Yearbook Themes

For my Teaching High School Journalism class, I gave a presentation on developing yearbook themes with the immense help of a California journalism adviser, Casey Nichols. Casey told me that there are three reasons to have a yearbook theme: 1) to unify the yearbook; 2) to help create a better book more easily and 3) to make the book more comfortable for your readers.

Casey provided a set of test questions to work towards developing a yearbook theme:

• Does our theme fit our school, this year?
• Can we develop the theme without overdoing it?
• Does our theme invite new story ideas, or new angles on annual stories?
• Is the theme student friendly?

Casey also provided steps to develop a theme:

• Look at last three yearbooks and eliminate big ideas, colors, etc.
• Determine anything special about the next year or develop a concept ... the big idea of the story you are going to tell, as well as the general tone (i.e. pride, humorous, thoughtful, double edged).
• Look for specific word or phrase that will invite verbal connections.
• Look for graphics and photos (and colors) that match the tone or mood you are trying to set.
• Develop enough of a plan to “sell” to the class, then brainstorm ways to develop this theme/story (magazine search).

Another important thing to remember is to utilize the information given to you by your yearbook rep, and do not be afraid to communicate ideas with them... they usually have years of experience!

New Literacies: Class Reflection

My Multi-Modal class is coming to an end, but the experiences I have gained through this course is definitely something that I will use when I become an educator. I have done things that I always thought would be fun (like create and write on a blog), and I have done things that I have never heard of (ning). This class really showed the multitude of possibilities in using technology in the English classroom. It allowed me to reevaluate my perceptions and expectations of an English classroom...and to become more excited about teaching!
This is also one of the first classes where I have really wanted to keep my books (except for my literature classes, of course!). Dr. Kist's book was really helpful in laying out classroom and school dynamics in regards to integrating technology in classrooms. How to Teach Great Films is an excellent resource, and the articles that we have read have been really interesting.
Multi-Modal is one of those courses where you work very hard to accomplish a lot of stuff in a relatively short amount of time, and it ultimately ends up very rewarding!

Wham! Pow!

I've mentioned before on this blog that I am not a huge fan of graphic novels. Its not that I possess a hatred for them or anything; I just never got into reading them. To tell the truth, I always had this stereotype in my mind of what a graphic novel entailed... a lot of pictures with words like "kaboom!" and "pow!" plastered all over the pages. However, after reading The Complete Persepolis my initial thoughts (and perhaps prejudices) have been altered... there are really good graphic novels out there that tell real powerful stories and that display true emotion, which readers (even those that are not graphic novel enthusiasts) can relate to.
As a future educator, my initial thought of how to use a graphic novel in a classroom was always targeted toward non-motivated students or exceptional students. I saw them as a tool to get students more interested in reading, and as a support to help exceptional students tackle more difficult aspects like the comprehension of plot, character types, setting, etc. After reading Persepolis, and enjoying it so thoroughly I realized that perhaps another look at graphic novels was in order. I began to think of my beloved childhood heroes like Batman, Spiderman, and Wolverine and the fact that all of those characters originated from graphic novels. Obviously there is something worth valuing... look at how many TV shows and films have been based on graphic novels. There is a strong sense of character development throughout many graphic novels, and the more I thought about it the more I felt that graphic novels deserve a place in the English classroom targeted for all types of students, especially as an alternative writing form.