Mosaic Freeschool

  • Home
  • Classes
    • Classes '22-'23
    • Past Classes
  • Facilitators
    • Mosaic Facilitators
    • Educator Network
  • Enroll
    • Admissions
    • Registration
    • Payment
  • Contact
  • Opportunities
  • Home
  • Classes
    • Classes '22-'23
    • Past Classes
  • Facilitators
    • Mosaic Facilitators
    • Educator Network
  • Enroll
    • Admissions
    • Registration
    • Payment
  • Contact
  • Opportunities

Mosaic Minutes

Journalism Summary 11/26/12

11/26/2012

 
Since we are nearing an important deadline for our December issue of "The Mosaic Monthly," I wanted to get a class summary and re-cap to our students as soon as possible.  Please let me know if there are any questions.

Today we discussed why research is essential, where information can be found, and how do we ask the right questions to get the information we need.

Each student completed a handout titled "Research Notes." I asked the students to choose one of their three sub-topics they had prepared for their in-depth, and to list the basic facts (the 5 W's and H). This should assist your student in composing the lead paragraph of his/her article.

Next, we tried to list five questions that need to be answered about the sub-topic and if possible, another five questions that could be asked about the story. These are separate from interview questions and should help the student compose the body of the article. We then broke into our three groups from last week, shared all questions, and with my help, settled on the three most compelling. These three most compelling questions do not need to be stated within the article, rather the questions are a vehicle to help the writer address the topic they are researching.

This week, writers should interview their sources and write their in-depth article using the "Research Notes" as a guide. We also discussed how to use attribution in a news story. They should now be familiar with how to use quotes, paraphrasing or a combination of both. 

Their in-depth articles will need to incorporate the elements of interviewing, research and attribution. A tall order, but I'm confident they will deliver. All in-depth pieces should be brought to class next week. We'll read them and vote as a class on which one will appear in the next issue. I will also be selecting a second piece that will not be revealed until publication!

Investigative Reporting

Picture
As a side discussion, we delved into a little history lesson on the Progressive Era in the United States (c. 1890 - 1920). This era was known for its "muckraking" journalists and was responsible for bringing to light the plight of the immigrant population in New York City. Known as the "father of photography" Jacob Riis used his photographic and journalistic talents to shed light on the quality of life in the slums. We viewed three Jacob Riis photographs (similar to the one at left) and each student wrote a news article that might have appeared in a Progressive Era paper using the photograph as the only source of information. Students were initially very intimidated by this exercise, but when we shared our individual stories, I was impressed by the level of creativity but adherence to realism and proper news story creation. I think we may be getting somewhere! :>)


Deadlines!!!

In addition to the in-depth article, students should bring in a typed or very neatly written first draft of their article for the December issue, if your student is responsible for writing one. The first priority is the article for the paper, the second priority is the in-depth, however, I would like to see both done and handed in by Monday, December 3rd.

Comments are closed.

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Afternoon Enrichment
    Closures
    Clubs
    Early Elementary
    Mosaic Texas
    Odyssey Of The Mind
    Out Of This World
    Philosophy
    Tesserae Fall 2012
    Tesserae Fall 2013
    Tesserae Fall 2014
    Tesserae Spring 2013
    Tesserae Spring 2014
    Tesserae Spring 2015
    Tesserae Spring 2016

    Archives

    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos used under Creative Commons from nojhan, Clay Gilliland, mynameisharsha, kim siciliano salem, matthewvenn, photogirl7.1, El Bibliomata, ~Brenda-Starr~, Anne Worner, Heather Bickle, NASA Goddard Photo and Video, Black.Dots., marta.b, Felipe Venâncio, A. Galassi, bibliojojo, Bibliothèque - Les Champs Libres - Rennes, Robert Hensley, opensourceway, Greenland Travel, est1996x, John-Morgan, camnjeanacess, plindberg, chrisjtse, Vox Efx, philosophygeek, utpala ॐ, Cea., Phil Roeder, andreazgarcia, stevecadman, laynasaur, Steve A Johnson, mattk1979, Tattooed Hippy, spacepleb, Mateus Hidalgo, Todd Binger, TRF_Mr_Hyde, ComputerHotline, Hampshire and Solent Museums, Ben Sutherland, philip_sheldrake, WeeLittlePiggy, echiner1, gruntzooki, emmeffe6, saoire, symphony of love, ups2006, Dave_B_, bobsfever, Kelly Short6, RichardBH, frau-Vogel, Skype Nomad, giopuo, Tomi Tapio