-Language Mechanics-

The learner will be able to:

• understand the connection between sentence punctuation and sentence meaning.
• use correct punctuation with direct quotations.
• use apostrophes in possessives.
• use quotation marks in a written dialogue.
• capitalize the first word in a direct quote.
• proofread a series of sentences for punctuation errors.
• edit for correct use of quotation marks.
• identify and correct incorrect uses of standard written English.

The learner will be able to:

• read the newspaper as an informed consumer.
• classify different kinds of material printed in the press.
• recognize the six elements that make an event newsworthy.
• identify the two main techniques for locating news.
• comprehend the characteristics that differentiate news, feature, editorital, and sports stories.
• identify the author's purpose in a given passage.
• draw a conclusion from implicit information found in a reading passage.
• identify persuasive language.
• identify persuasive techniques.
• recognize propaganda, various propaganda forms and strategies, and analyze the motivations behind specific acts of propaganda (in politics, advertising, history).
• identify the main idea, events, and supporting details of a passage.
• distinguish between fact and opinion.
• read to obtain information.
• read to support an opinion.

The learner will be able to:

• edit for correct spelling.
• correctly spell words without omitting letters.
• correctly spell words without adding letters.

The learner will be able to:

• understand how journalism and the press developed and learn about the current role of the media in American society.
• trace printing to the present day offset system.
• understand the role and responsibilities of the press in a free society.
• understand the meaning of a student journalist's rights and responsibilities under the law.
• understand the need for editorial policies to guide publications morally, legally, and ethically.
• define and discuss the importance of accuracy in the media.
• identify the qualities of a good reporter.
• understand how news is presented through newscasts, news magazines, and newspapers.
• recognize the role of a school newspaper.
• analyze how mass media affects the lives of Americans.

The learner will be able to:

• gather and research information pertaining to a specific story.
• compose probing questions to obtain desired information.
• develop solutions to existing problems.
• understand the point of view of different individuals and incorporate these views into stories.
• meet deadlines.
• determine what reference material a reporter might use to complete research for a newspaper article.
• research, polls, and surveys to gather information for news articles.
• incorporate and attribute information from various sources.
• identify irrelevant information.
• organize his/her thoughts.
• interpret information from various forms of data.

The learner will be able to:

• show sensitivity to sexism, and the physical and cultural biases inherent in certain vocabulary words.
• understand the specialized vocabulary of the media.

The learner will be able to:

• write, proofread, and revise stories to assure accuracy and readability.
• support beliefs by using concrete reasons and factual information in articles.
• express differences of opinion in writing without antagonizing or alienating specific groups.
• use the five W's and the H to write a lead for a news story.
• write a variety of leads and be able to choose the most appropriate form for a given story.
• write stories using a variety of structures including inverted pyramid, chronological order, and composite.
• use writing skills to write various types of stories.  These will include straight news, a meeting, a speech, sports stories, feature stories, columns, reviews, and editorials.
• write opinions without editorializing by stating facts accurately and completely.
• develop and use a stylebook.
• identify the function of headlines and learn to write and use them as a design element.
• lay out pages of a newspaper.
• use quotations, partial quotations, and paraphrases in writing a story.
• edit to produce correct copy and prepare it for typesetting.
• revise a passage for effective sentences, word choices, and clarity.
• engage in prewriting strategies such as mapping, listing, and clustering ideas.
• understand the drafting stage of the writing process and how to write drafts using ideas generated in the prewriting stage.
• understand the revising stage of the writing process, and how to approach drafts with specific goals for revisions.
• understand the rewriting stage of the writing process as an opportunity to apply peer and teacher input, to add to the content, to improve the style, and even to begin a new draft (incorporating the input received in previous writing stages as prewriting exercises).
• understand the editing stage of the writing process, and how to apply editing skills to his/her own written works and to the written works of peers.
• prepare and present written works to be shared with others.
• write collaboratively.

The learner will be able to:

• work in a group situation to solve problems.
• use one-on-one interviewing skills.

The learner will be able to:

• use a desktop publishing program to compose, edit, and revise news stories.
• use web page composing program to create a personal web page.

The learner will be able to:

• formulate questions which require a speaker to clarify meaning, analyze, and synthesize information.