The journalism class has a unique opportunity this semester. In December, we were approached by the local Public Broadcasting System (PBS) station and asked to join in the Student Reporting Labs project. This is a national program where select high school and middle school students create long-form news stories. (Packages longer than 2 minutes) which are submitted to the PBS Newshour, PBS's version of the nightly news.
The stories that make the cut are published on the Student Reporting Labs web site. The best ones are actually broadcast nationally on the PBS Newshour program.
I. Find the PBS Newshour site:
http://www.studentreportinglabs.com/reports
Today, we will tour the site and look at the curriculum and some of the student-made stories.
II. Click on the curriculum tab at the top of the page.
Then, click on the link that reads "the curriculum." This shows the lessons that students go through to create news packages.
Answer the following on a word document:
1. how many lessons are in this curriculum?
2. How many of these subjects did we cover in the first semester?
Next, click on the student reports tab. Watch the story entitled: "Teen Drag Racer Finds Inspiration Behind the Wheel."
Answer the following questions once you have finished viewing the video:
3. How long is the story?
4. How many people are interviewed for this piece?
5. List the people who are interviewed.
6. How was Jamie Little interiewed? By this I mean what technology allowed her interview to be recorded?
7. How are Shelby and her mom, and the other interviewees framed? What rule or rules of composition are used to frame them?
8. How old was Shelby when she started racing?
9. What is one stereotype the story tries to challenge?
10. What is the biggest weakness in the production of this piece? Is there a part of the story that is uneven, or inconsistent?
11. Who is Courtney Winney?
12. What does she do at the very end of the piece? What is this called?
13. Can you think of a story you would like to cover, or a person you would like to profile in a story like this for the PBS Student Reporting Labs?
The stories that make the cut are published on the Student Reporting Labs web site. The best ones are actually broadcast nationally on the PBS Newshour program.
I. Find the PBS Newshour site:
http://www.studentreportinglabs.com/reports
Today, we will tour the site and look at the curriculum and some of the student-made stories.
II. Click on the curriculum tab at the top of the page.
Then, click on the link that reads "the curriculum." This shows the lessons that students go through to create news packages.
Answer the following on a word document:
1. how many lessons are in this curriculum?
2. How many of these subjects did we cover in the first semester?
Next, click on the student reports tab. Watch the story entitled: "Teen Drag Racer Finds Inspiration Behind the Wheel."
Answer the following questions once you have finished viewing the video:
3. How long is the story?
4. How many people are interviewed for this piece?
5. List the people who are interviewed.
6. How was Jamie Little interiewed? By this I mean what technology allowed her interview to be recorded?
7. How are Shelby and her mom, and the other interviewees framed? What rule or rules of composition are used to frame them?
8. How old was Shelby when she started racing?
9. What is one stereotype the story tries to challenge?
10. What is the biggest weakness in the production of this piece? Is there a part of the story that is uneven, or inconsistent?
11. Who is Courtney Winney?
12. What does she do at the very end of the piece? What is this called?
13. Can you think of a story you would like to cover, or a person you would like to profile in a story like this for the PBS Student Reporting Labs?