Course Outline
The course outline includes the following components:
Concept: Identify and put into practice the skills necessary in conceptualizing the yearbook.
Coverage: Identify, master, and put into practice the skills necessary to develop comprehensive coverage and deadline plans.
Design and Graphics: Identify, master, and put into practice the skills necessary in designing and preparing the yearbook for the publisher.
Finance: Identify, master, and put into practice the skills necessary to budget and finance the yearbook.
Advertising
News Reporting: Identify, master, and put into practice the skills necessary to report and write the story of the year in copy, headlines, captions, and alternative formats
Interviewing:
Photography: Identify, master, and put into practice the skills necessary to plan and produce photographs.
Page Submission: Identify, master, and put into practice the skills necessary to submit yearbook pages to the publisher.
- Explore the philosophy of the yearbook, understanding its functions as a full year, informative and entertaining book.
- Identify the basic processes associated with printing the book, and learn terminology valuable to communication with the publisher.
- Understand the contribution of the thematic development to the coverage of the year and to the cohesion of the yearbook.
- Recognize the importance of the cover in generating the reader’s first impression and as the unifying feature of the book.
- Study and plan ways in which the end sheets, opening, closing, and dividers can unite the yearbook into a solid, appealing account of the details of the year, the school, and the people involved.
Coverage: Identify, master, and put into practice the skills necessary to develop comprehensive coverage and deadline plans.
- Understand the content needs and wants of the purchasing audience.
- Identify the basic 5 sections of the yearbook, as well as the optional areas of coverage.
- Calculate the percentage of pages to be allotted to each section of the book to best ensure complete, balanced coverage.
- Determining the content ideas for each section.
- Understand the value of the ladder as an important planning as well as production tool to the meeting of deadlines.
Design and Graphics: Identify, master, and put into practice the skills necessary in designing and preparing the yearbook for the publisher.
- Recognize the importance of presenting content in a logical manner to give material a planned look.
- Master the basic essentials of effective design including columnar structure, adequate and consistent internal and external margins, dominance, spread linkage, and the incorporation of all the primary elements.
- Recognize the function of graphic enhancement and master the techniques used to unify or separate content.
- Master the terminology associated with the production of the yearbook in publisher’s terms.
- Identify and master the use of work materials, submission forms, and become familiar with computer programs for use in the production of the yearbook.
Finance: Identify, master, and put into practice the skills necessary to budget and finance the yearbook.
- Understand the responsibility of staff members for financial well-being of publications.
- Identify the cost factors involved in the production of the yearbook and compile a budget plan involving projected income and estimated expenses.
- Plan a book sales campaign, a basic advertising campaign, and supplemental income generators that will finance the publication as defined in the budget process and specifications.
- Learn campaign techniques and strategies for both publication and advertising sales.
- Apply advertising techniques to individual advertisement and section design
- Understand the importance of record keeping and develop a plan that guarantees effective receipting, billing, posting, and auditing procedures.
Advertising
- To teach students the role advertising plays in the production of the publication
- To help students plan and mount an effective advertising sales campaign
News Reporting: Identify, master, and put into practice the skills necessary to report and write the story of the year in copy, headlines, captions, and alternative formats
- Identify the three basic types and define the roles of copy, including the stories, headlines and captions.
- Recognize the importance of information gathering skills and understand the guidelines for collecting background material, conducting polls and surveys, and determining and interviewing sources, all necessary for story, headline, and caption writing.
- Recognize the parts of a headline and learn to write and design the basic patterns.
- Identify the parts of captions and understand content, grammatical, and design approaches.
Interviewing:
- To teach students the basic skill and techniques of interviewing.
- To help students develop sound listening and observational skills.
- To teach students to take accurate notes and transcribe information accurately.
- To help students gain practical experience through participation in news gathering exercises.
- To teach students how to recognize sources of news.
Photography: Identify, master, and put into practice the skills necessary to plan and produce photographs.
- Recognize the importance of planning a systematic approach to photographic coverage.
- Identify the ways in which photographs can be incorporated to have the most storytelling impact.
- Master basic camera handling and shooting procedures to enable the staff member to take photographs when necessary
- Apply photo-editing skills including cropping and proportioning procedures.
- Understand focus, contrast, and composition guidelines to produce acceptable quality prints.
- Master the use of tools, instructions, and materials associated with preparing photographs for submission to the publisher.
- To help students learn to communicate effectively and esthetically through photography.
Page Submission: Identify, master, and put into practice the skills necessary to submit yearbook pages to the publisher.
- Understand the process of setting specifications for the yearbook including quantity of pages, type of cover, number of colors, and other guidelines.
- Master the system by which all components for an individual page go into a single page envelope for submission to the printing plant.
- Learn how to properly complete a Pages Submitted Record that both the printing plant and the staff use to keep careful account of what spreads are sent with each deadline shipment.
- Become acquainted with the process for sending pages to the printing plant to meet periodic page submission deadlines.