Check out these Ironton Stallions as they create a Live News Broadcast we can all be proud of. Pay special attention to the addition of new features every month as the students grow with this new digital media.
Long gone are the days of the principal or school secretary reading the morning announcement over the school intercom. Although some elementary schools do still use their intercom for the morning announcements, most have a morning news production show that is broadcasted via closed-circuit television school-wide. Some may think of the televised morning news show as a recent development, but Parkland School District brought television into the schools years ago.
Schools often urge students to turn the TV off, but when you put kids in charge of production, television becomes a teacher. This is the case for both the students involved in the production of the show and those viewing the morning news.
There are many obvious benefits for the students involved in producing the morning news program. Ask any student on an elementary school morning news program, and they would probably say they like the attention they receive. Ironton News @ Ninish anchors are considered celebrities at Ironton Elementary. The daily, school-wide exposure to their peers boosts their confidence.
Communication skills are gained behind the scenes and in front of the camera. Writing the script reinforces the writing process learned in the classroom, giving students real-life application of research skills, editing, and grammar. Just as important as applying the mechanics of writing, students learn the importance of an engaging introduction to ‘hook’ the audience and a clever ending to make their story memorable. The anchors learn expression and fluency, valuable oral communication and reading comprehension skills.
Students on the production staff gain first-hand media literacy and technology skills. The Ironton News staff go on to Middle and High School and very often become involved with the School News Broadcast, communications and media production. Other skills are learned. In order for the production of the morning news show to be successful, each student must take responsibility for their role. They must be present at rehearsals, meet deadlines, and follow through on designated tasks. As important as taking responsibility for individual roles, the production staff has to collaborate to produce a quality show. They must listen to their peers, learn to offer and receive feedback in a positive manner, and be a team player.
Participating in a school production is a beneficial experience for students at every academic achievement level. The Ironton Live News @ Ninish is a daily news show that is produced by fifth graders at Ironton Elementary School in Coplay, PA. The program is designed so that the News Advisor acts mainly as a facilitator and the students take a more active role, creating independence among its participants. There are many variables that impact the course of a production, so students learn to be creatively flexible while still producing a quality show.
There are also school-wide benefits to the morning news show. It often becomes part of a classroom’s morning routine to turn on the morning news, and teachers and students have come to depend on it as an effective way to distribute information and reminders to all teachers and students on a daily basis.
Viewing the news gives students a sense of connection. We make it a point to have an administrator on the show often so that students feel as if they know the principal, the Guidance Counselor and other key staff members in the school environment. This, along with featuring a variety of students, helps build a sense of community.
In addition to these worthy benefits, the morning news show can be used for school-wide curriculum enrichment that engages students at every grade level.
Choosing the production staff and determining what responsibilities to assign students is a tough job. The morning news show is so popular that Ironton requires candidates to submit applications and conduct auditions to determine who will serve on the school’s TV crew. Serving on the morning news production team is a privilege reserved for the fifth graders, but other grade levels are brought into the production as special guests, taking part in green screen video and special announcements.
It is at the discretion of the advisor and principal, and with the permission of their teacher, as to what roles students take in producing the morning news. Being on the TV crew is an elective activity and students will come into the Newsroom on their assignment month during their lunch and recess to produce a weekly morning show. This year we have two crews of 11 students each assigned and rotate months bi-monthly throughout the school year.
What role can students take in producing the morning news? The possibilities are endless, but here are the positions we fill her at the News @ Ninish.
Once jobs are assigned, there will be training. The new Fifth Grade crew will be selected at the end of a 4th Grade school year in order to prepare them to start at the beginning of the following year. This would allow outgoing crew members who are moving to another school to help with training.
The crew will rotate their duties in order to have an understanding of each person’s responsibility, but only after the students focus on their desired/assigned role to become proficient at it? Crew members learn about all facets of production from pre-production to post-production, and crew members rotate on a monthly basis through each of assigned ten jobs.
The first component necessary to produce a school TV program is that the school is wired for closed circuit television. That is what allows programs to be broadcasted to the entire campus. Here are some basics to consider:
Educator’s Survival Guide for Television Production and Activities: Features student hands-on activities and drawings/charts and diagrams to help the students and advisor to understand the setup and use of the school television studio and equipment.
News Staff Resources:
Teacher Announcement Submission Form- Click Here!
Bookmark the site. https://docs.google.com/a/parklandsd.net/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDhaZFZnT2ZwSEZsWlNfaFdRRzAtbWc6MQ
Click here to download the Daily Script Sheet: Morning Broadcast Script Template
Reporter Resource Links:
The weather today:
http://www.weather.com/weather/right-now/Coplay+PA+18037
Weather Trivia:
http://www.weatherwizkids.com/
Lunch: (Check the Monthly Menu Planner handing on the wall)
Birthdays: (Check the list of birthday hanging on the wall)
Check for Staff and Teacher announcement: Click on News @ Ninish button on the Ironton Blackboard Page. Click on Ironton Morning Announcements to see what announcements must be included in that day’s script.
The Local Sports:
Upcoming Events and schedule: http://www.usatodayhss.com/school/parkland-high-school-allentown-pa/scores-and-schedule
Local Community Highlights: Elementary Age teams and games: http://www.mcall.com/sports/
Today in History:
http://www.factmonster.com/dayinhistory and pick one.
Closing Quotes:
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/quotes_for_kids.htm
http://www.allbestmessages.com/quotes/motivational-quotes/Motivational-Quotes-For-Kids.php
Use the Thesaurus to find new creative words to replace overused and uninteresting words in the closing lines of the broadcast.
