Archive for the 'Yearbook Journalism' Category

Use Lots of Student Quotes for a Personal Touch

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009

If you have been given the task to write and come up with a great deal of content try reaching out to your students and ask them what some of their favorite quotes of the year where. You will find that there might be a handful of sayings that just stuck and you could hear students all year long mumbling it down the hall.

Often times there is something funny said out loud during class and maybe nobody wrote it down but someone always remembers it. If you have a page the speaks about a certain student matching a funny or clever quote by that specific student would be a great touch to the copy on that page. There is no rhyme or reason to how these should be visible in the yearbook. You can really choose to position how ever you like. These could very well be scattered around the yearbook for people to read and chuckle as they read through the yearbook.

You could also start planning this early in the year and keep your ears open for something funny that one might say. If you know that you will have certain students that might have their own profiles in the yearbook you could ask them to give you any quotes they have said or even a favorite quote. You could also ask other students who might have classes with that student and ask them to listen out for any good or funny quotes.

A Creative Journalism Excercise

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

If you have been given the task to come up with the copy for your yearbook you might eventually have to reach out a bit to others for guidance to get past any writers block issues you might have. You will eventually want to start thinking outside the box and get creative with your journalism to keep it fresh and inviting. Put together a survey of what types of journalism the students would like to see in the book. Ask specific questions on what they would like to see and questions that might also give you some ideas on what to write.

Different questions to ask your peers:

1. Who is your favorite teacher and why?
2. What is your favorite class and why?
3. What is the funniest cafeteria moment you have encountered?
4. What is your least favorite class and why?
5. What has been your favorite sporting event at school?
6. How many different groups or cliques can you name?
7. What biggest improvement can your school make?
8. What was your favorite dance or event?
9. What has been your favorite effort to prepare for college or graduation and why?
10. What is your favorite cafeteria meal and why?

Give the students as many questions as you can so that you can have as much material to use for your yearbook. It will be sometime difficult to get over writers block so you want to make sure you have as much back up and firepower to battle through those times.

Proofread, Proofread and Proofread some more.

Tuesday, February 10th, 2009

One of the most important things that sometimes falls at waist side is proof reading through all your material before it is published. Proofing is something that nobody really likes to do but is very important for the outcome of your yearbook. If you proof all your copy and text while you move along with your progress your life will be much easier down the road when it is time to publish.

It is good to have a few different eyeballs hit all your copy to make sure all punctuation and grammar are correct before the book goes to the printer. Find one or two other people in your yearbook committee to read through everything you have in your book. This also includes any text on images that might be included in the photos. A properly edited yearbook will ensure your success once your customers start reading through your book at the end of the year. Make sure all that grammar matches those beautiful pictures and memories.

Tell Everyone About School Culture

Thursday, January 22nd, 2009

When it comes down to trying to figure out what you want to write about in your yearbook you will have many different choices you will have to weed through to find just the right information. Try picking topics that made your school or organization unique.

If you can connect on a personal note with the people and students purchasing you will get them to sit and read and show others their new year book. Pick things that made you unique in your daily routines like what some of the more popular teachers had as quirks that students would poke fun at different styles of homework. Putting a list of the top ten or twenty craziest homework assignments you can get students to talk about would be a creative to get people to smile when reading through the year book. You could also write what types of trends or fads where picked up during that school year. Pick something or even a few things you found students either doing or wearing that caught on like wildfire. keep editorial and copy as personal as possible so that the readers can relate to the book.

Start Writing!

Wednesday, January 14th, 2009

A yearbook has to be a collection of photos and words cleverly tied together. Too much of either one could leave your yearbook a flop. It is important to start writing early in the year and brainstorming what each copy should say for each photo.

Writing takes time to get right. It is better to start early so that by the time you send your files to the printer all your writing looks perfect. Regardless if you are a high school or college find the best writers in your group and assign the task of putting together all the copy to them. The writing should compliment the photo and vice versa. It is important for all writing to be compelling and with a smooth flowing thought process. you do not want the flow to be difficult to follow and go off on any tangents. The writing is just as important as the photos themselves and don’t forget to proof read through all your copy at all times. You don’t want to send it to the printer with typos and punctuation errors.

Yearbook Essays an Important Part of History

Friday, December 26th, 2008

Human beings have always told stories as a way to pass history down through the generations. Just because we now can write it down doesn`t mean that it`s any less important. To ensure that you have the opportunity to create history, yearbook journalism should be approached with this mindset.

Everything that is written in the yearbook is going to be there for students to see for the rest of their lives. That makes every essay a vital part of their history and you`ll want it done right.

Things to Consider for Yearbook Journalism

  • Who is the main character in the story told?
  • What is the point of the yearbook essay?
  • Have you explained the who, what, how, when, where and why clearly?
  • Is the title eye-catching?
  • Will this yearbook essay cause people to feel something?

Using these as your guidelines, you`ll end up with some terrific yearbook journalism.

Yearbook Interview Techniques

Wednesday, December 17th, 2008

Part of yearbook journalism is doing interviews with prominent people in the school, but if your students aren`t ready for this job, it can be rather daunting. Here are a few things kids should know before they head off to an interview.

Keep it short. Ten to fifteen minutes is all the time you should take, keeping in mind that people are pretty busy. If you`ve done your preparation, this shouldn`t be a problem.

Write the questions down. Having a list of questions on hand means you won`t forget any. You can still improvise and ask other questions if something interesting comes up.

Take notes. Even if you are recording the conversation, make notes as to what the person is wearing, how they look or say something. This will help add depth later on when you write it up for the yearbook.

Do some research. Find out some information on the person to be interviewed. This can help you dig a little deeper and ask more interesting questions.

Yearbook interviews can be boring or fascinating and it`s not just about the person. By asking the right questions, you can take even a dull interviewee and make him or her sparkle.

Assigning Yearbook Journalism Projects Easily

Sunday, December 7th, 2008

It can be rather frustrating to keep track of yearbook journalism assignments if you aren`t properly prepared. This is where it really helps to be quite organized so you are always on top of the information needed.

Keeping a spreadsheet is a very handy way to maintain yearbook journalism under control. It helps to lay out what sort of articles and interviews you want at the very beginning of the year and then, as you make assignments, just write the name of the student or students who will be working on it. Of course, leave spaces open for student suggested articles, as well.

Yearbook journalism is often overlooked in the rush to organize things for the yearbook. By remembering to plan this area out as well, you will end up with fewer missed deadlines and no more last minute interviews because you forgot something.

Keep your yearbook journalism organized. Know who is doing what and what other assignments you have coming up and you`ll end up with a much smoother flow.

Great Yearbook Journalism Titles

Sunday, November 16th, 2008

Choosing great titles is part of yearbook journalism and requires quite a bit of creativity. You will likely find that there are some students in your class that are better at finding titles than you might imagine.

Yearbook journalism isn`t just about writing terrific articles, a big part of it includes working hard on crafting titles that will pull readers in and distract them from the photos as they take a moment to peruse the yearbook writing that has been included on the pages.

Titles make yearbook journalism more appealing, if they are done right. They should catch the attention and yet only hint at what is contained within the article, just enough to get the person to actually read. This is often done with active verbs and descriptions using adjectives to entice the reader.

Yearbook journalism deserves great titles to ensure that everyone reads the articles that your students have worked so hard on.

Inspiring the Muse of Yearbook Journalism

Sunday, November 9th, 2008

Are your students having difficulty writing for their yearbook journalism projects? This is a common issue that faces yearbook students. With all the pressure to get everything done by the deadlines, it can be very difficult to come up with great ideas. That`s why it`s up to you to provide the inspiration.

Giving students a prompt, or an idea to begin their story with is a great way to get that muse speaking, but it isn`t the only thing you can do to foster a creative environment. In fact, there is far more.

Deadlines can be a major stifling influence for yearbook journalism, so letting the students who are writing have a little extra time to work is a good way to ensure top quality articles. You can do this by exempting them from some other activities, leaving them to do research and interviews or write, instead.

Getting students to team up on research and yearbook journalism will also help them turn out better articles and work faster. Despite the time constraints, you can help them manage their time and end up with some top notch yearbook journalism.