Warwick School District

Course Description

This course is for students who want to improve and refine their writing skills. Students will examine and apply the basic tenets of print and online journalism. Students will observe different styles of news articles and apply those styles to their work. In addition, students will learn how to write feature stories.  Students will produce articles for student-run newspaper as well as regular updates for the Lititz Record Express. Since students are responsible for providing stories for the school newspaper and The Lititz Record Express, they must be able to meet strict deadlines.

Core Curriculum Content Standards

PA Common Core: English Language Arts (2013)

• Reading Informational Text: Students read, understand, and respond to informational text – with emphasis on comprehension, making connections among ideas and between texts with focus on textual evidence.

• GRADES 9-10

• Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.(1.2.9-10.A)
• Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences and conclusions based on an author’s explicit assumptions and beliefs about a subject.(1.2.9-10.B)
• Apply appropriate strategies to analyze, interpret, and evaluate how an author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.(1.2.9-10.C)
• Analyze in detail how an author’s ideas or claims are developed and refined by particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text.(1.2.9-10.E)
• Analyze how words and phrases shape meaning and tone in texts.(1.2.9-10.F)
• Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.(1.2.9-10.G)
• Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing the validity of reasoning and relevance of evidence.(1.2.9-10.H)
• Analyze seminal U.S. documents of historical and literary significance, including how they address related themes and concepts.(1.2.9-10.I)
• Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.(1.2.9-10.J)
• Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade level reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies and tools.(1.2.9-10.K)
• Read and comprehend literary non-fiction and informational text on grade level, reading independently and proficiently.(1.2.9-10.L)

• Writing: Students write for different purposes and audiences. Students write clear and focused text to convey a well-defined perspective and appropriate content.

• GRADES 9-10

• Write informative/ explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately.(1.4.9-10.A)
• Write with a sharp distinct focus identifying topic, task, and audience.(1.4.9-10.B)
• Develop and analyze the topic with relevant, well-chosen, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic; include graphics and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.(1.4.9-10.C)
• Organize ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; use appropriate and varied transitions to link the major sections of the text; include formatting when useful to aiding comprehension; provide a concluding statement or section.(1.4.9-10.D)
• Demonstrate a grade appropriate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and spelling.(1.4.9-10.E)
• Write with an awareness of the stylistic aspects of composition.-Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic.-Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms of the discipline in which they are writing.-Establish and maintain a formal style.(1.4.9-10.F)
• Write with a sharp distinct focus identifying topic, task, and audience.-Introduce the precise claim.(1.4.9-10.H)
• Write with an awareness of the stylistic aspects of composition.-Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic.-Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms of the discipline in which they are writing.-Establish and maintain a formal style.(1.4.9-10.K)
• Demonstrate a grade appropriate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and spelling.(1.4.9-10.L)
• Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events.(1.4.9-10.M)
• Use narrative techniques such as dialogue, description, reflection, multiple plot lines, and pacing, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters; use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, settings, and/or characters.(1.4.9-10.O)
• Create a smooth progression of experiences or events using a variety of techniques to sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole; provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on what is experienced, observed, or resolved over the course of the narrative.(1.4.9-10.P)
• Write with an awareness of the stylistic aspects of writing.-Use parallel structure.-Use various types of phrases and clauses to convey meaning and add variety and interest.(1.4.9-10.Q)
• Demonstrate a grade appropriate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and spelling.(1.4.9-10.R)
• Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research, applying grade level reading standards for literature and literary non-fiction.(1.4.9-10.S)
• Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.(1.4.9-10.T)
• Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.(1.4.9-10.U)
• Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.(1.4.9-10.V)
• Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.(1.4.9-10.W)
• Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes and audiences.(1.4.9-10.X)

• Speaking and Listening: Students present appropriately in formal speaking situations, listen critically, and respond intelligently as individuals or in group discussions.

• GRADES 9-10

• Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions on grades level topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.(1.5.9-10.A)
• Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g. visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.(1.5.9-10.B)
• Evaluate a speaker’s perspective, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence.(1.5.9-10.C)
• Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning; ensure that the presentation is appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.(1.5.9-10.D)
• Make strategic use of digital media in presentations to add interest and enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence.(1.5.9-10.E)
• Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks.(1.5.9-10.F)
• Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English when speaking based on grade 9-10 level and content.(1.5.9-10.G)

Units

Unit #1 - Intoduction to the Course

Unit #2 - History of American Journalism

Unit #3 - First Amendment Freedom and the Responsibility of the Press

Unit #4 - News: What is it? How do you gather it?

Unit #5 - The Art of Interviewing

Unit #6 - Writing News Leads and Articles Using The Inverted Pyramid

Unit #7 - Fundamentals of Copy Editing

Unit #8 - Headline Writing Techniques

Unit #9 - Basic Feature Writing