Final Paper – ASNE High School Journalism Institute, UT Austin, June 18-29, 2011

Daniel Sadicario July 28, 2011

School Profile
Name: MICDS (Mary Institute and Country Day School)

School Location and Environment:  is a secular, co-educational, private school

separated into three different sections: JK-4th grade (lower school), 5th-8th grade
(middle school), and 9th-12th grade (upper school). Its 100 acre campus is located in the
St. Louis suburb of Ladue.

Grades: 9-12

Type: Independent

Enrollment: Approximately 1,200 students (grades JK through 12)

Percentage of minorities: 26% of our students identify themselves as students of color.

College record: 100% of MICDS graduates attend four-year colleges and universities.

Overview of the Journalism-Newspaper Program:

Publications at MICDS are currently in the form of clubs. In 2010-11, the MICDS
newspaper, The Voice, left print format and began its focus on its online edition after
being published in print for years. Prior to that, the print edition had been a very
successful paper published bi-monthly. In 2009-10, the MICDS video broadcast, The
Ram Report, switched advisors and transformed from parody/satirical news to a more
informative, formal broadcast. Over the last two years, with changes in advisors for the
newspaper, video broadcast and yearbook, an actual journalism course being offered
for “elective” credit along with the push toward emphasizing web based formats, the
publications program at MICDS is gearing up to raise its quality of journalism. For the
2011-12 year, we are well into rebuilding an excellent program and plan to participate
in JEA, Quill and Scroll and other journalism competitions this year. The administration
is very supportive of building the journalism program and looking to work with
advisors on creating a full-year journalism course that is offered for English credit
starting in the following 2012-13 school year.

Who can enroll:

Grades 9-12 may enroll in any of our journalism “clubs.”

Participation:
 Club size is unlimited and approximately 5-15 students enroll in each publication
each year. Because academic credit is not given, especially English credit,
publications are consistently constrained by limited commitment and
motivation.

Production and technology:

The Voice publishes new material each week and uses Word and PhotoShop. All
photos are digital or scanned. The Ram Report publishes a video each month
and uses various digital cameras along with Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere.

Learning Environment and Issues:

MICDS is in a conservative community with supportive parents. Standards for
behavior and performance are high, and students are well disciplined, albeit very
busy and often stretched across a number of commitments. The facility is well
maintained and comfortable. The administration is supportive of the journalism
program and an ally in looking at building the program beyond its current state.

Focus of Curriculum Units and Lesson Plans:

For the 2011-12 school year, this curriculum will be used in the production of The
Voice, The Ram Report, but it will be mainly used for the new Journalism Now
course (a single trimester introduction to journalism) and will be elaborated
on in the full-year journalism course that will possibly be added the following
year.

Given the production challenges and the experience level of the staff, the writing
and reporting have been adequate but offer room for growth. Our greatest
challenge this year is to improve the quality, scope, and depth of reporting and
writing both for news and features. While we will continue to work on layout
and production quality, the focus this year will be:
 First Amendment issues, ethics, and diversity in journalism
 breadth and depth of news coverage
 interviewing skills
 reporting to include solid leads and clear, concise writing
 headline writing
 publishing on the Internet

Assessment and evaluation:

To evaluate student performance and participation, I will structure the
class into a newspaper staff. I will grade on a point system as shared by
Rhonda Moore during Scholastic Journalism, Where the Rubber Meets the
Road. For example, for an A the student will have to earn 700-750 points.
Elements of newspaper production will have a point value as will class
assignments and assessments. Most of the following activities earn 25
points each.

C Knox -- Final Paper – ASNE High School Journalism Institute, UT Austin 2

 Class Format:
We will mainly have class discussion and lessons except for the final week
before press (eleven weeks, eight students, two groups, one
publication/paper each group: one issue at the end of the first four weeks,
one at the end of the second four weeks). During the week before press,
students will be responsible for managing their own time in class during
“workshop” time. Students will report their use of time on a calendar or
Daily Staff Diary, turned in Monday along with a folder containing their
work for the previous week so points can be awarded. Lectures, the
internet and guest speakers will be the primary resources for all the units
supplemented by our in-class library provided by ASNE.

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Lesson Plans

Unit I – 4 Weeks
Press Law and Ethics:
“You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train” - Howard Zinn
This unit will take a thought provoking—an intellectually and perhaps
even emotionally riling—approach to the importance of journalism, the
rights and the responsibilities of journalists and the injustices that exist in
mainstream journalism. The first two weeks of the unit will begin with a
series of facilitated discussions based on the lectures of Robert Jensen. The
following two weeks, students will complete a writing assignment where
they apply what they’ve learned the first two weeks towards an editorial
that critiques a current issue in the media.

Objectives:
Students will:
 conduct research using data from in-depth field studies
 synthesize information from multiple sources to draw
conclusions that go beyond those found in any of the individual
sources
 use language persuasively in addressing a particular issue
 find and interpret information effectively
 respond respectfully and powerfully to viewpoints and biases

Lectures/Conversations
1 – What is journalism for? What are journalists for?
 based on
http://www.youtube.com/user/robertwilliamjensen#p/u/12/3S
o5F6vJqJI
 students generate list of reasons for journalism followed by a
PowerPoint that displays various quotes (Ghandi, Chomsky, et. al.)
that define the importance of journalism
2 – Diction: the challenges of neutrality in language
 based on http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=oAcd26coKY&feature=channel_video_title
 Discussion revolves around this question: What word you fill in the
blank with? “Christopher Columbus ______________ America.”
 Follow-up activity: take a current issue in your world (i.e. global
warming) and rename or rephrase its title (or common phrase
associated with the issue) with better words that speak with more
accurate connotations (i.e. global warming > climate disruption)
3 – 1 amendment: a history of compromise and challenges
st

 Examine the amendment itself

 PowerPoint on the history of the 1st amendment and its censorship
C Knox -- Final Paper – ASNE High School Journalism Institute, UT Austin 4
 4 – Facts: they can be used for power, change and distortion
 based on
http://www.youtube.com/user/robertwilliamjensen#p/u/3/87t8
rSrAulY and
http://www.youtube.com/user/robertwilliamjensen#p/u/36/db
0FqAI_lz4
 students explore the “Birther” movement
o debate motion: Facts cause change
 play “Cross Eyed and Painless” by Talking Heads – discuss lyrics
5 – Bad Journalism: false balance and other tricks perpetuated by the MSM
 students explore the Shirley Sherrod incident and the failure of fact
checking: students first see the edited video of Sherrod and write
their own story…then share the raw footage and tell the story of
the original reporting and discuss
6 – Race: reporting in a world based on white supremacy
 based on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aH-WSqanyQ
 Quotes from E.B. Dubois’s The Soul of Black Folk
o “The problem of the 21st century is the problem of the color line.”
o “Between me and the other world there is ever an unasked question: unasked by
some through feelings of delicacy; by others through the difficulty of rightly
framing it. All, nevertheless, flutter round it. They approach me in a half-
hesitant sort of way, eye me curiously or compassionately, and then, instead of
saying directly, How does it feel to be a problem? they say, I know an excellent
colored man in my town; or, I fought at Mechanicsville; or, Do not these
Southern outrages make your blood boil? At these I smile, or am interested, or
reduce the boiling to a simmer, as the occasion may require. To the real
question, How does it feel to be a problem? I answer seldom a word, and yet
being a problem is a strange experience.”
 That was 1903; updated for 20011: “Isn’t that Obama
something?” “Don’t those right wing talk-show hosts make your
blood boil?”
 PowerPoint listing/exploring myriad of ways that minorities are
disenfranchised post civil rights

Unit II – 4 Weeks
News: researching, interviewing, reporting, and writing
In order for the students to mature as journalists, we will focus on specific
skill building activities for research, interviewing, reporting, and writing
to include leads and headlines. In addition, we will practice developing
story ideas. This unit is currently copied from Carolynne Knox but will be
adapted when activities and presentations gained from the Austin ASNE
2011 program are incorporated.

Objectives:
Students will:
C Knox -- Final Paper – ASNE High School Journalism Institute, UT Austin 5
  conduct research using data from in-depth field studies
 synthesize information from multiple sources to draw
conclusions that go beyond those found in any of the individual
sources
 use language persuasively in addressing a particular issue
 find and interpret information effectively
 respond respectfully to viewpoints and biases
 demonstrate proficiency in accessing information electronically

Activity 1 –Research
 Lecture on feature writing
 Your assignment is to interview a teacher or student about
his/her life.
 You must research to find out as much as possible before you
talk to the primary interview.
 You must have at least three sources of information. You may
use the Internet, interview other knowledgeable people, or use
the library.
 Finally, prepare a set of at least 10 questions in order of
importance. Remember to write “open ended” questions that
require more than a one word response.
 Turn in information from the secondary sources along with the
15 questions along with other work on Monday to earn points.

Activity 2 –The interview

 Group activity:
As a group, meet briefly to determine your “angle” on a
possible article on a teacher. Prepare at least one question each.
 Each person in the room will interview ___________ by asking
one question. You are responsible to take quick, careful, and
accurate notes.
 Discussion: what was helpful? what was difficult? how can
you improve note taking skills for your interview?
 In groups of three, listen for instructions. One student will be
interviewed, one will interview, one will observe. Students will
change roles. (The teacher will instruct the one being
interviewed – first time to be very interested and
accommodating, the second time to be very bored and
uninterested.) What happened? Discuss skill involved in
engaging a person in an interview.
 Now, take the ten questions you prepared, review them
carefully so that you know at least the first five without looking.
 Conduct the interview trying to be conversational and
engaging. Take brief notes, but maintain eye contact.
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  Write up your notes as soon as possible after the interview.
 Write a plus/delta. What did you do well? What could you
have done better? Write a paragraph.
 Turn in the activity along with other work on Monday to earn
points.

Activity 3 – Story ideas

(You may choose to do this activity with a partner for 15 points.)
 Print out the home page of an on-line newspaper such as The
New York Times, or any other you choose.
 For each of the articles listed on the home page, write an idea
for a story that relates to The Voice readers. For example: how
does the war in Iraq affect MICDS students?
 For each of these tired topics, come up with a new MICDS angle
for a story: flip flops, crime, sex, drugs, rock n roll, parents,
nutrition, security, drinking, dress code, religion
 Turn in the activity along with other work on Monday to earn
points.

Activity 4 – Writing the lead (In class activity, earns 15 points)

 You will be given a set of facts from several stories that
appeared in last week’s The Voice and/or Ram Report.
 For each article, you will have 5 minutes to construct a solid
lead that will hook the reader. The class will work together.
 Handout and discussion “Shouting out the Window” by Alison
Rittger.
 Handout and discussion, examples of features
 Select any of the newspapers available in the classroom or go on
line to locate three articles. Highlight the lead and comment on
how effective it is “hooking” the reader. Rewrite leads that are
not effective so that they are.
 Turn in the activity along with other work on Monday to earn
points.

Activity 5 – Writing the headline

 PowerPoint of examples showing what makes a good headline.
Students discuss briefly what to look for in a good headline and
how to write a good headline.
 Review at least three of the newspapers in the classroom or
online for good, bad, and indifferent headlines.
 How can you tell a good headline? What are its characteristics?
What makes a headline bad? When is it not appropriate to be
funny?
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  For the handout of 5 articles provided with this activity, read
the articles and write a great headline.
 Turn in the activity along with other work on Monday to earn
points.

Activity 6 – Copy editing (In class activity, earns 15 points)

 In class discussion: Read the story LA International Airport
operates on emergency power. Use the list of elements at the
bottom of the page to mark the story. Is this a good story that
flows well? Why or why not?
 In class discussion: Now read Todd/Garbage, a self-proclaimed
bad article by Rusty Todd. Make notes about what doesn’t
make sense, what is missing, what could be better.
 Review the Copy Editing handout to learn correct marking
 Choose three articles from any month of The Voice. Mark all
edits that should have been made using the Copy Editing
Standard.
 Turn in the activity along with other work on Monday to earn
points.

Sources:
Styles of Writing and Reporting Specifics from Top Professionals,
Ira Hadnot
Editing and Headline Writing, Rusty Todd
Feature Writing, Wanda Cash
Scholastic Journalism, Where the Rubber Meets the Road,
Janet Elbom, Rhonda Moore, Randy Vonderheid

Unit III – 3 Weeks

Digital Media: web design, twitter, video production
In order for students to report with today’s tools of communication, we
will focus on how to apply and adapt the skills of traditional writing
towards mediums such as twitter, video production and web design.

Objectives:
Students will:
 conduct research using data from in-depth field studies
C Knox -- Final Paper – ASNE High School Journalism Institute, UT Austin 8
  synthesize information from multiple sources to draw
conclusions that go beyond those found in any of the individual
sources
 use language persuasively in addressing a particular issue
 find and interpret information effectively
 respond respectfully to viewpoints and biases
 demonstrate proficiency in accessing information electronically

Activity 1 – “Page One”

 watch and discuss

Activity 2 – review 1st amendment

 Recite first amendment (as way of reviewing and
understanding it as well as learning how to do audio narration
—emphasizing words—a skill students will use with their video
assignment later in the unit)

Activity 3 – making the media you produce findable

 Review document on tips to make reaching your audience

Activity 5 – Photoshop
 Students ‘fix’ and manipulate a photograph

Activity 4 – Adobe InDesign

 Students create a spread

Activity 6 – Twitter
 Lecture on twitter based on _____

Activity 7 – video production

 Story arc, types of shots, interview technique

Activity 8 – video editing

 Using narration

Sources:
Backpack Journalism Workshop Materials, Bill Gentile

Submitted by
Daniel Sadicario
563 Brookhaven Ct.
Saint Louis, MO 63122
C Knox -- Final Paper – ASNE High School Journalism Institute, UT Austin 9
 314 394 0433

MICDS
101 North Warson Road
Saint Louis, MO 63124-1399
314 995 7380
W – dsadicario@micds.org
H – danielsadicario@gmail.com

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