Writing Practices to Build Agency in Student Journalists TILP by Jessica Brown

Yearbook 101: A How-To Guide for Teaching the Yearbook Basics

jessica_brown10 — 2025-06-19 03:37:20 UTC

Writing Strong Theme Copy

jessica_brown10 — 2025-06-19 03:37:57 UTC

How to complete your theme package now

jessica_brown10 — 2025-06-19 03:38:36 UTC

Promoting Student Agency in Writing

jessica_brown10 — 2025-06-19 03:39:18 UTC

Passion Replaces the Dullness of an Overused Journalistic Formula

jessica_brown10 — 2025-06-19 03:40:09 UTC

The critical role of agency in the development of a writing identity

jessica_brown10 — 2025-06-19 03:40:42 UTC

Big Takeaway

jessica_brown10 — 2025-06-19 03:41:08 UTC

Experimentation and risk taking should drive my instruction, encouraging my students to pursue their interests, specifically when brainstorming theme with my advanced staff at camp or teaching the writing unit in my Intro to Yearbook classes. This article is targeted at the middle grades, asserting that teaching writing is about the writer.

Standout Quote

jessica_brown10 — 2025-06-19 03:41:28 UTC

"Creely rightly argues that students need teachers prepared to allow them to write for real world purposes, not merely to please a teacher, or curriculum expectation" (Wright 20). Yearbook is as real world as it gets for a high school journalist!

Big Takeaway

jessica_brown10 — 2025-06-19 03:41:39 UTC

Though this article is aimed at elementary school teachers, I know that my yearbook staff thrives, especially creatively, when we go back to those elementary school basics. I'm intrigued by Barnes' suggestion that students can use blank paper and fold it into a format that supports their writing structure. I'm a very formulaic journalism teacher (inverted pyramid, quote-transition method, etc.); however, this idea that students choose and create their own structure would increase their agency as journalists.

Standout Quote

jessica_brown10 — 2025-06-19 03:41:45 UTC

"Passion connects with audiences. When people see a writer with personal knowledge, training and experience on a beat, who shows their caring and commitment for it, they read and listen. And when that passion is paired with expertise, the audience returns" (Niles 20).

Big Takeaway

jessica_brown10 — 2025-06-19 03:42:14 UTC

Although this article is aimed at broadcasting student journalists, Niles still draws on the power of writing stories, something even broadcast journalists do before going on air, and student choice in how they will write and present them, which doesn't always have to follow a formula. I could implement weekly journaling to help students reignite or find a passion for the writing side of journalism.

Big Takeaway

jessica_brown10 — 2025-06-19 03:42:26 UTC

There is MINIMAL peer-reviewed research out there about yearbook production, and even less about yearbook copy AKA the writing in a yearbook; this article itself only dedicates a paragraph to teaching yearbook writing.

Big Takeaway

jessica_brown10 — 2025-06-19 03:42:42 UTC

Convergence is the natural next step to brainstorming, and according to this study, works best with structure including attention guidance and discussion encouragement.

Standout Quote

jessica_brown10 — 2025-06-19 03:42:55 UTC

"Teachers must allow students to do more of the work while providing them with tools and strategies to engage in metacognition about the writing process as they share their own thoughts and ideas" (Barnes 789).

Standout Quote

jessica_brown10 — 2025-06-19 03:43:05 UTC

"Now, my lesson on copy emphasizes the writing process. I teach a minilesson on how to write body copy and group students to analyze body copy from award-winning yearbooks" (Vettraino 27-28).

Standout Quote

jessica_brown10 — 2025-06-19 03:43:15 UTC

“Even if the idea creator has a clear understanding of the idea, the knowledge that needs to be externalized into a written idea description consists of parts that are explicit (knowledge that can be codified) and implicit (knowledge that is difficult to

transfer)” (Seeber et al. 959).

Excerpted text to be annotated

jessica_brown10 — 2025-06-19 04:17:26 UTC

Beyond Brainstorming: Exploring Convergence in Teams

jessica_brown10 — 2025-06-19 20:40:35 UTC

Using Twitter to assist students in writing a concise nut graph

jessica_brown10 — 2025-06-23 01:21:17 UTC

Even though Twitter is no longer cool (or called that), this article was inspiring and for the first time in my journalism career, I understand what a nut graph is.

Journalism Kids Do It Better

jessica_brown10 — 2025-06-23 01:22:25 UTC

Dated text, but I'm here for it.

When “Journalism Kids” Do Better: A Reassessment of Secondary and Postsecondary Achievement and Activities

jessica_brown10 — 2025-06-23 01:23:16 UTC

Update to the dated text, and I'm still here for it.

From disillusion to engagement: Minority teen journalists and the news media

jessica_brown10 — 2025-06-23 01:24:17 UTC

crowleylynn — 2025-06-25 16:58:56 UTC

Went to this presentation at NCTE in Boston this year, great for Equity more in class, but might help in yearbook.

Power writing with National Writing Project works great, and can be competitive within yourself as much as peers, I think they have resources too. But I found this one that is elementary but great prompts to start.

crowleylynn — 2025-06-25 17:00:36 UTC

From Story Matters -- Life Inventory Questions (could be good for developing interviews)

tedfabiano1 — 2025-06-25 17:02:20 UTC

Check out Writing Marathons where you field trip into a place and write about the history of that place and then move to next area of it and do the same.

crowleylynn — 2025-06-25 17:02:41 UTC

Could you field trip to football field, or library, or auditorium, or special place at the school, or even barnes and noble or special place for kids in Lee's Summit and write or be surrounded by yearbooks and brainstorm and write.

TILP Launch Podcast

jessica_brown10 — 2025-06-25 17:03:23 UTC

We start every writing lesson with writing into the day here are some prompts - normally I have to mirror our lesson or topic but these are silly fun ones

2025-06-25 17:03:58 UTC

kjolley11 — 2025-06-25 17:05:40 UTC

You could maybe have students practice writing copy for these images.

Could be a good way to find story ideas

tedfabiano1 — 2025-06-25 17:08:34 UTC

We do a magazine project in 4th grade and each page has to be a different structure (Problem & solution, Compare & contrast, Cause & Effect, Descriptive, Sequence) that way they learn the text structure I wonder if you could do this with year book. Write me a "Problem & solution" story in our school. Write me a "Cause & effect" story about XYZ?

2025-06-25 17:08:51 UTC

More interview models

nicholeschroeder2 — 2025-06-25 17:12:30 UTC

In "Storycorps," people interview friends and loved ones about their stories. It could be fun to explore this channel for ideas and models.

irileyjones — 2025-06-25 17:12:37 UTC

Look into the best part of me book and student writing :)

2025-06-25 17:15:47 UTC