As you look toward finishing drafts of articles for the institute's online publication, I encourage you to use articles you enjoy as models. I learn a lot from Calvin Woodward, a Washington-based writer for The Associated Press. He offers a feature approach to news inside the Beltway, and I find his ideas, writing style and handling of context refreshingly conversational.
Please take a look at his Father's Day article geared toward President Barack Obama's experiences with his father. The lead-in is simple, conversational and engaging:
I admire the cadence of Woodward's prose. It's a conversation with the reader, expressing ideas simply and anticipating and answering questions through statements of context. His sentences rarely go beyond 20 words. Not surprisingly, most sentences in conversation rarely go beyond 20 words. Most don't even approach that count.WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama got a basketball, his first name and ambition from his father. Little else.
The son gave back more than he received: a lifetime of ruminations about the man who abandoned the family, a memoir named Dreams from My Father and endless reflections on his own successes and shortcomings as a parent of Sasha, 8, and Malia, 10.
As a candidate and now president, he's been telling men what sort of father they should be. It's become his Father's Day ritual: asking American men to be better fathers than his own.
As you complete your stories, read your writing aloud. If you trip over phrases or find that something sounds confusing, chances are the reader will too.
Steve Elliott
Arizona State University
Phoenix
Posts
If you had a pretty good writer who graduated a year or two before your current bunch, you can use that student's work. Some/many of the students will know him/her and will respond favorably. Really, any good writing from past issues is good. kids think, "if he/she can do it, then so can I."
ReplyDeleteIf winning stories from your state j association are available, use them. The National Edition of hsj.org has lots of good stories, also. kids relate to kids.
A really great source of finding stories to use as examples is the Associated Press news feed on yahoo.com. Just find what you need and use it. It's like a never-ending stream of information.
If a reporter (preferably younger than older) at the local paper has time, you could get him or her to speak to your students. You don't want him/her to tell how, you want war stories. Then it's like watching a movie, but with a live person. kids want to know how he or she gets stories and want he or she went through to get it into print. kids also want to see if the teacher knows what he is talking about so they'll ask the reporter if what they're doint in class is "real". Students more easily relate to a younger person than an older person, I've found.
I have a mantra that I drive into their heads. It's simple but works:
--Answer the question, "what happened," then write that down
--New idea, new paragraph. Put important stuff up high
--Quotes get their own paragraphs
--End it on a quote, or just end it.
For a feature story the first item changes, of course.
For fun and to fill slack time before a holiday or long weekend, I'll pick a class and have a contest, called "Beat Webber." I create a topic, we all (including me) write a story, put a number at top instead of names, and the entire class chooses the winners. I buy gift cards from Subway, Whataburger, Wendy's or other place to use as prizes for the top kids. I usually am one of the winners, so we have a drawing so a kid can get that one. It's expensive but a lot of fun.
Mark Webber
Trevino School of Comm and Fine Arts
Laredo, Texas
As someone who comes from an exclusively literary background, writing a news article is entirely counter intuitive. I have never written the most important piece of info in the first line. If I did, it rested on a world of subtext.
ReplyDeleteThe journalistic experience I am receiving at the Reynolds Institute is invaluable. I am looking at the method now. I think I'll also make Alan's "Story of the Week" assignment a mainstay in my journalism and media classes, so my students can start to see what makes a good article interesting and well-written.
Adam Haller
Northwestern High School
Baltimore Md
These are all wonderful ideas. Modeling is incredibly important in the classroom. I like the idea of analyzing professional writing, as well as modeling with past student writers.
ReplyDeleteIn the same regard, modeling the editing process is also important. I model editing in my classroom in a few different ways.
1. Direct-Instruction: I will ask students to submit papers via email so that I can project them and talk through my editing process on the board.
2. Modeling a writer’s conference: a student volunteer comes to the front of the room with two copies of his/her paper – she will read aloud as I silently follow, marking comments on my copy without interrupting. When she finishes, we talk through my comments – she gets both copies. Students then break into groups of 3-4 and repeat this process.
3. A kinesthetic approach to model the importance of giving specific, quality feedback involves a pail, tennis ball and two student volunteers. Two students stand in front of the classroom, one with the pail facing the other student, the other with the ball and her back to the pail - the object is for the student with the ball to get it into the pail without looking. The class is to give feedback to help the student get the ball in the pail. Of course this is a difficult process – and initially the class will give feedback such as “you missed!” The teacher then should guide the students through a discussion on what types of feedback actually help the thrower, eventually comments turn to “a little to the left, bend your elbow more, a little softer,” etc. The teacher then can ask “how does this demonstration relate to giving feedback on writing?” Specific – focused – precise. Usually students are energized after this activity and do a much better job of peer-editing.
Andrea Krueger
Centennial High School
Circle Pines, Minnesota