The purpose of this class is to provide you with introductory skills and knowledge of radio broadcasting. The course is very hands-on and is intended to prepare you for a radio show on the school’s station or a professional one in your future! Even if broadcasting is not your field of choice for a career, the speaking, writing, and cooperative skills you’ll learn in this class will benefit you greatly as well.

Here’s a brief outline of what we’ll be covering:

· Radio & Broadcast History

We will watch films, read about the early days of radio, hear some of the most famous broadcasts such as the news of the Titanic and the War of the Worlds disaster, and even listen to some of the first broadcasts ever recorded. Your assessment for this unit will be a short quiz.

· Music History

Again, we will view some educational films, and discuss at length the history of rock n’ Roll, as well as current issues in music. For this unit, you and a partner will do a simulated broadcast for the class dedicated to an influential artist. You will also have a quiz.

· Radio in America

How does the radio and other media influence our lives? What is the future of radio? After many discussions, you will be asked to write a brief in-class essay outlining what you’ve learned.

· Breathing and Intonation (Improving the Broadcast Voice)

You will learn how to best use your voice to develop broadcaster quality. With this and the programming unit combined, you and a partner will do a 10-minute simulated show for the class.

· Programming

In this unit, we discuss the business of radio and how it is determined what is played on the air. See above for assessment.

· Advertising

You will learn the tricks of the trade in radio advertising, as well as how radio stations promote themselves. As part of your above show, you and your partner will create 2 commercials to perform. We will also work as a class on ways to promote WDGC in the school and community.

· FCC History, Rules, and regulations

You will learn exactly what you can and cannot say on the radio, and we will discuss at length the validation of these laws. You will have a test on this unit similar to the FCC licensing test.

· Free Speech Laws & Debates

Usually one of the most popular units, we will read about free speech issues and discuss them in class. Should we be able to say whatever we want, or should there be limits? We will also watch Pump Up the Volume (rated R) for this unit. You and a group will do a short presentation on current issues in free speech (shock jocks, Napster, etc.) and you will also have a brief writing assignment.

· Equipment Operation

Obviously, a large part of being a DJ is knowing how to run the equipment. You will get hands-on experience with the station’s equipment and know how to do a radio show on your own. To test your knowledge, you and a partner will do a simulated show using the equipment.

· News Writing and Broadcasting

In this section, you will find out how to write news stories especially for radio and how to read them. You will individually write a 5-minute news broadcast and perform it for the class.

· Talk Shows

One of the most popular formats in radio is talk shows. You will learn how to conduct an interview and keep a show exciting. You and 2-3 partners will take on the roles of professionals and experts and have a simulated broadcast discussion about a current topic in music (sexuality of teen stars, the boy band phenomenon, the evolution of punk rock, etc.)

· Final Radio Show

A large percentage of your grade for the semester will be based on a 15 minute real live broadcast with a partner of your choice. You will be graded on voice, equipment operation, adherence to regulations, ability to sustain an audience, knowledge of programming, etc.

· Final Exam

Your final exam will be a written multiple choice cumulative test on all the above units.

English/Communications I

Eng/Comm 1 is a class that seeks to combine all the elements of the language arts: reading, writing, speaking, listening, and creating. Through several core texts and the themes "Finding your Voice" and "Making Decisions," students will develop skills as critical readers, better writers, and more competent and comfortable speakers. Each core text will support activities, discussion, and practice in writing and speaking. Some of the main works are listed below. Assignments and scheduling will be updated on the link "assignments" throughout the year.

Texts:

Night by Elie Wiesel. The true story of a young boy who survived the Holocaust. Winner of the Nobel Prize.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. The story of a high school freshman who has been outcast by the whole school because she called 911 at a summer party. Winner of the Michel Printz Award of Excellence for young adult fiction.

Big Mouth & Ugly Girl by Joyce Carol Oates. An unlikely friendship blossoms in the midst of a media frenzy over alleged bomb threats to a high school. Winner of the L.A. Times Book Prize for young adult fiction.

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. A young girl growing up in the south during the Great Depression witnesses true bravery in her lawyer father, who takes an African-American man as his client. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize.

The other component to Eng/Comm 1 is the Readers Workshop. Click on the link to learn more.

Creative Writing

This course is a combination of reading, writing, and responding to modern poetry and short stories. A brief outline of topics, assignments, and expectations follow.

What you will learn

Most importantly, this class will teach you how to express yourself in new and creative ways and will show you how to be a constant, critical observer of the world around you. You will also become very familiar with literature in its modern form, and will not only be able to respond to it intelligently, but write it yourself. You will be a more sensitive reader and much more sophisticated writer.

The class structure

The class will be divided into two sections: poetry first quarter and short stories second quarter. Each quarter will require you to read modern literature and respond to it. You will also write literature of your own and respond to your fellow students’ work.

The semester breaks down as follows:

Poetry

For this quarter, your major grades will come from 4 poems which have been revised multiple times. You need only show one draft to me before handing in the final poem, although I will look at more if you wish. Each time I ask to see a rough draft it is worth 10 points. You will receive all 10 points for handing it in on time unless it is clear that you put little or no effort into it. I will give you a preliminary score, although I will not record it. This will simply give you an idea of far it needs to come. My comments on your work will be less detailed as the quarter progresses, since your skills in revision should dramatically improve. When you hand in the final poem, at least 1 other revisions must accompany it. The final grade for each poem is 50 points. Since the class is focused on improving your writing skills, you may have the opportunity to completely revise your “final” poems once for up to one letter grade. Each poetry assignment will be very clear and will ask you to demonstrate specific skills learned in class. When grading your work, I will be looking for the presence of these skills (they should accumulate throughout the semester), as well as clear effort and improvement on your revisions. Since poetry is so highly subjective, I will more than gladly meet with you regarding any score you find unfair. However, it is the presence and capable use of the skills taught in class that determines your score, and not personal taste.

In addition to the four poems, you will have reading assignments almost nightly. We will have unannounced quizzes on these, and you will also be asked on occasion to respond in writing to what you have read.

We will do a great deal of in-class writing, and I ask that you maintain a journal for the class for these purposes (see assignment links for journal details).

We will also be reading our work aloud every Friday. We will probably have 8-10 of these sessions, and you must participate in half. For each session (less than half) you choose not to participate in, you will lose 10 points off your participation grade (see below).

At the end of this quarter, you will have a large project which will ask you to respond to some poetry you may not have seen before, demonstrate some of your writing skills, and show your mastery of topics and skills discussed in class.

Short Stories

Much like the poetry quarter, this section of the class will focus on reading, writing, revision, and response.

Your major grade for this quarter will be one short story of at least ten pages and no more than fifteen pages. Again, you need to only show me one rough draft of this work. However, since your grade is more concentrated this quarter, you will receive 30 points and a preliminary grade for this rough draft. Only one revision is necessary for this assignment.

Like the poetry section, we will be reading, responding, taking quizzes, and occasionally reading aloud. Fridays, however, will become workshop days for your peers to help you on your final story.

We will also be doing in-class writing during this quarter, you will still be expected to maintain your journal, and the quarter will end with a similar exam.

Journal

You will need a sturdy journal for this class. This may be a notebook, binder, sketch pad, whatever you choose. Your journal will be graded at the end of the semester and you will be expected to have the following in it: 1) All in-class writing activities 2) All specifically-designated journal assignments 3) A substantial amount of your own independent writing 4) Anything else you wish—drawings, articles, etc. Make this something interesting. DO NOT LOSE YOUR JOURNAL. I will make you re-do all assignments if lost.

Participation

Each quarter you will receive a 50 point grade for participation. This grade includes effort, behavior, attention, workshop work, and your minimum requirement for class readings. I will let you know periodically if you are in danger of receiving a poor grade for this. Take this grade seriously, since it is one of the largest grades each quarter.

Portfolio: Final Exam

The portfolio is a collection of your work throughout the semester. For each assignment, it will include: the original rough draft, the final draft you handed in, and a final portfolio revision. The portfolio should display your very best work and show significant progress.

Radio 2

Radio 2 is a course intended for students who are interested in broadcasting as a career, or who just enjoyed Radio 1 and want to learn more.

Radio 2 is a project-based course which asks students to demonstrate their progress and learning through performance, writing, recording, and editing. The equipment work is much more technical and sophisticated, and the nature of the projects are more creative and detailed. Some examples & quick summaries of assignments are listed below. While some assignments look similar to ones in Radio 1, the requirements are more complex.

	Genre Show: Choose a kind of music, research its history, perform a show including music from the genre.
	Artist Show: Same as above, except with a specific artist of your choice.
	Talk Show: A group serves as a roundtable to discuss a current issue that they have researched.
	Book Presentation: Students have approximately 6 weeks to read a book of their choice that is related to music or radio & then teach its contents to the class
	CD Review Article: Write a review of a new album. Selected ones will appear in the school paper.
	PSA: Record your own public service announcements
	Liners: Record your own ads for the station
	Interview: Conduct and record an interview with a community member.
	Radio drama: Write, perform, produce, and record a radio drama with other class members.

Portfolio

After each project, students will save all materials, including the grade sheet, and write a reflection on the performance. These materials will be collected in a portfolio to be turned in at the end of the semester. The portfolio is worth 100 points and will be checked periodically.

Final Exam

The final exam is a 45-minute audition tape. The details are on the "assignments" page.

Some policies for all classes

	Respect your classmates, your teacher, and the school’s property. Anything less will result in various consequences, depending on the offense.
	I prefer not to accept late work, but will accept it ONLY two days late. If one day late, the best score you may receive is 79% (C+). Two days late will only earn half credit (best possible score is 50%). Any work more than 2 days late (excluding illnesses, etc.) will be a zero. If you feel you have special circumstances, please ask a parent to write me a note. Computers crashing is not an acceptable reason for late work—always make a back-up. Please note: For large speeches, you will not be permitted to do late work at all. You will know in advance which day you will be going, and will always be given ample time in class during which to work. If you are not prepared or if you have an unexcused absence, your score for that speech will be a zero.
	If you receive an A or a B in Radio I, you are eligible to apply and audition for a radio show on WDGC! I must take many things into consideration for the assignment of shows, the first of which is seniority and experience. I will also heavily consider classroom behavior, on-air behavior, effort and ability. Hard work pays off!
	Plagiarism is obviously unacceptable. Anyone found guilty of the offense may meet with various consequences, the least of which is a zero on the assignment
	You will need a sturdy folder or binder and a notebook. There is no textbook, so you will receive many handouts which we often refer back to. I also ask that students save their graded tests, quizzes, and assignments, as we use them for review. Please bring paper, a writing utensil, and a smile to class every day.