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The Perfect Pitch
Module 1, Activity 7.4 - Group Layout Project
Student Page
(teacher lesson for this page)

Introduction:

In this lesson, you will choose one of three layout projects to present. You will be working in a team of two, and will be responsible for creating original photographs to present to your editor.

Activities:

Task One - Planning the Pitch
You and your partner will be a team of two. One of you will do the photography and photo editing, and the other will be in charge of layout and design.

Together you get to select a topic that you would like to cover. The topic must be newsworthy, be a local story and contain subject matter that your school and journalistic ethics allow you to photograph.

football photograph

Potential Topics

  1. Local artistic production like a show or play
  2. Local tournament
  3. Controversial issue in your community
  4. Cultural or leisure event
  5. Profile of a local celebrity
  6. Local disaster

Once you have selected your topic, read the whimsically written assignment handout to learn the next steps.

Task Two - Negotiating the Ballot
In order to create the ballot, the class must start by asking some questions:

  • What objectives do we need to meet?
  • What are measurable ways to see if we have met them?
  • How will we know what is excellent, what is average and what is weak?
Objectives:

You will be able to
- understand the major functions of photographs in publications
- understand photo layout, cropping, sizing, and writing cutlines
- take effective photographs
- experiment with design and layout using a computer and desktop publishing program
- complete and present a project
- understand the legal limitations on the media
- understand the limitations that may be imposed on student journalists, depending on school policy
- recognize the value of teamwork and co-operation
Resources:

- Assign handout "The Pitch"
- digital camera
- presentation software for making slide shows or specialized documents like papers and pamphlets
Task Two Continued. . .
After you have discussed the guiding questions, you are ready to develop a way to measure how each team does at the task.

Making a Rubric

A rubric is a tool with very specific categories. It measures how well an objective is met. Rather than just saying use of class time is out 10, a rubric says what a student would do to get a ten, and what things a student would do for each of the ratings like 4 or 8.

man measuring

The rubric your class has created is the way in which your team's ability to meet the objectives is measured. Once the rubric is done, the teams have three work periods to prepare for their presentations. You should start with taking the pictures and laying out your design on the computer. Remember to match the pictures you take and the design you make to what the class agreed was excellent.

By the end of the second day, you should have inserted the pictures in the design and written the captions. That will give you time during your third work day to revise your end product then plan and practice your presentation.

 

Last Updated
May 30, 2005

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