INNISFAIL -- It was a one-month suspension of free-for-all creative me-first scribbling for a score of Grade 8 students at Innisfail Middle School.
Almost 25 young scribblers would somehow be tasked to learn discipline with the pen or by keystroke. They would have to follow rules. They would learn the great time-honoured art and profession of news writing.
For the second year in a row teacher Amanda Oslund brought in Innisfail Province staff to facilitate a journalism class project, a key part of the language arts curriculum.
The task ahead was simple but not easy. Students would work with Oslund to choose a topic. They had to find three "voices" to interview. Students then had to write a 750-word story, and take a photograph to accompany it. Along the way they would be taught Canadian Press style, story structure techniques and how to take a photograph based on photojournalism guidelines.
Lea Smaldon, managing editor of Mountain View Publishing, which includes the Innisfail Province, gives a journalism presentation to Grade 8 students during their recent month-long class project. Johnnie Bachusky/MVP Staff
Representing the Province to offer guidance during the month-long project was Mountain View Publishing (MVP) managing editor Lea Smaldon; Kristine Jean, reporter for the Innisfail Province; Noel West, staff photographer for MVP; Jennifer Bath-Yofonoff, the company's media sales strategist, and Johnnie Bachusky, the editor of the Province.
"In today’s digital world, it’s easy to be taken in by unreliable, or even completely false information. In devoting time to instruction in journalism, Amanda Oslund not only gave her students an inside look at a possible career path, but more importantly, a lesson in critical thinking," said Smaldon. "The writing, interviewing and photography skills the students learned are also transferable to other areas of life."
Oslund said 18 completed project articles were ultimately submitted to the Province, with the top three going into print and the remaining 15 published online at www.innisfailprovince.ca.
She said the students were allowed to choose from topics that were "close to home" for them, and ones they could write about with a "little bit more passion."
"Something that related to their own lives. There was a lot more passion behind it and it was great to see," said Oslund. She noted students were finishing part of a curriculum where they could write creatively. This year, however, there was a dramatic change; the first time they encountered a style, such as essays, that is "highly structured" with a defined and accepted format.
Province reporter Kristine Jean was available to help Grade 8 students with their journalism projects. Johnnie Bachusky/MVP Staff
"It is a constant battle to take the personal out of their writing, and I think with article writing it is the highest form of being objective instead of subjective," she said. "I did notice it was really cool to see them interview the three voices. That requirement really got them to consider different perspectives, and to chase after people to get that article."
As for the biggest challenge? Oslund said students had to face and conquer their fear of completing a project that had a 750-word requirement, a length often seen for short professionally written magazine articles.
"A lot of kids struggled with the number. They were like, 'I don't know if I can write that much.' So trying to expand their writing was a struggle for them," she said. "But for the most part kids chose an appropriate topic. They were able to do it quite competently."
And Kailyn Cruickshank was one student who was able to conquer the first-ever trial of objective news writing. Her project was one of three chosen for the Province's print edition.
"I learned about how to write a whole article, which expanded my knowledge on writing in general," said Cruickshank, adding it was an additional challenge to maintain the discipline that journalism writing demands. "It was harder. There was different formatting. I had to change my style a little bit to the news article way, but I think I got the hang of it."
Noel West, photographer for Mountain View Publishing, presented a PowerPoint presentation on photography for Grade 8 students to help them with their journalism projects. Johnnie Bachusky/MVP Staff
