Unit 1: How do we get information/news?
Unit 2: Ethics in Journalism
Students will understand how to meet ethical and legal responsibilities in journalism.
Essential Questions: by the end of this unit, students will think about:
What is the Code of Ethics and how does it affect reporting?Why is it important to be accurate and objective in reporting?What court cases have impacted the way high school reports?Unit 3: Journalism Basics
Students will understand what makes news and how to cover it.
Essential Questions: by the end of this unit, students will think about:
What makes news? (definition, classic elements, do I care?)What is the best way to find news? (modern approaches, roundtables)Unit 4: News Organizations
Students will understand what goes into creating an effective news organization.
Essential Questions: by the end of this unit, students will think about:
How is a news organization broken down?What is the comparison between traditional news organization and school news organizations?Unit 5: Researching the Story
Students will understand how to find and use multiple sources when researching a story.
Essential Questions: by the end of this unit, students will think about:
How is a topic filtered to determine what are the important elements of the story? (Do I care? Do I really Care?)How to organize the important 5w’s and H?What is a hook and how is it determined?Unit 6: The Interview
Students will understand the responsibilities included in effective interviewing.
Essential Questions: by the end of this unit, students will think about:
How do people present themselves when interacting with others? (SOLER)How is an effective interview conducted?What are simple steps that can be taken to prepare and simplify the interview process?How are quotes used in a story? (quoting & referencing)Unit 7: Delivering the News: The Lead
Students will understand how to organize their writing to effectively tell a story in the lead sentence/paragraph of an article.
Essential Questions: by the end of this unit, students will think about:
What are the elements of lead writing?What is the upside down pyramid/logical order?How are effective leads written?Students will understand how to organize the body text of an article to convey information clearly.
Essential Questions: by the end of this unit, students will think about:
What is concise writing?How is a news story constructed with appropriate transitions?Why is accuracy important in reporting?What are the different types of headlines and how are they written?What is a news stylebook?Unit 9: Photojournalism
Students will understand the power of how one picture can tell a story.
Essential Questions: by the end of this unit, students will think about:
How can a story be told with a photo image?How have photo images impacted society?Unit 10: Laying Out The Paper
Students will understand the differences between print and broadcast journalism.
Essential Questions: by the end of this unit, students will think about:
How is a paper put together using design software?How does the layout of a newspaper affect the readability of the paper?What elements need to be included in creating a readable paper?Unit 11: Journalism is no longer just Print
Students will understand today’s information processor and utilize other media to present news.
Essential Questions: by the end of this unit, students will think about:
How can video used to report a story effectively?How are shots framed up so they don’t interfere with the message?What are the different types of tools that can be used to videotape?Unit 12: Broadcast Journalism
Students will understand the differences between print and broadcast journalism.
Essential Questions: by the end of this unit, students will think about:
How is a news story is put together for broadcast?Unit 13: Reporting in 140 Characters or Less
Students will understand the use of twitter as an effective news source.
Essential Questions: by the end of this unit, students will think about:
How is twitter used to report news?What is the benefit of hashtagging for news?Unit 14. Other Medias to use in Journalism
Students will understand the constant change in technology and explore current trends in information processing.
Essential Questions: by the end of this unit, students will think about:
What are the many current trends in distributing information? (instagram, facebook, youtube, schooltube, vine, etc)How can new trends in media be used to effectively present information to all audiences?