Recent letter home describing the class and grading system
January 29, 2020
Dear Students, Parents, and Guardians,
Welcome to seventh grade journalism! I am very excited to be in my seventh year teaching this class at Diamond. I look forward to getting to know everyone!
About our class:
Students will work in groups as well as independently to ensure that everyone gains the most from the time we spend in class.
Students are encouraged to pay attention to the news, and think critically about media in the digital age.
Students explore concepts of media bias, fake news, and how to identify a trustworthy news source. Students learn about journalistic best practice while producing both print and video news reports.
Parents/Guardians please consider talking with your journalism student about current events!
Classwork and Homework:
All work will be started in class but, at times, might need to be finished at home.
Every student is allowed unlimited rewrites for all assignments.
Grades:
The three major sections of our class are given equal weight:
Media bias and reliable sources
Writing short news articles using the inverted pyramid structure
Producing video news segments
I will keep Google Classroom up to date and allow students to see their average at all times. Because I allow unlimited rewrites most students should receive an A.
Please be in touch with your questions. I’m looking forward to a great semester!
Best,
Kate Desjardins