Good morning everyone,
I hope your first exam went well and that you are all successful on your earth science Regent today...
I wanted to plan on a small September issue in the fall - something like 4-8 pages...
So over the summer, keep your eyes and ears open...
If you know students who are working on internships or other special things - lets get a news story about that - summer jobs.
Maybe a feature story on summer travel for educational purposes.
Maybe if you are working an internship an editorial on what you gained from it.
Sports fans... watch closely for interesting things that happen over the summer that may interest students.
I'm thinking just a page or 2 for each section
News, Feature, Opinion, Sports and Entertainment... watch those movies and read those books... see the concerts and be ready to review...
I know 8 pages will seem easy after the 60 pages we did this last time...(which by the way was wonderful :)
keep in touch if you are interested in writing for the Septemeber issue...
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
A good year
Good morning everyone.
You should all be very proud of your efforts this year. We have come a long way.
Our paper should be out on Monday.
Study hard for your Regents... good luck.
Have a great summer. Stay in touch.
See you next year :)
You should all be very proud of your efforts this year. We have come a long way.
Our paper should be out on Monday.
Study hard for your Regents... good luck.
Have a great summer. Stay in touch.
See you next year :)
Sunday, June 7, 2009
World News - page 48 and 50
I'd like us to get a survey of things happening in the world right now...
and then get student/ teacher thoughts on these things... we can get head shots and just throw these pages together under the headline What WJPS thinks of World Events
1) Obama's talk about the middle east peace in Cairo
2) D-day remembrance
3) Air France plane crash
4) Bin Laden tape
5) War in Iraq
6) War in Afghanistan
7) Israel / Palestinian issue
8) British Parliamentary expense scandal and elections
9) Lebanese elections
and then get student/ teacher thoughts on these things... we can get head shots and just throw these pages together under the headline What WJPS thinks of World Events
1) Obama's talk about the middle east peace in Cairo
2) D-day remembrance
3) Air France plane crash
4) Bin Laden tape
5) War in Iraq
6) War in Afghanistan
7) Israel / Palestinian issue
8) British Parliamentary expense scandal and elections
9) Lebanese elections
Thursday, June 4, 2009
finishing the paper
I need everyone here at lunch tomorrow... we have chorus, so we won't be in class.
Pages need to be finished by Wed. 6/10 - mid day
Also, if you haven't gotten a grade on any finished work (articles or otherwise) send to me, please... check teacherease to know if it had been graded.
Pages need to be finished by Wed. 6/10 - mid day
Also, if you haven't gotten a grade on any finished work (articles or otherwise) send to me, please... check teacherease to know if it had been graded.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Layout reminder
Even page number go on the top left hand side of the page
Odd page numbers go on the top right hand side of the page.
the section heading should be in a separate text box from the page number
the section heading should be all CAPS
Odd page numbers go on the top right hand side of the page.
the section heading should be in a separate text box from the page number
the section heading should be all CAPS
Week of June 1st
We will only have Monday - Wednesday to start layout -
Thursday you don't have school
Friday is chorus
All pages need to be ready to go by Wednesday, June 10th
I expect to see everyone working at lunch all of next week and possibly after school.
I will be working with photo journalism on Monday after school in the pub lab to make sure pictures for the paper are ready to be used. - so if you'd like to work after school on Monday...I'll be there
Wednesday, I'm at school beyond the half day, if you need to work, I will see what I can do to get you to be able to stay.
By Monday, you should know which pages you are responsible for laying out and what articles and pics go on your pages. The spreadsheet should be filled out accordingly... the pages you are responsible for, you will be getting a grade on... so make sure we all know who is accountable.
Thursday you don't have school
Friday is chorus
All pages need to be ready to go by Wednesday, June 10th
I expect to see everyone working at lunch all of next week and possibly after school.
I will be working with photo journalism on Monday after school in the pub lab to make sure pictures for the paper are ready to be used. - so if you'd like to work after school on Monday...I'll be there
Wednesday, I'm at school beyond the half day, if you need to work, I will see what I can do to get you to be able to stay.
By Monday, you should know which pages you are responsible for laying out and what articles and pics go on your pages. The spreadsheet should be filled out accordingly... the pages you are responsible for, you will be getting a grade on... so make sure we all know who is accountable.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Reminders
All final drafts are due for publication tomorrow by 2nd period in google.docs.
all final drafts are due for the trimester by June 15th. You are required to finish all work.
Anyone who hasn't completed 2 independent reading assignments for this trimester, has one due for tomorrow.
all final drafts are due for the trimester by June 15th. You are required to finish all work.
Anyone who hasn't completed 2 independent reading assignments for this trimester, has one due for tomorrow.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
2nd draft reminders
If you want your article to go in the paper, you need to make sure you have submitted 2 drafts by today...
If you haven't, it isn't going in... With the exception of sports.
ALL FINAL DRAFTS ARE DUE FOR PUBLICATION BY FRIDAY IN CLASS (that means you've sent it to me via google.docs before 2nd period.)
Whatever isn't finished WILL NOT be published.
All work published or not is expected to be completed by the end of the trimester.
If you haven't, it isn't going in... With the exception of sports.
ALL FINAL DRAFTS ARE DUE FOR PUBLICATION BY FRIDAY IN CLASS (that means you've sent it to me via google.docs before 2nd period.)
Whatever isn't finished WILL NOT be published.
All work published or not is expected to be completed by the end of the trimester.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Google.docs
Please make sure you invite me to look at your work... this way I know it is ready for me to.
When you email me at ssackstein@wjps.org... tell me what the article is (for example: feature final or sports 2nd draft)
If you need help with something specific, please ask specifically for this.
Thanks.
It is not enough just to throw things together. Your work still needs to be researched.
When you email me at ssackstein@wjps.org... tell me what the article is (for example: feature final or sports 2nd draft)
If you need help with something specific, please ask specifically for this.
Thanks.
It is not enough just to throw things together. Your work still needs to be researched.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
thoughts... 5th issue
In light of school being closed this week, while we are considering what will go in to the final issue of the paper on Tuesday...
All finished work...
Any person who has submitted at least 2 drafts already, will go in. You will have until the end of the week May 29th to complete final drafts of every kind of article.
Your sports articles are due on Tuesday finished... all others are past due.
I know a lot of you have computers and have been online because I've seen you on facebook... Please don't come to school on Tuesday with excuses. I'm not interested in hearing them.
Please check the issue spreadsheet on google.docs - if you have at least 2 drafts in by tuesday, you will be in... if you haven't even done one draft... it won't be published. Even if you make up the work in a timely fashion.
All articles are expected to be completed even if they aren't going into the paper. This is your last chance to show proficiency in these writing areas for this school year... don't let the opportunity pass you by to show your proficiency.
All finished work...
Any person who has submitted at least 2 drafts already, will go in. You will have until the end of the week May 29th to complete final drafts of every kind of article.
Your sports articles are due on Tuesday finished... all others are past due.
I know a lot of you have computers and have been online because I've seen you on facebook... Please don't come to school on Tuesday with excuses. I'm not interested in hearing them.
Please check the issue spreadsheet on google.docs - if you have at least 2 drafts in by tuesday, you will be in... if you haven't even done one draft... it won't be published. Even if you make up the work in a timely fashion.
All articles are expected to be completed even if they aren't going into the paper. This is your last chance to show proficiency in these writing areas for this school year... don't let the opportunity pass you by to show your proficiency.
layout - 5th issue
Even if you don't have any pieces going in, you will be expected to layout at least 1 page for the paper. This is something that you need to show proficiency in... Indesign.
On Tuesday, you will be meeting in your sections - reviewing what will be going in... deciding on what pieces will be going on what pages with what pictures and diagrams (if we need to draw pics as well)
Then pages will be assigned by the end class on Tuesday.
There are certain things that need to be absolutely correct in this last issue...
all section headings need to be clearly laid out and without any extraneous boxes... all page numbers must be clear and not too close to the section head... don't put them in the same box.
the spreadsheet needs to be filled out to make sure nothing is replicated anywhere... we will discuss this further on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, you will be meeting in your sections - reviewing what will be going in... deciding on what pieces will be going on what pages with what pictures and diagrams (if we need to draw pics as well)
Then pages will be assigned by the end class on Tuesday.
There are certain things that need to be absolutely correct in this last issue...
all section headings need to be clearly laid out and without any extraneous boxes... all page numbers must be clear and not too close to the section head... don't put them in the same box.
the spreadsheet needs to be filled out to make sure nothing is replicated anywhere... we will discuss this further on Tuesday.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Eportfolio
Has anyone tried to start uploading stuff onto eportfolio?
Please comment here... any problems? difficulties? easy? useful? I'd like your feedback.
Please comment here... any problems? difficulties? easy? useful? I'd like your feedback.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Observations about what is ready for the 5th issue
There are many of you who have at least one if not 2 drafts put together already for at least your editorial and/or news and feature...
please send me your final drafts. If you'd like me to email the school through teacherease to get you some quotes, please email me your questions.
This will be an unimpressive last issue if this is what we end up with... you have 4 days until Tuesday...
Time's a ticking...
please send me your final drafts. If you'd like me to email the school through teacherease to get you some quotes, please email me your questions.
This will be an unimpressive last issue if this is what we end up with... you have 4 days until Tuesday...
Time's a ticking...
Here is what is ready for the 5th issue:
Opinion:
Melissa -Technology interfering with learning
Sarah - Singers voices being altered
Livi - Plastic surgery
Chris - selling sidekicks
Anastasia - tanning
Shazia - music having negative effects
Eirene- paparazzi
Eric - Willingness to go green
I also believe there are few that didn't go into the last issue that we have to go in
News:
Sarah - Twitter
Livi - Teen strip search
Chris - spirit week cancelled
Anastasia - AP exams
Eric - pirates
Brianna - Obama's first 100 days
Brianna - 9th grade advisory
Brianna -MTA fare hikes
Entertainment:
Sarah - superheroes
Chris - summer live music
Anastasia - Madame Tussaud
Shazia - Restaurant review
Eric - Steve O
Feature:
Omar - Stress on students - from last issue that didn't go in
Sarah - student disorganization
Livi - piercing and tattoos
Chris - immigrants
Anastasia - Degrassi and teen issues
Maggie - Sleepwalking
Investigative Feature
Chris - technology
Global studies - 8 pages
still waiting to get the documents from sosa
Sports:
Donna Wylie- Former Ranger
Donna Wylie- Gaelic football
Raisa B- Ice skating
Avi Solkoff- Dog Sledding
Maggie Todaro- WJPS/Francis Lewis
Melissa -Technology interfering with learning
Sarah - Singers voices being altered
Livi - Plastic surgery
Chris - selling sidekicks
Anastasia - tanning
Shazia - music having negative effects
Eirene- paparazzi
Eric - Willingness to go green
I also believe there are few that didn't go into the last issue that we have to go in
News:
Sarah - Twitter
Livi - Teen strip search
Chris - spirit week cancelled
Anastasia - AP exams
Eric - pirates
Brianna - Obama's first 100 days
Brianna - 9th grade advisory
Brianna -MTA fare hikes
Entertainment:
Sarah - superheroes
Chris - summer live music
Anastasia - Madame Tussaud
Shazia - Restaurant review
Eric - Steve O
Feature:
Omar - Stress on students - from last issue that didn't go in
Sarah - student disorganization
Livi - piercing and tattoos
Chris - immigrants
Anastasia - Degrassi and teen issues
Maggie - Sleepwalking
Investigative Feature
Chris - technology
Global studies - 8 pages
still waiting to get the documents from sosa
Sports:
Donna Wylie- Former Ranger
Donna Wylie- Gaelic football
Raisa B- Ice skating
Avi Solkoff- Dog Sledding
Maggie Todaro- WJPS/Francis Lewis
Sports drafts
2nd drafts of sports articles are due today...
finals of sports are due Tuesday
all other finals are now past due -
There are only 2 people who are up to date... everyone else is missing something. Consult teacherease and your google.docs and get to work!
finals of sports are due Tuesday
all other finals are now past due -
There are only 2 people who are up to date... everyone else is missing something. Consult teacherease and your google.docs and get to work!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Reminder
Your final drafts of News, Entertainment and Feature are due
Your sports first draft is past due...
Your second sports draft is due on Friday
You final sports is due on Tuesday.
If you need student voice, email me your questions, I will post it as a school wide announcement and then email you the responses.
This week off is not an excuse not to work.
Those of you keeping up, bravo.
Your sports first draft is past due...
Your second sports draft is due on Friday
You final sports is due on Tuesday.
If you need student voice, email me your questions, I will post it as a school wide announcement and then email you the responses.
This week off is not an excuse not to work.
Those of you keeping up, bravo.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Upcoming deadlines
Good afternoon everyone.
By now you know that we will not be having classes this week... however, I do expect you to continue with your articles so that when we return we can layout...
By now your editorial should be completed... please make sure to look at teacherease to see what you owe and for comments given.
Your first drafts of Sports are due tomorrow.
Your final drafts of Entertainment and News are due on 5/20
Final feature is due this week as well
Second drafts of sports are due by Friday
Final drafts of Sports are due on Tuesday, 5/26...
May 26th is still the day that will be deciding everything for the last issue.
Please make sure to email me if you have any questions...
mssackstein@yahoo.com or ssackstein@wjps.org
Send me your work via google.docs or via email.
I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
By now you know that we will not be having classes this week... however, I do expect you to continue with your articles so that when we return we can layout...
By now your editorial should be completed... please make sure to look at teacherease to see what you owe and for comments given.
Your first drafts of Sports are due tomorrow.
Your final drafts of Entertainment and News are due on 5/20
Final feature is due this week as well
Second drafts of sports are due by Friday
Final drafts of Sports are due on Tuesday, 5/26...
May 26th is still the day that will be deciding everything for the last issue.
Please make sure to email me if you have any questions...
mssackstein@yahoo.com or ssackstein@wjps.org
Send me your work via google.docs or via email.
I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
School Closed Week of May 18th
School will be closed for the week of May 18th.
School will reopen on Tuesday, May 26th.
All deadlines will still be respected... please make sure to do your work on google.docs and email me when you are ready for feedback.
School will reopen on Tuesday, May 26th.
All deadlines will still be respected... please make sure to do your work on google.docs and email me when you are ready for feedback.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Eportfolio - the end has come
https://web.ideasconsulting.com/wjps/login.php
your log in information is your first initial and last name
password is your student id #
for example - student john smith is jsmith
I've uploaded all of what you need to show proficiency in as many of your other teachers have...
go have a look so that if you have questions, you can ask me in class.
your log in information is your first initial and last name
password is your student id #
for example - student john smith is jsmith
I've uploaded all of what you need to show proficiency in as many of your other teachers have...
go have a look so that if you have questions, you can ask me in class.
Due Next Week - there's a lot (and many of you are already behind)
Monday - first sports draft is due in google.docs - make sure to invite me at ssackstein@wjps.org
Wednesday - final drafts of Entertainment and News are due
Thursday - Final feature drafts
Friday - 2nd drafts of sports are due on Friday
Tuesday - May 26th - final sports are due
Past due final drafts - editorial
*****REMINDER - by May 26th - Whatever is finished is what is going into the paper... we are deciding on MAY 26th in class how many pages we have and we are beginning to block the pages. If you want your work published, it must be finished by TUESDAY, MAY 26th
Wednesday - final drafts of Entertainment and News are due
Thursday - Final feature drafts
Friday - 2nd drafts of sports are due on Friday
Tuesday - May 26th - final sports are due
Past due final drafts - editorial
*****REMINDER - by May 26th - Whatever is finished is what is going into the paper... we are deciding on MAY 26th in class how many pages we have and we are beginning to block the pages. If you want your work published, it must be finished by TUESDAY, MAY 26th
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Spirit Week 2009
Monday - Kick off day - Pep rally 6th and 7th period in the gym
Tuesday - Wild, Wild West day
Wednesday - Wacky Wednesday
town hall and talent show
Thursday - Field day - wear red to support 10th grade
Friday - Super hero/princess day
Go sophomores!
Tuesday - Wild, Wild West day
Wednesday - Wacky Wednesday
town hall and talent show
Thursday - Field day - wear red to support 10th grade
Friday - Super hero/princess day
Go sophomores!
Due tomorrow
We will be in the auditorium for chorus tomorrow...
However, your second feature draft is due... please send me an invitation to your google.doc so that I can review your articles and you can continue work.
First draft of sports articles are due on Monday.
However, your second feature draft is due... please send me an invitation to your google.doc so that I can review your articles and you can continue work.
First draft of sports articles are due on Monday.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Sports topics due today
Please post your sport topics here...
also, remember to post your final editorial to google.docs
also, remember to post your final editorial to google.docs
Monday, May 11, 2009
grammar practice -when you find yourself with nothing to do...
http://www.harcourtschool.com/menus/preview/harcourt_language/grammar_park.html - easy grammar (grade school) good place to start
http://a4esl.org/q/j/ - more multiple choice grammar practice
http://www.newsroom101.com/ - journalism grammar practice
http://annenberg.usc.edu/images/pdfs/current/GPSE.pdf
http://www.aug.edu/~mduignan/Grammar_%20Practice_%20Web_%20Sites_%20Fall_%2008%5B1%5D.pdf
http://www3.niu.edu/newsplace/grammar.html
http://home.comcast.net/~garbl/writing/grammar.htm
More to follow on this....
http://a4esl.org/q/j/ - more multiple choice grammar practice
http://www.newsroom101.com/ - journalism grammar practice
http://annenberg.usc.edu/images/pdfs/current/GPSE.pdf
http://www.aug.edu/~mduignan/Grammar_%20Practice_%20Web_%20Sites_%20Fall_%2008%5B1%5D.pdf
http://www3.niu.edu/newsplace/grammar.html
http://home.comcast.net/~garbl/writing/grammar.htm
More to follow on this....
Thursday, May 7, 2009
chorus will meet in the studio tomorrow
Please do NOT go to the auditorium tomorrow.
Go to room 326 (the studio across from the pub lab) for chorus.
They are testing in the auditorium.
Thanks
Go to room 326 (the studio across from the pub lab) for chorus.
They are testing in the auditorium.
Thanks
Midterm
Next Friday will be Midterm. Please make up any missing work before then.
You will be doing in class, self-assessments on Tuesday.
You will be doing in class, self-assessments on Tuesday.
Deadline reminders
Tomorrow - Friday, 5/8 - 1st entertainment draft is due in Google.doc... please share your work with me using editing rights - ssackstein@wjps.org
Monday, 5/11 - 2nd draft of news is due in google.docs and 1st draft of feature is due in google.docs
Tuesday, 5/12 - topic for sports is due and final editorial is due in google.docs
Wednesday, 5/13 - 2nd draft of entertainment due in google.docs
Friday, 5/15 - 2nd draft of feature is due in google.docs
Monday, 5/11 - 2nd draft of news is due in google.docs and 1st draft of feature is due in google.docs
Tuesday, 5/12 - topic for sports is due and final editorial is due in google.docs
Wednesday, 5/13 - 2nd draft of entertainment due in google.docs
Friday, 5/15 - 2nd draft of feature is due in google.docs
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Moving to Google docs for last issue
After giving it a good deal of consideration today and listening to Kaity's suggestion about the drafts, I'd like for us to use google.docs for the last issue.
When the articles are due, you can invite me to your docs and I can comment right on the page. Final drafts can be saved as word docs and dropped into the shared folders where appropriate.
What do you think?
When the articles are due, you can invite me to your docs and I can comment right on the page. Final drafts can be saved as word docs and dropped into the shared folders where appropriate.
What do you think?
Monday, May 4, 2009
Couple of things...
We are still not done with the newspaper and I guess we'll be finishing it all up tomorrow...
Fortunately, I have Indesign on my laptop now and am able to convert the files on my computer... seems to be a Mac issue the exporting.
It will definitely be to the printer tomorrow...
We need to debrief what went wrong this time around... quality control is way down and I feel like you aren't communicating with each other... we are going to need to do some team building activities for this last issue.
Come prepared to talk...
Fortunately, I have Indesign on my laptop now and am able to convert the files on my computer... seems to be a Mac issue the exporting.
It will definitely be to the printer tomorrow...
We need to debrief what went wrong this time around... quality control is way down and I feel like you aren't communicating with each other... we are going to need to do some team building activities for this last issue.
Come prepared to talk...
4th issue of the paper
I know there have been many issues completing the 4th issue...
let's try to get it out today and as we work to complete the final issue, lets bear in mind the issues we've had and try to correct them early.
Try to meet deadlines and layout pages as they are finished...
We have a large task ahead of us, but we can do it.
let's try to get it out today and as we work to complete the final issue, lets bear in mind the issues we've had and try to correct them early.
Try to meet deadlines and layout pages as they are finished...
We have a large task ahead of us, but we can do it.
Regent Review
On Saturdays May 9 and May 23rd, Ms. Destefano and I will be running ELA Regent review sessions at school.
The sessions will run 9-12.
We plan on going over all tasks and providing extra practice in completing the multiple choice, test stamina and readiness, and writing more effective essay.
Because the English Regent isn't happening for you this year, this isn't urgent, however, if you want a chance to get a sense of what the test like, you are welcome to join us.
The sessions will run 9-12.
We plan on going over all tasks and providing extra practice in completing the multiple choice, test stamina and readiness, and writing more effective essay.
Because the English Regent isn't happening for you this year, this isn't urgent, however, if you want a chance to get a sense of what the test like, you are welcome to join us.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Literary Magazine
If you have pieces that you have written this year - prose, essays, poems and/or art work you'd like to submit to the literary magazine - please turn it into Ms. Destefano in room 359 ASAP.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Touching Base
I'm sorry I've been out of touch... had a rough week/weekend. We will be finishing the newspaper tomorrow and getting to work on the last issue really baring in mind that we have a lot of work to do.
See you class tomorrow.
See you class tomorrow.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Editorial Topics
Omar Abbs - Teen Depression
Sarah Bianchi - Singers
Giselle Bonilla - Summer dress code for WJPS
Livianette Carbrera - Obsession with plastic surgery
Chris Caraballo - Selling sidekicks
Tanya Castillo - If teens should be allowed to work
Adriana Crotty - Facebook
Kaitlin Cusanelli - Animal Cruelty
Melissa Iachetta - New generation of technological products interfering with our learning and personalities
Andrew Jimenez - DIR
Max Llorente - A million tress in NYC
Ariana Medunjanin - Darwin vs. Religion
Manpriya Nahal - Lack of summer jobs
Erin O'Driscoll -Killer whales
Vinny Gatto - Shark Fin Soup
Georgia Papazafiropoulo - Ownership to school
Anastasia Papis -Why teens should be ban from tanning
Shazia Rahaman - Now music affect us
Victor Rivera - High school dropouts
Eirene Skocos - Paparazzi problem
Jamie Torney - Energy drinks
Eric Vasquez - Are people willing to go green
Sarah Bianchi - Singers
Giselle Bonilla - Summer dress code for WJPS
Livianette Carbrera - Obsession with plastic surgery
Chris Caraballo - Selling sidekicks
Tanya Castillo - If teens should be allowed to work
Adriana Crotty - Facebook
Kaitlin Cusanelli - Animal Cruelty
Melissa Iachetta - New generation of technological products interfering with our learning and personalities
Andrew Jimenez - DIR
Max Llorente - A million tress in NYC
Ariana Medunjanin - Darwin vs. Religion
Manpriya Nahal - Lack of summer jobs
Erin O'Driscoll -Killer whales
Vinny Gatto - Shark Fin Soup
Georgia Papazafiropoulo - Ownership to school
Anastasia Papis -Why teens should be ban from tanning
Shazia Rahaman - Now music affect us
Victor Rivera - High school dropouts
Eirene Skocos - Paparazzi problem
Jamie Torney - Energy drinks
Eric Vasquez - Are people willing to go green
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
FREE TOPIC FOR WHOEVER DOESNT HAVE ONE FOR NEWS!!!!
Okay well today i found out that what ever is left from the morning breakfast given out befor 7:50, that hasen't been given, out get thrown out.. so that can be an issue of wasted food. For instance cereal doesnt have a reason to be thrown out.. its dry.. it can be saved for a while.. they can give it to soup kitchen or something; or a progam that needs food why throw it out? so i thought it might be a good idea. its open to anyone who doesnt have a news topic yet, maybe even editorial. Just let Ms. Sackstein know so we dont have 2+ people doing the same topic..
thankss- Georgina.
thankss- Georgina.
News Topics
Omar Abbas - Skin disease from playing video games
Sarah Bianchi - WJPS on twitter
Giselle Bonilla - Licenses
Livianette Cabrera - Teen strip search goes to Supreme Court
Chris Caraballo - Spirit week
Tanya Castillo - Less jobs for teens this summer
Adriana Crotty - Student sports prevent obesity
Kaitlin Cusanelli - Getting soldiers
Melissa Iachetta - Councilmen Avela running for Mayor
Andrew Jimenez - Dance in June
Max Llorente - The heat Problem in School
Ariana Medunjanin - Class elections
Manpriya Nahal - End of the year chorus concert
Erin O'Driscoll - Swine Flu
Vinny Gatto - After school program
Georgia Papazafiropoulo - North Korea launch
Anastasia Papis - A.P. Exams
Christian Quintiana - Crime rate
Shazia Rahaman - Explosion in Floral park
Victor Rivera - MTA issues
Eirene Skocos - Trips for less
Jamie Torney - Mr. Merdel's computers
Eric Vasquez - Pirates
Task 3- missing page
http://www.nysedregents.org/testing/engre/2-605.pdf - here is page 5 of the task
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Tips for design
http://www.ronreason.com/asne/basics.html
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/02/11/award-winning-newspaper-designs/ -really visually appealing pages... maybe not what you were expecting... but very good
http://www.newsdesigner.com/blog/
https://www.ijnet.org/ijnet/training_materials/ten_tips_for_better_newspaper_design
http://newspaper-journalism.suite101.com/article.cfm/basics_of_newspaper_design
http://www.freep.com/legacy/jobspage/high/index.htm
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/02/11/award-winning-newspaper-designs/ -really visually appealing pages... maybe not what you were expecting... but very good
http://www.newsdesigner.com/blog/
https://www.ijnet.org/ijnet/training_materials/ten_tips_for_better_newspaper_design
http://newspaper-journalism.suite101.com/article.cfm/basics_of_newspaper_design
http://www.freep.com/legacy/jobspage/high/index.htm
Independent Reading due Thursday
April independent reading is due on Thursday
Task 3 is due on Wednesday.
You will be getting a task 4 on Wednesday due next week.
We will be doing task 1 last.... we need class time to work on that.
Task 3 is due on Wednesday.
You will be getting a task 4 on Wednesday due next week.
We will be doing task 1 last.... we need class time to work on that.
4th issue problems
I know you had issues yesterday with the computers... continue to work on the project until it is completed. I will be back in school on Wednesday. I have been out with strep. I am online if you need me...
Any students who are not helping with layout or finishing their articles...
NEWS folks in particular... finish your articles. I've seen drafts... make sure that Melissa gets your finished articles. The News section is essential.
We can also use students drawing pictures to go with articles if we can't get pictures... so my artists... get to work. we need to break the pages of text with some kind of graphic... maybe start considering new graphics for heading breaks... I have other papers to show you.
Any students who are not helping with layout or finishing their articles...
NEWS folks in particular... finish your articles. I've seen drafts... make sure that Melissa gets your finished articles. The News section is essential.
We can also use students drawing pictures to go with articles if we can't get pictures... so my artists... get to work. we need to break the pages of text with some kind of graphic... maybe start considering new graphics for heading breaks... I have other papers to show you.
5th issue deadlines
News-
Topic- April 27
First- May 5
Second- May 11
Final- May 20
Editorials-
Topic- April 27
First- May 1
Second May 6
Final- May 12
Entertainment-
Topic- May 5
First- May 8
Second- May 13
Final- May 20
Feature-
Topic- May 5
Frist- May 11
Second- May 15
Final- May 20
Sports-
Topic- May 12
First- May 18
Second- May 22
Final- May 26
I will be setting up folders on the shared drive and you are expected to have these on the time they are due... you will conference with me or Ms. Cea.
Layout can begin in a section as soon as articles come due. I would suggest us shooting for 40-44 pages... as we will also have the Global history section. This will be a pilot opportunity for other classes to see how they can contribute to the newspaper and an experiment for us. We won't use everyone's but we will use at least 4 pages of global...perhaps even 8. I will leave that up to each of you doing the project.
Pictures are essential to this paper, so please once you figure out what you are writing about, make sure you write down the kind of picture you need for the article so that I can have the photojournalism kids take the specific pictures you need.
you can also draw your own pictures
Monday, April 27, 2009
Online now...
Hey guys,
If anyone is on the blog... I am online now if you have questions. Email me at mssackstein@yahoo.com and I will try to answer your questions ASAP.
Thanks,
Ms. S
Please check your email as well.
If anyone is on the blog... I am online now if you have questions. Email me at mssackstein@yahoo.com and I will try to answer your questions ASAP.
Thanks,
Ms. S
Please check your email as well.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Topic ideas
Please post what you are writing about for the fifth issue for your news articles and opinion pieces...
Anastasia and Erin, please make sure no one is doing the same thing.
Thanks
Anastasia and Erin, please make sure no one is doing the same thing.
Thanks
Monday's class
Sorry guys, but I have to take care of my son today.
We still need to meet deadlines and try to get the whole paper laid out by Tomorrow, Tuesday afternoon.
Please work diligently in class to make sure that work is completed. Stay at lunch if necessary and after school.
Please email me about the progress at the end of the day section heads... once pages are completed, please convert into PDFs and email to me.
Thanks again. I will try to be online during class if I'm not at the doctor with Logan.
We still need to meet deadlines and try to get the whole paper laid out by Tomorrow, Tuesday afternoon.
Please work diligently in class to make sure that work is completed. Stay at lunch if necessary and after school.
Please email me about the progress at the end of the day section heads... once pages are completed, please convert into PDFs and email to me.
Thanks again. I will try to be online during class if I'm not at the doctor with Logan.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Due for Monday, 4/27 - Reminders
Make sure to have topics ready for discussion on your opinion and news articles.
You do not have to do anymore current events unless you haven't completed all of the assignments that were already due.
Your task 3 is due on Wednesday.
Your independent reading assignment is due on Thursday.
You do not have to do anymore current events unless you haven't completed all of the assignments that were already due.
Your task 3 is due on Wednesday.
Your independent reading assignment is due on Thursday.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Editors and section leaders meeting
Sorry ladies, I got called into a last minute meeting with Schneider. Please discuss together possible deadlines for the 5th issue among yourself...
The copy needs to be done by June 8th - work backward from that please...
set deadlines for first drafts - for each article (5 articles)
set deadlines for second drafts - for each article (5 articles)
set deadlines for final drafts and layout - for each article
Let me know what you decide on by Friday and we will post the dates to the blog and put them on the calendar.
The copy needs to be done by June 8th - work backward from that please...
set deadlines for first drafts - for each article (5 articles)
set deadlines for second drafts - for each article (5 articles)
set deadlines for final drafts and layout - for each article
Let me know what you decide on by Friday and we will post the dates to the blog and put them on the calendar.
Class headshots
I will be taking a headshot of everyone in class today for the newspaper.
Just a reminder.
Just a reminder.
Regent Tasks 2 and 3
Today in class you will be given a copy of the Task 2 Rubric and a sample level 6 response to the essay you read. Please review the rubric and read and annotate the sample essay.
Comment to this post about what you notice is necessary to achieve a level six.
You will be given the Task 3 today in class. Read the directions carefully and do all that is asked of you. This Task 3 will be due Wednesday next week, 4/29
Comment to this post about what you notice is necessary to achieve a level six.
You will be given the Task 3 today in class. Read the directions carefully and do all that is asked of you. This Task 3 will be due Wednesday next week, 4/29
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Critique Reflection
Please read the critique given out in class. Reflect on the comments the judge made on our paper... please be specific. We should try to make these changes immediately.
Town Hall on Wednesday
We will have class on Wednesday as the Town Hall meeting is period 1 not period 2. Please come prepared. I won't be letting people go to their lockers... so bring all newspaper related work.
Thanks
Thanks
Monday, April 20, 2009
Welcome back
I encourage all students to continue working dilligently through the rest of the school year. I know as the weather gets nicer, each of you will have the inherent want to pay less attention to school and more attention to the world around you...
I strongly recommend that in these times, you focus more clearly and directly at the task at hand and finish the school year strongly. We are officially in the home stretch.
Keep up your hard work.
I strongly recommend that in these times, you focus more clearly and directly at the task at hand and finish the school year strongly. We are officially in the home stretch.
Keep up your hard work.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
For your consideration
http://coveringeducation.org/schoolstories09/?p=200
This is from when the student came to visit our class... what do you think?
This is from when the student came to visit our class... what do you think?
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
What do you think of this study?
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEAPRIL 6, 2009
NEW NAA FOUNDATION RESEARCH SHEDS LIGHT
ON WHAT TEENS WANT FROM ONLINE NEWS SITES
Latest research conducted by the Media Management Center at Northwestern University
Arlington , Va. – New research sponsored by the Newspaper Association of America Foundation finds that teens have a strong desire to be knowledgeable about the news, but their tendencies to feel “time-starved” and overloaded with information options drive them more toward the “quick news fix” such as search engines or generic portals and less toward newspaper Web sites.
The study, which was conducted by the Media Management Center at Northwestern University , used 90-minute focus groups with 96 teens ages 13-18. Participants were asked to comment on various prototype news site home pages and individual story pages. The participants identified three approaches they typically look for in news Web sites:
A site that encourages interest in the news by focusing attention on a few important stories that are accompanied by photos.
A home page that provides a general sense of the day’s relevant news with simple but enticing pitches for individual stories.
Individual story pages that supplement stories with background and related information, illustration and multiple entry points – all broken into manageable sizes.
“In our focus groups, it was clear that teens were not looking for a ‘youth news site’ that focuses mostly on lifestyle and entertainment content,” said Jeanne Fox-Alston, vice president of the NAA Foundation. “What they really want are news sites that do news well – not dumb the news down or pretend that the writers of the site are experts in teen culture.”
The 12 focus groups were held in six U.S. cities: Denver ; Philadelphia ; Fort Lauderdale ; Fresno , Calif. ; Springfield , Ill. ; and Orangeburg , S.C. Responses from the teens were similar to those of adults who are light readers, according to the researchers. Therefore, the report recommends creating a new type of site – not just for teens, but for all people who lack experience with news and have a limited amount of time to get engaged in it. This approach not only would serve teens better, but also would attract a larger underserved adult audience.
The study -- “Teens Know What They Want From Online News: Do You?” – builds on previous studies of young people conducted in 2008 by the Media Management Center . It was released today during the annual meeting of the Newspaper Association of America.
About the NAA Foundation
The Newspaper Association of America Foundation strives to develop engaged and literate citizens in a diverse society. The Foundation invests in and supports programs designed to enhance student achievement through newspaper readership and appreciation of the First Amendment. The Foundation also endeavors to help media companies increase their readership and audience by offering programs that encourage the cultivation of a more diverse work force in the press. Information about the Foundation and its programs may be found at http://www.naafoundation.org/.
NEW NAA FOUNDATION RESEARCH SHEDS LIGHT
ON WHAT TEENS WANT FROM ONLINE NEWS SITES
Latest research conducted by the Media Management Center at Northwestern University
Arlington , Va. – New research sponsored by the Newspaper Association of America Foundation finds that teens have a strong desire to be knowledgeable about the news, but their tendencies to feel “time-starved” and overloaded with information options drive them more toward the “quick news fix” such as search engines or generic portals and less toward newspaper Web sites.
The study, which was conducted by the Media Management Center at Northwestern University , used 90-minute focus groups with 96 teens ages 13-18. Participants were asked to comment on various prototype news site home pages and individual story pages. The participants identified three approaches they typically look for in news Web sites:
A site that encourages interest in the news by focusing attention on a few important stories that are accompanied by photos.
A home page that provides a general sense of the day’s relevant news with simple but enticing pitches for individual stories.
Individual story pages that supplement stories with background and related information, illustration and multiple entry points – all broken into manageable sizes.
“In our focus groups, it was clear that teens were not looking for a ‘youth news site’ that focuses mostly on lifestyle and entertainment content,” said Jeanne Fox-Alston, vice president of the NAA Foundation. “What they really want are news sites that do news well – not dumb the news down or pretend that the writers of the site are experts in teen culture.”
The 12 focus groups were held in six U.S. cities: Denver ; Philadelphia ; Fort Lauderdale ; Fresno , Calif. ; Springfield , Ill. ; and Orangeburg , S.C. Responses from the teens were similar to those of adults who are light readers, according to the researchers. Therefore, the report recommends creating a new type of site – not just for teens, but for all people who lack experience with news and have a limited amount of time to get engaged in it. This approach not only would serve teens better, but also would attract a larger underserved adult audience.
The study -- “Teens Know What They Want From Online News: Do You?” – builds on previous studies of young people conducted in 2008 by the Media Management Center . It was released today during the annual meeting of the Newspaper Association of America.
About the NAA Foundation
The Newspaper Association of America Foundation strives to develop engaged and literate citizens in a diverse society. The Foundation invests in and supports programs designed to enhance student achievement through newspaper readership and appreciation of the First Amendment. The Foundation also endeavors to help media companies increase their readership and audience by offering programs that encourage the cultivation of a more diverse work force in the press. Information about the Foundation and its programs may be found at http://www.naafoundation.org/.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Task 2 diagnostic
Things to keep in mind while doing this task 2:
- be mindful of the time - you will have approximately 1 hour and a half to do each task (3 hours each day for 2 tasks)
- make sure to read the article thoroughly... annotate and take notes on the side knowing full well what you are looking for.
- read the questions first without looking at the answers
- make sure you use both the chart and the article as well as prior knowledge to write the essay
- make sure all information taken from the chart or article is properly cited either directly or indirectly (make reference to both at least once)
- Do not use any other research
- Remember this is an opportunity for you to show me where you are now... cheating helps no one.
Reminders
In class tomorrow you should be working on completing your editorials. Once editorials and section articles are completed, please drop the final drafts into the shared folder's appropriate folder.
Section leaders, please proofread the final documents before you put them into InDesign so that we have less typo issues.
Final drafts of section due Monday, 4/20
Task 2 from the Regents due on Wed. 4/22 (when we return from break)
Section leaders, please proofread the final documents before you put them into InDesign so that we have less typo issues.
Final drafts of section due Monday, 4/20
Task 2 from the Regents due on Wed. 4/22 (when we return from break)
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Playwriting contest
ANNOUNCEMENT:
New Works of Merit Playwriting Contest is accepting scripts through June 30, 2009 for new works that:
1) Enhance self-realization
2) Support peace and social justice
3) Foster new understanding of=2 0minority issues that focus on racial, ethnic and gender discrimination both in the United States and abroad
4) Empower youth to build healthy inner foundations
5) Educate to gain further insight into healthy social/emotional living
6) Shed new light on religious, spiritual, and cultural differences and issues
7) Build respect for cultural expression and identity in a world that is experiencing rapid globalization
8) Explore the widening gap between the values this country was founded on and the values we present to the world today
2) Support peace and social justice
3) Foster new understanding of=2 0minority issues that focus on racial, ethnic and gender discrimination both in the United States and abroad
4) Empower youth to build healthy inner foundations
5) Educate to gain further insight into healthy social/emotional living
6) Shed new light on religious, spiritual, and cultural differences and issues
7) Build respect for cultural expression and identity in a world that is experiencing rapid globalization
8) Explore the widening gap between the values this country was founded on and the values we present to the world today
For Guidelines and Application Form: PLAYWRITINGCONTEST (dot) CJB (dot) NET
Congratulations on meeting the first deadline
Draft 1 of the editorials were due today and I am pleased to say that all but 3 people turned them in. The three people assured me that the drafts would be in by the end of the day.
Tomorrow you have first drafts of section articles due. We have chorus, but I expect you to have either emailed me the draft tonight (before class) or hand me a hard copy in class tomorrow.
Second drafts are due next week. Some of you have the added task of completing an investigative feature. Make sure you check in with Livi and put final drafts in the shared folder saved in a format we can work with (Microsoft Word 97-03). The computers can't handle the 07 version.
Tomorrow you have first drafts of section articles due. We have chorus, but I expect you to have either emailed me the draft tonight (before class) or hand me a hard copy in class tomorrow.
Second drafts are due next week. Some of you have the added task of completing an investigative feature. Make sure you check in with Livi and put final drafts in the shared folder saved in a format we can work with (Microsoft Word 97-03). The computers can't handle the 07 version.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Hip Hop Workshop - Wed. 3/25
On Wednesday, we will be offering a hip hop workshop to 5 students from each grade who are interested. If you have interest in being a part of this experience, please email me at mssackstein@yahoo.com
The first 5 people to show interest will be notified by tomorrow afternoon.
The first 5 people to show interest will be notified by tomorrow afternoon.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Editorials to read - what do they do well? What can you use in your own writing?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/18/opinion/18wed2.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/opinion/12thu1.html
so more ideas...
What do you notice about these opinion pieces? Are they balanced and persuasive?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/opinion/12thu1.html
so more ideas...
What do you notice about these opinion pieces? Are they balanced and persuasive?
Investigative Feature and Feature
The following people still need to do investigative features: (please make sure that you revisit the assignment to make sure that you meet all requirements - like surveys and secondary sources for research) you must have at least 1 sidebar too.
Omar A
Gisselle B
Tanya C
Adriana C
Kaity C
Vinny G
Andrew J
Arianna M
Pria N
Erin O
Christian
Victor R
Eirene S
Jamie T
****Eric, Chris and Georgina - you all finished yours, but needed to polish and turn in for publication. Please email to me so that I can drop them in the shared folder so that Livi can start planning her next section...
Omar A
Gisselle B
Tanya C
Adriana C
Kaity C
Vinny G
Andrew J
Arianna M
Pria N
Erin O
Christian
Victor R
Eirene S
Jamie T
****Eric, Chris and Georgina - you all finished yours, but needed to polish and turn in for publication. Please email to me so that I can drop them in the shared folder so that Livi can start planning her next section...
First homework of the third trimester
Due for Monday - Current Events #1 - one article (editorial)
Topic for your section article is due (in writing to your section leader)
Reminder that your indpendent reading #1 of third trimester is due on Tuesday, 3/31
Topic for your section article is due (in writing to your section leader)
Reminder that your indpendent reading #1 of third trimester is due on Tuesday, 3/31
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Corrections for the 4th issue
Okay, so now it is time for us to start printing corrections and/or retractions
Corrections/retractions are when we apologize for wrong info and/or misspelling of names in particular.
Ms. Pepe pointed out to me that the caption under Ms. Vitale's picture was incorrect and was very upset about it... Ms. Pepe does the budget, not Ms. Vitale. The picture is of her ordering stuff or writing something... so the caption is misleading. We need to rectify this. Whomever wrote the caption and/or took the picture, pleaase go back to Ms. Vitale and get some information to be printed with the retraction.
Corrections/retractions are when we apologize for wrong info and/or misspelling of names in particular.
Ms. Pepe pointed out to me that the caption under Ms. Vitale's picture was incorrect and was very upset about it... Ms. Pepe does the budget, not Ms. Vitale. The picture is of her ordering stuff or writing something... so the caption is misleading. We need to rectify this. Whomever wrote the caption and/or took the picture, pleaase go back to Ms. Vitale and get some information to be printed with the retraction.
3rd issue reflection
Please read the third issue for homework tonight and think about what we are doing well...
What did we do well? specifically.
What do we need to make more improvements? Be specific...
Overall, what did you think? What articles and pages looked best? Why?
Please start looking for corrections for our first ever corrections box in the 4th issue...
For instance, Omar was given credit for "Kill for your life" when Victor wrote it.
What did we do well? specifically.
What do we need to make more improvements? Be specific...
Overall, what did you think? What articles and pages looked best? Why?
Please start looking for corrections for our first ever corrections box in the 4th issue...
For instance, Omar was given credit for "Kill for your life" when Victor wrote it.
Regent diagnostics
In an effort to make sure that you are all at least exposed to what the Regents look like this year, I have decided at the end of the year, we will be doing a Regents exam in pieces. You will get to look at the questions and we will go over what is being expected of you. You will write the essays and I will give you an idea of where you are at now and where you need work for the real deal.
I don't want you to be surprised next year when you take the test.
This will be discussed further in class.
I don't want you to be surprised next year when you take the test.
This will be discussed further in class.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
IMPORTANT - read this post
Please copy all of the below dates into your planners -
Please post that you have read and wrote down all of the below information.Current Events #1 - due for Monday, 3/23 (must be an editorial) - only 1 article
Current Events #2 - due for Monday, 3/30 (must be an editorial) - only 1 article
Current Events #3 - due for Monday, 4/6 (must be an editorial) - only 1 article
Current Events #4 - due for Monday, 4/20 (must be whatever section you are working in) - 1 article
Please read the editorial handouts given in class, annotate and take notes... more to follow on this...
Independent reading #1 for 3rd trimester has been pushed back to 3/31 (Tuesday)
Independent reading #2 due 4/30
Independent reading #3 due 5/29
No person will be changing sections for the 4th issue.
Editorial timeline -
Topic due on Tuesday, 3/24
First draft due on Thursday, 3/26
Second draft due on Monday, 3/30
Final draft due on Wednesday, 4/8 (day before break)
Section article:
topics due Monday, 3/23 (please see the blog for things that have to be covered)
First drafts due Friday, 3/27
Second drafts due Friday, 4/3
Final drafts due Monday, 4/20 (when we return from break)
Regent diagnostics -
Task 2 - will be given over break (4/8) due Wednesday, 4/22 when you return
Task 3 - will be given on Friday (4/24) and will be due on Wednesday, 4/29
Task 4 - will be given on Friday (5/1) and will be due on Wednesday, 5/6
Task 1 - listening passage will be done on Friday, 5/8 and the essay will be due on Monday, 5/11
The 5th and final issue will be set to come out 6/5 -
In this issue, everyone will be writing 1 article for each section (1 news article, 1 feature, 1 entertainment, 1 editorial and 1 sports * if you didn't complete an investigative feature, 1 of these as well) Every person will have to lay out at least 1 page of the issue...
*******If you DO NOT comply with all of the deadlines, your piece will NOT appear in the next issue set to come out April 30th... (Finished by 4/27)
******We will know what is going in by the time all second drafts are due. We will be planning layout by Friday, 4/3
Monday, March 16, 2009
debate coverage
Please see Ms. Moreno for information about Urban Debate league from this weekend for the 4th issue...
Also the Comedy Night with the concert should be covered.
Also the Comedy Night with the concert should be covered.
Friday, March 13, 2009
NSTA Express: Students Benefit from Depth, Rather Than Breadth, in High School Science Courses
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090305131814.htm - What do you think of this?
How well does our school do this?
How well does our school do this?
Possible news or feature story idea - see below
Unless You Take Action, You Will Not Receive Free TV On Analog Sets From Roof-Top Antennae Or Rabbit Ears From Most TV Stations After June 12, 2009.
Digital TV ConversionCongress has mandated that all “full-power” TV stations cease broadcasting in analog after June 12, 2009, and broadcast only in digital. Virtually all TV stations are full-power. Many of these stations have already stopped analog broadcasting.
Digital broadcasting promises to provide a clearer picture and more programming options and will free up airwaves for use by emergency responders.
Your TV set will be affected if it is an analog set that receives signals from rabbit ears or a VHF-only antenna. You’ll need to look at every TV set you have. Even if one TV set is not at risk, others in your home may be.
If you have one or more of these sets and haven’t taken appropriate action, your set has already lost some stations and will lose almost (if not all) stations after June 12.
OPTIONS TO KEEP RECEIVING TV SIGNALS
Consumers at risk of losing TV signals have three options:
Keep your existing analog TV and purchase a TV converter box and possibly a new antenna. A converter box plugs into your TV and will keep it working for stations which turn off their analog transmissions; or
Purchase a television with a digital tuner; or
Connect your TV set to a cable, satellite or other pay service.
Most full-power TV stations are already broadcasting in digital (even if they are still broadcasting in analog). You need not wait until June 12 to get the benefits of digital television.
Note that even analog TV sets that lose TV reception should still work with gaming consoles, VCRs, DVD players, and similar products
PURCHASING A TV CONVERTER BOX
Most converter boxes range from $40 to $80, although some can run higher than $100.
When installing the converter box, the directions will instruct you to “scan” the channels to make sure the box picks up everything available. Since digital stations are becoming available regularly, and existing digital stations may be changing to different channel locations or adding subchannels over time, you should rescan on a periodic basis to get all of the digital programming available.
Converter-Box Coupon ProgramTo defray the cost of the boxes, Congress created the TV Converter Box Coupon Program for households wishing to keep using their analog TV sets after stations stop broadcasting in analog. The Program allows U.S. households to obtain up to two coupons, each worth $40, that can be applied toward the cost of eligible converter boxes. However, residents of state-licensed intermediate-care, assisted-living and nursing-home facilities whose only address is the facility itself may only request one coupon.
You can only use one coupon per converter box.
Due to a high demand for coupons from the program, consumers requesting coupons are being placed on a waiting list. The federal government will mail coupons to these people on a first-come-first-served basis, as funds from expired coupons become available. Recent legislation now allows consumers with expired coupons to re-apply for new ones. Also, President Obama’s Stimulus Package has allocated money for this program, which may reduce the number of people on the waiting list.
To avoid being on the waiting list, you should ask friends, family members or neighbors if they have unexpired coupons that they don’t need. Note that coupons can only be given for free; they cannot be bought and sold.
Please note that coupons only reduce the cost of a converter box. If you like, you can purchase the converter box at full price (if you don’t have a coupon).
You should always protect yourself about coupons and setting up converter boxes by keeping these rules in mind:
Never pay for a coupon for a digital converter box. The coupons are free from the federal government.
Don't give your Social Security number or other sensitive financial information when you order - or redeem - your coupon.
If you return a converter box you bought using a coupon, you can't get the value of the coupon back. Before you buy a converter box, ask the retailer about the box's features, any manufacturer's warranty, and the store's return policy.
Before you leave the store with your new converter box, check to make sure installation instructions are included. If you have questions, ask the retailer to explain the installation - or check to see whether the manufacturer offers a toll-free help line. You can find general installation instructions at www.dtv.gov/publications.html.
Installing a converter box is easy, but if you decide to hire someone to install it, get the price in writing before you agree to the job, and put any personal information you may keep in your home in a safe place.
Ignore any offer for a "free" converter box, especially if it requires you to pay for shipping or a warranty. The companies that are making these offers are not certified by the government, and their converter boxes are not eligible for the coupon program.
PUCHASING A NEW ANTENNA
Do I need a new antenna to get free TV signals?
Until June 12, rabbit ears or a VHF-only antenna will only pick up three stations: WABC (channel 7), WPIX (channel 11), and WNET (channel 13). Rabbit ears by themselves or a VHF-only antenna will not pick up any station after June 12.
If you want additional free TV from other stations, you'll have to have a "loop" antenna with the rabbit ears or a "combination VHF/UHF" antenna. A combination antenna picks up channels 2-13 (VHF) and 14-83 (UHF).
TV sets with digital turners or those hooked up to a cable, satellite or other pay service need not purchase an antenna.
How can I get the best signal?If you're having trouble receiving stations after hooking up a converter box with an indoor antenna, you should try moving the antenna around and changing its angle. If that doesn't work, you may need to get a different indoor antenna design or consider changing to an outdoor antenna. In general, mounting an antenna higher gets better reception.
Generally, an outdoor antenna will get better reception than an indoor antenna. While older combination antennas will get all over-the-air channels, newer designs may work better in some situations. The best antenna type for you depends on how far you are from the transmitting station, whether you live in a house or an apartment, and whether there are hills, tall buildings or large trees near your home. Your can find suggestions for appropriate outdoor antennas by entering their street address at www.antennaweb.org. Using geographical maps and signal strengths, the site's database predicts which stations are available at a particular location, the type of antenna needed and which direction to which the antenna needs to be pointed.
Viewers can also visit www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/dtvantennas.html for more information
Will my building's master antenna system work with digital TV signals?
What is a Master Antenna System?Some people who live in an apartment building, condominium, home owners' association, high-rise, co-op or other multiple-dwelling units receive local TV stations through a master antenna system, sometimes called a common antenna or an "MATV" system. These antenna systems receive TV signals through an antenna on the roof or in a central location and provide the signals through wiring in the building or development that connects to the TV set in individual apartments or homes. Some of these systems provide the local TV stations for free, and some of them are packaged with satellite programming and charge a fee. These shared or community antenna systems are sometimes known as satellite master antenna systems, or "SMATVs.” Also, some people who live in multiple-dwelling units receive local TV stations through a private cable operator serving just one building or homeowners' development.
How is this different from having cable in my building?If you subscribe to the cable TV service offered in your city or town, or if you subscribe individually to satellite TV service and receive your local channels through your own satellite dish, you will continue to receive your local broadcast channels without having to buy a digital television or DTV converter box.
Will my apartment building’s master antenna system work with digital TV signals?If you receive local TV stations through a shared antenna or private cable system serving just your building or homeowners' development, then you need to check with your building, landlord, condo association, co-op association, home owners' association, or private cable operator to find out if you need to take action to continue to receive local stations after the analog signals are turned off.
Many of these antenna systems will need some adjustment so that the digital signals can be received and delivered through the wiring to your apartment or home for you to view with a digital converter box or with a digital television set. Each building's antenna system is different, so check with your landlord, building manager, homeowner or condo association or video provider to find out how you are affected.
TELEVISIONS WITH DIGITAL TUNERS
If your TV set has a built-in digital tuner, then you will continue to receive free programming after the transition. To determine if your has this tuner, look on the set for an indication of an Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) tuner or ask the TV manufacturer. If you want to buy a set with a digital tuner, you should know that all television sets now being sold must either contain a digital tuner or have a label showing it does not have the tuner.
TELEVISIONS CONNECTED TO A CABLE, SATELLITE OR OTHER PAY SERVICE
Any TV sets connected to any of these services will not be affected by this transition.
ROLE OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK
The DTV transition and the coupon program are mandated by federal law and regulations and are administered solely by the federal government. The City of New York has no ability to change any aspect of the transition or coupon program.
MORE INFORMATION
For more information on the transition, visit www.dtv.gov, call 311, 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) (voice) or 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322) (TTY), or send an e-mail to DTVinfo@fcc.gov. For more information on the coupon program, visit www.dtv2009.gov, call 1-888-DTV-2009 (1-888-388-2009) (voice), 1-877-530-2634 (English/TTY) or 1-866-495-1161 (Spanish/TTY), or send an e-mail to https://www.dtv2009.gov/ContactUs.aspx.
INFORMATION IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has posted instructions for setting up converter boxes in Spanish, Amharic, Arabic, Bosnian, Cambodian, Chinese, Creole, Farsi, French, Greek, Hmong, Ilokano, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Kurdish, Laotian, Navajo, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Samoan, Somali, Sudanese, Tagalog, Taiwanese, Thai, Tongan, Vietnamese and Yupik at http://www.dtv.gov/publications.html. The FCC will soon be posting general information about the transition in the same languages at the same website.
Digital TV ConversionCongress has mandated that all “full-power” TV stations cease broadcasting in analog after June 12, 2009, and broadcast only in digital. Virtually all TV stations are full-power. Many of these stations have already stopped analog broadcasting.
Digital broadcasting promises to provide a clearer picture and more programming options and will free up airwaves for use by emergency responders.
Your TV set will be affected if it is an analog set that receives signals from rabbit ears or a VHF-only antenna. You’ll need to look at every TV set you have. Even if one TV set is not at risk, others in your home may be.
If you have one or more of these sets and haven’t taken appropriate action, your set has already lost some stations and will lose almost (if not all) stations after June 12.
OPTIONS TO KEEP RECEIVING TV SIGNALS
Consumers at risk of losing TV signals have three options:
Keep your existing analog TV and purchase a TV converter box and possibly a new antenna. A converter box plugs into your TV and will keep it working for stations which turn off their analog transmissions; or
Purchase a television with a digital tuner; or
Connect your TV set to a cable, satellite or other pay service.
Most full-power TV stations are already broadcasting in digital (even if they are still broadcasting in analog). You need not wait until June 12 to get the benefits of digital television.
Note that even analog TV sets that lose TV reception should still work with gaming consoles, VCRs, DVD players, and similar products
PURCHASING A TV CONVERTER BOX
Most converter boxes range from $40 to $80, although some can run higher than $100.
When installing the converter box, the directions will instruct you to “scan” the channels to make sure the box picks up everything available. Since digital stations are becoming available regularly, and existing digital stations may be changing to different channel locations or adding subchannels over time, you should rescan on a periodic basis to get all of the digital programming available.
Converter-Box Coupon ProgramTo defray the cost of the boxes, Congress created the TV Converter Box Coupon Program for households wishing to keep using their analog TV sets after stations stop broadcasting in analog. The Program allows U.S. households to obtain up to two coupons, each worth $40, that can be applied toward the cost of eligible converter boxes. However, residents of state-licensed intermediate-care, assisted-living and nursing-home facilities whose only address is the facility itself may only request one coupon.
You can only use one coupon per converter box.
Due to a high demand for coupons from the program, consumers requesting coupons are being placed on a waiting list. The federal government will mail coupons to these people on a first-come-first-served basis, as funds from expired coupons become available. Recent legislation now allows consumers with expired coupons to re-apply for new ones. Also, President Obama’s Stimulus Package has allocated money for this program, which may reduce the number of people on the waiting list.
To avoid being on the waiting list, you should ask friends, family members or neighbors if they have unexpired coupons that they don’t need. Note that coupons can only be given for free; they cannot be bought and sold.
Please note that coupons only reduce the cost of a converter box. If you like, you can purchase the converter box at full price (if you don’t have a coupon).
You should always protect yourself about coupons and setting up converter boxes by keeping these rules in mind:
Never pay for a coupon for a digital converter box. The coupons are free from the federal government.
Don't give your Social Security number or other sensitive financial information when you order - or redeem - your coupon.
If you return a converter box you bought using a coupon, you can't get the value of the coupon back. Before you buy a converter box, ask the retailer about the box's features, any manufacturer's warranty, and the store's return policy.
Before you leave the store with your new converter box, check to make sure installation instructions are included. If you have questions, ask the retailer to explain the installation - or check to see whether the manufacturer offers a toll-free help line. You can find general installation instructions at www.dtv.gov/publications.html.
Installing a converter box is easy, but if you decide to hire someone to install it, get the price in writing before you agree to the job, and put any personal information you may keep in your home in a safe place.
Ignore any offer for a "free" converter box, especially if it requires you to pay for shipping or a warranty. The companies that are making these offers are not certified by the government, and their converter boxes are not eligible for the coupon program.
PUCHASING A NEW ANTENNA
Do I need a new antenna to get free TV signals?
Until June 12, rabbit ears or a VHF-only antenna will only pick up three stations: WABC (channel 7), WPIX (channel 11), and WNET (channel 13). Rabbit ears by themselves or a VHF-only antenna will not pick up any station after June 12.
If you want additional free TV from other stations, you'll have to have a "loop" antenna with the rabbit ears or a "combination VHF/UHF" antenna. A combination antenna picks up channels 2-13 (VHF) and 14-83 (UHF).
TV sets with digital turners or those hooked up to a cable, satellite or other pay service need not purchase an antenna.
How can I get the best signal?If you're having trouble receiving stations after hooking up a converter box with an indoor antenna, you should try moving the antenna around and changing its angle. If that doesn't work, you may need to get a different indoor antenna design or consider changing to an outdoor antenna. In general, mounting an antenna higher gets better reception.
Generally, an outdoor antenna will get better reception than an indoor antenna. While older combination antennas will get all over-the-air channels, newer designs may work better in some situations. The best antenna type for you depends on how far you are from the transmitting station, whether you live in a house or an apartment, and whether there are hills, tall buildings or large trees near your home. Your can find suggestions for appropriate outdoor antennas by entering their street address at www.antennaweb.org. Using geographical maps and signal strengths, the site's database predicts which stations are available at a particular location, the type of antenna needed and which direction to which the antenna needs to be pointed.
Viewers can also visit www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/dtvantennas.html for more information
Will my building's master antenna system work with digital TV signals?
What is a Master Antenna System?Some people who live in an apartment building, condominium, home owners' association, high-rise, co-op or other multiple-dwelling units receive local TV stations through a master antenna system, sometimes called a common antenna or an "MATV" system. These antenna systems receive TV signals through an antenna on the roof or in a central location and provide the signals through wiring in the building or development that connects to the TV set in individual apartments or homes. Some of these systems provide the local TV stations for free, and some of them are packaged with satellite programming and charge a fee. These shared or community antenna systems are sometimes known as satellite master antenna systems, or "SMATVs.” Also, some people who live in multiple-dwelling units receive local TV stations through a private cable operator serving just one building or homeowners' development.
How is this different from having cable in my building?If you subscribe to the cable TV service offered in your city or town, or if you subscribe individually to satellite TV service and receive your local channels through your own satellite dish, you will continue to receive your local broadcast channels without having to buy a digital television or DTV converter box.
Will my apartment building’s master antenna system work with digital TV signals?If you receive local TV stations through a shared antenna or private cable system serving just your building or homeowners' development, then you need to check with your building, landlord, condo association, co-op association, home owners' association, or private cable operator to find out if you need to take action to continue to receive local stations after the analog signals are turned off.
Many of these antenna systems will need some adjustment so that the digital signals can be received and delivered through the wiring to your apartment or home for you to view with a digital converter box or with a digital television set. Each building's antenna system is different, so check with your landlord, building manager, homeowner or condo association or video provider to find out how you are affected.
TELEVISIONS WITH DIGITAL TUNERS
If your TV set has a built-in digital tuner, then you will continue to receive free programming after the transition. To determine if your has this tuner, look on the set for an indication of an Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) tuner or ask the TV manufacturer. If you want to buy a set with a digital tuner, you should know that all television sets now being sold must either contain a digital tuner or have a label showing it does not have the tuner.
TELEVISIONS CONNECTED TO A CABLE, SATELLITE OR OTHER PAY SERVICE
Any TV sets connected to any of these services will not be affected by this transition.
ROLE OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK
The DTV transition and the coupon program are mandated by federal law and regulations and are administered solely by the federal government. The City of New York has no ability to change any aspect of the transition or coupon program.
MORE INFORMATION
For more information on the transition, visit www.dtv.gov, call 311, 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) (voice) or 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322) (TTY), or send an e-mail to DTVinfo@fcc.gov. For more information on the coupon program, visit www.dtv2009.gov, call 1-888-DTV-2009 (1-888-388-2009) (voice), 1-877-530-2634 (English/TTY) or 1-866-495-1161 (Spanish/TTY), or send an e-mail to https://www.dtv2009.gov/ContactUs.aspx.
INFORMATION IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has posted instructions for setting up converter boxes in Spanish, Amharic, Arabic, Bosnian, Cambodian, Chinese, Creole, Farsi, French, Greek, Hmong, Ilokano, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Kurdish, Laotian, Navajo, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Samoan, Somali, Sudanese, Tagalog, Taiwanese, Thai, Tongan, Vietnamese and Yupik at http://www.dtv.gov/publications.html. The FCC will soon be posting general information about the transition in the same languages at the same website.
Upcoming events to be covered for the 4th issue
The 4th issue will come out April 30th
The 5th and final issue will come out June 5th
- Spanish spelling bee 3/23 and 3/30 - Mr. Vargas and Ms. Garzon are your contact people
- Town hall meeting for middle school - 3/18
- Town hall meeting for whole school -3/25
- portfolio conferences 3/26-3/27 (possible editorials here too - pro/con?)
- 6th grade Alley Pond trip on 3/31
- Urban Voices concert - 7th and 10th grade - review
- Model UN competition - Ms. Fong is contact person
- Debate - Ms. Moreno is the contact person
- Queensborough Community College performance -4/23- Poulos
- College trips - review
- College profiles (of the schools visited)
- Student profiles (select 2 students that are note worthy)
- 1 teacher profile
- JV basketball finals (Francis Lewis HS) 3/13
- All high school sports at Francis Lewis - see Millman for coach names and contacts
- 8th grade book club/lumetta's book club (Sackstein/lumetta)
- International Photography Museum field trip for photojournalism - March 29th
- Testing in the middle school/practicing testing in the high school - past
- spotlight on classroom projects
The 5th and final issue will come out June 5th
- end of year activities
- regent testing and preparation
- tbd
Independent reading assignment #1 - 3rd trimester
The first independent reading assignment (officially the 6th) is due March 27th (Friday) -
Yes this is portfolio conference day, but we have class in the morning and I expect the assignments come in.
It is the first major assignment of the last trimester... lets all try to stay on top of the work this trimester, end things right.
Independent reading assignment #2 will be due on Thursday, April 30th.
Yes this is portfolio conference day, but we have class in the morning and I expect the assignments come in.
It is the first major assignment of the last trimester... lets all try to stay on top of the work this trimester, end things right.
Independent reading assignment #2 will be due on Thursday, April 30th.
Current Events
There will be no current events assignment due Until March 23rd - the first one in the new trimester (This means there is no assignment due on Monday this week coming up)
Current events #1 - it will have to be on editorial taken from the NY Times
Current events #1 - it will have to be on editorial taken from the NY Times
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Investigative Feature
If you never finished your investigative feature (got a grade of 2 or better), then you MUST continue to work on it and turn it in.
Please check teacherease to find out if you still haven't turned in a final.
We will be running these investigative features for the rest of the school year in each of the papers... so you are NOT off the hook if you didn't complete it for this trimester.
Please check teacherease to find out if you still haven't turned in a final.
We will be running these investigative features for the rest of the school year in each of the papers... so you are NOT off the hook if you didn't complete it for this trimester.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
How to use Teacherease for the 1000th time
Please do not look at the grade you have on teacherease...
use this tool as a way to know what you are missing and to record what you have received on finished work... make sure to read the comments written on there as well.
As far as knowing where you stand, refer to the following:
4= A
3=B
2=C
1= Needs Improvement
other break downs:
3.5= A-/B+
2.5=B-/C+
1.5=C-
I hope this helps... when I tabulate grades, I look at your standards and the work you have completed. If you would like to have a conference about your grades, please email me... Do NOT post it to this blog.
use this tool as a way to know what you are missing and to record what you have received on finished work... make sure to read the comments written on there as well.
As far as knowing where you stand, refer to the following:
4= A
3=B
2=C
1= Needs Improvement
other break downs:
3.5= A-/B+
2.5=B-/C+
1.5=C-
I hope this helps... when I tabulate grades, I look at your standards and the work you have completed. If you would like to have a conference about your grades, please email me... Do NOT post it to this blog.
3rd issue
In an effort to complete the 3rd issue on time (Monday by the end of the class), I'd like to see all hands on deck at lunch on Thursday and Friday.
In class, all students should be working toward completing the paper. Monday in class all members of all sections should be working together to complete their pages.
Every section is looking to have 4 pages. We have some extra editorials from the foundations class, so we can always add more pages to that section.
Every student should be working to hand in their sports article, and section article as well as investigative feature which was due a long time ago. We will never be able to get together a whole section with only 5 finished pieces. So please make sure you continue to work on these pieces have them done ASAP.
All make up work is due tomorrow for the 2nd trimester (blog posts and anything that can be emailed). Since we don't have class, if you get big writing assignments into me on Thursday in class, that will be okay with all prior drafts.
Your work WILL NOT go into the paper if it is not complete.
In class, all students should be working toward completing the paper. Monday in class all members of all sections should be working together to complete their pages.
Every section is looking to have 4 pages. We have some extra editorials from the foundations class, so we can always add more pages to that section.
Every student should be working to hand in their sports article, and section article as well as investigative feature which was due a long time ago. We will never be able to get together a whole section with only 5 finished pieces. So please make sure you continue to work on these pieces have them done ASAP.
All make up work is due tomorrow for the 2nd trimester (blog posts and anything that can be emailed). Since we don't have class, if you get big writing assignments into me on Thursday in class, that will be okay with all prior drafts.
Your work WILL NOT go into the paper if it is not complete.
make up work
Tomorrow is the last day make up work will be accepted for the second trimester... this includes all rewrites, papers, and blog posts.
Portfolio pulling should be happening now, please make sure you go through your work in progress folder in class and select the pieces you'd like to put into your portfolio and make sure to write standard based reflections on each piece. You should try to select 3 pieces.
Portfolio pulling should be happening now, please make sure you go through your work in progress folder in class and select the pieces you'd like to put into your portfolio and make sure to write standard based reflections on each piece. You should try to select 3 pieces.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Beats
As we are wrapping up teaching new information this year, I want us to start working beats -
beat reporters "cover breaking news and features in specific geographic and subject areas every day, such as police and fire departments; county and federal courts; and city, county and state governments. They generally come up with their own story ideas, based on knowledge of their beats and constant contact with sources"(p.6 Itule/Anderson) from News Writing and Reporting for Today's Media.
Some beats I'd like us to have in the paper are:
beat reporters "cover breaking news and features in specific geographic and subject areas every day, such as police and fire departments; county and federal courts; and city, county and state governments. They generally come up with their own story ideas, based on knowledge of their beats and constant contact with sources"(p.6 Itule/Anderson) from News Writing and Reporting for Today's Media.
Some beats I'd like us to have in the paper are:
- Student government
- Clubs
- Francis Lewis Sports
- Outside Sports
- Meet the teachers
- Intro to colleges
- Student profiles
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Fullsail University
Tomorrow at the Town Hall Meeting there will be a guest speaker from Full Sail University. I'd like use to cover their presentation in the next issue... If you would like to take on this opportunity or consider doing the college beat (I'd like to highlight different colleges in every issue)
Heather Minarovic High School Outreach Liaison Admissions Department Full Sail University
T 407.679.0100 ext. 8619 C 610.451.1372 F 407.551.2032
3300 University Boulevard Winter Park, FL 32792
Website http://www.fullsail.com/
Online Catalog www.fullsail.com/fs1/catalog
Online Enrollment Application www.fullsail.com/enap.cfm
Apply for Financial aid http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ (Full Sail School Code: 016812)
“Full Sail University Awarded College of the Year by Florida Association of Postsecondary Schools & Colleges”
ABOUT FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY
Full Sail (ACCSCT, Accredited School) offers a real world education in the entertainment media arts. Creative students from all over the globe come to Full Sail to turn their interests in music, animation, film, gaming, the Web, and many other facets of the media arts into fulfilling careers. By paring a passion for the entertainment business with hands on education, we help students launch the careers they only read about!
The person coming to present is: Kathryn f. hoxie I regional admissions representative I new york I full sail university
m 407.637.4013 I t 800.226.7625 I f 888.204.9742
3300 university boulevard I winter park, fl I 32792
Please write down questions you have for her based on her presentation and then you can interview her before she leaves. We can get pictures too of her being interviewed.
Heather Minarovic High School Outreach Liaison Admissions Department Full Sail University
T 407.679.0100 ext. 8619 C 610.451.1372 F 407.551.2032
3300 University Boulevard Winter Park, FL 32792
Website http://www.fullsail.com/
Online Catalog www.fullsail.com/fs1/catalog
Online Enrollment Application www.fullsail.com/enap.cfm
Apply for Financial aid http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ (Full Sail School Code: 016812)
“Full Sail University Awarded College of the Year by Florida Association of Postsecondary Schools & Colleges”
ABOUT FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY
Full Sail (ACCSCT, Accredited School) offers a real world education in the entertainment media arts. Creative students from all over the globe come to Full Sail to turn their interests in music, animation, film, gaming, the Web, and many other facets of the media arts into fulfilling careers. By paring a passion for the entertainment business with hands on education, we help students launch the careers they only read about!
The person coming to present is: Kathryn f. hoxie I regional admissions representative I new york I full sail university
m 407.637.4013 I t 800.226.7625 I f 888.204.9742
3300 university boulevard I winter park, fl I 32792
Please write down questions you have for her based on her presentation and then you can interview her before she leaves. We can get pictures too of her being interviewed.
Please select three pieces that you feel best displays your command of the standards we have worked on so far in this trimester...
Major assignments that should be considered are:
- Section articles
- investigative feature
- sports article
- independent reading assignments
- current events assignments
- a collection of good blog posts
Please make sure to reflect on your selections particularly discussing the standards and skills your work is displaying. We need these completed by 3/20
Visit nylearns.org to look up standards.
The trimester ends 3/20
All make up work must be turned in no later than Wed. 3/11.
Rally that needs coverage
PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. THERE HAS BEEN A TIME CHANGE FOR OUR BROADWAY-FLUSHING LANDMARK RALLY SCHEDULED FOR SUNDAY, MARCH 8TH. THE NEW TIME IS 10 AM AT THE SAME LOCATION 32ND AVE AND 159TH STREET. COUNCILMAN AVELLA HAS A CONFLICT AND MUST BE IN STATEN ISLAND AT 1 PM.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE
Rewards for Students Under a Microscope - From the Science Times today... Please read and make comments about the content and writing style
This copy is for your personal, noncommercial use only. You can order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers here or use the "Reprints" tool that appears next to any article. Visit www.nytreprints.com for samples and additional information. Order a reprint of this article now.
March 3, 2009
Rewards for Students Under a Microscope
By LISA GUERNSEY
For decades, psychologists have warned against giving children prizes or money for their performance in school. “Extrinsic” rewards, they say — a stuffed animal for a 4-year-old who learns her alphabet, cash for a good report card in middle or high school — can undermine the joy of learning for its own sake and can even lead to cheating.
But many economists and businesspeople disagree, and their views often prevail in the educational marketplace. Reward programs that pay students are under way in many cities. In some places, students can bring home hundreds of dollars for, say, taking an Advanced Placement course and scoring well on the exam.
Whether such efforts work or backfire “continues to be a raging debate,” said Barbara A. Marinak, an assistant professor of education at Penn State, who opposes using prizes as incentives. Among parents, the issue often stirs intense discussion. And in public education, a new focus on school reform has led researchers on both sides of the debate to intensify efforts to gather data that may provide insights on when and if rewards work.
“We have to get beyond our biases,” said Roland Fryer, an economist at Harvard University who is designing and testing several reward programs. “Fortunately, the scientific method allows us to get to most of those biases and let the data do the talking.”
What is clear is that reward programs are proliferating, especially in high-poverty areas. In New York City and Dallas, high school students are paid for doing well on Advanced Placement tests. In New York, the payouts come from an education reform group called Rewarding Achievement (Reach for short), financed by the Pershing Square Foundation, a charity founded by the hedge fund manager Bill Ackman. The Dallas program is run by Advanced Placement Strategies, a Texas nonprofit group whose chairman is the philanthropist Peter O’Donnell.
Another experiment was started last fall in 14 public schools in Washington that are distributing checks for good grades, attendance and behavior. That program, Capital Gains, is being financed by a partnership with SunTrust Bank, Borders and Ed Labs at Harvard, which is run by Dr. Fryer. Another program by Ed Labs is getting started in Chicago.
Other systems are about stuff more than money, and most are not evaluated scientifically. At 80 tutoring centers in eight states run by Score! Educational Centers, a national for-profit company run by Kaplan Inc., students are encouraged to rack up points for good work and redeem them for prizes like jump-ropes.
An increasing number of online educational games entice children to keep playing by giving them online currency to buy, say, virtual pets. And around the country, elementary school children get tokens to redeem at gift shops in schools when they behave well.
In the cash programs being studied, economists compare the academic performance of groups of students who are paid and students who are not. Results from the first year of the A.P. program in New York showed that test scores were flat but that more students were taking the tests, said Edward Rodriguez, the program’s executive director.
In Dallas, where teachers are also paid for students’ high A.P. scores, students who are rewarded score higher on the SAT and enroll in college at a higher rate than those who are not, according to Kirabo Jackson, an assistant professor of economics at Cornell who has written about the program for the journal Education Next.
Still, many psychologists warn that early data can be deceiving. Research suggests that rewards may work in the short term but have damaging effects in the long term.
One of the first such studies was published in 1971 by Edward L. Deci, a psychologist at the University of Rochester, who reported that once the incentives stopped coming, students showed less interest in the task at hand than those who received no reward.
This kind of psychological research was popularized by the writer Alfie Kohn, whose 1993 book “Punished by Rewards: The Trouble With Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, Praise and Other Bribes” is still often cited by educators and parents. Mr. Kohn says he sees “social amnesia” in the renewed interest in incentive programs.
“If we’re using gimmicks like rewards to try to improve achievement without regard to how they affect kids’ desire to learn,” he said, “we kill the goose that laid the golden egg.”
Dr. Marinak, of Penn State, and Linda B. Gambrell, a professor of education at Clemson University, published a study last year in the journal Literacy Research and Instruction showing that rewarding third graders with so-called tokens, like toys and candy, diminished the time they spent reading.
“A number of the kids who received tokens didn’t even return to reading at all,” Dr. Marinak said.
Why does motivation seem to fall away? Some researchers theorize that even at an early age, children can sense that someone is trying to control their behavior. Their reaction is to resist. “One of the central questions is to consider how children think about this,” said Mark R. Lepper, a psychologist at Stanford whose 1973 study of 50 preschool-age children came to a conclusion similar to Dr. Deci’s. “Are they saying, ‘Oh, I see, they are just bribing me’?”
More than 100 academic studies have explored how and when rewards work on people of all ages, and researchers have offered competing analyses of what the studies, taken together, really mean.
Judith Cameron, an emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Alberta, found positive traits in some types of reward systems. But in keeping with the work of other psychologists, her studies show that some students, once reward systems are over, will choose not to do the activity if the system provides subpar performers with a smaller prize than the reward for achievers.
Many cash-based programs being tested today, however, are designed to do just that. Dr. Deci asks educators to consider the effect of monetary rewards on students with learning disabilities. When they go home with a smaller payout while seeing other students receive checks for $500, Dr. Deci said, they may feel unfairly punished and even less excited to go to school.
“There are suggestions of students making in the thousands of dollars,” he said. “The stress of that, for kids from homes with no money, I frankly think it’s unconscionable.”
Economists, on the other hand, argue that with students who are failing, everything should be tried, including rewards. While students may be simply attracted by financial incentives at first, couldn’t that evolve into a love of learning?
“They may work a little harder and may find that they aren’t so bad at it,” said Dr. Jackson, of Cornell. “And they may learn study methods that last over time.”
In examining rewards, the trick is untangling the impact of the monetary prizes from the impact of other factors, like the strength of teaching or the growing recognition among educators of the importance of A.P. tests. Dr. Jackson said his latest analyses, not yet published, would seek to answer the questions.
He also pointed out that with children in elementary school, who typically show more motivation to learn than teenagers do, the outcomes may be different.
Questions about how rewards are administered, to whom and at what age are likely to drive future research. Can incentives — praise, grades, pizza parties, cash — be added up to show that the more, the better? Or will some of them detract from the whole?
Dr. Deci says school systems are trying to lump incentives together as if they had a simple additive effect. He emphasizes that there is a difference between being motivated by something tangible and being motivated by something that is felt or sensed. “We’ve taken motivation and put it in categories,” Dr. Deci said of his fellow psychologists. “Economics is 40 years behind with respect to that.”
Some researchers suggest tweaking reward systems to cause less harm. Dr. Lepper says that the more arbitrary the reward — like giving bubble gum for passing a test — the more likely it is to backfire. Dr. Gambrell, of Clemson, posits a “proximity hypothesis,” holding that rewards related to the activity — like getting to read more books if one book is read successfully — are less harmful. And Dr. Deci and Richard M. Ryan report that praise — which some consider a verbal reward — does not have a negative effect.
In fact, praise itself has categories. Carol Dweck, a Stanford psychologist, has found problems with praise that labels a child as having a particular quality (“You’re so smart”), while praise for actions (“You’re working hard”) is more motivating.
Psychologists have also found that it helps to isolate differences in how children perceive tasks. Are they highly interested in what they are doing? Or does it feel like drudgery? “The same reward system might have a different effect on those two types of students,” Dr. Lepper said. The higher the interest, he said, the more harmful the reward.
Meanwhile, Dr. Fryer of Ed Labs urges patience in awaiting the economists’ take on reward systems. He wants to look at what happens over many years by tracking subjects after incentives end and trying to discern whether the incentives have an impact on high school graduation rates.
With the money being used to pay for the incentive programs and research, “every dollar has value,” he said. “We either get social science or social change, and we need both.”
March 3, 2009
Rewards for Students Under a Microscope
By LISA GUERNSEY
For decades, psychologists have warned against giving children prizes or money for their performance in school. “Extrinsic” rewards, they say — a stuffed animal for a 4-year-old who learns her alphabet, cash for a good report card in middle or high school — can undermine the joy of learning for its own sake and can even lead to cheating.
But many economists and businesspeople disagree, and their views often prevail in the educational marketplace. Reward programs that pay students are under way in many cities. In some places, students can bring home hundreds of dollars for, say, taking an Advanced Placement course and scoring well on the exam.
Whether such efforts work or backfire “continues to be a raging debate,” said Barbara A. Marinak, an assistant professor of education at Penn State, who opposes using prizes as incentives. Among parents, the issue often stirs intense discussion. And in public education, a new focus on school reform has led researchers on both sides of the debate to intensify efforts to gather data that may provide insights on when and if rewards work.
“We have to get beyond our biases,” said Roland Fryer, an economist at Harvard University who is designing and testing several reward programs. “Fortunately, the scientific method allows us to get to most of those biases and let the data do the talking.”
What is clear is that reward programs are proliferating, especially in high-poverty areas. In New York City and Dallas, high school students are paid for doing well on Advanced Placement tests. In New York, the payouts come from an education reform group called Rewarding Achievement (Reach for short), financed by the Pershing Square Foundation, a charity founded by the hedge fund manager Bill Ackman. The Dallas program is run by Advanced Placement Strategies, a Texas nonprofit group whose chairman is the philanthropist Peter O’Donnell.
Another experiment was started last fall in 14 public schools in Washington that are distributing checks for good grades, attendance and behavior. That program, Capital Gains, is being financed by a partnership with SunTrust Bank, Borders and Ed Labs at Harvard, which is run by Dr. Fryer. Another program by Ed Labs is getting started in Chicago.
Other systems are about stuff more than money, and most are not evaluated scientifically. At 80 tutoring centers in eight states run by Score! Educational Centers, a national for-profit company run by Kaplan Inc., students are encouraged to rack up points for good work and redeem them for prizes like jump-ropes.
An increasing number of online educational games entice children to keep playing by giving them online currency to buy, say, virtual pets. And around the country, elementary school children get tokens to redeem at gift shops in schools when they behave well.
In the cash programs being studied, economists compare the academic performance of groups of students who are paid and students who are not. Results from the first year of the A.P. program in New York showed that test scores were flat but that more students were taking the tests, said Edward Rodriguez, the program’s executive director.
In Dallas, where teachers are also paid for students’ high A.P. scores, students who are rewarded score higher on the SAT and enroll in college at a higher rate than those who are not, according to Kirabo Jackson, an assistant professor of economics at Cornell who has written about the program for the journal Education Next.
Still, many psychologists warn that early data can be deceiving. Research suggests that rewards may work in the short term but have damaging effects in the long term.
One of the first such studies was published in 1971 by Edward L. Deci, a psychologist at the University of Rochester, who reported that once the incentives stopped coming, students showed less interest in the task at hand than those who received no reward.
This kind of psychological research was popularized by the writer Alfie Kohn, whose 1993 book “Punished by Rewards: The Trouble With Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, Praise and Other Bribes” is still often cited by educators and parents. Mr. Kohn says he sees “social amnesia” in the renewed interest in incentive programs.
“If we’re using gimmicks like rewards to try to improve achievement without regard to how they affect kids’ desire to learn,” he said, “we kill the goose that laid the golden egg.”
Dr. Marinak, of Penn State, and Linda B. Gambrell, a professor of education at Clemson University, published a study last year in the journal Literacy Research and Instruction showing that rewarding third graders with so-called tokens, like toys and candy, diminished the time they spent reading.
“A number of the kids who received tokens didn’t even return to reading at all,” Dr. Marinak said.
Why does motivation seem to fall away? Some researchers theorize that even at an early age, children can sense that someone is trying to control their behavior. Their reaction is to resist. “One of the central questions is to consider how children think about this,” said Mark R. Lepper, a psychologist at Stanford whose 1973 study of 50 preschool-age children came to a conclusion similar to Dr. Deci’s. “Are they saying, ‘Oh, I see, they are just bribing me’?”
More than 100 academic studies have explored how and when rewards work on people of all ages, and researchers have offered competing analyses of what the studies, taken together, really mean.
Judith Cameron, an emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Alberta, found positive traits in some types of reward systems. But in keeping with the work of other psychologists, her studies show that some students, once reward systems are over, will choose not to do the activity if the system provides subpar performers with a smaller prize than the reward for achievers.
Many cash-based programs being tested today, however, are designed to do just that. Dr. Deci asks educators to consider the effect of monetary rewards on students with learning disabilities. When they go home with a smaller payout while seeing other students receive checks for $500, Dr. Deci said, they may feel unfairly punished and even less excited to go to school.
“There are suggestions of students making in the thousands of dollars,” he said. “The stress of that, for kids from homes with no money, I frankly think it’s unconscionable.”
Economists, on the other hand, argue that with students who are failing, everything should be tried, including rewards. While students may be simply attracted by financial incentives at first, couldn’t that evolve into a love of learning?
“They may work a little harder and may find that they aren’t so bad at it,” said Dr. Jackson, of Cornell. “And they may learn study methods that last over time.”
In examining rewards, the trick is untangling the impact of the monetary prizes from the impact of other factors, like the strength of teaching or the growing recognition among educators of the importance of A.P. tests. Dr. Jackson said his latest analyses, not yet published, would seek to answer the questions.
He also pointed out that with children in elementary school, who typically show more motivation to learn than teenagers do, the outcomes may be different.
Questions about how rewards are administered, to whom and at what age are likely to drive future research. Can incentives — praise, grades, pizza parties, cash — be added up to show that the more, the better? Or will some of them detract from the whole?
Dr. Deci says school systems are trying to lump incentives together as if they had a simple additive effect. He emphasizes that there is a difference between being motivated by something tangible and being motivated by something that is felt or sensed. “We’ve taken motivation and put it in categories,” Dr. Deci said of his fellow psychologists. “Economics is 40 years behind with respect to that.”
Some researchers suggest tweaking reward systems to cause less harm. Dr. Lepper says that the more arbitrary the reward — like giving bubble gum for passing a test — the more likely it is to backfire. Dr. Gambrell, of Clemson, posits a “proximity hypothesis,” holding that rewards related to the activity — like getting to read more books if one book is read successfully — are less harmful. And Dr. Deci and Richard M. Ryan report that praise — which some consider a verbal reward — does not have a negative effect.
In fact, praise itself has categories. Carol Dweck, a Stanford psychologist, has found problems with praise that labels a child as having a particular quality (“You’re so smart”), while praise for actions (“You’re working hard”) is more motivating.
Psychologists have also found that it helps to isolate differences in how children perceive tasks. Are they highly interested in what they are doing? Or does it feel like drudgery? “The same reward system might have a different effect on those two types of students,” Dr. Lepper said. The higher the interest, he said, the more harmful the reward.
Meanwhile, Dr. Fryer of Ed Labs urges patience in awaiting the economists’ take on reward systems. He wants to look at what happens over many years by tracking subjects after incentives end and trying to discern whether the incentives have an impact on high school graduation rates.
With the money being used to pay for the incentive programs and research, “every dollar has value,” he said. “We either get social science or social change, and we need both.”
Sports article due tomorrow
Please remember that your sports articles are due tomorrow in class. We do have a town hall, but I still expect to get your assignments.
Turn in with all prior drafts.
Email a copy of your final draft to me and/or drop it in the shared folder yourself.
Thanks.
We start laying out on Thursday.
Turn in with all prior drafts.
Email a copy of your final draft to me and/or drop it in the shared folder yourself.
Thanks.
We start laying out on Thursday.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Sports articles are due on Wednesday
All final sports articles are due on Wednesday with all earlier drafts attached.
In addition, please place all final drafts in the shared folder at school or email them to me.
In addition, please place all final drafts in the shared folder at school or email them to me.
Final drafts
Please make sure to drop a final draft of your article into the shared folder or email it to me so that I can put it there in the appropriate folder for layout.
Happy Snow Day
Good morning everyone... I was just about at school this morning when I found out we had a snow day :)
I hope you are all still sleeping...
For the rest of your day, however, please make sure to finish the midterm reflections as well as all other missing work... particularly articles due for this issue of the paper.
We have a town hall meeting on Wed. so we will be losing another class period as well. Let's use time wisely over the next couple of weeks...
Remember the paper needs to be ready by March 16th
I hope you are all still sleeping...
For the rest of your day, however, please make sure to finish the midterm reflections as well as all other missing work... particularly articles due for this issue of the paper.
We have a town hall meeting on Wed. so we will be losing another class period as well. Let's use time wisely over the next couple of weeks...
Remember the paper needs to be ready by March 16th
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Reflections in general
It is really important when writing reflections that you really go into depth about what your understanding of the assignment was and then how your work demonstrates you have done it.
Use the rubrics provided by your teachers to be specific in the standards and skills expected of you and then you can address many of them in your reflection.
Talk about what you did well.
Talk about what you could still do better.
Talk about how you felt about the assignment while you were doing it.
What do you want the reader of your reflection to take away from the piece you have used?
Use the rubrics provided by your teachers to be specific in the standards and skills expected of you and then you can address many of them in your reflection.
Talk about what you did well.
Talk about what you could still do better.
Talk about how you felt about the assignment while you were doing it.
What do you want the reader of your reflection to take away from the piece you have used?
Sample standard based portfolio reflection
I have chosen my independent reading assignment for my portfolio because I feel that it illustrates my ability to demostrate a variety of skills and standards in this class. Because I have achieved a 93 on it, I feel that I am more than meeting many standards. It shows that I can identify texts of various genres independently and then write brief critical analysis about my selections.
For questions 3 and 4 where it asked me to locate a passage that shows the author's effective use in language, I show that I am both able to identify different literary elements such setting and characterization as well as literary techniques like foreshadowing and figurative language in the text. In addition to identifying these elements, I can discuss and analyze the author's craft and effectiveness. I feel that is not enough to just mention, but rather also to discuss the effect it has on the audience by using these things. I feel that reading published author's work has further helped me develop my writing as well.
Other things I am successful with in the assignment is my ability to understand texts on more than one level. I show that there is deeper meaning by selecting a passage and then drawing my own conclusions and making inferences.
I think this assignment demonstrates my successful mastery of these standards. I have learned to read a novel more closely and become acutely aware not only of story line meaning, but author's purpose while reading. I've also been able to write about these things in a meaningful way.
In the future, I feel that I will need to be more specific in addressing theme in this assignment. I think that I misunderstood what theme was about in question 6. I could have also worke with symbolism, but I think I mistook theme to be the main idea, when really it is just an overriding idea and there could be many in a text. Author's use them to connect the story to readers. Sometimes I could have selected more effective passages too. I think I may have rushed alittle in my selection of a passage about setting.
For questions 3 and 4 where it asked me to locate a passage that shows the author's effective use in language, I show that I am both able to identify different literary elements such setting and characterization as well as literary techniques like foreshadowing and figurative language in the text. In addition to identifying these elements, I can discuss and analyze the author's craft and effectiveness. I feel that is not enough to just mention, but rather also to discuss the effect it has on the audience by using these things. I feel that reading published author's work has further helped me develop my writing as well.
Other things I am successful with in the assignment is my ability to understand texts on more than one level. I show that there is deeper meaning by selecting a passage and then drawing my own conclusions and making inferences.
I think this assignment demonstrates my successful mastery of these standards. I have learned to read a novel more closely and become acutely aware not only of story line meaning, but author's purpose while reading. I've also been able to write about these things in a meaningful way.
In the future, I feel that I will need to be more specific in addressing theme in this assignment. I think that I misunderstood what theme was about in question 6. I could have also worke with symbolism, but I think I mistook theme to be the main idea, when really it is just an overriding idea and there could be many in a text. Author's use them to connect the story to readers. Sometimes I could have selected more effective passages too. I think I may have rushed alittle in my selection of a passage about setting.
Current Events Standards
Here are the standards that you are working on when doing the current events assignment:
Performance Indicator 03--> ELA1.12.RE1.03::-->
Students analyze and synthesize information from different sources by making connections and showing relationships to other texts, ideas, subjects, and the world at large:
employ a range of post-reading practices to think about new learning and to plan future learning
Performance Indicator 03--> ELA1.12.RE1.03::-->
Students analyze and synthesize information from different sources by making connections and showing relationships to other texts, ideas, subjects, and the world at large:
employ a range of post-reading practices to think about new learning and to plan future learning
Standard ELA2.12.RE1: Language for Literary Response and Expression
Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression.
- Performance Indicator 01--> ELA2.12.RE1.01::-->
Students recognize and analyze the relevance of literature to contemporary and/or personal events and situations from short stories, novels, plays, film and video productions, poems, and essays: - read and discuss literary criticism
- engage in a variety of collaborative conversations, such as peer-led discussions, paired reading and responding, and cooperative group discussions, to make applications of the ideas in the text to other situations, extending the ideas to broaden perspective
Performance Indicator 02--> ELA2.12.RE1.02::-->
- Students read, view, and respond independently to literary works that represent a range of social, historical, and cultural perspectives.
Performance Indicator 02--> ELA2.11.RE1.02::-->
- Students read, view, and respond independently to literary works that represent a range of social, historical, and cultural perspectives:
- monitor their own comprehension by questioning, reviewing, revising, and rereading to enhance overall comprehension
Performance Indicator 07--> ELA2.11.RE1.07::-->
Students recognize and analyze the relevance of literature to contemporary and/or personal events and situation
Performance Indicator 02--> ELA1.11.WR2.02::-->
Students analyze and integrate data, facts, and ideas to communicate information.
Standard ELA3.11.WR2: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation
Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.
Performance Indicator 01--> ELA3.11.WR2.01::-->
Students develop critiques from more than one perspective, such as historical, cultural, and social.
Performance Indicator 02--> ELA2.11.WR2.02::-->
- Students write interpretive and responsive essays of approximately three to five pages to:
express judgments and support them through references to the text, using direct quotations and paraphrase - explain how the author's use of literary devices affects meaning
- examine development and impact of literary elements, such as character (protagonist and antagonist), action (conflict, intrigue, suspense, and climax), and setting (locale and time period), in literary texts and performances
- compare and contrast the treatment of literary elements in different genres and by more than one author
- use literary criticism to expand personal analysis of the literary texts
engage in a variety of prewriting experiences, such as using a variety of visual representations, to express interpretations, feelings, and new insights
Independent Reading Standards
In an effort to help you all write better, more specific reflections, I wanted to help you understand the specific standards we have been addressing in the independent reading assignment:
For the whole assignment:
- Standard ELA2: Language for Literary Response and Expression
Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression. - Listening and Reading
Key Idea 1 -->ELA2.LR1:
Listening and reading for literary response involves comprehending, interpreting, and critiquing imaginative texts in every medium, drawing on personal experiences and knowledge to understand the text, and recognizing the social, historical and cultural features of the text - Students read and view independently and fluently across many genres of literature from many cultures and historical periods
- Students identify the distinguishing features of different literary genres, periods, and traditions and use those features to interpret the work.
- Students recognize and understand the significance of a wide range of literary elements and techniques, (including figurative language, imagery, allegory, irony, blank verse, symbolism, stream-of-consciousness) and use those elements to interpret the work.
- Students understand how multiple levels of meaning are conveyed in a text
- Students read aloud expressively to convey a clear interpretation of the work
Performance Indicator 01--> ELA2.12.WR2.01::-->
Students write interpretive and responsive essays of approximately five pages to:
express judgments and support them through references to the text, using direct quotations and paraphrase
- explain how the author's use of literary devices, such as allegory, stream of consciousness, and irony, affects meaning
Performance Indicator 06--> ELA2.12.RE1.06::-->
Students interpret multiple levels of meaning and subtleties in text
Performance Indicator 02--> ELA2.11.WR2.02::-->
- Students write interpretive and responsive essays of approximately three to five pages to:
- express judgments and support them through references to the text, using direct quotations and paraphrase
- explain how the author's use of literary devices affects meaning
- examine development and impact of literary elements, such as character (protagonist and antagonist), action (conflict, intrigue, suspense, and climax), and setting (locale and time period), in literary texts and performances
- compare and contrast the treatment of literary elements in different genres and by more than one author
- use literary criticism to expand personal analysis of the literary texts engage in a variety of prewriting experiences, such as using a variety of visual representations, to express interpretations, feelings, and new insights
Friday, February 27, 2009
Final drafts
Please either email me your final drafts of all section articles/investigative features or just place them in the appropriate folder on the newspaper shared drive
Layout will start next week, so all finished work must go in the folders. Please make sure all final drafts are saved in microsoft word 97-2003. Make sure to really proofread and spell check your work before dropping them into the shared folder...
Thanks
Layout will start next week, so all finished work must go in the folders. Please make sure all final drafts are saved in microsoft word 97-2003. Make sure to really proofread and spell check your work before dropping them into the shared folder...
Thanks
No Current Events due Monday
Make sure you are making up all articles -
Sports Articles are due finished on Wednesday
We have a town hall meeting on Wednesday as well- would anyone like to write a news brief on it and have it to me by Thursday so that we can post it on the website?
If you are interested in covering the town hall meetings briefly, contact me in class or via email.
I will give you the details?
Sports Articles are due finished on Wednesday
We have a town hall meeting on Wednesday as well- would anyone like to write a news brief on it and have it to me by Thursday so that we can post it on the website?
If you are interested in covering the town hall meetings briefly, contact me in class or via email.
I will give you the details?
Thursday, February 26, 2009
JCamp at Virginia Tech - Summer Opportunity
JCAMP at Virginia Tech: July 19-23, 2009
It's a four-day workshop like nothing else in the state. Join otherstudent journalists July 19 - July 23 on Virginia Tech's campus to-
- Plan for the upcoming school year.-
- Brush up on your writing, design, editing and production skills.-
- Learn techniques from leading media advisers and journalists.-
- Get motivated to produce an award winning newspaper.
With tracks in newspaper design, photojournalism, editorialleadership, news and feature writing, newspaper 101 and advising,there is instruction available for everyone regardless of yourexperience level.
Visit www.collegemedia.com/jcamp or call Kelly Furnas 540-231-3645 for more information. Sponsored by Educational Media Company at Virginia Tech and the Virginia Association of Journalism Teachers and Advisers. Students/advisers from other states are welcome!
Reminders - due tomorrow
- Independent reading assignment #5 due tomorrow
- Final drafts of section articles are due tomorrow
- Sports finals are due on Wed. 3/4
- Layout begins next week
- All make up articles (particularly feature, investigative feature) should come in
There is NO current events articles and analysis due on Monday
Monday, February 23, 2009
Week's work
Please remember this week must be a week of strong production...
Come prepared tomorrow with your notebooks, drafts and interview questions and/or pics.
Every person in the class must have at least 2 articles in the 3rd issue set to come out on March 20. This means the pages must be laid out no later than March 16.
All master pages should have been done in class today which means some pages can start being laid out...
Investigative feature can start laying out
there are some news articles ready to be put on the page...
finished section articles are due on Friday
2nd drafts of sports articles are due on Wed.
Investigative feature and feature articles are past due...
check teacherease and if you don't have a grade next to your name, it was never finished.
Come prepared tomorrow with your notebooks, drafts and interview questions and/or pics.
Every person in the class must have at least 2 articles in the 3rd issue set to come out on March 20. This means the pages must be laid out no later than March 16.
All master pages should have been done in class today which means some pages can start being laid out...
Investigative feature can start laying out
there are some news articles ready to be put on the page...
finished section articles are due on Friday
2nd drafts of sports articles are due on Wed.
Investigative feature and feature articles are past due...
check teacherease and if you don't have a grade next to your name, it was never finished.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Independent Reading Assignment #5 reminder
IR #5 is due on Friday, 2/27
IR#6 will be due Tuesday, 3/31
IR#6 will be due Tuesday, 3/31
Friday, February 20, 2009
Sports articles for you consideration
Have a read on these articles? How well do they work? What can you use in your own writing?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/sports/baseball/22niekro.html?_r=1&ref=sports
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/sports/ncaabasketball/22binghamton.html?ref=sports
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/sports/ncaabasketball/22friars.html?ref=sports
Different sports, different kinds of articles... there is so much variety in Sports!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/sports/baseball/22niekro.html?_r=1&ref=sports
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/sports/ncaabasketball/22binghamton.html?ref=sports
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/sports/ncaabasketball/22friars.html?ref=sports
Different sports, different kinds of articles... there is so much variety in Sports!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Make up work
Good afternoon all:
I was just going over teacherease and many of you are missing many assignments. Please login to teacherease and try to make up some of the work you owe.
Particularly the midterm reflection which should be emailed to me.
Thanks,
Ms. S
I was just going over teacherease and many of you are missing many assignments. Please login to teacherease and try to make up some of the work you owe.
Particularly the midterm reflection which should be emailed to me.
Thanks,
Ms. S
Friday, February 13, 2009
1st drafts - a commentary
Now, I understand that a first draft is largely just a beginning...
HOWEVER, when you turn in a first draft it is NOT just an outline. It implies that you have done some research and may even know where you need to do more. It shows that you have attempted to get the story and aren't waiting for me or Ms. Cea to give you the story. It is developed enough so there is something to comment on.
We have been doing this a while now, and more and more of you are turning things in later and later if at all and the first drafts are showing less and less thought. Start off strong and then the revisions will be strong too.
HOWEVER, when you turn in a first draft it is NOT just an outline. It implies that you have done some research and may even know where you need to do more. It shows that you have attempted to get the story and aren't waiting for me or Ms. Cea to give you the story. It is developed enough so there is something to comment on.
We have been doing this a while now, and more and more of you are turning things in later and later if at all and the first drafts are showing less and less thought. Start off strong and then the revisions will be strong too.
Break assignment
Work on your second drafts of section articles
Make up any and all missing work
Do 1 current events in either sports and/or your section due when you return...
Have a great break. We will be busy beginning layout when you get back.
Make up any and all missing work
Do 1 current events in either sports and/or your section due when you return...
Have a great break. We will be busy beginning layout when you get back.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
25 Non-Random Things About Writing Short
Posted, February 10, 2009
25 Non-Random Things About Writing Short
By Roy Clark (More articles by this author) Senior Scholar, Poynter Institute
Inspired by 25 Random Things on Facebook, here are 25 steps to writing short:1. Keep a journal where you practice short writing.2. Practice short writing on small surfaces: post-it notes, index cards, the palm of your hand. 3. A list of 25 is NOT an example of short writing: It's long writing with 25 short parts -– which is cool.4. The short bits make a long list more readable, in part because they generate white space, which pleases the eye.5. Obey Strunk & White: "Omit needless words."6. Beware: The infinite space on the Internet creates aerated prose.7. The shorter the passage, the greater the value of each word. 8. Obey Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch: "Murder your darlings."9. That said, every short passage should contain one gold coin, a reward for the reader. 10. Obey Donald Murray: "Brevity comes from selection, not compression."11. Obey Chip Scanlan: "Focus, focus, focus."12. Imagine a short piece from the get-go. Conceive a sonnet, not an epic.13. Cut the weaker elements: adverbs, passive constructions, strings of prepositional phrases, puffy Latinate words.14. The more powerful the message, the shorter the sentence: "Jesus wept."15. Don't just "dump" short messages: revise, polish, proof-read everything.16. Try your hand at short literary forms: the haiku or the couplet.17. Read, study, and collect great examples of short writing, everything from the diaries of Samuel Pepys to the Tweets of your favorite Twits.18. The best place for an important word in a short passage is at the END.19. Begin the story as close to the end as possible.20. Food for thought: Study the prose in fortune cookies and on Valentine candy hearts.21. Cut big, then small. Prune the dead branches before you shake out the dead leaves.22. Obey Mark Twain: You may need more time, not less, to write something good and short.23. Study and discuss this editorial: "They say only the good die young. Spanish dictator Francisco Franco died last night at the age of 83. Seems about right."24. Write a mission statement for your short writing. Keep it short.25. Treat all short forms of journalism –- headline, caption, blurb, blog post –- as literary genres.
http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=158294
25 Non-Random Things About Writing Short
By Roy Clark (More articles by this author) Senior Scholar, Poynter Institute
Inspired by 25 Random Things on Facebook, here are 25 steps to writing short:1. Keep a journal where you practice short writing.2. Practice short writing on small surfaces: post-it notes, index cards, the palm of your hand. 3. A list of 25 is NOT an example of short writing: It's long writing with 25 short parts -– which is cool.4. The short bits make a long list more readable, in part because they generate white space, which pleases the eye.5. Obey Strunk & White: "Omit needless words."6. Beware: The infinite space on the Internet creates aerated prose.7. The shorter the passage, the greater the value of each word. 8. Obey Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch: "Murder your darlings."9. That said, every short passage should contain one gold coin, a reward for the reader. 10. Obey Donald Murray: "Brevity comes from selection, not compression."11. Obey Chip Scanlan: "Focus, focus, focus."12. Imagine a short piece from the get-go. Conceive a sonnet, not an epic.13. Cut the weaker elements: adverbs, passive constructions, strings of prepositional phrases, puffy Latinate words.14. The more powerful the message, the shorter the sentence: "Jesus wept."15. Don't just "dump" short messages: revise, polish, proof-read everything.16. Try your hand at short literary forms: the haiku or the couplet.17. Read, study, and collect great examples of short writing, everything from the diaries of Samuel Pepys to the Tweets of your favorite Twits.18. The best place for an important word in a short passage is at the END.19. Begin the story as close to the end as possible.20. Food for thought: Study the prose in fortune cookies and on Valentine candy hearts.21. Cut big, then small. Prune the dead branches before you shake out the dead leaves.22. Obey Mark Twain: You may need more time, not less, to write something good and short.23. Study and discuss this editorial: "They say only the good die young. Spanish dictator Francisco Franco died last night at the age of 83. Seems about right."24. Write a mission statement for your short writing. Keep it short.25. Treat all short forms of journalism –- headline, caption, blurb, blog post –- as literary genres.
http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=158294
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