for any behavior that interferes with student learning.
Insubordination, disruptive behavior, and behavior that interfere with others’
safety will result in an immediate trip to the office to see an administrator
and a parent phone call. Lesser
infractions or inappropriate behavior will result in eating lunch in the
classroom. Serious breaches of conduct not addressed above or repeated
misbehavior will result in a parent call, a parent/student/teacher conference,
and/or an after-school detention.
Common sense, courteous behavior, and a strong work ethic will make our
classroom pleasant for us all, provide an atmosphere conducive to learning from
one another, and minimize the number of rules we need.
TEXTBOOKS
No textbooks are used
for this class
HOMEWORK POLICY: All
work is to be done in class as most of the work will be done on the computers
in the classroom or in working groups.
MAKE-UP WORK POLICY: Work
cannot be made up because it is done in class and usually in groups, however,
the student may be assigned a special project to work on to make up for missed
work due to illness or a family or school-sponsored trip. It is the students responsibility to make arrangements
for missed work. There are numerous
opportunities for extra-credit—especially when seniors need help after school
laying out their pages, going to school events and taking pictures, and using
seminar time to finish work. As
deadlines are extremely important for the publications of the yearbook, you are
expected to check your two-week assignment sheet, but you still should check
with me before school, after school, or during designated seminar time for
getting help, to gather any missed materials or assignments. You should get class notes and information
from your classmates.
If you know in advance that you will be absent, check with me to obtain assignments and work which will be given during your planned absence. If the absence is unplanned due to illness, then you will have to make up your missed assignments as soon as possible, according to submission deadlines. If you are dissatisfied with your grade, you may sign up to work on yearbook duties after-school on days designated by the instructor.