MS.

KLACKNER
Francis Howell North
Rm. 136 or 026 (636) 851- 5048 jordyn.klackner@fhsdschools.org

Francis Howell North
Journalism
Act as if what you do makes a diference. It does.

Course Description:
6.
No matter what is going on outside Room 136
or what kind of person you are in other
situations, a certain behavior will be expected
of you each and every day in this class. Above
all, strive to have a positive outlook and an
open mind.
Appropriate classroom behavior includes
attitudes, actions, conversations, and
vocabulary that are generally acceptable in
formal situations in mixed company with
adults. Inappropriate behavior will not be
tolerated.
Requirements for this Class
Always come to class with paper, writing
utensil, completed assignments, notebook, &
anything else necessary for the day. You will
need a 3-ring binder or folder for this class.
You need to have it by Labor Day.
Textbooks
We will most likely not be assigning books
here. If we do, it will be for overnight use only.
In class, we will be using the AP Stylebook, Tim
Harrowers Newspaper Designers Handbook
and Scholastic Journalism. We will also use
items from newspapers and the web.

Rules of the room
-Do not touch anything in the room except
your own material. That especially includes
things that arent specifed public domain and
folders, papers, photographs and laptops or
cameras that do not pertain to you or your
class.
- Treat others as you would like to be treated.
- Do not talk when someone else has the foor.
** All rules in the student handbook also apply.
*I expect you to be on time, come prepared,
show respect, participate & do your best.
*Expect me to encourage and support you,
respect you, challenge you and engage you.
1.
2.
3.
-William James
My PHilosophy:
What are we doing here?
The easy answer: In 18 weeks we will work to transform
you into a journalist. You will interview, you will write,
you will edit, you will edit some more, you will
become some of the best journalists this school has
ever seen. You will also work to preserve FHN
history by writing and designing for the North Star
and Excalibur publications.
The hard answer: Simply speaking there is just some
really cool stuf were going to read and do in here.
By the end of the semester you should know how to
research stories by conducing in-depth interviews.
You should be able to write stories following basic
journalism principles. You will understand the First
Amendment and other pertinent media law rights and
responsibilities. You will even know how to design a
page for publication.
If we work really fast, we might actually get on the
computers to see what your work would look like
published. And who knows, some work might be so
good it is published! Any questions??
9-12 grade late work policy:
All English classes, English 1 through Enlgish IV
(including electives) will follow the same policy. Our
policy is to take 25 percentage points of the frst day
an assignment is late. After the frst day, the student
can make up the assignment for up to 50 percent
until the last two weeks in the quarter. No
assignment can be submitted within the fnal two
weeks of each quarter. Teachers reserve the right to
adjust this policy for assignments such as
presentations and process-oriented work.
If absent, you can check the blog for the weekly
assignments. Most handouts should be available for
download. Otherwise, I will store all extra copies and
weekly calendars in my room. Remember, you are
responsible for any class time that you miss. Please
take it upon yourself to ask for help, get missing
work and turn it in according to the school policy.
Although there will be group work throughout the
term, grading will be done on an individual basis.
The completion of assignments, meeting of
deadlines and following directions will be crucial
to passing the course. Tests and quizzes (even some
surprise ones) will be given to make sure concepts
have been mastered.
You will have quite a bit of homework in this class.
Most of the time, you will be interviewing people
and writing stories about what you learn.
If you know in advance you will be absent make sure
you get your work in ahead of time and get someone
to cover your responsibilities.
Journalism grades are usually fgured on a reward
basis -- everyone starts with an A. Do what is asked of
you, try your hardest and learn from your mistakes
and you will be successful.
Quarter 1=40%,
Quarter 2=40%, and
the fnal is worth 20% of your grade.
I have no money to pay you,
so Ill grade you...
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ME:
The fnal will be a project, not a test. Grades are always
available online and grades will be posted every two
weeks.(scale: 100-90; 89-80; 79-70; 69-60...)
Extra credit is ofered if all other work has been
completed. If students need extra help, I am generally
in room 136 or 026. Before and after school, Wednesday
intervention time and my plan time (2nd hour) work
best for individual help.
**ALL MAJOR STORIES ASSIGNED MUST BE COMPLETED TO PASS THIS
COURSE. (IE. RELATIVE, GREGORY, NEWS, FEATURE, OPINION)
There are quite a few of you in this class so we need to
be on-task as much as possible. You all have elected to
take this course. So, hopefully you want to be here. If
not, pretend you like the class and I will pretend I like
you and everyone will get along just fne.
5th hour and oftentimes before and after school you
will fnd me in room 026 (downstairs), as I advise the
yearbook here at FHN.
Please contact me if you have any questions or
concerns. I will work to respond to all e-mails and
phone calls within 24 hours and I will make myself as
available as possible for students needing additional
assistance beyond class hours.
My schedule is as follows:
1st hour: English IV
2nd hour: Teacher Plan
3rd hour: Intro Journalism
Lunch (4A):
4th hour: Intro Journalism
5th hour: Yearbook
6th hour: Intro Journalism
7th hour: Photo Journalism
Please follow our class happenings at my blog. You
will fnd news, assignments & student work:
www.jklackner.com
You can also fnd me on Twitter: @jordynklackner
JOURNALISM
Francis Howell North
Excalibur, North Star,
FHNtoday.com, FHNtodayTV
be smart:
Follow my/school rules and youll be fne. Otherwise,
I will take action as follows:
1st incident: Verbal warning
2nd incident: Meeting with teacher
3rd incident: Call home
4th incident: Detention & possible prinicipal meeting
*Tardies: You cant learn if youre not here...we only
have 55 minutes! Get here on time. Ill be tracking
tardies. Youll recieve a detention after the 5th tardy.
Disciplinary Action Plan