What are we doing today?

1. What are we doing today? Yearbook - 2nd Period - 9:13 a.m. – 10:08 a.m.Newspaper - 3rd Period - 10:12 a.m. – 11:01 a.m.Yearbook - 4th Period - 11:05 a.m. – 11:54 a.m. Turn in Forms – Fees & Camera Release Form - DiscussHouse Rules What is an angle within a story?Pair up and interview another person in the class. Ask open ended questions and try to find an angle (something that is different about the person that will be of interest to the reader). What is an ANGLE? Watch Love is...Video All About Me

2. Interviewing – Your assignment • You have 10 minutes to complete the task • Partner with someone (not a friend) • Ask them four to five questions and write down answers using the reporters notebook • Switch • Write a brief story about the person — lead and at least one DIRECT quote • Write in third person – he she we • Short paragraphs (30-60 words) • Active voice – talks not is talking – avoid being verbs

3. Discuss • What was the experience like? • What worked? • What didn’t? • How could it have been better?

4. What’s at the heart of a good interview? • A good subject • AND a good interviewer (that’s you)

5. Finding that good subject • Find someone who has a story to tell • Find someone who is willing to talk • Find someone who has the time for an interview • Find someone who is telling the truth

6. Where do you find good subjects? • Talk to students (not just your friends) • Talk to adults (teachers, counselors, etc) • Listen • Meet new friends • Go to club meetings, sporting events, etc.

7. Tips for Interviewing • Interview away from friends. NEVER in a lunch room or hallway. Go to their space. • Know the issue. • Start with a conversation: Explain why you want to do the story. Thank them for their time. Talk about yourself for a minute or two to put them at ease. Build trust. • Start with the easier questions.

8. Bad Interviewing Gives You This Many high school students and teachers have friends and loved ones who are either in Iraq or have been there. “My uncle went to Iraq in November,” senior Charlie Brown said. “He’s back now. He said it was really violent.” Science teacher Sandi Mink’s son is in Iraq. “It’s tough having your son in constant danger,” she said. Brown said he never wants to join the military. “It just seems too dangerous,” he said.

9. Good Interviewing Gives You This Science teacher Sandi Mink gives her home phone number to all of her students. She wants to be available to students as they work on her physics assignments at home. But don’t bother calling at 8 p.m. on Thursday nights. That’s a sacred time for the Mink family. “That’s Jeff’s time,” she said. “Ever since he went to Iraq, my son Jeff calls home once a week at 8 p.m. on Thursdays. “He’s called almost every week since he’s been gone,” she said.

10. Rest of the story One Thursday in October, Jeff missed his weekly call. “I was sure he was dead,” Ms. Mink said. “I started crying and couldn’t stop. Finally at midnight, he called.” Jeff had been on a raid and couldn’t get away to make his weekly call. “Luckily, Jeff is a computer guy,” she said. “He works on the communications end of things and doesn’t see much action. But that night, he had to go on the raid to identify equipment.”