Yearbook Syllabus
Week One:
1) Understanding rights and responsibility.
First Amendment and the responsibility that goes with it.
2) What is a yearbook?
Develop an understanding of all the purposes of a yearbook: record book, memory book, history book, photo book and public relations tool. Determine how to fulfill those functions.
Week Two:
1) Coverage: It’s what goes in a book
Discussion of sections and of brainstorming. Work toward covering all major events, sports, clubs and organizations, academic areas and stories of people.
Use brainstorming techniques to determine content for each spread in the book. Brainstorm further for ideas for story angle, headline and subhead and photographic ideas including content and the way the photo should be taken.
Week Three:
1) Photography: The heart and soul of a yearbook
Everyone should be a photographer and understand basic handling of a camera and how to take great photos. Students will learn how to take action, reaction and emotion photos (not posed) using the rules of composition. This is ongoing learning.
2) Writing captions: The extension of the photo
Captions are not just writing what you see. Students will learn the four-part way of writing captions: Headline, present tense what is happening without stating the obvious, past tense additional information that is not a generality but requires research and a quote from someone about the photo.
Week Four
1) Interviewing/Reporting
Students will learn effective techniques to gather information from a variety of sources.
a) Background resources: Used to find info that sources should expect reporter to know
b) Making a source comfortable and explaining purpose
c) Learning to ask questions that get detail and quotes
d) Giving the sources the last word
2) Organizing your notes
3) Looking for the quotable quotes
4) Finding a lead
5) Rough draft
6) Edits
Week Five-Seven
1) Work on stories and rewrites
2) Share with groups in triads
Week Eight
1) Alternative coverage
Discuss and show secondary coverage possibilities
2) Determine sidebar possibilities for story
3) Begin working on sidebar
Week Nine-Ten
1) Basic design
a) Basic elements and placement
b) Inner spacing
c) Photo placement/caption placement
2) Advanced design
a) Advanced spacing techniques
b) Color use that works
3) Typography
4) Using magazines for ideas
Week Eleven-Twelve
1) Putting it all together
a) Create a layout considering photographs available, dominance, visual variety and keeping headline and copy blocks modular
b) Create headline concept
c) Add sidebar coverage
d) Edit, edit, edit
Week Thirteen
1) Critique as a class. Discuss what was done well and what could be improved.
2) If time allows, make changes to improve the spreads
Week Fourteen-on
1) Assign spreads and using all the information taught, complete a spread using teamwork.
2) Assign mini-deadlines to ensure deadlines will be made with ease and quality work.
Choice F.
