Fall 2018-Spring 2019/ annashort@davidson.k12.nc.us

Yearbook Syllabus Mrs. Anna Short

 Course Description:Yearbook is a production-based class that creates the NorDaHi yearbook.  The staff is solely responsible for the content, design, layout, marketing, and selling of the book.  The benefit of this class is that students learn how to manage a full-scale, full-budget production that involves innovating, creating, editing, enhancing, advertising, selling, and distributing our very own book.

Course Objectives♦ Learn and demonstrate journalistic principles♦ Develop the concept of the yearbook♦ Understand how a yearbook theme keeps consistency and flow within the yearbook.♦ Learn to use the yearbookavenue.jostens.com design site.♦ Meet original deadlines ♦ Deliver the yearbook to the staff and students on time.

Expectations:While completing this course, students will have the opportunity to demonstrate proficiency in the following areas:

♦ Interviewing/Factual researching ♦ Interpersonal communication♦ Legal/Ethical media issues ♦ Meeting production deadlines♦ Photography principles and/or practice♦ Headline/caption writing♦ Knowledge of current events♦ Jostens yearbookavenue.com

Participation: Students enrolled in yearbook are expected to participate fully during class, as many learning activities and stories will be due before the end of the class block. Time outside of class will be required for interviewing, reporting and shooting at various school and community-related events. In addition, students will be expected to perform every page or photo assignment using the highest ethical and legal standards for publication.

Grading: Grading Weight: The category weights below are assigned by Davidson County Schools. All assignment values are at the discretion of the instructor.

MAJOR WORKS: 60% (monthly deadlines, ad sales, etc.)MINOR WORKS: 40% (homework, classwork, quizzes, etc.)OVERALL GRADE:

● 40% 1st 9 Weeks● 40% 2nd 9 Weeks● 20% Final Exam (given at end of course)

90%-100% A 80%-89% B 70%-79% C 60%-69% D 0%-59% F

Plagiarism/using non-legitimate sources or fact-gathering practices:

Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Students in yearbook are required to submit their own work and cite their sources. This means interviewing sources one-on-one in person, or if that is not possible, via a phone call. Interviews using email, Facebook, or any other non-live sources are not considered legitimate sources to use for quotation purposes for publication. (The exception is using an e-mail or website information area that—for example—relays factual/statistical information for use in a story, such as a scoreboard or stats for a sports team from a coach, the number of tickets sold for a dance from the financial secretary, etc.) In addition, we can’t use any images that we haven’t taken ourselves or that our photographers haven’t taken for us, or that students haven’t submitted directly. We may manipulate copyrighted images but only under fair use guidelines. Any student caught plagiarizing, manufacturing quotes, fabricating facts and/or using non-legitimate sources/fact- gathering practices will receive a grade of “F/0” for the assignment.

Deadlines: Publication deadlines and timeliness are essential components of yearbook. Consequently, if you miss your deadlines, you will receive a poor grade. Because our yearbook is directly tied to specific deadlines set by our publisher, major deadlines are major grades. Each month, you will have a Major Deadline. Each month is broken down by week so that if you complete all of your weekly deadlines for the month, you will earn a good monthly (major) grade.

Yearbook Late Nights: Before each monthly deadline, we will have a Yearbook Late Night during which staff can stay late to finish up their pages. This is where the bonding and grit happens as we all work and laugh and eat together to try to meet the deadline as a team. These are not required. However, these will signify the end of the staff deadline, so if a student doesn’t have his/her assigned pages done and does not come to the late night, it will be considered a missed deadline and will affect his/her grade.

Special Notice: This is a production class. Work must be drafted, edited, revised, and simply perfected, before each deadline, otherwise you will earn a poor grade. This isn’t like any class you’ve taken, and the accountability is much higher. The plus side is that you’ll be far more ready for the real world as a result.

Yearbook Syllabus Agreement: Signing the Staff Contract signifies that you have also read, understood, and agree to the terms outlined in this syllabus, including the Staff Contract. You agree to meet all deadlines and complete all assigned work to the best of your ability. You understand that, at times, you will be required to work outside of class (including nights and weekends) to meet the academic and performance requirements of Yearbook.