I asked, "Can anyone tell me what the word journalism means?" I looked out and viewed blank stares around the room. Emily rushed over to the dictionary. She located the definition and carefully and thoughtfully read it to the class.
"The work of gathering and reporting news for newspapers, magazines, and other media."
"That's what we do!" , "Ohhhh", and nods of understanding were apparent around the room. We talked about the meaning and lots of good discussion followed.
Then I told the students about the good news that we would be collaborating with high school students from Will Richardson's journalism class in Flemington, NJ. Will is the Supervisor of Instrucional Technology at Hunterdon Central Regional High School. He does some top notch things with weblogs - check out his Weblog-Ed to see links to some really terrific educational applications of weblogs. The excitement in the room was electric. The students are so excited to be getting this kind of help with what they are writing.
Next on the agenda was the possibility of hearing from a USA-Today reporter. We visited a couple of good sites about this topic. One was the USA Today Reporter Responses and the other was the NY Times Ask a Reporter Site. Lots of good thinking and ideas from the students ensued. My students know that this may not happen because the reporter may not have time but when I asked what questions they might have of a "real" reporter I was astounded with what they came up with. My plan was to limit this to 5 but we had so much to do today and everyone was so excited that we never got to a vote. So I will post 5-plus.
1- How many times do you check your work? How do you go about checking your work?
2- How can reporters improve their writing?
3- I would like to be a reporter when I grow up, could you give me some tips?
4- When you write a news story, do you ever state your perspective on it?
5- What inspired you to become a reporter?
And even more questions....
Have you ever gotten so involved in your writing that you forgot your home life and other things?
Out of all the stories you have done, which one devastated you the most? Why?
How can people become reporters?
Have you ever risked your life to reveal a story?
Do you ever worry that readers won't like your story?
What kind of school did you go to to learn to be a journalist?
How many years of schooling did it take you to be a journalist?
What character traits do you think a reporter should have?
There are many more good questions. Check out the individual student blogs to see them.
The remainder of the class time was spent posting their news stories.
Students, you are working at "bumping up" your stories. I'm proud of you!
It was a great learning day. See you next week. Keep up the good thinking and writing!
