Young Journalist’s Book: How to Write and Produce Your Own Newspaper

CBS anchor Scott Pelley said at a speech at Quinnipiac University that journalists “are getting big stories wrong, over and over again,” as quoted by a commenter on The Idaho State Journal politics blog.
Young Journalist’s Book: How to Write and Produce Your Own Newspaper, is a great place to help children begin learn the difference between good and bad journalism.

The book is a step-by-step guide that explains what a journalist does, what makes an interesting story, and how newspapers differ from books. Students learn about gathering facts, writing a story, proofreading, designing layout, printing, and distributing their newspaper. There are frequent references to using computers in the process. The authors describe the different types of stories, e.g., news, features, and editorials, with hints on how to write each one and suggestions for topics. This title is similar in format to Guthrie and Bentley’s The Young Author’s Do-It Yourself Book (1994) and The Young Producer’s Video Book (1995, both Millbrook). The full-color cartoons are appealing. Inspirational, practical fare for writers and would-be reporters.-Marion F. Gallivan, Gannon University, Erie, PA

E How talks about the steps to establishing a newspaper at your elementary school. They include:

Brainstorm possible newspaper names and story ideas with your newspaper staff. Articles can be about school-wide news, book reviews, movie reviews and more.

Assign articles to your students. Warn them about the dangers of plagiarism and explain the term to your students. Provide them with a deadline for their articles. Make the deadline reasonable. Since they are elementary school students, they will probably need at least a couple of weeks to complete their articles.

Decide whether you will type the articles into a word processing document or whether you will leave this task up to your staff. Some students know how to type quickly while others haven’t learned keyboarding yet. Be sure you run spell check and proofread the articles.

Group strives to wipe out Kenyan poverty

BOISE — Caring Hearts and Hands of Hope is a Boise-based organization that wants to eradicate poverty in Kenya by helping orphans, children of widows and those from abject poverty with high school tuition costs, the Idaho Press Tribune reports.

Today in Kenya, 56 percent of the people earn less than a dollar a day. Natural disasters, especially famines, are common in traditional farming areas where survival depends on rainfall and good weather. People in these areas become dependent on relief food, mostly from non-governmental organizations, the article states.

Idaho Press-Tribune: What is your organization’s goal and how do you accomplish it?

Caring Hearts and Hands of Hope: The problems of poverty and famine in Kenya are compounded by the effects of HIV/AIDS. Over one million children are orphans due to AIDS. This has led to the increased number of children having no one at all to care for them. When both parents die, their future is lost.

Elementary school education is free in Kenya, but children who pass the national eighth grade exams to join high school must pay tuition. Unfortunately, thousands of needy boys and girls cannot amass the necessary funds. Thus boys do easily turn to a life of crime, drugs or alcohol while girls are in danger of turning into prostitution or being forced to early marriage.

Providing handouts is a short-sighted approach. Educating the youth is a long-term solution that will create a nation of educated professional contributors.

CONTRIBUTE TO CARING HEARTS AND HANDS OF HOPE

To help, please mail a check to Caring Hearts and Hands of Hope Inc. (any amount helps), P.O. Box 7152, Boise, 83707, or donate online at www.caringheartsandhandsofhope.com. You can have Caring Hearts and Hands of Hope President Dr. Vincent Kituku come speak at your organization or school by calling 376-8724.

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Related Reading: Books for Kids about Kenya and by Kenyan Authors.
The list author says: “Books are a great way to introduce young children to a new adventure and get teens and tweens ready for a family trip. We’ve compiled a list of books about Kenya and by Kenyan authors for children of various ages and with varying interests. What better why to begin a journey than a trip through literature?”

One great sample from this list is Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain (Reading Rainbow Books). by Verna Aardema.

An amazon reviewer wrote:
I really love the book “Bringing The Rain to Kapiti Plain,” by Verna Aardema. I have enjoyed it so much that I am planning to give it as a gift to my sister who has two young children, ages 4 and 7. This is a simple story about a cattle herdsman and his wish for rain on the African plain. The narrative structure of the story is based on a sequence of events that builds suspense and interest in children until the end of the story. This is a memorable story; it is very simple to understand and has a powerful musical quality that, as a young adult, I enjoy reading aloud. The rhymes and rhythms are so strong that all young children will be wide eyed with suspense and interest until the very end of the story. I particularly enjoyed one line where the author rhymes “fat” and “Ki-pat”: “So the grass grew green/ And the cattle fat!/ And Ki-pat got a wife/ And a little Ki-pat-.” This story is suitable for young children because its tone is happy. It deals with the relationship of humans with water, plants and animals. … From this book … they will learn about the connection between humans and nature by enjoying the colored pictures. The pictures are so vibrant that it is easy to imagine the world of Ki-pat. As an adult, I enjoy this book because it describes the cycle of life in a very interesting way. Readers of all ages will see that human life is totally dependent upon nature, and the existence of human beings without nature is nearly impossible. Readers will also learn how the lives of humans and animals are dependent on rain; people and animals need each other and every part of nature for their perfect existence. I highly recommend Verna Aardema’s “Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain” to anyone who has young children and is looking for a book that illustrates the relationship between nature and human beings. The colorful, detailed pictures will keep the children interested while they are learning about the connection between nature and human beings.

Oz the Great and Powerful: Creative Writing Lesson Plan

As we have done with other great pieces of literature, we will examine a film today for plot, characters, and literary devices.
 

Oz the Great and Powerful is a 2013 American fantasy adventure film directed by Sam Raimi, produced by Joe Roth, and written by David Lindsay-Abaire and Mitchell Kapner. The film stars James Franco as Oscar Diggs, Mila Kunis as Theodora, Rachel Weisz as Evanora, and Michelle Williams as Glinda.

The film is based on L. Frank Baum’s Oz novels, and also pays homage to the 1939 MGM film, The Wizard of Oz. Set 20 years before the events of the books, Oz the Great and Powerful focuses on Oscar Diggs, who arrives in the Land of Oz and encounters three witches: Theodora, Evanora and Glinda. Oscar is then enlisted to restore order in Oz, while struggling to resolve conflicts with the witches and himself.

Oz the Great and Powerful premiered at the El Capitan Theatre on February 14, 2013, and with general theatrical release by Walt Disney Pictures on March 8, 2013, through the Disney Digital 3D, RealD 3D and IMAX 3D formats, as well as in conventional theatres. Despite mixed reviews, the film was a box office success, grossing $491 million worldwide in revenue, $149 million of which was earned during its opening weekend worldwide.

In 1905 Kansas, Oscar “Oz” Diggs works as a small-time magician in a traveling circus. As a storm approaches, the circus strongman learns Oscar has flirted with his wife and goes to attack him. Oscar escapes in a hot air balloon, but is sucked into a tornado that takes him to the Land of Oz. There the witch Theodora believes him to be a wizard prophesied to overthrow the Wicked Witch who killed the king of Oz. En route to the Emerald City, Oscar flirts with Theodora, who falls in love with him, wishing to be his queen when he rules Oz. They encounter the flying monkey Finley, who pledges a life debt to Oscar when he saves Finley from a lion.

Upon reaching the Emerald City, Oscar meets Theadora’s sister Evanora, who is skeptical of Oscar being the foretold wizard. Evanora tells Oscar that the Wicked Witch resides in the Dark Forest and can be killed by destroying her wand, the source of her power. Oscar and Finley are joined en route to the forest by China Girl, a young, living china doll whose home and family were destroyed by the Wicked Witch. The three reach the forest and, upon retrieving the wand, discover the “Wicked Witch” to be Glinda the Good Witch, who tells them Evanora is the true Wicked Witch. Evanora sees this with her crystal ball and manipulates Theodora against Oscar by showing him together with Glinda, saying he is trying to court all three witches. She offers the heartbroken Theodora a magic apple she promises will remove her heartache. Theodora bites it and transforms into a heartless, green-skinned Wicked Witch.

Glinda brings Oscar’s group to her domain in Oz to escape Evanora’s army of Winkies and flying baboons. She confides to Oscar that she knows he is not truly a wizard. However, she still believes he can still help them stop Evanora, and provides him an “army” of Quadlings, tinkers, and Munchkins to do it. Theodora enters Glinda’s domain and angrily reveals her new, hideous appearance to Oscar before threatening to kill him and his allies with the Emerald City’s well-prepared army. Oscar despairs that his army cannot defeat the Wicked Witches, but after telling China Girl about the exploits of his hero Thomas Edison, he realizes they can fight using prestidigitation.

Glinda and her subjects mount a mock attack on the Wicked Witches’ castle using an automated army of scarecrows blanketed by thick fog. The Wicked Witches are tricked into sending their flying baboons through a poppy field that puts the baboons to sleep. However, two baboons manage to capture Glinda, who is brought to the city square and enchained. Meanwhile, Oscar infiltrates the Emerald City with his allies, only to seemingly abandon them in a hot air balloon loaded with the king’s gold, which Theodora destroys with a fireball. Oscar then secretly reveals himself to his friends, having faked his death. Oscar uses a hidden smoke machine and image projector to present a giant, holographic image of his face as his “true” form, and a fireworks display to attack and intimidate the Wicked Witches. Evanora fearfully hides in her castle while Theodora flees on her broom, unable to hurt the “invincible” wizard; Oscar says Theodora is welcome back should she find good in her heart again. Glinda is freed by China Girl and defeats Evanora, destroying the Wicked Witch’s emerald necklace that hides her true, crone-like appearance. The banished Evanora is carried off by flying baboons.

The film concludes with Oscar, now king of Oz, using his projector to sustain the belief he is still a powerful wizard and keep the citizens of Oz united against the Wicked Witches. He also presents gifts to his friends: Master Tinker, who helped build his machines, receives Oscar’s camping-tool jackknife.