Idea File Fall 2024

Photo by Stephanie Streicher

MAKING IT FUN One of the benefits of producing a yearbook within teams is how easily this lends itself to friendly competition amongst the staff, a key component of my students’ motivation throughout even the most stressful deadlines. Inspired loosely by the Hogwarts house points system, I award teams points periodically throughout a deadline cycle for meeting deadlines, such as story rough drafts, spread check-ins and final deadlines. At the end of a deadline cycle, I pick out my favorite story, headline, photo, mod, overall design and more for my much-anticipated deadline awards. Each deadline and award contributes to the team’s tally, and the team with the most points at the end wins. Winning teams earn first pick for next deadline’s spreads and can also pick a sticker out of my vinyl sticker collection (I highly recommend Red Bubble to order all the journalism, Taylor Swift, Barbie, and for us, Chiefs- and Kansas City-themed stickers) to proudly display on their laptop or water bottle. Furthermore, placing the staff in teams allows me to implement impromptu games quickly. We’ve done quick trivia competitions, caption-writing relay races and newspaper costume-making games. Taking time for the team to bond and for the entire class to have fun together is invaluable in building a productive and happy staff, and the teams structure allows us to do just that. By Julia Walker, CJE