Hillsborough County is back in school, and sixth-graders at Tomlin Middle School have kicked off the year with a new elective: journalism.
The class is part of the students’ elective wheel, in which they take one of four classes every five days for nine weeks to determine what they will choose as their elective for the rest of the school year. Journalism was introduced this year alongside the pre-existing music, art and physical education classes.
Yearbook teacher Donelle Lewis Casselman is heading up the class. She was approached about starting a journalism class last year by Tomlin Principal Traci Durrance and Assistant Principal Megan Braglin.
“(They) asked me if it was something I’d be interested in doing,” Casselman said. “They had a part in making it happen. I said, ‘Absolutely.’”
The class serves as a way to help students improve their writing skills while preparing them for the yearbook class available to seventh- and eighth-graders.
Before the end of the second nine weeks, every student in sixth grade will have had a preview of the journalism class.
“Some may start in PE or art or music,” Casselman said. “They will have a taste of each elective, and then in the middle of the year they can pick what they want for the rest of the year.”
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In the beginning of the year, students in the journalism class will focus on life skills lessons, with emphases in career research, career interests and decision making.
To help students further learn about journalism and career opportunities within the field, the staff of the Plant City Times & Observer will teach the class one lesson weekly.
Once students choose the journalism class, they will focus on writing assignments and learning journalism basics. Casselman hopes the school will be able to take students on media-related field trips during the school year to news stations and newspaper offices.
“They’ll do personal profile stories,” Casselman said. “We’ll also teach them to interview. We would tell students to interview for the yearbook last year, and they didn’t really know about open-ended questions or how to create a story. But we really worked on it, and they evolved and grew.”
While Casselman hopes the class will encourage students to work on the yearbook in future years, she’s optimistic students will find at least one thing they like out of the class.
“Journalism is so broad,” she said. “A student may not be great at talking, but would love to be behind the camera. It fits for a lot of their personalities, which is what I like about it.”
The school is hoping to retain 45 students for the journalism program out of about 200 sixth-graders. The number is
enough to fill both journalism classes.
“We’re hoping to keep it for years to come,” Casselman said. “During open house … parents were thrilled that (students) would be able to experience journalism and each elective.”
In their seventh and eighth grade years, students who choose to work on the yearbook are responsible for everything from content and order forms to advertising and distribution.
“They love it,” Casselman said. “I’m excited about having the opportunity to groom them for next year. That’s the most exciting. I’m thrilled.”
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.