Imagine opening the SHS New Views and seeing the project come alive with bright colors, bold headlines, and visuals that capture moments and memories: effectively showing vibrant energy and creativity bringing the class to life. Food and people fill the pages, completing the students’ essays. Making the work publish quality to bring the website to life. This vibrant and creative project is just one example of the engaging experiences students enjoy in James King’s Journalism 1-2 class at Sunnyslope High School.
In King’s class, students can collaborate with others, write stories based on personal interest and current events, and even improve their grammar skills. Students also learn interviewing techniques useful for writing by embedding quotes into essays.
Lastly, students learn how to use the big computers and practice with software.
The class experience resembles a rollercoaster: there are thrilling highs with projects and stories that come to life, and occasional lows when deadlines approach and assignments remain unfinished.
King’s class is engaging, with assignments that are manageable and can be completed in class with focused effort.
For this reason, the class runs smoothly when students follow directions and get their work done.
Mr. King offers helpful tips to improve students’ work, but also respects them if they decide not to include the improvements. He offers plenty of different assignments that develop students to be ready for yearbook staff or furthering their journalism skills. King is also kind to students every day. Once work is finished, he allows an enjoyable classroom environment.
He offers many assignments that students enjoy.
“My favorite part of the class is when we watched the movie,” Freshman Claydette Mena Figueroa said.
Others describe their favorite assignment as writing for the school website.
“My favorite assignment in this class has been my writing for the New Views,” Freshman Sarabella Nunez said
Students love the activities in the class but they also would recommend others to take it for the free time it offers during the school day.
“I would, because it’s not a free period, it’s like easy work, that you can like get done, and work towards, which is not too hard, ” Freshman Claydette said.
Students in his class can often share their love for joining journalism 1-2. If you know a student who likes writing stories about news or personal interest or being creative with visuals encourage them to join journalism. Check with your counselor to see if journalism 1-2 would be a good fit for you next school year.