Next Assignment

Hello Everyone,

Hope you all had a fun class without me. Needless to say I missed seeing all your smiling faces. Your next assignment is due Friday, October 10th, by the start of class. I realize that this comes during Spirit Week, so use your time wisely and plan accordingly.

The topic will be one of the ideas which you e-mailed me the other day, or a topic that is available on Ms. Sackstein's spreadsheet which I posted on the September 27th link. All articles must meet the standards set by Ms. Sackstein and myself. These standards are also posted on the September 27th link so please read them carefully. We will spend tomorrow's class analyzing and explaining them.

The first draft of your assignment is due Tuesday, October 7th by the start of class. This is not an outline, but an actual draft. I should be receiving a Google document that has a headline, byline, lead paragraph, and explanation paragraphs. I should also see quotes and research. All articles need to be at least 2 typed and double-spaced pages, and must be submitted as a Google document. You will need to bring a print out/hard-copy of your article with you to class on Tuesday because they will be peer reviewed by your partners. Failure to submit your first and final drafts on time along with not bringing a hard copy of your first draft with you to Tuesday's class will result in either a failing or very poor grade.

I have faith in all of you, so if you feel that you are struggling with this assignment please let me know sooner rather than later so I can give you the help and support you need to do a great job!

If you have any questions you can always e-mail me and, of course, ask them during class.

Links for WJPS Newspaper Publications

https://docs.google.com/a/wjps.org/Doc?docid=0AQ0xifVbglb6ZDRxNXJjNl8zOWYzNHBxMmZw&hl=en

https://spreadsheets.google.com/a/wjps.org/ccc?key=0Ag0xifVbglb6dFhVdkNrb3l1azVzVndjbmlFUzBObnc&hl=en

These links will provide you with our WJPS Newspaper publication guidelines as well as the spreadsheet we looked at in today's class. Regarding the spreadsheet, any article that is does not have a writer or editor posted to it is open to you. Just fill in your name under the reporter column, and my name under the Conferenced with Editor column and you are good to go.

Once again I strongly encourage all of you to submit your work to the newspaper for publication!!

Send me an e-mail

Just a reminder to e-mail me your ideas for your next article. I need two ideas and they have to be clearly spelled out. You will not simply tell me that you are writing about sports or entertainment. What, precisely, are you going to write about? This is due at the start of tomorrow's class.

Deadline Extended

I have had a chance to look at most of your first and final drafts. There are many good efforts, but most of you are still not where I would like you to be. Therefore I am extending the due date to this Monday at the start of class and I will use class time over the next two days to conference with each of you individually and go over what you have accomplished so far and where you can improve.

2nd Part of First Assignment

As I stated in class on Friday your first draft is due on Tuesday September 21st by the start of class. It must be submitted to me as a Google document. I will not accept any other type of submission. If you cannot submit the draft to me as a Google doc then you need to let me know no later than Monday during class. All articles must be at least two (2) typed, double-spaced pages in length.

Your first draft must include a headline, byline, lead paragraph, and as many explanation paragraphs as you feel are necessary to adequately describe the event. Please refer to and use the pdf link I posted on September 14th. If you have any questions or comments please contact me at my WJPS e-mail and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Good luck and try to have fun with this.

An Example of Free Speech Issues in our High Schools

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/05/students-booted-from-school-for-wearing-american-flag-tshirts.html

Please read the following Los Angeles Times article and accompanying video as an example of how to write and research your articles on free speech at WJPS.

Project One - Freedom of Speech Article

Announcement: All students in Mr. Nisonoff's 3rd Period Publications Class will report to the auditorium tomorrow for a Town Hall Meeting.

http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/aero/wright/teachers/pdf/language/Newspaper_Article.pdf

Your first project is due Friday September 24th. All articles are due on September 24th by the start of class and must be submitted to me as a Google document. All articles should be typed and double-spaced. As discussed in class this is an article about your personal experiences with free speech or your how you feel your free speech was denied to you at WJPS. Remember this is a newspaper article so your writing must be objective and your article must be supported by facts and credible research. We will break down the writing of the article into steps which shall be discussed and worked on in class.

The first step is to identify the 5W's and H (who, what, when, where, why and how) of your article. This is due Thursday, September 16th, at the beginning of class and should be e-mailed to me as a Google document. The information required is as follows:

1. Who: who are the main players or people involved in this incident? Think carefully about all the people who play a role in your article. You need to include lead and supporting people.

2. What: What happened? What took place? Be precise and careful when describing the incident. Do so chronologically (that means from the beginning to the end of the incident), and try not to leave out any details. At this stage we want to get all our information written down and then decide during the drafting and editing stages what stays and what is deleted from the final draft.

3. When: when did this incident take place. Be very specific. Strive to remember the exact date, time and place that all of this occurred.

4. Where: again, be specific. Where did this happen, what classroom, what floor, what part of the classroom (front, back, right or left side). Details are what bring an article to life and hold the reader's attention.

5. Why: why did this event occur? What prompted it and what happened in class and perhaps outside of class to make this event take place the way it did. This part of the article will require the most research and we will discuss this in great detail later in class. For now try to recall what you and the other people were doing to create the backdrop for this article.

6. How: how did this event happen? How did all the pieces come together to create the incident about which you are writing?

Each section should be a short paragraph in length (4-6 sentences). The 5W's and H will be the foundation of your article and what you will refer back to as you are composing your first and final drafts. I have included a pdf link that should help you to further organize your thoughts and give you some idea about how your final drafts should look. We will discuss this further in class, but if you have any questions please e-mail me at robert.nisonoff@wjps.org.

Discussion Questions for Tomorrow's Class (9/14)

Please read and review these discussion questions for tomorrow's class. You do not have to hand in or e-mail me your thoughts, but please be ready to share them at the start of tomorrow's class.

Discussion Questions:

1. Where did the term "freedom of speech" originate?

2. What is the Constitution of The United States of America and how does it affect freedom of speech?

3. Do you think we have freedom of speech in the United States? Why or why not?

4. Should we have complete freedom of speech, so we can say anything we want? Why or why not?

I am looking forward to hearing and discussing your responses.

Basic Journalism - TeacherVision.com

Basic Journalism - TeacherVision.com

Grading Policy

My grading policy is very straightforward. Simply put, you will be assessed and evaluated on the amount and quality of your work. I do not give extra credit assignments because if you complete each assignment, there is no need for extra credit. If you haven't completed your assignments by the time grades are due, then extra credit will not do you any good.

Most importantly, do not fall behind in your work. I do penalize for lateness and will not accept assignments after one day's lateness. Below is the official grading policy for the this year's publication class.

1. Attendance and Punctuality (15%): Coming to class and coming to class on time is necessary. Failure to do so insures that you will miss important work and disrupts the class. This is an easy 15 points and there is no reason why any student should be habitually absent or late.

2. Assignments and Exams (60%): It is rare that I will ever give an exam, however at times I reserve the right to give pop quizzes. The vast majority of your work will come in the form of publication projects and homework assignments. You will most often be working in groups and will receive individual and group grades. Both sets of grades will be calculated when determining your trimester grades for this class. Again I cannot stress how important it is for you to submit your assignments on time!

3. Behavior (25%): Behavior includes not just how we speak to and treat each other in class, but of equal importance, your willingness to participate in the class discussion. I place great emphasis on a student's ability and desire to participate in the class discussion. This is always an opportunity for you to display your knowledge, curiosity and passion. I look forward to hearing all of your ideas and encourage you to email me and share ideas with your classmates.

Class Rules

I appreciate all the input from today's class. It helped me to refine our class rules and, hopefully, gave you a sense of ownership about this class and your role in it. The rules listed below apply to everyone (myself included). They exist so that class can be open and friendly, as well as a place where everyone feels welcome and safe. I truly want our class to be a place where everyone feels secure enough to express their opinions (not always an easy thing to do), and respect the opinions of our classmates. OK, so here they are:

Class Rules:

1. Come to class on time.
2. Always treat yourselves and others with courtesy.
3. Give respect in order to earn respect.
4. Always come to class prepared to work.
5. Always give your best effort.

Following these rules will make this class more enjoyable and can only help your grade. Failure to follow these rules will make this class that much more difficult and will most certainly hurt your grade.

First Week of Class

Hi Everyone:

Welcome to our website/class blog. This is where you will find all your assignments, projects, syllabus, grading policy, questions and comments posted throughout the school year. It is your responsibility to check this site for any and all information pertaining to Publications. Failure to do so will result in your falling behind or even failing the class, so please keep up. I strongly recommend that you bookmark this site as soon as you are on it! I will post my grading policy, class rules and expectations, and your first series of assignments over the next several days. Please pay careful attention to all of these posts as they will be your guidelines to successfully completing the class and receiving a good grade.

Now, on a lighter note, there is no reason that this class should not be enjoyable and thought provoking. You will have the opportunity to express your ideas in print, on-line, broadcasting and podcasting. I encourage you to tackle controversial subjects, and to use this class as a springboard to exploring opportunities for your life in and after WJPS (more on that later). As for now this first week will be used for establishing class rules and routines, and assessing your current journalism skills.