Documentary: Bowling For Columbine

Today, we'll start with a little brainstorming:

• What are some key issues in American culture that you feel are relevant or important?

One category of realistic film (often connected to journalism) is the documentary film. An aspect of reality captured on film to create a historical record of the times we live in, documentary film is one of the oldest and most significant styles of filmmaking.

If we divide cinema into real and fiction, Documentary is the most realistic film style.

Narrative in film, while attempting to be realistic, usually includes camera shots and angles that are most unnatural. Editing also plays an important role in film, as the pacing, the content, and how the film is presented to us and in what order, can influence or manipulate our emotions as viewers. When this happens, we call this formalistic.

Originally, documentary films started off as just "home movies" or simple scenes of ordinary life (without actors or scripts). They were capturing real life on film for the purpose of sharing reality with its audience.

Here's a famous example of one of the first films: The Arrival of a Train (1897)

Filmmakers today use documentary to "document" important social, political, and popular cultural events. An example:

Survivors by Errol Morris

What sort of topics might you come up with if you were going to make a documentary? Make a list of topics that you can think of that would make a good or interesting documentary.

Take some time to discuss this with your small group. Add ideas to your list.

After our class discussions, we will screen the documentary film: Michael Moore's Bowling For Columbine (2002).

HOMEWORK: Please read the introduction and chapter one of Chew on This (1-36). On YOUR blog, please respond to the first chapter by reflecting on your experience with fast food. Did your family allow you to eat fast food regularly? Do you sit down every evening to a home cooked meal? Examine your family's feeding routine and write about it. Add any details from the chapter that you thought were interesting to comment on.

Newsletter Project: Final Day

Please complete the following this morning in the lab:

1. Your newsletter/magazine project is due today. Instead of printing your file, please send it to my email address: bradley.craddock@rcsdk12.org as an attachment and I will print it out for your group.

2. For homework last class, I asked you to read one of the articles or websites from one of these websites on journalism:

• http://www.layouth.com (the sample articles are found in the ARCHIVES)

• http://www.reporter.org

• basic-journalism-websites

Please POST A LINK TO THE ARTICLE you read on your BLOG, summarize the article in 3-5 sentences and add a reflective review of what you personally learned about journalism through the article or from reviewing the web site you chose on your blog post.

HOMEWORK: None. The end of the Marking Period is coming up (May 9). Please turn in any missing work!

Newsletter: Day 2

Last class we chose a partner and began to create a newsletter (2 sided) where you completed the following:

• 1. Decide on the kind of newsletter/magazine you would like to work on with your partner. 
• 2. Brainstorm some names for the magazine/newsletter. Titles usually help a prospective reader find and identify the kind of magazine he/she would like to read.
• 3. Brainstorm some potential article ideas. 
• 4. Create headlines for your article ideas. These should be short and intriguing titles. Be creative!
• 5. If you have brainstormed at least 5 story ideas and titles, you may begin writing the articles. Make up details or conduct research as you see fit, but above all: be detailed and creative! 

Most newspaper articles interview or have short quotes from participants. Newspaper articles answer: who, what, where, when, how, and why? about a particular event.

Now it's time to start writing your articles. You will need to complete 2-pages of articles (you may include pictures or fake advertisements in your "magazine". Each partner should write enough articles on topics you brainstormed with your partner to fill 2-pages (a back and a front). Taken together, you will be creating a 4-page magazine. You may choose, if you'd like (for extra credit) to write a 6-page newsletter--some of you are capable of this kind of length. Decide on your length as a team.

Learn this JOURNALISM vocabulary:

Headlines: the attention grabbing title of an article
Masthead: the name of the newspaper/magazine (usually designed, but doesn't change); Also includes the publishing staff information (who is on staff, who the editor is, etc.); usually appears on the first page of the magazine/newspaper or editorial page.

Article: a specific story/narrative/non-fiction writing about a specific topic
Body: refers to the text of an article
Hook: Every article starts off with an attention grabbing sentence.

Some ideas for articles:

• Interview a parent, neighbor, or student and write out the interview as if you were a reporter. See this link for ideas how to set up and conduct an interview.
• Film/Book/Theater Review: watch a film, read a book, go see a theater or musical production and review the event. Review a book you read this year either for pleasure or for English class. 
• How-to articles: many magazines have articles that focus on how to do something. Usually these articles have good advice.

Please check out these links: 

WEBSITES to gain more ideas for writing projects:

http://www.layouth.com

http://www.reporter.org

A variety of journalism websites: basic-journalism-websites

HELP/ADVICE WRITING ARTICLES:

If you need HELP writing journalism articles, check this website out for advice!

To add or delete pages, select add or remove pages from the INSERT menu. 

HOMEWORK: Choose one link from the journalism website(s) posted above. Read and research this site. Be prepared to share this link with the class.

The Newsletter Project

We will start today by looking at some magazines. Magazine writing is one way in which young or inexperienced authors can break into the writing field. It's not easy, though. But there are enough magazines out there for every kind of reader.

Library task: flip through samples of 2-3 magazines during period 3. Mark your observations on the handout sheet (to be turned in for participation credit at the end of 3rd period).

Note:

• What is the magazine's title?
• identify the audience for this magazine (who is likely to be the reader of this magazine?)
• What sorts of articles does the magazine seem to print? (list some topics or themes)
• Read ONE article in full. List its title and add a summary of the article.
• Why do you think there are so many ads in this magazine?
• What patterns of ads do you notice? How might the ads target the reader of this kind of magazine?
• If you were to write for this magazine, what would your article be about?

Back in the lab (4th period):

Open a template for a newsletter. I'd suggest using Microsoft Word or Pages, but if you are comfortable with InDesign, feel free to use that. Your newsletter should be 4 pages (that would be two pages printed back to back: I will make your copies, you don't have to worry about that). NOTE: your final newsletter will be black and white.

Choose a partner. You (and your partner) will create a newsletter (2 sided) where you complete the following (most brainstorming should find its way into your journal!):

• 1. Decide on the kind of newsletter/magazine you would like to work on with your partner. 
• 2. Brainstorm some names for the magazine/newsletter. Titles usually help a prospective reader find and identify the kind of magazine he/she would like to read.
• 3. Brainstorm some potential article ideas. Write these ideas down in your journal!
• 4. Create headlines for your article ideas. These should be short and intriguing titles. Be creative!
• 5. If you have brainstormed at least 5 story ideas and titles, you may begin writing the articles. Make up details or conduct research as you see fit, but above all: be detailed and creative! 

Most newspaper articles interview or have short quotes from participants. Newspaper articles answer: who, what, where, when, how, and why? about a particular event.

Homework: None.

Mr. Ludwig's Last Day

Please thank and say good-bye to Mr. Ludwig. He will be finishing his unit today. When we come back from break, we will return to this blog and continue our writing for publication course.

Congratulations, as well, to Cameron and Olivia for being finalists in the Geva Young Playwriting Contest. These two will get a public reading and professional performance with live actors and such in May. More details to follow!

Have a great and safe break! Get some rest. More writing projects will commence when we get back.

HOMEWORK: None. Feel free to continue writing on your blog!