October 21 - Assignments plus something really cool

Please get your stories done. Please.

Here is something very interesting for you to check out. It is part video game and part investigative reporter. It may not open at school because it is a very dense program. Try it at home. I know that I just had to wait for maybe five minutes for it to load while I looked at a totally black screen.

It is very, very cool.

Ms. Greer
Silver Spring, Md.

Assignment - October 14 - Let's talk about grades

Reporters look at the underpinnings of things. (The above photo is the underbelly of a parade float which is relevant to this week of JFK Homecoming.)

In a journalism class, there is intrinsic motivation.

You are motivated because you want to do it, not because someone told you to.

So you guys signed a contract at the beginning of the year that you knew you had four (4) summative news packages due. The dates for these were:

Sept. 12
Sept. 26
October 10
October 24

These are now in the gradebook and will not be going away.

Please talk to me about where I have not given you credit. This will be a real focus the next two weeks to fix but make sure you give me material to work with, ok?.

I have not pressured you. That is not my job. You are to be reporters and sniff out good news stories. That is why this class is different than others. You self-direct with collaboration with your editor and at the end, yours truly.

Packages included the following:

**Photo (to anchor the story on our website)

**300-word article with relevant quotes from people who matter near the story who are value-added to our understanding of it

**Some kind of media (audio, video, slide show, graph, etc.)

It is time.

I will also be giving you other projects, but they will be formative.

Ms. Greer
Silver Spring, Md.

October 8, 2014 - Assignment

Today you are going to check out some "best of" articles by students around the country.

Read them (there are FOUR) and then critique what you think/notice about them. How is their use of quotes? How do they use vocabulary? How is the story organized? Include the answers to these questions in your critique. (6.25 pts. each critique)

First up is this wrestling story at this link

FYI: All quotes that are made bigger for emphasis are called "pull quotes."

Second story is about two goalies at this link.

Third story is here and about a longboarder.

Notice the link to his YouTube channel.

Here is the last story. See how you can take a small story in an academic department and make it very interesting.

TYPE THESE UP AND SEND TO NEWFRONTIERINBOX@GMAIL.COM. Due Date: Friday, October 10, 2014.

Ms. Greer
Silver Spring, Md.

Oct. 6 - Survey for PBS

Please take this survey for PBS SRL. Thank you. A pizza party is possible if we do this.

Here is the link: Ms. Greer
Silver Spring, Md.